Kriekels, co-founder and executive director of YESS Institute (YESS), was born and raised in Flanders, Belgium where his ambition to pursue knowledge was nurtured by his family.
“When you stop learning, you stop living,” Kriekels said. “That is what I learned at a very young age.”
In 1992, Carlo Kriekels jumped on a motorbike and embarked on an 18-month, 35,000-mile journey to discover authentic Latin America. Riding from California to Chile, he experienced culture, community, and a shift in his life purpose.
“The people I met along the way changed the entire trajectory of my life,” he said. “I had found my compass for caring.”
Kriekels knew that if he wanted to make any sort of meaningful difference, he needed to first work on making a difference in himself. He followed his new compass for caring to England, where he met Susan Greer and enrolled in personal development, emotional intelligence and leadership courses held by Greer’s company, Perceptions Training International. Shortly after, the two combined their brilliance and co-facilitated leadership workshops and intensive personal development programs for international business leaders across Brussels, Netherlands, UK, and the United States