Stefaan van Hooydonk

Unleash curiosity's power in your workplace with Stefaan van Hooydonk, renowned speaker and author of The Workplace Curiosity Manifesto. Let him guide your team to peak performance!

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13 Client reviews

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We supported our client in organizing their customer event in Finland, where we booked Stefaan as the keynote speaker on the theme of curiosity. He succeeded in captivating the entire audience by actively engaging participants and igniting curiosity throughout his talk. The session received excellent feedback from both the client and the participants. Many highlighted that they left with valuable ideas for developing their own organizations. I can warmly recommend Stefaan as an inspiring and impactful keynote speaker.

Toni Perez

Managing Director, OSG Communications

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+1 347 223 5128 +44 20 3744 5675

Why you should book Stefaan van Hooydonk for your next event

Unleash Organizational Curiosity: Stefaan’s keynotes empower teams to foster intentional curiosity, creating an environment where individuals and organizations thrive, innovate, and achieve unparalleled success.
Global Expertise, Local Impact: Benefit from Stefaan's global experience with Fortune 200 companies. His proven track record spans continents, offering a nuanced understanding of diverse corporate cultures and challenges for immediate applicability.
Founder & Author Advantage: As founder of the Global Curiosity Institute and author of 'The Workplace Curiosity Manifesto,' Stefaan brings a unique blend of visionary thinking and practical tools to propel your organization forward.

Non-binding request for Stefaan van Hooydonk

Mastering Workplace Curiosity for Organizational Triumph

Unlock organizational excellence with Stefaan van Hooydonk, a global curiosity expert. Discover how intentional curiosity transforms teams and drives success. As founder of the Global Curiosity Institute and author of 'The Workplace Curiosity Manifesto,' Stefaan's insights, shaped by Fortune 200 experience, propel individuals and corporations to thrive. Elevate your team's potential, book Stefaan to cultivate a robust curiosity muscle and navigate dynamic business landscapes. Embrace curiosity, drive results!

Stefaan is not just a keynote speaker; he is a catalyst for transformative change. In the realm of workplace curiosity, he excels. Imagine your team operating in an environment where curiosity isn't just encouraged; it's a driving force. Stefaan's expertise lies in crafting these environments, where curiosity isn't just a trait but a muscle actively flexed for innovation and resilience.

When you book Stefaan van Hooydonk for your event, you're tapping into a wealth of knowledge and experience. His motivational talks transcend conventional wisdom, delving into the intricacies of intentional curiosity. In times of uncertainty, Stefaan believes that fostering curiosity is not just advantageous, it's essential.

Stefaan's approach goes beyond theory; he brings practical tools to the table. His diagnostics, honed through years of research, pinpoint what propels or hinders curiosity within individuals and organizations. This isn't a generic keynote; it's a tailored experience that equips your team with actionable strategies for success.

As the founder of the Global Curiosity Institute and the author of the bestselling book, 'The Workplace Curiosity Manifesto,' Stefaan is a luminary in the field. His impact extends globally, having held executive roles in Fortune 200 companies across various continents.

By booking Stefaan van Hooydonk, you're not just securing a speaker; you're investing in a journey towards organizational excellence. Stefaan's dynamic presence, rooted in his experience as Chief Learning Officer for major corporations, ensures that his keynotes resonate with professionals, leaders, and teams. Engage Stefaan for your event, and let curiosity lead the way to transformative growth and unparalleled achievements.

Photo: Emma Pollard

Customer Reviews

Toni Perez Managing Director, OSG Communications

I wanted to express my gratitude for the keynote session you led for us last week. The topic of curiosity, and how fostering a curious culture can enhance customer service, resonated deeply with us as retailers. I particularly enjoyed the interactions you had with the participants and the lively activity in the chat function. Your delivery style was a great fit for us; everyone appreciated the humor alongside the clear messaging and the quotes you used to reinforce those messages. The phrase "is your learning keeping up with the pace of change?" has been circulating beyond the immediate audience. Additionally, the personalised curiosity reports have proven to be extremely valuable, with many finding the information within them illuminating. We are very pleased that we secured you for our keynote, and it was a pleasure to work with you.

