Michel Voogd
- Personal, professional and diversity coach
- 30+ years senior leadership experience in Asia and Europe
- Helping individuals and organisations find clarity, restore energy and make impact.
Professional Background
Michel Voogd is an executive and leadership coach with nearly 30 years of experience in senior roles across global organisations, including FedEx and DHL. Leading teams, training and mentoring colleagues, and promoting diversity were among the best parts of his 30+ year career.
Michel’s career has been built around data, AI/ML, automation, and emerging technologies. At FedEx, he built and led the AMEA Analytics Centre of Excellence, securing multi-million dollar government funding to drive innovation and expand talent pipelines. Before that, he scaled DHL’s global analytics teams across Asia, Europe, and North America.
As founder and COO of Emersion Consulting & Training, he helps organisations shape data-driven strategies, accelerate innovation, and reinvent business and operating models. He is a certified Data Scientist, Scaled Agilist, Enterprise Architect, and Six Sigma Master Black Belt.
As a coach, Michel works with professionals and leaders in innovation, transformation, and high-impact roles. His clients often operate in fast-paced environments where visibility is high, expectations are intense, and stakes are constantly shifting. Many are taking on new responsibilities, preparing for major career moves, or grappling with how to stay effective without compromising health, energy, or overall wellbeing.
From experience, Michel understands the complexity and ambiguity his clients face. He has coached professionals throughout his career and now brings that into formal practice. Recent client engagements include coaching executive teams through high-stakes technology investment decisions, guiding technical experts into line management roles, and supporting leaders through major acquisitions and reorganisations. He has helped senior managers develop executive capabilities and earn promotions within 12 months, and enabled innovation leaders to dramatically improve work-life balance without sacrificing individual or team performance. He also offers Diversity coaching, to help LGBT community members thrive in work and life.
Coaching Specialty
Michel specialises in coaching clients working in innovation, transformation, and high-impact roles, as well as those navigating personal transitions or questions of identity. He understands the unique pressures of roles where visibility is high, stakes are constantly shifting, and support can be limited. He helps clients strengthen their confidence, manage stress and politics, and lead themselves and others effectively — while protecting their health, energy, and sense of self. Michel believes that growth should be practical and sustainable, and that people do their best work when they’re clear-headed, grounded, and fully committed to their own goals. He also coaches LGBT+ and diversity supporting clients show up as themselves - at work, at home and in the community, and help clients to decide what needs to change and how to make it happen.
Personal Background
Originally from the Netherlands, Michel has spent almost 20 years living and working in Singapore and Asia Pacific. He believes deeply in inclusion and community and has put this into practice as Executive Sponsor for FedEx’s Asia Pacific Diversity, Equity & Inclusion program, driving cultural change across multiple countries.
Beyond the corporate world, he serves as a volunteer event leader with Out In Singapore, one of the country’s largest LGBT+ communities, where he helps build safe spaces for people to connect and thrive.
Outside work, Michel is an active, lifelong learner who likes to stay in shape mentally, emotionally and physically. He has a wide range of hobbies and interests — from badminton to yoga to photography to music to travel. He is known for his sharp mind, direct style, and curiosity about how people grow.
Coaching Style
Michel’s coaching style is calm, sharp, and direct — shaped by years of guiding people through complex, high-stakes roles and environments. He listens deeply, asks clear questions, and helps clients see through noise and uncertainty to what really matters. His approach is practical and supportive, giving people the space to pause, think clearly, and act with intention. Clients appreciate that he is straightforward yet warm, bringing both experience and honesty to every conversation — and never losing sight of who they are and who they want to become.
Personal Philosophy
Michel believes real change doesn’t come from wishful thinking or through shortcuts — it comes from thinking clearly and honestly, following your heart, and taking deliberate steps. His guiding principle is simple: if something matters, show up for it — fully, practically, and without excuses.