Dr. André Vermeulen is a founding member and CEO of Neuro-Link, a boutique consultancy specializing in the neuroscience of workplace learning. Brain-based learning and development, which over years has evolved into neuro-agility, has been his interest and passion for more than 27 years.
André has keynoted numerous prestigious international conferences on neuroscience related topics in countries like:
His unique NAP™ brain profile assessments and learning solutions help businesses drive performance forward, create agile organizations and obtain extraordinary business results.
André is the architect, developer and owner of the entrepreneurial neuroscience business partnering system of Neuro-Link, which creates business opportunities for hundreds of business entrepreneurs worldwide and adds value to thousands of people’s lives.
Dr. André Vermeulen is the founding member and CEO of Neuro-Link, a boutique consultancy utilizing applied neuroscience to help people and organizations drive business results. As an internationally recognized thought leader in the neuroscience of learning and neuro-agility, Dr. Vermeulen brings more than 27 years’ experience in helping people and organizations develop talent, increase their performance and reduce risk for human error.
Developing people makes his heart sing. Helping captains of industry and coaches move performance forward in order to achieve results and out-think, out-learn, out-create and out-perform their competition, is his passion.
André is a business innovator who has developed and patented various neuroscience assessments and applied neuroscience learning solutions that are used by adults, and children in education, business and sports across the globe. This is illustrated in coining the construct of neuro-agility and the unique Neuro-Agility Profile™ that he has developed. This brain profile assessment is a neuroscientific, multi-dimensional assessment that identifies 6 drivers that optimize brain performance and 7 factors that make up a person’s neurological design. It is the most comprehensive brain profile assessment of its kind, as it assesses all the primary factors that influence brain performance and neuro-flexibility. There are different NAP’s™ for different age groups. Under his supervision, Neuro-Link has become an international organization with business partners and practitioners across the world, empowering thousands to optimize their brain performance and increase their neuro-agility.
André has gained stature and credibility as an international motivational trainer and speaker in the field of brain-based learning and development, which evolved into the neuroscience of learning. He has keynoted more than 50 international conferences. For more than 19 years, he has contributed on numerous prestigious platforms like TEDx, and the International ATD Conference and Exposition since 2000. Evaluations at ATD in past years place him in the top 5% of world-class presenters. André is a sought-after speaker frequently voted “best of the conference”, known to engage, educate and entertain.
Dr. André Vermeulen is an educator and University of Pretoria graduate. He has obtained his Masters Degree and Ph.D. from Therapon University in the discipline of Interdisciplinary Studies. André is part of the Neuroscience Research Group of the University of Pretoria and a part-time lecturer in applied neuroscience concepts like neuro-agility and neurological design. His book Tick Tock This Makes Your Brain Rock has been prescribed to physiology students and his work on determining the drivers that optimize brain performance and how it impacts a person’s neurodesign forms part of the Honors students curriculum. He has a collaborative academic agreement with the University of Pretoria to offer his work on neuro-agility as a certificate in Higher Neuroscience Coaching. As part of the Neuroscience Group, Dr. Vermeulen in collaboration with Professor Peet du Toit, head of the Neuroscience Group, developed a three-phase, neuroscience coaching course that can be done through the Center for Continued Education at the University of Pretoria (CE@UP).
André has published more than 43 leading articles on the development implications of the brain and neuro-agility in magazines and newspapers in Taiwan, Japan, UK, USA, Dubai, Germany, South Africa, and Costa Rica, such as Oprah, Management Today, Productivity, HR Future, Rugby News and People Dynamics. He is considered one of the most recognized authorities on the learning and developmental implications of the brain in the world.
He has also done courses and learned from world-class scholars such as Dr. Carla Hannaford, Dr. Ian Weinberg, Ned Herrmann, Daniël Goleman, Ruben Baron, Ken Blanchard, Tom Peters, Edward de Bono, John Maxwell, Rudi Guillianni, Daniel Pink, Sir Ken Robinson, Dr. David Rock, Prof. John Kotter and Jim Collins.
Dr. Andrè has been an executive coach to Kings & Queens of Africa and captains of industry, mental coach to beauty pageants like Miss Modern Women and Miss South Africa and sports icons. He is a regular guest on many radio and television talk shows around the globe and hosts his own television program called “Breinkrag”.
