Heidi Kempenaers

I’d like to take this opportunity to tell you a little about me and my professional background as an international C-level leadership development coach.

My personal story

Since I was a young girl, I’ve been intrigued by the endless variety of people. At the age of six, I spent hours playing different characters, like the know-it-all, the pleaser, the happy one, mister grumpy…. By the time I was 18, I had already read the entire psychology section of the local library. I started my psychology studies with one goal: ’understanding and helping people’. With every insight I gathered, I asked myself: “How can this help me to help others?” I summarised each book on one single page. I love essentialism and efficiency.

I discovered various psychological disciplines, in Belgium and beyond, such as experimental psychology at the University of Exeter, consumer psychology in London, recruitment in India and assessments in Shanghai. I worked with a lot of leaders and top executives. I experienced first-hand how much impact a manager has on the team. While one manager lifted me up, another completely demotivated me.

At 36, I was promoted to a senior leadership position. I struggled to cope with my workload and felt insecure in my new role. The support of an external coach made all the difference. It ignited a deep desire in me to support managers as a coach, based on my own experience.

In 2010, I decided to follow my dream. I started my own business in Talent Management, and I invested strongly in upgrading my coaching skills. I’m currently following a mentorship to become a Master Certified Coach.

Today, I combine my three areas of expertise – assessment, coaching and leadership training – in one program: ‘Accelerate’. It’s my mission to coach C-level leaders and directors to accelerate their leadership growth. By translating the essence of psychology into hands on approaches to working with people, I help executives become the best manager they can be.

My professional experience

For nearly 20 years, I occupied a range of senior leadership positions mostly in leading HR consultancies. In these roles, I managed programmes in leadership development centres for 100s of leaders, with over 10,000 hours. This was the perfect springboard for me to launch my own global talent development agency in 2010.

I have over 7,000 executive coaching hours under my belt, partnering one-to-one with 100s of high-potential executives from “Fortune 500” organizations, as well as with successful entrepreneurs.

I have shaped and progressed my clients’ leadership development journeys, achieving lasting transformations that have prepared them to confidently move forward.

My international experience

My international project- and consulting work has led me to work with clients from more than 35 countries across a wide range of sectors including pharma, healthcare, biotechnology, automotive and manufacturing. I have worked in over 15 countries including China, India, South Korea, Germany, France, and the UK. I successfully led a project team that implemented all aspects of the establishment and launch of an international HR consulting firm based in Shanghai. I work in English, French, German, and Dutch.

My technical skills

My technical skillset and expertise are second-to-none, encompassing advanced degrees in psychology, teaching and psychological research methods.

I am a Professional Certified Coach (accredited by the International Coach Federation), certified in the use of leadership and psychological development instruments, a Certified NLP Master Practitioner, a Certified Virtual Trainer and hold a C2-level Certificate of Proficiency in English awarded by Cambridge University.

You will benefit from my wealth of experience in administering carefully selected leadership assessment and development tools and my HR experience from a wide variety of senior roles.

My coaching style

I am sure that my expertise will impress you, but what may really motivate you to work with me are my personal qualities.  From my very first meeting with you, I will seek to strike up a professional, stable, and trusting working relationship. I will tap into my psychological training and professional experience to work sensitively and responsively with you on career plans that will enable you to maintain a healthy work-life balance. And believe me, “I walk the talk”, as a senior manager, as a wife, as a mum of a boy and a girl now safely into their twenties, as an avid culture vulture, and as a keen dancer, runner and tennis-player.

On the personal level, countless clients of mine can testify to the effectiveness and attentiveness of my personal approach, which they describe as inspirational and motivational, yet at the same time, down-to-earth and supportive.

All this will provide a strong platform for us to explore options and firm up the details of a realistic, systematic yet flexible leadership development plan for you, leveraging your skillset to the maximum.

If you like what you see, schedule a free inspiration session by clicking on the link below.