Who We Are

A professional, passionate and hard-working team that takes work seriously but also know how to have fun and balance work and life successfully

The Core Team

Our core team works fully remote and are made up of intelligent and committed professional experts who have superpowers that collectively make Sensory Intelligence® a success. We have an unquestioned reputation with a no-fuss approach in designing, delivering and monitoring learning and development for our clients. We are registered with various industry bodies and our training material is accredited for professional development purposes.

Dr Annemarie Lombard

Speciality: Founder | Thought Leader | CEO | Author | Speaker | Facilitator

Contact number: (+27) 84 661 1010

Contact Email: [email protected]

Special Focus Areas

Annemarie is the thought leader behind Sensory Intelligence® which was started as a concept in 2000, established as a part-time business in 2003 and full-time in 2005. 

She is a registered Occupational Therapist with the Health Professions Council of South Africa and practiced for 15 years with children with learning problems before taking the concept to adult learning and development. Annemarie is the author of the book “Sensory Intelligence: Why It Matters More Than IQ and EQ”, published by Metz Press, in 2007. She holds a PhD in Health Sciences (Occupational Therapy), obtained through the University of Cape Town in 2012.  Annemarie has been published widely across newspaper and magazine print media, has been a guest on various radio programmes and featured on South African television.

Annemarie is truly passionate about people and believes in keeping things simple, being solution focused and practical.

Sensory Intelligence® Consulting won the BPeSA “Best Non-Technical Innovation – External Award” in 2010 for their Senses on Call™ e-assessment tool. BPeSA is a Contact Centre industry organisation. Annemarie won the SACBW Business Woman of the Year Award in the professional category for Cape Town, 2008/9.

She lives in Cape Town, South Africa, is married to Eugene (a George Clooney lookalike) and they have two sons, Lukas and Henrick.

Sensory strategies

Read more about Annemarie’s go-to strategies to cope best.

Sensory snacks: 
Eating crunchy/salty foods, regular stretch breaks, deep breathing (especially when angry and frustrated)

Sensory diets:
Reading, bookclub, cooking (always with a glass of good wine), running (trail running in particular), the odd retail therapy also helps

Sensory ergonomics: 
Disabling all sound alerts/notifications on cell phone and laptop to reduce distractions, regularly declutters and always organising workspace

Habits and quirks: 
“I have a shoe fetish and collect interesting earrings. I also buy earrings to celebrate big events and then continue to associate the earrings with the event. I am a recycle queen and recycle absolutely anything and everything possible.”

Marieta du Toit

Speciality: Director | Systems and Operations Manager

Contact number: (+27) 82 468 7604

Contact Email: [email protected]

Special Focus Areas

Marieta qualified as an Occupational Therapist in 1999 and has been living out her vocational passion since then: helping clients achieve happy, healthy, productive lives. She has been part of the Sensory Intelligence® team since 2017.

Marieta has a special interest in combining neurology, sensory regulation and human behaviour in the modern world, thereby facilitating self-awareness and improved quality of life for clients. Due to the increase of stressors in people’s everyday lives, she enjoys guiding people towards better understanding of their own Sensory Matrix™ scores and as a result, improving their coping skills for work, relationships, wellbeing and “ordinary life”.

She managed a clinical practice successfully for 20 years, dealing with a variety of clients. By applying tools, strategies and principles, together they have achieved their individualised goals and as a result, improved their lives in a sustainable manner.

She lives in George, South Africa, with her husband Barry and enjoys the outdoors.

Sensory strategies

Read more about Marieta’s go-to strategies to cope best.

Sensory snacks:
Drinking water from a spout bottle, eating salty/spicy snacks, get up – get out – move, deep breathing

Sensory diets:
Going for walks (not too far…), camping (out-of-season/secluded spots), spending silent time by the ocean while listening to the waves crashing on the rocks, creating photo books

Sensory ergonomics:
Mostly monotone home decor, wearing sunglasses outdoors, need silence to focus, comfy clothes on difficult days, shopping during off-peak hours, desk against back wall with door in my visual field – no surprises!

Habits and quirks:
“I rinse plates and cutlery before putting it in the dishwasher… to be washed. If there’s a very big, heavy light fitting or chandelier hanging above a couch, I’ll choose a different seat.”

Alison Holmwood

Speciality: Relationship Support Manager

Contact number: (+27) 84 557 8779

Contact Email: [email protected]

Special Focus Areas

After what seems like a lifetime in 5-star hotels being exposed to Operations, Human Resources and Sales & Marketing, COVID changed the career landscape for Alison.

She joined Sensory Intelligence® in July 2021 and began the transition to working from home.

Quite a change for a married, full-time working mum with two children and two fur children – Lemon and Ella, both very needy and loving rescue dogs.

3 months later she was loving the autonomy over her life and is very excited to be learning about Sensory Intelligence® and all that the field encompasses.

The impact it has in so many spheres of daily life, family, work, wellness and mental health is amazing.

Sensory strategies

Read more about Alison’s go-to strategies to cope best.

Sensory snacks:
Salty popcorn, fresh fruit smoothies and getting up from the PC to play with her dogs. 

