What Wakker does

Wakker is a privately held, founder-led leadership and succession consultancy based in Bilthoven, Netherlands, established around 2018 by co-founders Annemarieke Driessen and Liesbeth Gouwens-Top. The firm guides founders, executive teams, family businesses, and externally appointed leaders through moments of leadership, ownership, or collaboration transition — including succession, co-founder tension, post-merger integration, and stagnated growth. Its methodology is systemic and embodied, working with the relational, historical, and 'under the surface' dynamics that cause boardroom and succession deadlocks, rather than purely content-focused consulting.

The firm delivers five distinct service lines: De Sleuteloverdracht (succession and ownership transfer facilitation), Spanning aan de top (executive tension resolution), De Founders Circle (a five-day small-group cohort program for founders in transition), WAKKER. op het podium (keynotes and day programs for organizations in change), and Maatwerk (custom engagements). Each offering begins with an intake conversation followed by a tailored trajectory; pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed. No technology products, platforms, or AI components are described — the offering is a pure professional-services model.

Wakker reaches clients through referrals, the founders' personal networks, Dutch-language thought-leadership content ('Tussenruimte' blog), LinkedIn presence, and conference speaking. The company maintains a small collaboration network with aligned Dutch organizations (Karmijn Kapitaal, Mental Care Group, Social Enterprise NL, Veer Stichting, Diversion, NC Holland). It is bootstrapped, with no external funding, parent company, or disclosed ownership changes, and operates exclusively within the Dutch market.

Name

Wakker

Legal name

Wakker

Website

https://wijzijnwakker.nl

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Wakker is a privately held, two-principal Dutch consultancy that guides founders, executive teams, and family businesses through leadership succession, ownership transfer, and executive-tension situations using systemic, embodied facilitation delivered through bespoke engagements.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Leadership and Succession Consulting

NAICS

Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services (541611), Human Resources Consulting Services (541612)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Organizational Change & Transformation Coaching (EDABANAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Career, Purpose & Executive Wellbeing Coaching (EDABANAI), Organization Design & Change Management Consulting (BPAHACAD)

Keywords

• Leadership transition consulting
• Succession planning services
• Executive coaching
• Founder advisory services
• Organizational change consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Bilthoven

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Professional Services / Custom Consulting Trajectories: Wakker generates revenue through bespoke consulting engagements. Each engagement begins with an intake conversation to explore the question, followed by a tailored trajectory. Offerings include De Sleuteloverdracht (succession facilitation), Spanning aan de top (executive tension resolution), De Founders Circle (peer cohort program), Wakker op het podium (keynotes and day programs), and Maatwerk (custom interventions). Pricing is quote-based and handled per engagement.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Wakker is a leadership and succession consultancy that guides founders, executive teams, family businesses, and externally appointed CEOs through transitions in leadership, ownership, and collaboration. The firm delivers five named programs — De Sleuteloverdracht, Spanning aan de top, De Founders Circle, WAKKER. op het podium, and Maatwerk — as bespoke, systemic interventions priced per engagement rather than as fixed products.

Product overview

WAKKER. is a leadership and succession consultancy offering five distinct service programs: De Sleuteloverdracht (succession and leadership transition support with systemic investigation, personal guidance, parallel coaching, marking moments, and aftercare), Spanning aan de top (executive tension and relationship facilitation when content discussions stall), De Founders Circle (an intensive five-day peer group program for founders in transition), WAKKER. op het podium (keynote and intervention services for organizations undergoing change, merger, or acquisition), and Maatwerk (custom bespoke engagement when standard approaches don't fit). The company works at the intersection of the personal and the business, guiding founders, leaders, and entrepreneurs through transitions where the old no longer works and the new has not yet formed.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• De Sleuteloverdracht Facilitated support for succession, ownership transfer, and leadership transition, designed so that what is formally arranged also holds emotionally. The trajectory includes systemic investigation, personal guidance, parallel coaching, a marking moment, and aftercare, and is targeted at founders, successors, and family business stakeholders.
• Spanning aan de top Executive facilitation for situations where conversations have stopped being about content: repeating discussions, escalating tension, and eroding trust without a clear cause. Targeted at directors, C-suite executives, and leadership teams, the engagement makes visible what is actually playing out and restores movement.
• De Founders Circle An intensive five-day, small-group cohort program for founders and leaders who sense that what worked in the current phase will not automatically carry into the next. Held in a quiet, green setting, it is a deepening setting with like-minded peers to investigate what this transition asks of the leader.
• WAKKER. op het podium Keynote and intervention service for change events, designed for organizations in merger, acquisition, or succession, or where change is palpable but has no form yet. Includes a 45-minute keynote and day programs intended not only to be listened to but to put something in motion.
• Maatwerk Customized engagement for situations where a standard approach does not suffice, when multiple things are happening at once and no single trajectory fits. The form follows the question, working precisely where it is needed in the system, the collaboration, and the leadership.

