With over a decade of global experience spanning South Africa, the greater African continent, Asia, and Europe, Liezel van der Westhuizen has established herself as a sought-after Master of Ceremonies (MC), conference Moderator, and Program Director.
From prestigious financial institutions to tourism boards and leading sports brands, Liezel’s versatility and skill in connecting with diverse audiences have made her a trusted name across multiple industries. Her ability to seamlessly adapt and engage with true understanding and warmth, across sectors, is a hallmark of her career in public speaking
In recent years, Liezel has soared to new heights as an MC, marked by major engagements in Hong Kong, Venice, Romania, Seychelles, Bali, and the United Kingdom, as well as China.
Even amid a global pandemic, there is no stopping the adventurous spirit of this talented global Emcee, who was booked globally as a Virtual Emcee too.
Pushing boundaries and leaving a memorable & positive mark, Liezel has clocked an extensive list of firsts, and has been consistent in her commitment to attempting to break glass ceilings for women; Chief among these personal empowering achievements being that she was the first female announcer worldwide to be on the start and finish lines of an Ironman Triathlon (2012). Liezel is also the first female announcer to be on the start and finish lines of the Comrades Marathon (2012). She was also the second woman in the world to ever present Idols (2009).
Liezel makes a point of garnering rave reviews from her clients – diligent in her commitment to enhancing an event for the better through her Master of Ceremonies skills. She has made use of her skills to train youth in the art of Public Speaking through the Toastmasters Outreach Programme – an organisation of which she is a member; and has also run courses within, on public speaking, in order to empower school-leavers through Abraham Kriel Children’s Home and Khumba Resources. To find out more about her unique take on the Master of Ceremonies / MC role, click here.
As a Toastmaster’s Society member, Liezel completed her bronze and silver certifications, which are testament to her hard work and skill. These have made her a widely sought-after Emcee as well as a key Speaker at events where motivational speeches and Keynote Addresses are required. Liezel’s engaging approach brings each of her focus areas to life in truly memorable ways. Notable topics over the years include:
- Break Through Self-Sabotage: Mental Fitness Strategies for Corporate Excellence
- Future-proof yourself with your personal brand
- Unstoppable Resilience: Story of Grit and Corporate Success
- Boost Employee Wellness & Team Performance with Laughter Yoga Workshops
- Every pedal stroke counts
Liezel van der Westhuizen is a certified Mental Fitness and Executive Business Coach specializing in empowering high-performing individuals and teams. With a unique blend of experience as a global Speaker, endurance athlete, and media personality, Liezel brings a dynamic and results-driven approach to coaching.
Her expertise lies in helping high achievers build resilience, sharpen emotional intelligence, and unlock their full potential. Leveraging cutting-edge frameworks like Positive Intelligence (PQ), she provides practical tools and strategies to reduce stress, enhance leadership capabilities, and foster peak performance in demanding environments.
As a Personal Branding expert too, Liezel has her hands full with training and mentoring entrepreneurs from all over the world, which her sporting achievements – such as the recent challenge of a tandem cycle across the Himalayas with a visually impaired cyclist – add significant clout to. Each active adventure for the towering powerhouse also going further to develop an enhanced problem-solving & work/life balance aptitude which her clients benefit from with Liezel’s holistic coaching program.
With a passion for education, Liezel’s degrees in Human Resources Management (Bcom) and Communications (Hons & Mcom) have been instrumental in laying the foundation for a truly fulfilling and diverse career. In combination, her education, experience and personal touch make her many event organizers go-to person for any event – and she can be your next event Emcee too, by the way!
Year-end function? Conference? 50th birthday? To book Liezel as host for your special event or conference, do not hesitate to get in touch.
TESTIMONIALS
Liezel was terrific as always
I would just like to thank you so so much for MC’ing our Mercedes event yesterday. You were FANTASTIC, and I have been receiving rave comments from early morning.
Always great working with Liezel, thank you for your empowering talk
Liezel did an amazing job
On behalf of the Fearless 14 and the BWA I would really like to thank you for your incredible presentation last night, your energy is infectious . You have set the tone for the FAST TRACK2SUCCESS program and the candidates are super excited and so eager to make it work for them. Your presentation was warm , engaging and filled with the little gems that stick in your mind. You made setting your goals and living your dream something that is so worth the highs and lows along each journey.
Thank you from all of us! You are an exceptional BWA ambassador.
Liezel was such a pleasure to work with, professional, articulate, inspiring. She really was great
The event was a great success and Liezel was brilliant, as always!
Working with you was one of my favourite things of the job
Please can you personally pass on my personal gratitude to Liezel, who was the consummate professional and by far one of the best MC’s I have worked with ever. Liezel certainly took the event to another level!!!!
Liezel was awesome! She just knows our brand so well. We were exceptionally happy with the gig on Friday, and will be very keen to make use of Liezel’s services again in future, when the need arises. She handled everything superbly.
We only had positive feedback from client.
Bronwyn, I wanted to take this opportunity to tell you about my experience of working with Liezel as a guest speaker. As you know, we deal with many speakers for our events. The fact of the matter is that each speaker is different and has different requirements. In my 3 years as chair of the BWA, I have never worked with a speaker who has been as professional as Liezel. In preparation for her key note address for RBAA, Liezel asked for and complied perfectly with a brief on what we wanted her to talk on. Liezel also asked for the names of the people who would be at her table and researched each of those people so that she knew their names and a little bit about their business. Given that she sat at a table with our sponsors this went a long way towards impressing the sponsors and making everyone at the table feel welcome. She also went the extra mile and attended the pre-drinks and photo session (even though this was not required of her) and put all the finalists and sponsors at ease. After all of this, she gave a talk which, as you know, was on point and really well presented.I cannot recommend Liezel highly enough as a speaker and I wanted to give you this feedback because I know she is one of your speakers and I am sure that feedback like this is valuable.
Please extend my thanks to Liezel. She was incredible and having a speaker of her calibre at our Awards added to the entire experience.