Erik Vermeulen Profile Picture

Keynote SpeakerErik Vermeulen

Global Business Consultant and Keynote Speaker, specialising in Corporate Behaviour Strategies

Erik Vermeulen has been a business consultant and on the International Speaking circuit since 1999. He explores trends and behaviours that have shaped the business world and guides leaders to motivate and improve performance in the business world by combining insights from both corporate consulting experience and as an expedition... Read more

Biography

Erik Vermeulen has been a business consultant and on the International Speaking circuit since 1999. He explores trends and behaviours that have shaped the business world and guides leaders to motivate and improve performance in the business world by combining insights from both corporate consulting experience and as an expedition leader guiding people to some of the highest summits.

His strategies allow leaders to create more profitable behaviours by examining how their teams work and how they interact with their employees as well as their customers Erik is a high energy presenter, effortlessly adding humour and entertainment to his powerful business messages. He’s often singled out for his passion and zest as well as his business insight.

Erik Vermeulen believes that you cannot motivate people, rather he takes a highly effective behavioural approach to leadership that allows him to influence what people are motivated to do! He shows companies how to build “virtual” teams that include both their employees and their customers, making a significant impact on the bottom-line. He has helped a global mobile phone company sell 60 000 units in a saturated market in under 3 weeks. He has served long-term consulting contracts with some of the world’s largest companies and leaders in the global marketplace.

His clients have found that Erik has the ability to put plenty of real-life business issues into perspective and offer realistic alternatives to team and leadership issues. He is frequently singled out for his enthusiasm, down to earth attitude and refreshing approach to people. In 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Erik co-created The Brightrock Battle of the Sports which saw him walk 800km over four expeditions with some of South Africa’s sporting heroes to raise much needed funds in support vulnerable communities battling COVID.

"We hired Erik from Ridgeline to support our annual kick-off meeting. Of course we had an expectation of the content he was to deliver, but I must say that Erik surpassed all of these and knocked it out the park. Not only from the perspective of delivering what we requested, but from how he fitted in with our organisations culture and interacted with the team. It was a great two days and we will be sure to follow it up with some more time with Erik and the Ridgeline team." VP BLM, AtlasCopco
"I have personally used Erik to design and facilitate a very productive event with my management team. That experience demonstrated Erik's skills in this type of event and I was particularly impressed by Erik's ability to maintain engagement and focus amongst the participants. I was also pleased that we had a deliverable at the end of the event and that all the outputs were recorded by him and sent to us promptly." UK MD, Energy & Industry, WSP Parsons Brinckerhof
"As someone who has organised large public events for the sales profession, I can recommend Erik as a top notch sales trainer and motivational speaker who will appeal to audiences at all levels. He is professional, has excellent original content and has the in-depth training that goes with the 1-hour keynote presentation sessions - highly recommended." Garden Centre Retail, UK (formerly SalesBytes)
"Erik has unmatched insight into corporate culture and human behaviour, which, combined with his strategic competency and high energy, translates to massive value for his clients. It has been an absolute pleasure to work with Erik over the past few years." MD Flume Digital Marketing (formerly CEO Cerebra)

Popular Talks by Erik Vermeulen

  • “There’s a Shark in the Vending Machine” – Behavioural Economics
    Behavioural Economics Strategist Erik Vermeulen uses his engaging style and unique insights into behaviour and decision-making to illustrate and explore the biases that skew our perception of the world around us. He has a 21 year consulting track record and sits on the Faculty of the Johannesburg Business School as...
  • The Adventure of Leadership
    The biggest challenge facing leaders in a post pandemic economy is not to manage balance sheets, but to manage their people and their attitudes. Uncertainty is the very essence of adventure, and at the essence of leadership is the mitigation of uncertainty and creating certainty within the context of the...
  • “The Adventure of Change” – Change, Culture, Mergers & Acquisitions
    We all know that in today’s world change is the only constant and in this keynote presentation, Erik drives home the message that business needs to be comfortable with being uncomfortable while navigating the “Change Curve”. Using 4 adventures as the backbone for the journey, Erik will take the audience...
  • “The Adventure of Teamwork” – Employee Engagement and team work
    In today’s fast-paced and interconnected world, the ability to harness the power of teamwork is more critical than ever. Erik Vermeulen, a seasoned behavioural strategist and adventurer, offers profound insights into unlocking the potential of collaborative intelligence. With a wealth of experience and a deep understanding of human dynamics, Vermeulen’s...
  • “Cordialism – How the best companies lose their flavour.” – Corporate culture, employee engagement, Brand development, customer experience
    Erik Vermeulen’s keynote presentation on the concept of “Cordialism” sheds light on how companies often lose their distinctive flavour as they grow, merge, or undergo acquisitions, primarily due to neglecting their corporate culture. Drawing from his extensive experience as a business consultant and expedition leader, Vermeulen emphasizes the crucial role...