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Daphne Laan

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Daphne Laan, een spreker van Speakers for Good, in een zaal.
01. About Daphne

Making the unthinkable possible

Daphne Laan is a bridge builder and (experiential) expert on feminine leadership

During her trip around the world, Daphne read the book ‘The Google Story’, and one sentence in particular stayed with her: ‘To make the unthinkable possible’. After some time, she started at Google Netherlands as Head of Technology, dealing with large global clients, deal-making and ecosystem development.

After some time, she felt the need to experiment. She starts acting on her own values in this business context, feminine leadership. She fearlessly follows her heart. This opens doors she never thought possible. It set in motion a chain of adventures, inside and outside Google.

Freedom in thinking, doing, and feeling has become my personal mission and I want others to experience that too. I want to show them the power of sailing your own course, driven by personal values.”

She started a Masters in Executive Coaching, became Leader for Women@Google, spoke on leadership, and hosted several major events such as Think with Google. The film DOWN to EARTH was released internationally under her leadership as Managing Director and has now been viewed over 2 million times. She now has over 20 years of leadership and business development experience at the nexus of technology, media, creativity, and social impact.

With Sonja Wekema, whom she met when they sat together on the Education Committee of the Free University for Executive Coaching, they founded ‘The Board Whisperers’ and helped founders, CEO boards and executive teams flourish by turning their most pressing challenges, vision, or strategy into inspiring action.

From House of Wonder, she is currently developing a user-owned open learning platform with the Founders of Think-It. A fixed portion of the proceeds go to impact projects. Everything Daphne does supports her mission; to bring freedom of thought, action and feeling.

Daphne Laan is a bridge builder and (experiential) expert on feminine leadership During her trip around the world, Daphne read the book ‘The Google Story’, and one sentence in particular stayed with her: ‘To make the unthinkable possible’. After some time, she started at Google Netherlands as Head of Technology, dealing with large global clients, deal-making and ecosystem development. After some time, she felt the need View more…

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02. Purpose

"By working together as a network, we can help even more organizations translate their vision into inspired action"

Daphne - Purpose

"With human tech, we can give people worldwide perspective as well as regenerate the earth"

Daphne Laan

Daphne fuels the fire of change in CEOs, founders and leaders of the future and helps them make more impact through collaboration.

Freedom of thought, action and feeling has become my personal mission and I want others to experience that too. I want to show them the power of sailing your own course, driven by personal values. “Daphne Laan, realized that this was not only about her, but about representing something bigger than herself; representing other voices that also want to be heard, in the boardroom. This is how The Board Whisperers was born, and as far as she is concerned, it may grow.

“It is a fine model, so we are happy to open the door to new board whisperers. By working together as a network, we can help even more organizations translate their vision into inspired action.” 

Among other things, she focused on supporting founders who had created a legacy with their company from a larger concept. They wanted to grow, but no longer saw themselves at the helm. By now, founders with larger concepts knew how to find her from YouBeDo, which made the transition to Steward Ownership to Dr Scilla Elworthy, who has been nominated three times for the Nobel Peace Prize.

“I help founders distance themselves and restructure teams, by creating an ecosystem so strong that knowledge and the founder’s thinking remain intact and deeply embedded.”

Daphne’s constant ability to tie together knowledge, capabilities, people, and technology was also evident in one of her other initiatives, House of Wonder, her creative outlet.  Among other things, she launched the film DOWN to EARTH worldwide and organized the event ‘Building Bridges, Connecting Worlds’ at Soestdijk Palace.

Later, on the dance floor at a conference in Barcelona, she met the CEO of Think-iT, a software company for sustainable solutions, with whom she appeared to share her love of building ecosystems.

They are now pioneering and developing the user-owned global learning platform, Planetir. They work with a hybrid team in Germany, Tunis, Sri Lanka, the Netherlands, and Portugal. “We are the ecosystem. Instead of talking about the future of work, we are shaping it.

Together, as Founding Partners, they are developing a user-owned open learning platform that allows people from all over the world to access digital learning. This allows people to learn both IT skills and human skills that they would otherwise not have had access to and work hybrid for great organizations. It eliminates the need for them to migrate. Many do not have the opportunities and resources to do that. A fixed portion of the fees from the trainers goes to various planetary, human and equality projects. Win-win!

“We believe that technology can help people develop their potential as well as help those projects that regenerate the planet. We do this by bringing together an ecosystem of partners, where tech provides connection.”

Daphne sees opportunities, possibilities, and connections everywhere. She discovered years ago that by following her heart that ‘there was nothing behind fear ‘. This is still at the heart of everything she does and the message she conveys on stage.

Book Daphne as a speaker?

Would you like to book Daphne Laan as a speaker or chairperson for your event? Ask about the possibilities and her availability.

03. USPs

Why do you want Daphne to speak at your event?

1. Lead by example

Daphne has experienced what it is like to choose a new direction. She is shaping the new economy herself with her companies and her various projects. For example, she is working with a number of founding partners to launch a user-owned learning platform, where everything learned can contribute to a regenerative project.

2. Head and heart

Daphne thinks about the big picture, always making the connection between head and heart. Solutions to big challenges – such as climate – will emerge when creativity from people with different backgrounds and perspectives are brought together.

3. Connecting

Between today’s leaders and tomorrow’s leaders. Masculine and feminine values. Thinking and feeling. Facts and intuition. Daphne brings experience from corporates to scale-ups and impact companies. She connects worlds that are seemingly unconnected.