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Karmijn KapitaalminorOthersA professional collaboration listed on the About page under 'Samenwerking' (Collaboration). Karmijn Kapitaal appears to be an aligned professional or investment entity that the firm works with on an ad-hoc basis when situations call for it.
• Mental Care GroupminorOthersListed under 'Samenwerking' on the About page. Mental Care Group is a mental health or care organization; the relationship appears to be a referral or occasional co-engagement arrangement within the professional ecosystem.
• Social Enterprise NLminorOthersListed under 'Samenwerking' on the About page. Social Enterprise NL is a Dutch network or association for social enterprises. The relationship is part of Wakker's broader professional network.
• Veer StichtingminorOthersListed under 'Samenwerking' on the About page. Veer Stichting appears to be a Dutch foundation; the relationship is part of the professional network Wakker draws on when situations require specific expertise.
• DiversionminorOthersListed under 'Samenwerking' on the About page. Diversion appears to be a Dutch consultancy or professional services firm; the relationship is ad-hoc collaboration within the professional ecosystem.
• NC HollandminorOthersListed under 'Samenwerking' on the About page. NC Holland appears to be a Dutch organization or consultancy. The relationship is part of the small professional network Wakker collaborates with when the situation demands it.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Twynstra Gudde: Major Dutch management consulting firm with a strong public and organizational change practice. Comparable as a Dutch management consultancy addressing leadership transitions, governance, and organizational design for executives.
• Schouten & Nelissen: Largest Dutch leadership development and training provider. Comparable because it serves the same Dutch corporate and executive market with leadership programs, coaching, and organizational learning, though at much greater scale and breadth than Wakker.
• De Baak Training & Coaching: Established Dutch executive training and coaching institute. Directly comparable target market (founders, executives, leadership teams) with similar offerings in intensive leadership programs, though delivered by a larger institution.
• Berenschot: Leading Dutch management and HR consulting firm. Comparable because it advises leadership teams, boards, and family businesses on succession, governance, and organizational change, overlapping with Wakker's target buyer.

Direct peers

• Krauthammer International: European leadership and sales transformation firm. Comparable because it delivers leadership development, executive coaching, and behavioral change programs for senior leaders and executive teams.
• Bauman Lyon Management Consultants: Dutch executive coaching and leadership consulting boutique. Comparable focus on senior leader development, executive teams, and customized leadership interventions for the Dutch market.
• Vesper B.V. Dutch executive and team coaching boutique. Comparable small-scale, high-touch executive coaching practice serving Dutch leaders, founders, and teams with similar bespoke engagement model.
• Instituut voor het Familiebedrijf (Family Business Institute): Dutch advisory firm specializing in family business succession and governance. Directly comparable because it supports family business stakeholders through succession, ownership transfer, and generational transition—overlapping with Wakker's De Sleuteloverdracht service.
• Heart of Living (Het Transformatiegenootschap): Dutch executive coaching and personal transformation practice. Comparable in its systemic and embodied approach to founder and leadership development, serving Dutch executives and entrepreneurs.
• SIOO (Interuniversitair Centrum voor Organisatie en Verandering): Dutch academic center for organizational change and learning. Comparable because it trains change professionals and advises on systemic organizational interventions, overlapping with Wakker's systemic facilitation approach.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/wijzijnwakker.nl
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/wijzijnwakker

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 Wakker