About KDVI

“The primary challenge of organisational leadership ​is to create places to work that give people meaning, where they can feel truly alive and perform to their very best.”

Manfred F. R. Kets de Vries

Manfred Kets de Vries smiling

We live in an age of unrelenting change. If change is to be a positive force in organisations, we need more trust, candid feedback, and empathy in order to constructively adapt and find better solutions. We believe this makes a leader’s ability to be vulnerable and authentic crucial.

We’re here to develop reflective leaders who change the world, recognising that leaders have an extraordinary ability to impact those around them. We help design human-centred workplaces, engage in courageous conversations and develop and inspire reflective, emotionally intelligent leaders. Through our work, we aim to foster trust and hope for the future.

Our history

From classroom to boardroom

In 1971, multi award-winning Professor Manfred Kets de Vries began working at INSEAD, ultimately launching pioneering programmes the Challenge of Leadership as well as the Executive Master’s Programme in Change. The courses were based on his research exploring the interface between management theory, psychoanalysis, psychotherapy, evolutionary psychology and executive coaching.

Looking to bridge the gap between academia and business, Manfred and Elisabet Engellau founded the Kets de Vries Institute in 2010.

1971

Insead

Manfred Kets de Vries begins work at INSEAD

1984

The Neurotic Organisation is published

The Neurotic Organisation is published, exploring the hidden side of organisations and leaders. Excerpts appear in The Economist and The Washington Post

1991

Challenge of Leadership launches

Manfred develops and launches the Challenge of Leadership at INSEAD, which has run for over 31 years

2003

Global Leadership Centre founded

Manfred establishes the INSEAD Global Leadership Centre, focused on leadership group coaching.

2007

First 360° feedback tools developed

Manfred and team develop their first 360° feedback tools at leader, team and organisational level

2009

Sex, Money, Happiness and Death is published

Sex, Money, Happiness and Death is published. Manfred’s books are translated into more than 30 languages

2010

Manfred and Elisabet Engellau found KDVI

KDVI founded to offer customised leadership, organisational transformation and executive coaching programmes.

2012

Oriane Kets de Vries is appointed managing director

Oriane Kets de Vries is appointed managing director

2013

Offerings expanded

We expand our offerings to include professional development programmes for coaches

2020

Development of more agile and virtual programmes

The pandemic prompts the development of more agile and virtual programmes, including Leadership Reflection Circles

2021

360° tools upgraded

We expand and upgrade our 360° feedback tools

2023

The Leadership Mystique launches in London

The Leadership Mystique launches in London

Our global team

A trusted community of highly experienced coaches

Bringing insights from a diverse range of industries alongside a deep appreciation of culture differences, we’re able to select the talent and tools that are right for each of our clients from our pool of exceptional people across the globe.

The combined business, behavioural science and real-world experience of our community enables us to provide high levels of creativity and agility in addressing leadership and organisational challenges, no matter where clients are in the world.

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World map

Margot Schumacher:

Senior Associate at KDVI, Adjunct Professor of Leadership Development at TIAS Business School, and executive coach at INSEAD. Margot has coached senior leaders across global organisations following senior roles at Unilever and Kraft Heinz. Since 2010, she has advised multinationals on leadership and organisational development, with a focus on enhancing effectiveness at the top team and board levels. She also serves on the Supervisory Board of Thales Netherlands. Her global perspective is shaped by living and working in Shanghai, Pittsburgh, and London before returning to the Netherlands

Oriane Kets de Vries:

Oriane Kets de Vries is CEO and owner of the Kets de Vries Institute. She leads a global team of coaches, consultants and educators dedicated to developing reflective, emotionally intelligent leaders and cultivating workplaces where people can thrive. In her faculty role, she draws on extensive experience designing and directing leadership programmes for senior executives, contributing her expertise in psychodynamic coaching, organisational culture, and transformational leadership development.

Oriane has served as consultant, coach, and programme director for clients including Pictet, Deutsche Bank, Merck, UBS, Mishcon de Reya, and Engie, and she has taught on open-enrolment programmes with leading institutions such as Cambridge Judge Business School, Oxford Saïd, INSEAD, ESCP, ESMT and CEDEP. Her interests centre on the human side of leadership, particularly identity, creativity, entrepreneurship and gender dynamics. She holds an MBA and Executive MA in Coaching and Consulting for Change from INSEAD, has trained at the Harvard Kennedy School, and brings more than a decade of professional experience in creative and entrepreneurial industries into her work with leaders.

Manfred Kets de Vries:

Manfred Kets de Vries is a pioneering authority in leadership development, coaching, and organisational change. He is a founder and director of the Kets de Vries Institute (KDVI) and served as Distinguished Clinical Professor of Leadership Development and Organisational Change at INSEAD. With academic credentials in economics (University of Amsterdam), management (MBA and DBA, Harvard Business School), and psychoanalysis (trained in Canada), he brings a uniquely interdisciplinary perspective to leadership. His work bridges management theory and clinical insight, establishing him as a global thought leader in executive coaching and transformation. At INSEAD, he founded the Global Leadership Centre and led the flagship programme The Challenge of Leadership for 31 years. He also served as scientific director of Coaching and Consulting for Change, an 18-month Executive Master’s programme that has shaped over 3,000 senior leaders and executive coaches worldwide. He has advised and coached senior executives at global firms including Goldman Sachs, BP, Shell, Unilever, McKinsey, and Volvo. A prolific author of over 60 books and 400 articles, his work appears regularly in The Financial Times, The Economist, and Harvard Business Review. Recognised by Le Capital, Wirtschaftswoche, and The Financial Times as one of the world’s top 50 management thinkers, he is widely regarded for advancing more human-centred approaches to leadership.

Yulia Chupina:

Senior Adviser (Luminary) at Accenture and executive coach with over 12 years of board experience. Formerly a banker and McKinsey consultant, Yulia has led banking transformations in digital, agile, organisational change, and talent development. Her coaching spans the finance, tech, and consumer goods sectors, blending technological insight with emotional intelligence to guide leaders through transformation. Recently, she advised BBVA on agile methodologies and senior talent development. Influenced by thought leaders such as Manfred Kets de Vries and Gabor Maté, Yulia brings an analytical, reflective approach to leadership. She has lived and worked across the UK, Spain, the US, and Russia.

Elizabeth Florent:

Elizabeth has worked closely with Manfred Kets de Vries for many years and has served as a Senior Lecturer and Research Fellow at INSEAD. Her extensive background in leadership development spans organisational consulting, executive coaching, and academic research. She holds advanced degrees in Organisational Development and Clinical Organisational Psychology and is a certified Coaching Supervisor through the Tavistock Institute. Her doctoral research explored experiential domains in executive education, and she has authored or co-authored numerous academic articles, case studies, and books on leadership and organisational dynamics. Elizabeth led the development teams behind KDVI’s diagnostic instruments, including the GELM, OCA™, and ITI. Drawing on her diverse training and global experience, she brings deep cross-cultural insight to her work with leaders worldwide. Originally from California, Elizabeth has made France her home for over 30 years.