Sensory diets:
Reading non-fiction novels, walking along the beach, exploring new places with her family and playing board games or cards with friends whilst enjoying home-cooked meals

Sensory ergonomics:
Enjoys visually interesting items (textures & bright colours), needs some noise/sounds in order to concentrate, prefers fresh air by means of an open door/window, struggles with mess and disorganised spaces

Habits and quirks:
“I love to watch old movies: they are the classics. I have a few hundred DVDs in my collection – even with the advent of Netflix, I won’t get rid of them.
I enjoy gardening if I have a plant or veggie to add to the garden…you can truly see the fruits of your labour after a few hours outside in the sunshine.
I must make the bed as soon as I get up!”

Kobie Abrie

Speciality: Client Relations and Account Manager

Contact number: (+27) 63 641 0560

Contact Email: [email protected]

Special Focus Areas

Kobie Abrie is a compassionate professional with a BEd in Teaching, drawing from her years in ministry and the non-profit sector supporting vulnerable children.

Alongside her dedication to education and advocacy, she is passionate about promoting people’s health, wellness and balanced lifestyles. Kobie is very passionate about staff wellness and helping them understand themselves best to take care of themselves at work and at home. Kobie is a foster parent to two children and is so privileged to see them grow and develop as individuals in a safe space.

Read more about Kobie’s go-to strategies to cope best:

Sensory snacks:
Stepping away from the phone and computer during a short break to drink a cup of herbal tea, watching the clouds, the sea or a fire, playing with something (e.g. a stress ball) during meetings to stay focused

Sensory diets:
Doodling or painting while listening to music or making polymer clay earrings

Sensory ergonomics:
Keeping cellphone notifications almost always off, sitting near the front in church or at a big venue to block out all the distractions from behind

Habits and quirks:
“I am a single mom. By the time my kids are out the house in te morning, I am already overstimulated. So after school drop-off every morning, I make the transition from mom to me by taking a walk in the park or on the beach with my two dogs. And then I am able to start my workday and focus on that.”

Tercia Wiehahn

Speciality: Accountant

Contact number: (+27) 21 981 6740

Contact Email: [email protected]

Special Focus Areas

Tercia obtained a BCom (Law) degree in 2005 and is a keen problem solver, assisting Sensory Intelligence Consulting since 2019.

Read more about Tercia’s go-to strategies to cope best:

Sensory snacks:
Sipping from a spout bottle, stretch breaks, deep breathing, chewing gum and snacking on something crunchy

Sensory diets:
Building puzzles, paint-by-numbers, arts and crafts, taking very long baths

Sensory ergonomics:
Planning and organising my time, reducing clutter and organising my space, avoiding large crowds and shopping at peak times

Habits and quirks:
“I have a soft spot for storage containers and how they can help me optimise space and convenience in my home.”

Our Vision

To help people be healthy, happy, and productive through the 7 senses

Our Values

  • Simplicity
  • Innovation
  • Com-Passion

Our Mission

The world is filled with distractions, irritations and overload. We help you understand and maximise your sensory wiring to be calm, focused and comfortable. 

Through the use of revolutionary, innovative, yet simple frameworks of sensory assessments, workshops, and coaching, our clients will learn how to engage their unique 7 senses for improved wellness, relationships, and productivity.

We are a niche group of passionate healthcare professionals. Our work is embedded in research and neuroscience, tried and tested, and provides tangible personal- and business results for sustained growth and success. We fully endorse and promote innovation for the new world of work as we serve individuals, groups and organizations who are innovative, out of the box thinkers searching for a calmer, healthier and more productive environment. Our client base is those who truly believe and invest in the power of human behaviour and people development.

Our business culture

  • We keep things simple, our solutions are easy and practical, firstly for our clients but also for the business – life is complex enough
  • We believe in challenging the status quo and are on a constant quest to make life easier – we solve old problems in new ways
  • We support humanity, we value people and believe that positive work environments bring out the best in people
  • We are action-orientated, committed to delivering excellent service and strive to go the extra mile – poor service should never be tolerated
  • We are passionate, self-managed, motivated and driven to be the best version of ourselves – we are never mediocre
  • We strive to be honest, real, ethical and transparent in everything we do – we rebel against hypocrisy
  • We believe in learning and growing – we never know it all. We take accountability for our mistakes and learn from them
  • We strive for clear and supportive communication with our clients, team members, and service providers – we support active engagement and collaboration

Sensory Intelligence®
Book

“Sensory intelligence, why it matters more than IQ and EQ” was published in 2007 to explain sensory processing in layman’s terms to every person on a journey to understanding human behaviour better.

Read More
               

Meet the Experts

Dr Annemarie Lombard

Founder | CEO | Thought Leader

With more than 30 years experience and HPCSA registration, celebrated author of “Sensory Intelligence – why it matters more than IQ and EQ” and multiple award winner, Dr Annemarie Lombard is an undisputed thought leader, researcher and subject expert on sensory neuroscience. With simplicity, innovation and passion, she and her professional team transform individual lives and corporate workplaces for the better as her hundreds of clients nationally and internationally will tell you.

Marieta du Toit

Director | Sensory Coach | Workshop Facilitator

Marieta qualified as an Occupational Therapist in 1999 and has been living out her vocational passion since then: helping her clients achieve happy, healthy, productive lives.

Why Choose Us

Who has benefited

26218
Sensory Quiz™
completed
14653
Sensory Matrix™
completed
9942
Senses on Call™
completed
338
Senses@Work™
completed
21066
Social media
fans
16961
Sensory Intelligence®
subscribers
564
Practitioners
trained