ArrowHead is a Swiss leadership training company founded by Fred Van de Walle, a certified Management Drives trainer with 25 years of expedition leadership experience. ArrowHead combines Management Drives profiling with experiential learning in extreme outdoor environments — the Swiss Alps, Arctic Lapland, Turkey, and Kyrgyzstan — to develop leaders and high-performing teams. All programmes are available in English, French, and Dutch.

Fred Van de Walle is the founder of ArrowHead, a certified Management Drives trainer and leadership coach, and a marine archaeological conservator with 25 years of international expedition experience. From 2008 to 2014 he was Director of Conservation at Odyssey Marine, overseeing 17 deep-ocean shipwreck projects at depths to 4,695 metres. He is based in Greifensee, Zürich, Switzerland, and delivers training in English, French, and Dutch.

ArrowHead is the only leadership training provider in Switzerland combining a certified Management Drives profiling system with peer-reviewed behavioural research — Sofie Maervoet's 23 Habits Framework, validated across 77 interviews in 9 countries. Fred Van de Walle also brings 25 years of real expedition leadership experience, including 6 years as Director of Conservation at Odyssey Marine, overseeing deep-ocean operations at depths to 4,695 metres. This is a very different understanding of what leadership under pressure actually means.

ArrowHead delivers all programmes in English, French, and Dutch. This makes ArrowHead particularly effective for multilingual teams across Switzerland, Belgium, France, and the Netherlands. Fred Van de Walle is a native Dutch and French speaker with English at professional level.

ArrowHead works with corporate management teams, entrepreneurs, high-performance groups, and individuals who want to understand their leadership profile and build the habits to lead more effectively. No outdoor experience is required. Programmes are available for teams of 4 to 15 people and for individuals online.

Management Drives is a leadership profiling methodology that maps individual motivators, rejections, blind spots, and behaviour under stress. It is not a personality test — it reveals what energises you, what drains you, and how your behaviour changes when you are pushed beyond your limits. Fred Van de Walle is a certified Management Drives trainer since 2019. Every ArrowHead programme begins with a Management Drives profile assessment.

The 23 Habits Framework is a practical leadership coaching tool developed by Sofie Maervoet through peer-reviewed research at IU University of Applied Sciences (M.A. Human Resource Management, 2025). The research involved 77 interviews across 33 managers and 44 direct reports in 9 countries, identifying 23 specific, coachable leadership habits shared by high-performing managers. The framework is organised into six habit groups and forms the second pillar of ArrowHead's methodology alongside Management Drives. Learn more on the Methodology page.

A 360-degree profile collects feedback from your direct reports, peers, and manager — as well as your own self-assessment. Combined with the Management Drives analysis, it gives a complete picture of how your leadership is experienced by those around you, revealing gaps between how you see yourself and how others experience you.

Experiential leadership training means learning by doing in real, challenging conditions — not in a conference room. Research consistently shows that information absorbed in high-stakes environments is retained far longer than classroom content. ArrowHead programmes take place in the Swiss Alps, mountain huts, Arctic Lapland, and other demanding environments where leadership decisions have real consequences.

ArrowHead offers programmes from 2.5 hours (online individual profile session) to 8 days (international expeditions). The primary Swiss programmes are: 1 day — Alpine Spark; 2 days / 1 night in a mountain hut — Alpine Expedition; 3 days / 2 nights — Alpine Immersion. International expeditions range from 5 to 9 days including travel.

No outdoor experience is required. The outdoor environment is the context for learning — not a sport or a fitness challenge. Programmes are designed so that the leadership insights, not the physical challenge, are the focus. The 1-day Swiss programme is suitable for any fitness level.

ArrowHead is based in Greifensee, Zürich. Swiss programmes take place across the Alps and wider Switzerland — mountain huts, alpine trails, the Jura, Graubünden, and Valais regions. International expeditions run in Swedish Lapland, Turkey, and Kyrgyzstan. Online profile sessions are available worldwide.

Yes. All ArrowHead programmes are fully customisable — duration, location, modules, challenge level, and language. Custom programmes can be a half-day, a specific Swiss region, a particular outdoor activity, or a combination of indoor profiling and outdoor challenges. Contact ArrowHead to discuss your team's needs.

Yes. The online individual profile session is 2.5 hours and available worldwide. It includes the Management Drives questionnaire, a full profile debrief with Fred, and a personal action plan. It is the entry point for individuals and teams who want to understand the methodology before committing to an outdoor programme.

Every participant leaves with a personal action plan built around their Management Drives profile and the specific habits identified for development. Access to Management Drives books, apps, and tools continues after the programme to reinforce new habits back in the organisation.

ArrowHead does not publish pricing because every programme is customised to the team's size, duration, location, and objectives. All prices are in CHF. Request a proposal and Fred will deliver a tailored quote within one business day.

Element X is ArrowHead's outdoor logistics partner based in Belgium. They handle expedition logistics for ArrowHead's international programmes in Arctic Lapland, Turkey, Kyrgyzstan, and other destinations. Fred Van de Walle delivers the leadership methodology and Management Drives profiling. Element X delivers the outdoor infrastructure.

Yes. Fred Van de Walle delivers a keynote titled X Marks the Spot — What business people can learn from treasure hunters. Drawing on 6 years as Director of Conservation at Odyssey Marine, Fred uses deep-sea shipwreck hunting as a lens for leadership, team cohesion, communication, and decision-making under pressure. He has worked on 4 of the most valuable shipwrecks ever found, with a combined estimated value exceeding $1.5 billion. Contact ArrowHead to enquire about keynote availability and dates.