Catherine De Vrye

Last Updated on 12 February 2020 by Jan-Paul Steggerda

A former IBM executive, Catherine held roles in sales, marketing, communication, management and leadership development. She worked in Tokyo as Asia Pacific Headquarters Human Resource Manager. She was a former board member of the 3rd largest police service in the world, past CEO of Junior Achievement Australia and worked for Ministers of Consumer Affairs, Education and Sport, where she was involved in the establishment of the ‘Life. Be In It fitness campaign’. Her diverse, hands-on experience means she’s ‘walked the talk’ and can relate to real life, everyday situations.

A keen sportswoman and adventurer, she’s bicycled over the Andes, scaled peaks in the Antarctic and climbed 20,000 feet to the summit of Mt Kilimanjaro in Africa. She was given the honour to carry the Olympic Torch on the day of the opening ceremonies of the Sydney 2000 Olympics. Her heart warming story of her personal journey from an orphanage in Canada to being a cancer survivor is something she sometimes shares depending on her brief. Yet she believes the biggest challenges of all….are those we face in our everyday lives as we adopt a positive attitude in the face of adversity to move forward.

Combining Gen Y energy with Baby-boomer experience, she has the ‘street cred’ to deliver the results you’re after. Her business name sums up her philosophy. CDV Management stands for Clients Deserve Value and that commitment to excellence and quality contributes to the success of all of her events. She has delivered presentations on five continents to clients including Fortune 500 companies, government, small business and associations. A highly professional keynote business speaker, she brings the latest theory and research to life through practical, common sense examples. In dynamic presentations to board level or front line staff, she combines substance with humour to inspire, motivate and serve as a catalyst for others to strive to achieve the best in themselves and their organisations.

Catherine is a best-selling author of 7 non-fiction books, translated into over a dozen languages, including…Hope Happens! Words of encouragement for Tough Times, Hot Lemon & Honey…reflections for success in times of change, The Customer Service Zoo-Japan, an A-Z Guide-Sports Marketing & Promotion and Good Service is Good Business…7 Strategies for Success, which was a number 1 best seller in Australia and Taiwan. She has also co-authored other books and corporate histories.

Her autobiography, Who Says I Can’t? was first released by Random House and nominated for the Australian National Biography Award. It is recently published in North America by McArthur Press as Serendipity Road…a memoir.

Her newest book released August 2010 is titled Paper Clips Don’t Grow on Trees-Add Value; not cost to your bottom line is endorsed by Dr. Edward DeBono who says it “gently but firmly leads you to think seriously about cost saving”.