Bob Pearce ASWG - Group Leadership Development Director

Stefaan van Hooydonk your whole workshop has been the highlight of my day. Many new inspirations will follow. Hope to meet you again and in person.

Simone Mastroianni R&D and Team Coach, Leadership Trainer, MastroCoaching

Stefaan’s session at a full-day hybrid conference got the most attention in live online chat and breakout rooms, was the most engaging with both an in-person and live online audience and he was able to adapt his delivery for both audiences and work with the team in the moment to make the most of the hybrid event. His content and delivery are motivating and fascinating, and I look forward to working with him in the future.

Jo Cook, Founder Lightbulb Moment Limited

Super thanks for a truly inspiring, enriching, and thought-provoking session!

Rita Vanhauwenhuyse Vice President - Executive Networks

Amazing presentation. Genuinely got me out of my “comfort zone”. Congrats for this very interesting event Speexx!

Christiana Plymenou HR Manager, Pollfish

Stefaan has proven an excellent speaker choice at the events I chair. He is clearly deeply knowledgeable about workplace curiosity and is able to share his expertise in an engaging way with his audience. He backs this up with his global experience as a Chief Learning Officer in large corporations, which provides real gravitas and credibility. There's no doubt that Stefaan is providing leading thinking and practice in this field and I have no hesitation in recommending him.

Donald H. Taylor Chair of London Technology Conference

We have invited Stefaan for multiple client events and each time the participants strengthened their muscles to be curious, gained new insights and walked away with a lot of inspiration to make the world more curious. And that’s exactly what we need at this moment in time.

Camiel Gielkens CEO Schouten & Nelissen Group

Stefaan’s opening session at the ATD inaugural Kuwait conference was a great value-add to our conference, and top-rated by the audience. I look forward to collaborating with him for ATD’s future projects.

Hoda Nagah Head of Global Programming - ATD

Thank you Stefaan for your inspirational story and providing us with a lot of insights and letting us challenge our own curiosity. It was an energetic start for a great day for our team!

Joyce Beerens HR Business Partner - Stamicarbon

Your session was the most insightful at the London Learning Technologies 2022 Conference.

Saurav Jaiswal Founder and Managing Director - InnosTrat Technologies

We asked Stefaan for our GoodHabitz event about workplace curiosity as we thought he would be the perfect fit for HR and L&D professionals. And we were completely right! Our audience was inspired by Stefaan’s insights, triggered by his questions, and went home with brand new ideas on how to motivate colleagues to stay curious and to keep learning. We would definitely recommend Stefaan for any future events.

Loes Jacobs Field Marketer - GoodHabitz

Thank you for your great talk at our Speexx Exchange. As many of my colleagues will testify, I can be quite critical and demanding when it comes to trainers/coaches/hosts/speakers, and so it’s only fair that I also voice my appreciation when I see a talk that is brilliantly delivered. You had me hooked after two minutes, and I was sad when the 90 minutes were over. Thank you very much for that!

Tim Darling Senior Learning & Development Manager Speexx

Keynotes

Keynote by Stefaan van Hooydonk:

Curiosity: The Key Ingredient for Creating a Winning Culture

Research has shown that forward-looking curious companies are more innovative and competitive vs. their peers. In this keynote we explore how c-suites can influence their organizations by embracing the power of curiosity.

Every person is born with a healthy dose of curiosity. Some people can maintain this level through adulthood, many however see its original strength diminish over time. The reason why curiosity decreases as we grow older is because we become fixed in our ways of thinking and our routines; we stop asking important questions of our customers, our colleagues and ourselves.

The same happens with start-ups. Early start-ups have a high predisposition to exploration, only to see that this mindset deteriorates once the company expands. The company starts to focus on efficiency, it conforms to rigid standards, and thus finds it harder to learn from mistakes.