Furthermore, he has been included and recognized as an Honored Member in Stanford Who’s Who “Black Book” as a result of his outstanding professional career. He has also been recognized by Golden Key International as an Honorary Member and Keynote speaker. André has routinely displayed the passion, vision and dedication necessary to be considered among the best in the field of the neuroscience of learning and development industry.
Dr. André Vermeulen has coined the construct of neuro-agility as the fundamental point of departure to developing neuro agile people who can learn, think and process information with ease, speed and mental flexibility. Subsequently, he has developed several unique neuroscience assessments and learning solutions to help people and organizations move their performance forward. These assessments are new neuroscience innovations that are registered as Neuro-Agility Profiles™ (NAP™). This neuroscience innovation is used in talent selection, talent development, performance improvement, increasing engagement, reducing risk for human error, developing agile learners and leaders and creating cultures of learning initiatives.
He has conceptualized a framework for the construct of neuro-agility consisting of the drivers that optimize brain performance and the factors that impact a person’s neurological design. Neuro-agility as a construct and its framework has never been included in any personality assessment yet. Until now, there has not been sufficient research done regarding the neurophysiology of personality, but most importantly, there has not been sufficient research regarding the thinking, learning and development implications of the neurophysiological components of personality. Anchoring personality and behavioral assessments and approaches into the hard sciences like neurophysiology, genetics, chemistry etc. increases its accuracy and validity further.
The NAP™ assessment that Dr. André Vermeulen developed, fills a gap in the talent development and performance improvement industry. He is the only expert in terms of linking neurological design to behavior and personalities through this new innovation he has developed.
Until now there has not been a more comprehensive assessment to illustrate the neurophysiological aspects of personality. Except for Dr. Vermeulen’s assessments, there is not an assessment that exists in today’s market that can accurately measure, in such a holistic manner, the drivers that optimize brain performance and the neurophysiological components that increases people’s mental flexibility to be agile thinkers and learners. This drivers that optimize brain performance are crucial to helping people increase the ease and speed with which they think, learn and processes information, but also improve their brain health and mental performance. More importantly, is the fact that these drivers will influence people’s neurodesign and particularly how they process information and their risk for human error profoundly.
A very unique aspect of the drivers that optimize performance is brain agility. Although the term has very popularly been used, scientific conceptualization of what the concept entails and the neurophysiological mechanisms that determine people’s brain agility has never been formulated in such a scientific/academic manner. The novel conceptualization of this driver and the impact it has on mental performance has never been included in personality assessments or performance improvement assessments and solutions.
The second leg of the neuro-agility framework that also lacks existence in the market, is the 7 factors that impact a people’s neurological design (referred to as neurodesign). Again, conceptualizing this novel concept and the mechanisms that determine a person’s neurological design brings a complete new perspective to the neurophysiological aspects of personality and understanding people, potential and performance optimization. These elements have never been included in any personality assessment in such a comprehensive way. Therefore, what makes this part of the neuro-agility framework immensely valuable is that it helps to accurately determine people’s learning potential, which plays a crucial role in potential identification, talent selection and talent development. It also forms the core of components that enable people to have mental flexibility in thinking and learning. This assessment is a powerful tool in the hands of people development professionals in various fields like education, learning, talent selection, talent development, performance improvement, workplace engagement, happiness and wellness.
A very important aspect of the instrument that Dr. Vermeulen has developed, that forms part of people’s neurodesign, is how the combination of dominant brain hemisphere, eye, ear and hand may lead to people experiencing neurological hindrances during stress and fatigue and may lead to an increase in human error, incidents, accidents and even fatalities in the workplace. This aspect of identifying potential for human error and how to reduce it, is groundbreaking for any industry where people are doing dangerous jobs, operating dangerous machinery, vehicles or tools. It will significantly contribute to saving lives, optimize performance, and increase productivity. This concept is already being received with accolades in industries like defense, mining, manufacturing and oil and gas
In summary, the concepts and approaches in the NAP™ that Dr. André Vermeulen has developed and pioneered, that can’t be found in other psychometrical instruments, are as follows:
