What Kessels & Smit does

Kessels & Smit, The Learning Company is a privately-held learning and change consultancy founded in 1977 in Utrecht, Netherlands, by Joseph Kessels and Cora Smit. It is cooperatively owned by approximately 80 independent consultants operating across four country entities in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, and South Africa. The firm serves two principal client bases: (i) organisations across government, business, healthcare, education, and social-profit sectors needing support on leadership and team development, change and innovation, strategy/structure/culture, learning and development, and work happiness; and (ii) individual professionals and managers requiring coaching, career counselling, and professionalisation programmes. Service offerings are delivered as quote-based professional services engagements, ranging from short intensives (e.g. 1.5-day Development Centers) to multi-year transformation programmes, supplemented by books, workbooks, card sets, podcasts (HRD Café Podcast / K&S Broadcasting), workshops and masterclasses sold via its online bookstore and learning partners (FCE, HRD Academy, LannooCampus).

The firm's intellectual core is a portfolio of proprietary methods developed or refined in-house over decades: the eight-field model for designing learning programmes, Development Centers (intensive multi-studio interventions in use since founding), Structural Dynamics (a certified methodology for productive team conversations), the Verhalen veranderen framework, Appreciative Inquiry practice, and the newly launched Verander Express learning concept and Speels Veranderen card set. The digital layer is centred on MyTalentBuilder, an online talent platform co-developed with Luk Dewulf and LannooCampus, which embeds AI bots that translate talent-test results, 360° feedback, and team-profile data into personalised development actions. Pricing is not publicly disclosed; engagements are tailored, while learning programmes for consultants are offered through partner organisations on a per-cohort basis. The firm's go-to-market is sales-led, supported by an extensive content marketing engine (blogs, podcasts, books, free workbooks, conference presence in the Benelux HRD community).

Name

Kessels & Smit

Legal name

Kessels & Smit The Learning Company

Website

https://kessels-smit.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1977

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Kessels & Smit is a cooperatively-owned, Netherlands-based learning and change consultancy founded in 1977, employing ~80 consultants across NL, BE, DE, and ZA. It delivers leadership development, organisational change, and coaching services to organisations and individual professionals, built on proprietary methodologies and the MyTalentBuilder digital platform.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Management Consulting / Learning & Development Advisory

NAICS

Management Consulting Services (54161), Professional and Management Development Training (611430), Professional and Management Development Training (61143), Marketing Consulting Services (541613)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Remote/Hybrid Leadership & Distributed Team Management (EDABAAAN)

akta.pro secondary industries

Coaching, Mentoring & Facilitation Services (BPACANAI), Strategy, Decision-Making & Business Acumen Coaching (EDABANAH), Operational Excellence (OPEX) & Performance Management (KPI/OKR) (EDABAKAH)

Keywords

• Learning consulting services
• Leadership development programmes
• Organisational change management
• Executive coaching services
• Team development advisory

Headquarters

HQ city

Utrecht

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Consulting and advisory engagements: Fee-based project work for organisations covering change & innovation, leadership & team development, strategy/structure/culture, learning & development, work happiness & well-being, and social innovation. Engagements range from short intensives (e.g. 1.5-day Development Center) to multi-year transformation programmes.
2. Individual coaching and career counselling: One-on-one coaching for managers and professionals (from young professionals to CEOs, nurses to university professors) plus structured career counselling programmes.
3. Learning programmes for consultants and designers: Multi-month professionalisation trajectories (e.g. the FCE leergang 'Adviseren en Ontwerpen voor Leren in Organisaties', the jaartraject 'Authentiek begeleiden van effectieve verandering', short masterclass series). Delivered both independently and in partnership with FCE/Corporate Education, HRD Academy and FCE Vakmanschap in ontwikkeling.
4. Books, workbooks and tools sales: Sales via the K&S online bookstore (webshop.kessels-smit.com) of books, free-to-download workbooks (peer-to-peer coaching, positive conversations), card sets and tools published together with Boom uitgevers Amsterdam, LannooCampus and KS Publishers.
5. Workshops, events and 'proeverijen' (taster sessions): Paid workshops, masterclasses (e.g. Authentiek begeleiden van verandering, Speelcafé), online proeverijen for learning programmes, and bespoke in-house team sessions. Some events also used as content marketing / lead generation.
6. Digital platform (MyTalentBuilder) revenues: Co-developed online talent platform with LannooCampus and Luk Dewulf; underlying commercial model not publicly disclosed but referenced as a launch with enterprise/team use cases.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Kessels & Smit is a learning and change consulting firm that advises organisations on leadership, team development, strategy/structure/culture, learning & development, work happiness and innovation. It also offers individual coaching, career counselling and professional learning programmes for HRD consultants and designers, supported by proprietary methodologies (Structural Dynamics, Development Centers, Appreciative Inquiry, eight-field model) and a co-developed digital talent platform (MyTalentBuilder).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• KS Publishers: The publisher imprint through which K&S consultants publish books, referenced via the website's Bookstore section.
• KS Interim
• K&S Coach Practice

