From JP Morgan to French Fluency Coach: Leaving Corporate to Define Success on Your Own Terms | Rachel Pierre

In this episode of Journey to Purpose, Pippa is joined by Rachel Pierre — Haitian-born engineer, former JP Morgan Chase and Apple programme leader, executive French conversationalist coach, and author. Rachel grew up speaking only French, learned English in a year through baptism by fire, spent two decades climbing the corporate ladder in New York, and then walked away from it all after a chance conversation with a billionaire on a Parisian patio led to a 90-day French immersion experiment that actually worked. Her coaching company, Parlay, launched in January 2025. Her book challenges the idea that a woman's success is measured by her marital status and her willingness to use her uterus. This is a frank, funny, and genuinely moving conversation about language, identity, courage, and what it really means to define success for yourself. Pippa and Rachel explore:How Rachel's father force-switched the TV to English the year before she emigrated — and why it workedThe psychology of language fear: why high-achievers who command boardrooms fall apart trying to say bonjourWhy walking into a French restaurant without saying bonjour is essentially declaring warThe Air Canada CEO who resigned after saying two words of French in a seven-minute speechWhat 20 years in corporate America taught Rachel about what she didn't wantThe $30,000 in bad coaching investments — and what eventually workedHer mother telling her she wasn't successful because she had no husband or children — and the book that came from that momentWhy 71% of professionals are always looking for a career change, and what to do if you're one of themA conversation about the courage to leave, the cost of staying, and what success actually looks like when you stop letting other people define it. Connect with Rachel Pierre: parlezmethod.com | Instagram: @rachelsfrenchmethod | LinkedIn: Rachel PierreJourney to Purpose is a personal transformation podcast featuring real conversations about mindset, trauma recovery, self-worth, spiritual awakening, resilience, and finding your life’s purpose. New episodes every week. 🎧 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4Of0Na1qWovS8Aw2X2FU8M 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/philippa.bagley/ 🌐 Website: https://philippabagley.com/ Subscribe and leave a review — it helps others find the show.About your hostPippa Bagley is a clinical hypnotherapist specialising in burnout and sleep, and the host of Journey to Purpose. Based in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, she is passionate about helping people reconnect with what truly matters — and build lives and careers that feel genuinely sustainable. Pippa is also studying for an MSc in the Neuroscience and Psychology of Mental Health at King’s College London. Find out more at philippabagley.com