It does not have to be this way. Curiosity is like a muscle. With intentional focus we can grow our curiosity and capacity to rise above ourselves as individuals and professionals. Research has shown that curious professionals make more money and progress faster through their career, are happier in life, and are also better at maintaining relationships. They also learn faster, are more open to change and benefit from a deeper self-awareness. They ask deeper, better, and more questions and are, overall, more successful. They are more productive and see more results.

In this interactive session, we will explore what we know about curiosity, why it is important in our professional life, and reflect on strategies to get better at it.

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Keynote by Stefaan van Hooydonk:

Curiosity in the Age of AI: Why Efficiency Alone Is No Longer Enough

AI is accelerating everything: decisions, processes, insights, and expectations. Organisations are becoming faster, more efficient, and increasingly automated.

And yet, this acceleration introduces a subtle but serious risk.

The greatest misconception about AI is not that it will replace us, but that it may slowly untrain us — from thinking, doubting, and wandering beyond the obvious. As reliance on AI grows, we risk confusing efficiency with direction, speed with meaning, and comfort with development.

Curiosity is a powerful antidote. It helps us resist extremes, consider multiple perspectives, and stay open when answers arrive too quickly. Curiosity thrives in friction, slowness, and the discomfort of not knowing — precisely the conditions AI tends to remove.

In this talk, we will explore the ins and outs of curiosity, how AI changes the role of curiosity, why efficiency can quietly erode judgment, and how leaders and HR can intentionally strengthen curiosity as a human capability for sense-making, balance, and better questions in an automated world.

In this session, we explore curiosity beyond the obvious — not as a mindset or a value, but as a human capability that becomes increasingly critical as AI accelerates and efficiency takes over.

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Keynote by Stefaan van Hooydonk:

From Change to Curiosity: How Language & Curiosity Shape Engagement

Change is everywhere: strategic shifts, new technologies, reorganisations, new expectations. And yet, despite decades of change management, many change initiatives still fail or stall.

One reason is often overlooked: change demands curiosity before it demands action. Under pressure, individuals and organisations tend to close down rather than open up. We move quickly to solutions, defend assumptions, and cling to what feels familiar. Language reinforces this. When change is framed as transformation projects, people often experience it as something decided elsewhere and imposed top-down.

Curiosity changes the experience of change. When change is framed as a curiosity project, it invites participation rather than compliance. Knowledge plays a critical role: when people don’t know what is coming, they become defensive; when they are informed, they can start to wonder. Curiosity helps people lean in rather than pull back.

In this session, we explore why curiosity is the hidden precondition for successful change, why it is so hard to sustain under pressure, and how leaders and HR can intentionally use curiosity — through language, transparency, and design — to make change more human, adaptive, and durable.

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Keynote by Stefaan van Hooydonk:

Curiosity: The Ultimate Leadership Capability

The shadow a leader casts on their team matters more than most leaders realise. Curious leaders expand energy, learning, and ownership. Incurious leaders narrow thinking, reduce engagement, and quietly suppress performance.

Leadership is not only about direction or execution. It is about shaping the conditions under which people think, speak up, and grow. Leaders are constant role models in this process. Their curiosity — or lack of it — signals what is safe to question, explore, and challenge.

Leaders who lack curiosity may still deliver short-term results, but often at the cost of psychological safety, adaptability, and long-term performance. Curious leaders, by contrast, are able to operationalise the present while securing the future. They show curiosity about the world around them, the people they lead, and their own assumptions and blind spots.

In this session, we explore what we know about curiosity, where it thrives and breaks down, and how leaders can intentionally strengthen it as role models for their teams.

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Stefaan van Hooydonk Speakerreel

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Learning technologies conference 2022 Stefaan van Hooydonk

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getAbstract | Expert Webinar I Stefaan van Hooydonk - The Power of Curiosity

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Blog posts by Stefaan van Hooydonk

The business case for curiosity

Imagine a world where it is acknowledged that unknown unknowns are the primary triggers of economic and social change, where literally everything is recognized to be an “accident” (in the statistical sense of having a finite probability of occurring). In the unknown, it hard to be well-prepared for

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