4. Positive energy

Participants step out with a good dose of positivity and energy and look forward to taking on challenges with renewed creativity and fun.

5. Universal

Tech platforms, large corporates, or impact makers. Pioneers or established companies looking for new business models. Founders or committed shareholders. Daphne shows those who are open to it can achieve their goals by going off the beaten track.

  • 1. Lead by example

  • 2. Head and heart

  • 3. Connecting

  • 4. Positive energy

  • 5. Universal

4. Keynotes

Here, Daphne talks about

Would you like to book Daphne Laan as a (keynote) speaker for a conference, lecture or event? Here you will find a selection of her keynotes.

A session with Daphne is always interactive and afterwards your audience will be ready to make an impact.

Making the unthinkable possible

Always go for the unfeasible option. ‘Option 4’. This will help you grow and make an impact.  Bring your whole personality to the workplace; your unexpected side is your strength. Don’t work harder, work from pleasure and transparency.

The Future of Work: We are the ecosystem

How do you use technology to shape the Future of Work? That is the question Daphne, and several Founding Partners are visibly considering, artificial intelligence meets heart intelligence.

An Equation for Making Things Happen

How to get things moving (how to get people to take action, creating good corporate culture, good strategy)

Female leadership

What happens when you follow your heart in a business context: a daring experiment at Google

The Festival Track

Theatre performance with a musician or light artist. From silence, to story, to music and light art.

Create Space - Invite Magic

As a board whisperer she connects leaders with practice & purpose and creates space to look at the world with fresh eyes and in which new opportunities will emerge.

  • Making the unthinkable possible

  • The Future of Work: We are the ecosystem

  • An Equation for Making Things Happen

  • Female leadership

  • The Festival Track

  • Create Space - Invite Magic

05. For Good Interview

Five questions for
Daphne Laan

For Good: What does that mean to you?

“I know from my family background that living in freedom cannot be taken for granted. My grandfather was taken prisoner of war when he was in the KNIL. Many people are still not free, and I think that if you do have that freedom, you have a responsibility to do something good with it.

What is good is very personal for everyone. I want to make people aware of that, make them think about it. Freedom of thought, action and feeling has become my personal mission and I want others to experience that too. I want to show them the power of sailing your own course, driven by personal values.”

Walk the talk: how are you of value?

“At a certain point in my life, I thought: ‘my goodness, if I am afraid to speak out with my privileges, what does that mean for others in organizations, who are stuck in the hierarchy and not heard?’ By raising my voice, I hope to evoke recognition in people and show that positive change is possible, if you are guided by your own intuition and values.”

Who is your great role model or inspiration?

“It’s not about one person, we can all be impactful if we want to be. But if I have to name someone, I’d name my six-year-old daughter. When I see how confident, pure, and open-minded she is in life, we can all learn something from that. Children can still really wonder and see no limits; we only impose them on ourselves later.”

What makes you typically Daphne?

“I speak out, but I keep it light-hearted and cheerful. No heavy stuff and doomsday scenarios, but hopeful stories full of energy, lightness, and fun. That’s the way I tackle challenges and also the way I want to inspire others.”

What can the audience expect from you?

“I create space for possibilities in thinking, from positivity and show that pigeonholes we like to think in can best be stretched, so that something new is created.”

  • For Good: What does that mean to you?

  • Walk the talk: how are you of value?

  • Who is your great role model or inspiration?

  • What makes you typically Daphne?

  • What can the audience expect from you?

06. Media
  • Daphne Laan - Media 2
  • 'Back to my roots'
    Speakers for Good TET Event 2024
  • Daphne Laan - Media 3
  • Daphne Laan - Media 4
  • 'My heart is my art'
    Speakers for Good TET Event 2024
07. Clients

A selection of companies that Daphne Laan already had impactful collaborations with….

  • “Daphne moderated our client’s event and did a great job. Her role went beyond just announcing speakers; she also participated by asking the right questions at the right time. She brought the right energy on stage and also behind the scenes. She is very pleasant to work with and is tremendously positive and driven to put on a good performance.”

    – Jeroen Brands, Marketing Operations

    Vanenburg
    Vanenburg
  • Women Inc.
    Women Inc
    Women Inc
  • Google.
    Google
  • “Very inspiring and motivating. Her personal story connected well with the content and the story flowed very organically.”

    – Rose Marie van Leeuwen, Growth Hacker

    Sprints & Sneakers
    Sprints and Sneakers
  • TEDx Amsterdam Women.
    TEDx Amsterdam Women
    TEDx Amsterdam Women
  • EY.
    EY
  • The Optimist.
    The Optimist
    The optimist
  • The Happy Start-Up School.
    The Happy Start-Up School
    The Happy Startup School
  • Festival of Consciousness.
    Festival of Consciousness
  • Building Bridges.
    Building Bridges
  • Met Daphne kies je voor een professionele, open en flexible spreker die graag met je meedenkt over de invulling van je evenement. Zowel als spreker en host staat ze sterk in haar schoenen op het podium, en weet ze het publiek te raken met persoonlijke ervaringen of verhalen en de juiste vragen te stellen. Een intelligente en ambitieuze vrouw met passie voor duurzaamheid, wat doorsijpelt in haar verhaal. – Lisalot Krans

    Hanzehogeschool Groningen
    Hanzehogeschool Groningen | Daphne Laan | Speakers for Good
  • Scania.
    Scania
    Scania | Speakers for Good

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