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Wendy van Leeuwen

Strategist | Innovator | Entrepreneur | Facilitator | Urgent Optimist

Wendy van Leeuwen is an Innovation Coach and Urgent Optimist at WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature), a role she has held since August 2022.1 Based in Portugal, she works with the global innovation team to embed innovation thinking into the organization's ways of working.1 Her responsibilities include coaching fundraising teams to scale existing innovative approaches and develop new ones, facilitating meetings and workshops, and conducting one-on-one innovation coaching sessions.1

With a diverse background in innovation, strategy, and entrepreneurship, Wendy has held several notable positions:

  1. Co-founder and Co-CEO of Secret City Trails (2017-2022), where she scaled city discovery games across 60+ European cities.1
  2. Director of Brand & Communications at Impact Hub Network (2021-2022).1
  3. Innovation Strategist and Business Builder at NextGenners (2021-present).1
  4. Sustainability Programme Lead at Booking.com, where she managed impact funds and accelerator programs (2016-2018).1

Wendy's expertise extends to facilitating innovation journeys, mentoring social entrepreneurs, and designing experiences.1 Her approach often incorporates futures thinking and strategic foresight to help teams across the globe envision and plan for the future.1

In April 2025, Wendy spent three days on a small island, likely as part of her work in bringing new approaches to learning experiences at WWF.2 This demonstrates her commitment to innovative and immersive methods in her role as an Innovation Coach.

Highlights

Mar 13 · Innovation Origins
Start-up of the Day: Discover secret places in cities with Secret City Trails - Innovation Origins

Related Questions

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Wendy van Leeuwen
Wendy van Leeuwen, photo 1
Wendy van Leeuwen, photo 2
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Location

Portugal