Petra Velzeboer

Petra Velzeboer is a dynamic, entertaining, and practical speaker who is sure to bring life, laughter, and insight to your audience. A global TEDx speaker, psychotherapist, author, and CEO of mental health consultancy PVL, she brings expertise on topics that impact employees, managers, and C-suite leadership to evolve our workplaces and cultures for the new world of work.

The future of work is a hot topic that Velzeboer speaks on with passion and excitement, complementing the narratives around AI and enhancing this debate by bringing people to the forefront! With a new angle on wellbeing, her focus on mental health and resilience in a world of change challenges "bubble bath wellbeing" and instead focuses on positive psychology, elite performance, and creating dynamic teams that you will retain as they grow and evolve together - creating a future of work that is good for our health and sustainable for long term success.

Speaking on global stages, she sees the challenges that exist across Europe, the UK, the USA, the Middle East, and Asia, including rising statistics of burnout, anxiety, depression, addiction, and suicide. These are only part of the issues facing the workplace as they tackle an economic downturn, long-term absence, employee health challenges, and attrition and retention as they experiment with a hybrid office – struggling to enhance belonging and connection.

Leaders are worried about asking the wrong questions, so they say nothing at all, secretly struggling to manage their workload and mental health in the process. Velzeboer offers practical answers to these questions, giving leaders skills they can utilize today to help them lead by example in modeling healthy behaviors, showing vulnerability, and offering inspiration and motivation to their people to enable them to thrive.

Velzeboer is the author of "Begin with You," a practical guide to thriving in adversity and challenging toxicity, groupthink, and cult behaviors in a desperate world that demands change.

Her inspiration and motivation come from her unique and compelling story, which she tells with vulnerability, authenticity, and dynamic challenge to her audiences worldwide. Born and raised in a notorious cult, she knows first-hand what a toxic culture feels like and what it takes to build resilience and take responsibility for good mental health. When she finally left the cult, she spiraled into addiction, depression, and anxiety leaving her a desperate suicidal mother of two young children. Hitting several crash points, she finally decided to let go of her victim mindset and begin to build a life that was worth living.

Working with the likes of PwC, Herbert Smith Freehills, Channel 4, Monzo Bank, Novartis, Accenture, Avanade, Eagle Eye, Financial Ombusman, and Havas Lynx group - she translates her story into solutions for teams today including challenging the masks we wear, promoting bravery and building elite teams that can navigate any challenge together.