Erik Vermeulen

Erik Vermeulen is a behavioural strategist, leadership consultant, keynote speaker, and adjunct faculty member in Behavioural Economics and Leadership at three business schools.

For over 20 years, he has helped organisations understand how people think, decide, and behave under pressure, and how leaders can turn that insight into stronger cultures, better decisions, and more consistent performance.

An accomplished adventurer and expedition leader, Erik uses adventure not as a motivational gimmick, but as a powerful metaphor for modern business. His belief is that adventure is just uncertainty with better branding, and that the same forces that shape behaviour in extreme environment also show up in organisational cultures.

Erik’s keynotes blend behavioural science, business consulting, humour, and adventure-tested insight. He helps audiences move beyond motivation into behavioural confidence: the ability to stay calm, connected, and effective when the landscape changes. He is ideal for organisations navigating change, leadership pressure, cultural transformation, customer behaviour, team performance, and uncertainty.

Booking is easy with Great British Talent. To find out availability and fees for Erik Vermeulen or any other talent for your corporate event or project, contact our Great British Talent agents via [email protected], or call us on +44 1753 439289.

Alternatively, fill out our talent enquiry form here – we’ll aim to respond within the hour. Our knowledgeable team of experts can handle all aspects of your booking to ensure it runs flawlessly.

Type Of Speaker

Business & Finance Creativity, Change & Innovation Future of Work High Performance Leadership & Teamwork Motivational Personal Development Resilience Speaker

More About Erik Vermeulen

Erik Vermeulen shows leaders and teams how to turn uncertainty in adventure by decoding human behaviour to build trust, inspire performance, and lead change that lasts.

For more than two decades, Erik has worked with leaders, teams, and organisations across Africa and internationally, helping them turn strategy into behaviour, values into culture, and pressure into performance. His work sits at the intersection of behavioural economics, leadership, culture transformation, employee engagement, and expedition-tested decision-making.

He is also adjunct faculty in Behavioural Economics and Leadership at three business schools, giving him a credible academic platform alongside a strong consulting and keynote track record.

Erik is the Managing Director of Ridgeline Consulting, the culmination of 20 years of consulting experience in behavioural strategies, engagement, people, and brand development. Led by Erik, the boutique consultancy is dedicated to exploring transformative trends and behaviours shaping the modern business landscape. They provide essential insights designed to inspire and significantly enhance organisational performance. Their strategic approach empowers companies to cultivate more profitable behaviours by meticulously scrutinising team dynamics and optimising interactions with both employees and customers.

He believes that when leaders understand the science of human behaviour and combine it with the mindset of adventure, they can build teams that trust, adapt, and perform – no matter how uncertain the landscape.

In 2024, Erik released his book Mind Vitamins: readers will discover the mind management principles used by elite performers and three months of daily motivational messages unpacked for maximum impact.

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Erik Vermeulen | Speaking Topics

– Leadership and Change
– Behavioural Economics
– Culture and Engagement
– Human Performance
– Decision Making
– Team Effectiveness
– Strategic Thinking
– Resilience and Wellbeing
– Future of Work and Uncertainty

Erik Vermeulen | Keynotes

The Adventure of Leadership: The primary challenge facing leaders in a post-pandemic economy is not solely managing balance sheets but adeptly navigating the complexities of human capital and the accelerating AI-driven revolution. Uncertainty, which embodies the essence of adventure, requires mitigation through strategic leadership to foster certainty within the business environment. This makes leadership a most compelling adventure, especially when augmented by AI.

The Adventure of Change: Adventure is just uncertainty with better branding! Erik will lead the audience on a voyage through four adventures as the foundation for the journey. He will uncover the four critical themes that are responsible for organisations’ success in leading change, managing disruption, and future proofing.

The Adventure of Teams: The capacity to harness the power of teamwork is more important than ever in the fast-paced, connected world of today. Erik provides valuable ideas for maximising collaborative intelligence. His keynote address, which draws from his extensive experience and profound comprehension of human dynamics, is a life-changing exploration of the core of productive teamwork.

The Adventure of Tomorrow: Erik presents a ground-breaking keynote that transforms the uncertainty of tomorrow’s workplace into an adventure of opportunity. Drawing from over 20 years of corporate consulting experience and countless hours leading teams through extreme environments, Erik delivers a masterclass in future-ready leadership.

