Brain health is more than the absence of illness. It underpins mental wellbeing, cognitive sharpness, emotional regulation, and the ability to perform under pressure over time. In a world of accelerating change and increasing responsibility, these capacities are no longer guaranteed, they must be actively developed.
Neurozone® approaches brain health through psychological resilience, understood not as a mindset or wellness practice, but as a measurable property of the nervous system. Psychological resilience reflects how the brain functions across three interdependent dimensions: mental resilience (cognition and problem-solving), emotional resilience (emotional regulation and stress tolerance), and social resilience (connection and effective functioning within systems).
Using neuroscience, systems thinking, and clinical insight, we apply a validated resilience index and a five-domain neurobiological model to provide a practical, precise framework for building and sustaining brain health.
This work is for people who carry responsibility for themselves, for others, and for the systems they serve. Neurozone®exists to support long-term brain health, clarity, and performance, rather than short-term optimisation.
Resilience and Granular Brain Health Diagnostics
We think about Brain Health as an encompassing term that includes: mental health, cognitive sharpness, and performance readiness of the brain-body-system. Psychological Resilience underpins Brain Health. We developed the Neurozone® Resilience Index, a brief validated and reliable assessment that provides a clear indication of your current level of Psychological Resilience.
Beneath this headline score sits a deeper diagnostic layer: a granular neurobehavioral system that measures 59 distinct neurobehaviours and clusters them into five high-performance domains: High-Performance Transformers, Connectors, Energy, Innovators, and Rhythms.
Together, these insights reveal not only how resilient you are, but which pathways matter most for you to optimise right now.
This diagnostic architecture forms the foundation of everything we do at Neurozone®.
How we work
We combine neuroscience, digital technology, and human facilitation in a scalable system to unlock resilience and high-performance capacities needed to excel in the fast-paced landscape of a volatile world.
Our transformative journeys integrate:
- Validated scientific analytics, like the Resilience Index
- Digital microlearning, delivered in bite-sizes, at a no-pressure pace
- Human integration, through expert-facilitated sessions
This hybrid model turns insight into transformational action.
Utilizing the latest scientific findings to implement solutions, we support people to build resilience, protect mental health, and enhance high performance in every aspect of life.
Why it matters
Brain health, including high-performance resilience, forms a critical foundation of any human system.
In a world shaped by volatility, new technologies, and rising pressure, leadership is an essential skill for everyone to steward the living system.
Neurozone® enables people to:
- Adapt rapidly without burning out
- Lead with care and clarity
- Execute with sustainable energy
- Create conditions for innovation, psychological safety, and impact
We are passionate about helping people optimize their brain health.
The science behind us
We are the neuroscientists behind the system.
Founded by neurologist Dr. Etienne van der Walt, Neurozone® translates the science of the brain-body system into self-leadership and leadership impact.
Our work is based on:
- Systems thinking from biology
- Cognitive neuroscience
- Psycho-neuro-immunology
- Human performance analytics
Our niche value proposition is to not only focus on the neurobehavioral aspects of human optimization, but also to infuse this with our deep neurobiological understanding of human life.
Analytics that matter
Measure what moves performance, and transforms people.
Our Resilience Index provides a diagnostic that is:
- Scientifically validated
- Repeatable
- Actionable
It maps individual Psychological Resilience, a foundational aspect of Brain Health, and also helps track dynamic trends across populations, informing systems-wide optimization.
Our Core Operational Team
Dr. Etienne v/d Walt
Neurologist, CEO, and Founder
As a subject matter expert in clinical neurology, Etienne pioneers the way to high performance readiness using deep knowledge of how the brain/body system builds resilience. He leads the Neurozone team in their quest to unravel the Neurobehavioral Resilience Code and to translate it into high-value solutions for various markets.
Olinka Leo
Chief Operating Officer
Olinka is the Chief Operating Officer at Neurozone, responsible for the organisation’s day-to-day operations and execution. With over 30 years of experience, she works closely with the CEO to ensure operational excellence across finance, HR, IT, product delivery, and business systems.
She is known for her systems thinking and disciplined approach to building structures that enable high performance, effective collaboration, and sustainable growth.
Marina Pretorius
Managing Consultant: Coaching and Organisational Development
Marina is a seasoned organizational psychologist and coach with a passion for building systemic resilience into individuals, teams and organizations. As a consulting psychologist, she has worked in a wide range of industries across the Human Capital Value Chain for more than 20 years. She brings this experience to the Neurozone team as Managing Consultant responsible for the integration of Neurozone products into coaching practices and other organisational interventions through client centred project management support as well as training of practitioners on the Neurozone tools and approach.
Cuan Mac Nab-Holding
Lead Strategist
With a Master’s in Organisational Psychology and a background in business development and strategy, Cuan brings together psychological insight and commercial expertise. He has successfully grown and managed major client accounts, led high-impact intervention projects, and built strong client partnerships. As Lead, Strategy and Business Development at Neurozone, Cuan drives strategic growth initiatives, translating behavioural science into scalable, value-driven solutions for clients.
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Hendri de Wet
Lead Product Developer
Hendri has years of experience in the software industry, including system- and product development. His main field of expertise and passion is mobile application development. Hendri has a keen eye for UI design, which makes him a valuable asset to the development team.
Tony Kirton
Industry partnership Consultant and Co-Founder
As a former director, consultant, and entrepreneur, Tony brings a wealth of international business experience to the Neurozone team. Together with Etienne, Tony co-founded Neurozone in 2011.
Trusted by leading companies worldwide
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eNCA
Mental Resilience - Train your Brain
Watch Neurozone®’s CEO, Dr Etienne van der Walt, chat to the team of the popular South African talk show, Espresso Show, about the impact of the pandemic on mental health. Etienne touches on the difference between burnout and pandemic fatigue and elaborates on the interesting findings in Neurozone®’s Dynamic Neurobehaviours in the Workplace Index.
The Dynamic Neurobehaviors in the Workplace Index covers critical learnings and recommendations for leaders, coaches, human capital managers and HR directors to develop a high performance culture based on a credible and insightful five-year (2016 - 2021) study of almost 15,000 leaders and high performing individuals globally.
Expresso Show
Health Advice: Preventing Burnout in 2022
International Journal of Testing
The development and validation of the Resilience Index
Featured
What our clients say
Neurozone® High Performance App
"Neurozone® provided that holistic approach to my growth trajectory that I needed to embark on, because it offered a new way of thinking, well-being of my body and mind coupled with a depth of learning that I didn't anticipate. I am now a proudly certified Neurozone coach, and eager to do my part in guiding others on this course towards optimal performance."
Leah Kitoloh
Talent and Performance Strategist
Neurozone® High Performance Leadership Masterclass
“Dr. Etienne van der Walt provides profound insights into human performance. His online masterclass facilitation course is a powerful tool for leaders and organizational development professionals seeking accurate and practical applications of neuroscience in business.”
Carlos Arce
Organizational development specialist, facilitator and company leader-customer experience at Elation
Neurozone® High Performance Course
“Understanding how the brain works helps leaders to better understand how processing information, problem- solving and making decisions impact those around us. Dr Etienne’s easy, conversational style of delivery and engagement makes the acquisition of knowledge and ability to apply simple and realistic, which definitely assisted me to assimilate the lessons learnt and capabilities acquired. Would recommend this to any leader striving to achieve success in their role and equipping themselves for the future!”
Liesl C Petersen
Group HR: Leadership and Management Development Specialist: Nedbank
Protect mental health
Build resilience
Unlock high performance
