Speaker, Campaign Strategist & Bestselling Author
Bas Erlings
Bas Erlings connects experience from the center of power with sharp insights on populism and democratic resilience. As a VVD strategist under Mark Rutte, he knows how to mobilize support, win elections, and make organizations operate as strong campaign teams.
Languages:
Employability:
Keynote spreker
Employability:
Keynote spreker,
About Bas Erlings
How to not only be right but also get it right
You have the best plan. The strongest figures. The most well-thought-out proposal. And yet, you can’t get the room on your side.
Many people think that the best argument wins. In reality, people do not only decide with their minds; they decide with their gut and look for arguments to justify their decisions afterward. Those who understand how this works win. Whether you are leading a team, seeking support for change, wanting to convince a client, or trying to get an organization moving.
Bas Erlings knows better than anyone how this works. Not from a handbook, but from practice. As head of strategy and campaign strategist for the VVD under Mark Rutte, he spent years focused on one question: how do people really make decisions? What motivates them, what blocks them, and how do you ensure that a message is not only heard but also felt?
With these insights, he helped win campaigns and made complex changes understandable. Today, he translates the same principles to organizations, leaders, and decision-makers. From multinationals and ministries to hospitals, top athletes, and public figures.
What distinguishes his lectures? The lessons come not from theory but from real moments. The strategy meeting just before an election debate. The reorientation after a disappointing poll. The decisive moment in a crisis. Stories that captivate, surprise, and are immediately applicable in practice.
Because being right is not enough. Bas shows how to also get it right.
About Bas Erlings
Together with Klaas Dijkhoff and Tom De Bruyne, Bas founded SUE & The Alchemists. He advises organizations, leaders, and public figures on reputation, behavioral change, and strategic communication. Additionally, he is a sought-after commentator in talk shows, on radio, and in national media. In 2025, his bestseller The Game of the Populist was published.
What the audience takes away
• How to formulate a message that sticks and prompts people to take action
• How to recognize resistance and turn it into movement
• How to build support for change, a decision, or a new idea
• A toolbox that you can open immediately after the session