Products and services

• Leadership & Team Development Advisory practice for leadership and team development, including team coaching, executive coaching and learning journeys (8–10 months) that combine reflection, feedback and experimentation around moments of truth, for organisational clients across sectors.
• Change & Innovation advisory Advisory practice for organisational change and innovation, including research-based approaches like 'Sparkling innovation in the established order' for organisations undergoing transformation.
• Developing strategy, structure & culture Strategic advice on organisational direction, structure and culture, including participatory strategy trajectories and reorganisation practice for government and enterprise clients.
• Learning & Development advisory Organisational practice helping teams and organisations with learning and development questions, applying the proprietary eight-field model and other in-house methods to design effective learning programmes.
• Work happiness & well-being Practice on work happiness, well-being and sustainable employability, including the long-running Mindful at Work programme co-created with VITO and Mental Health Week offerings.
• Societal issues and innovation Practice addressing societal issues and innovation, including multi-stakeholder learning networks for government, school leaders and civil servants working on educational equity.
• Structural Dynamics methodology A proven method (originating in the US) for making team meetings much more productive by analysing the structure of conversations through four roles, three languages and three frames of reference; K&S consultants are certified to facilitate it and administer individual and team profile surveys.
• Development Centers Development Centers (DCs) are intensive 1.5-day learning interventions used for organisational change, leadership development and team development, putting participants through three 'studios' on real cases.
• Appreciative Inquiry practice Change philosophy and practice focused on the power of questions and strengths-based approaches, including a multi-year learning network run jointly with Evenwicht and publication of a dedicated AI Practitioner journal issue.
• Individual Coaching One-on-one personal coaching for managers and professionals on topics such as role ambitions, strengths, dilemmas, authentic approach and work-life balance.
• Career Counselling Career counselling/coaching trajectory supporting individuals who want to reflect on next career steps, role transitions and authentic next steps.
• Professional learning programmes for consultants and designers Professional learning programmes for HRD and organisational change consultants and designers, including the multi-month 'Authentiek begeleiden van verandering' year trajectory and the AOLO leergang (Adviseren en Ontwerpen voor Leren in Organisaties).
• MyTalentBuilder platform Online talent development platform co-developed by Kessels & Smit, Luk Dewulf and LannooCampus, with a renewed talent test, team module, 360° module, individual/team dashboards, and AI bots that turn insights into concrete actions.
• Speels Veranderen card set Card set developed by Marijne Vos for facilitators, change makers, trainers, advisors and designers of learning/change processes, with 40 behaviours/emotions across four themes and 50 game mechanisms with explanations, examples and exercises.
• Verander Express learning concept Interactive think-and-do learning concept by Ton Ten Broeke and Marcel Kuhlmann that explores five themes travelling with change (fun, power, unpredictability, leadership, participation) via expert videos, conversations and assignments.
• KS Interim Interim management and coordination practice where K&S consultants take on interim roles (e.g., Koen Deblonde as coordinator of the Maatwerkt umbrella of 35 custom-work companies in the social economy).
• Verhalen veranderen (book) Book 'Verhalen veranderen' (Changing Stories) published by Boom uitgevers Amsterdam, a practical book on working with stories in change processes with 18 working methods.
• Het Development Center (book) Book about the Development Center methodology as used by Kessels & Smit, available via KS Publishers.
• Peer-to-peer coaching workbook Free-to-download workbook on peer-to-peer coaching ('intervisie') by Rosa Helmantel, Ilse Boersma, Maddeleine Bongers-Berendsen and Saskia Tjepkema, with principles, methods, reflection questions and facilitator observations.
• Positive conversations on development & growth workbook Free-to-download workbook by Saskia Tjepkema and Rosa Helmantel on positive conversations for performance and development, covering Positive Psychology, growth mindset, feedback, Appreciative Inquiry techniques and sample interviews.

Quantifiable outcome

• Since 2003, K&S has run an annual Dutch government 'leadership learning journey' for ~30 high-potential civil servants
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers19 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

AI capability5 records

Feature8 records

Scale indicators7 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• Right Management (ManpowerGroup): Global talent and career consulting firm offering leadership development, career counselling and change support; comparable to K&S's individual coaching, career counselling and large-organisation change/leadership work.
• Korn Ferry: Global organisational consulting firm with significant talent, leadership and organisation transformation practices; comparable to K&S at the upper end of leadership, talent and organisational design consulting, though at much greater scale.
• Center for Creative Leadership (CCL): Internationally recognised leadership development research and training provider; comparable to K&S in evidence-based leadership programmes, executive education and Development Center-style interventions.
• FranklinCovey: Global leadership and effectiveness firm selling proprietary methodologies (e.g., 7 Habits) through certified consultants; overlaps with K&S's methodology-led, train-the-consultant model and leadership/team development offerings.

Direct peers

• GITP: Dutch HRD/assessment and consulting firm with strong practices in leadership development, assessments and team development; comparable to K&S in the Benelux HRD consulting space and in assessment/Development Center style methodologies.
• Berenschot: Dutch management consulting firm with broad organisational, change and HR consulting practices; comparable to K&S in strategy/structure/culture advisory, organisational change and HR-related consulting for Dutch organisations.
• Schouten & Nelissen: One of the largest Dutch training and development providers with leadership, coaching and learning programmes; overlaps with K&S's leadership development, coaching and corporate learning offerings for organisations and individuals.
• De Baak: Dutch training and management development organisation offering leadership programmes, team development and executive education; directly comparable to K&S's organisational learning and leadership development practice in the Benelux market.
• Vitalsity (formerly HCM Groep): Belgian HR and learning consultancy offering coaching, leadership development and change support; directly comparable to K&S's Belgian practice on individual coaching and organisational learning/leadership work.

Emerging players

• Truepoint (formerly Senn Delaney): Culture-shaping consultancy using strengths-based and positive-organisation methods closely related to Appreciative Inquiry; highly comparable to K&S's Appreciative Inquiry practice and culture-change work with organisations.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/kesselssmit
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/kessels-&-smit-the-learning-company
• Instagraminstagram.com/kesselssmit
• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Kessels & Smit