Liezel van der Westhuizen is a Burnout Business and Mental Fitness Coach, Neuroscience Coach, Certified Hypnotherapist and Positive Intelligence Practitioner who works with C-suite executives, corporate leadership teams, sales leaders and high-performing entrepreneurs across South Africa, Africa and internationally. With a Master’s in Business Communication and qualifications in Human Resources Management and Industrial Psychology, she combines business rigour with neuroscience and behavioural tools to address one of the biggest challenges facing modern organisations: how to sustain high performance without burning out the people responsible for delivering it.

At the heart of Liezel’s work is The Burnout Tax — her framework for reframing burnout as a measurable business risk rather than simply a wellness or HR concern. Lost focus, disengagement, absenteeism, attrition and declining performance can all carry a significant commercial cost. Through practical coaching and keynote presentations, Liezel helps leaders and teams recognise the difference between pressure that sharpens performance and pressure that quietly erodes it, equipping them with strategies to build mental fitness, regulate pressure and perform sustainably.

Liezel also brings an exceptional background in broadcasting, live events and endurance sport. She has presented across major South African radio and television platforms, became the second woman in the world to present Idols, and made history as the first female commentator at both the Comrades Marathon and Ironman South Africa. As an international MC and keynote speaker, she has hosted and spoken at thousands of events across South Africa and internationally, bringing the same combination of energy, intelligence and audience connection to every room.

Her endurance career provides the lived experience behind her work. A multiple Ironman, Dusi Canoe Marathon and HYROX finisher, Liezel has also completed the Robben Island to Blouberg open-water swim and co-piloted as part of a South African all-female blind and sighted tandem team across the Himalayas. She uses these experiences as a real-world laboratory for resilience, recovery, self-command and sustainable ambition. Whether working with an executive recovering from burnout, helping a sales team strengthen its performance psychology or addressing a large corporate audience, Liezel delivers practical insights grounded in neuroscience, business and lived experience — helping people perform under pressure without paying the Burnout Tax.

Keynote Topics Include:

• THE LIPSTICK LINE
• FINISH LINES & FALSE FINISH LINES