Mind Vitamins: A practical keynote on mental performance, resilience, and the habits that help people thrive rather than merely survive.

Find Your 5: Join Erik on a journey back to your 5-year-old self, when curiosity and innocence of thinking ruled. Rediscover the foundations of success as this transforming talk unlocks internal potential, building an empowerment and achievement-oriented corporate culture.

Decision DNA: A renowned Behavioural Economics Strategist, Erik offers a transformative presentation that unlocks the secrets of human decision-making. This insightful talk equips sales and marketing professionals with powerful tools to understand and influence customer choices, driving business growth and success.

There’s a Shark in the Vending Machine: A high-energy behavioural economics keynote on why humans are predictably irrational, and how bias shapes customer, employee, and leadership behaviour.

Cordialism: Erik’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 emphasises the crucial role of culture in sustaining a company’s identity and success.

The Sticky Secret: The Sticky Secret2 presentation offers a fresh perspective on marketing strategy, grounded in the latest behavioural economics research. Attendees will gain valuable insights and actionable strategies to create more effective, memorable marketing campaigns that drive business growth and foster strong consumer relationships. Erik provides real-world examples and case studies from renowned brands.

Erik Vermeulen | Why Book Erik?

– A fresh perspective that connects behavioural science with real-world leadership.

– Customer-crafted keynotes built around your business context.

– Practical behavioural tools that move people from knowing to doing.

– 20+ years’ experience consulting to Africa’s top-performing teams and leaders.

– A powerful blend of adventure, humour, and research-backed insight.

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Erik Vermeulen | Clients

AIG, ALZU, AutoTrader, Beckman Coulter, BestMed, Broll, BUCO, Capricorn Group, Caterpillar, Cycle Lab, Deloitte, Efficient Group, EMV Africa, Enbaya Meters, FBNQuest, Harley Davidson, Heineken, Interbrand, Interswitch, Investec, ITEC, Liberty, Mercedes Benz, Momentum Multiply Titans, mpact, MTN, NCBA, Oracle, Outdoor Warehouse, RealNet, Roche, Safaricom, Sanlam, Standard Bank, TEDx, Thornleys, Villa, Xero.

Call +44 1753 439 289 or email Great British Speakers today to book Erik Vermeulen for your corporate event.

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Testimonials

What you created through Jump Start was powerful. You created a space where young professionals like myself could dream bigger, lead boldly, and begin to understand the kind of contribution we could make—not just in business, but in the world.
Deven Govender, AutoTrader

Erik has a super unique blend of expertise that makes him an awesome motivational speaker. He draws the crowd in with his unique storytelling and his passion to empower others. He connects with his audiences from all walks of life.
Nerine Ungerer, TiAuto

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.
Mike Stopforth, Second Rodeo

Erik and I worked together on a project for a major telecommunications company in Kenya. The process required 300 workshops for 3500 staff across the country in 4 months. To meet the clients’ objectives we were forced to work quickly, be innovative in our solutions and provide laser like focus. Erik proved to be invaluable in the process. The level of energy he brings to an engagement is unsurpassed. Erik was able to “roll with the punches” and adapt to changing requirements. Furthermore, his ability to understand the client and be sensitive to their needs was very helpful. I would happily work with Erik in the future and highly recommend him.
Prejlin Naidoo, Partner at Oliver Wyman

I got to know Erik when attending one of his seminars at the trade fair Meetings Africa in Johannesburg. Erik is an excellent speaker who knows how to keep the attention of the public without being bored. He inspires and motivates and moves you to think. The subject of the seminar I attended was “Behaviour driven corporate culture and getting out of recessionary thinking”, that turns out to be a recommendation for many of us. After his speech I had the opportunity to speak with Erik and got to know him as a pleasant, positive and enthusiastic person.
Yolanda Logt, NEXTmyle

Having worked with Erik since 2007, he is one of the best facilitators around. Where you have challenges within teams and need to optimise the working relationships, strategy formulation and implementation and effective change management, Erik uses his insights to creatively advance teams into greater effectiveness. The repeat business over the past 5 years speaks for itself.
Jenny Jardine