Testimonials

"Kristel is a unique forward looking thought leader. She brings well focused insights on global issues, framed in a way that helps us see opportunities and solutions where others only see risks and challenges. Her insights are very useful inputs for corporate economists in a constantly changing context. If you are looking for unique, strategically relevant, forward looking thought leadership, Kristel is your woman."

"Kristel is naturally gifted in the art of engaging people in meaningful conversations, that get the most insight out of and into participants, who leave energized and excited. It does not surprise me a bit that she has gone on to become a global practitioner and thought leader in Scenario Planning."

"Kristel and her team trained us on the foresight framework and facilitated a scenario planning exercise for our business architecture group. Kristel was relentless in pushing the boundaries of our thinking and driving us to examine different scenarios and angles. She definitely forced us to look into that mirror!"

"Kristel’s edge in engaging and mobilizing minds in scenarios planning triggers attention from every seat in the room, bringing convergence. Very refreshing."

"Kristel Van der Elst is a remarkable leader. She has a gift for facilitating foresight processes and most of all making the work relevant to decision makers. She is a an insightful visionary."

"I worked with Kristel on a scenarios initiative to rethink our country’s strategic direction and policies amidst significantly changing market conditions for the country. Kristel allowed us to see priorities and new opportunities for the country, and that learning impacted a series of reforms. Kristel is very professional with her work and also has a great personality."

"I had an opportunity to work with Kristel on Development Scenarios for Mongolia, a joint effort between the World Economic Forum and the Mongolian Government. She skillfully engaged a broad set of stakeholders, creating tactfully constructive dialogue across those divergent views and ultimately impacting the mindsets of various policymakers and stakeholders in our country. Kristel is not only a hardworking professional but is, also, someone with a big heart, a deep devotion to what she does and an outstanding individual. I recommend her to anyone who has a big project at hand and wants to see thorough analytics and impeccable execution to a complex issue involving multistakeholders."

"I worked with Kristel on two scenario projects: on the future of the metals and mining sector, when I was Vice Chair of the World Economic Forum’s Hutagts and Mining Global Agenda Council; and on the future economic prospects of Russia, as a member of the Global Agenda Council on Russia. In both cases, Kristel built and led a stakeholder group from scratch. She skillfully encouraged and facilitated communication among public and private sector decision-makers, researchers and experts from all kinds of geographic, social, political and economic backgrounds. When participants had opposing views, she was always able to find common ground. Most importantly, both projects had impact. Rather than producing a book that nobody would read, she was dedicated to providing insights that were truly useful and relevant for strategic decisions."

"Kristel is a multi-skilled professional that has provided truly valuable input into the strategy foresight methodology. Her insights were instrumental in supporting the framework I now use in my day-to-day work. In addition, she has been an important mentor during my career, providing both technical and motivational advice."

"Kristel is always ready to bring fresh insights and innovative thinking to the table, and is adept at ‘joining the dots’ to tackle complex global risks and issues."

"Kristel has played a major role in elevating the quality and relevance of collaborative foresight through her successful direction of international multi-stakeholder scenario planning initiatives. These skills and experiences are relevant to any organisation - coalition of actors - aiming to better navigate global shifts and find new and better ways of succeeding in a more connected and unpredictable world. Kristel offers the depth of practice needed to secure real impacts."

"Kristel is a very remarkable future leader and advisor. I am especially impressed by her leadership and strategic intelligence to apprehend complex global situations. Kristel combines this with great entrepreneurial skills to make it all happen, and world-class trust-based network capabilities"

"Kristel has given a lecture on risk management for the directors of one of the largest dairies industries in the world, located in about 30 countries. It was really an eye-opener for all of them. All the directors were highly impressed by her knowledge and experience. Her know-how is highly important for all national and international companies."

"I became acquainted with Kristel's innovative work on strategic foresight in a high level workshop on the future of security Kristel facilitated at the World Economic Forum meetings in Davos in 2015. I was impressed with Kristel's ability to engage high-level decision makers in policy relevant forward-looking discussions. Kristel’s strategic mindset makes her an ideal person to work with if you are looking to define the best way forward, whether it is for your organisation’s strategic direction or your own."

"Kristel Van der Elst led an insightful training at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP). The international group of participants (including two dozen government officials and GCSP staff members) was provided with an excellent overview of various foresight tools in this well organized, highly interactive and challenging exercise. Session participants were briefed on various approaches to foresight, and then mentored through small group exercises on security policy challenges with direct relevance to their professional responsibilities. I recommend Ms Van der Elst as a trainer. Her fluency with the foresight tools and her engagement with the group were highly appreciated."

"Kristel has made a real difference in strategic dialogues with leaders of the public and private sectors, on how to deliver universal access to high quality, affordable, sustainable health services. Beyond her fantastic foresight expertise and thought leadership, she was instrumental in designing and moderating interactions, creating a space for collaborative contributions, and engaging a great diversity of experts across sectors and domains. I warmly recommend Kristel to anyone who wants to address complex, multi-factor, multicultural and cross sectorial issues."

"Great foundation in how to have true business impact with foresight. Incredible opportunity to hear stories about how people are transforming organisations with foresight and learn from experts. "

"The overall perspectives on foresight and how it can be applied in different settings and for different purposes [are] even more valuable due to the perspectives of other practitioners/participants on the programme. The knowledge and experience of Kristel and Angela are fantastic and relevant to anyone in the field."

"This programme provides a unique insight into what foresight is all about. So if you are in a management position and want to prepare for the future – RUN FOR IT. It was one of the best if not the best training I have ever attended. "

"Practical, hands-on, relevant to real-life practice. I came across three or four ideas and techniques that will be used immediately in my organisation."

"Brilliant training from top world experts Angela and Kristel with peers from around the globe. It is about building deeper learning and further expertise on methodologies and frameworks, and about learning from peers how they implement foresight in their organisations."

"The combination of instructors, participants and external speakers was truly unique."