Joris Beerda

Joris Beerda is the CEO and Founding Partner of The Octalysis Group, the world’s leading consultancy in behavioral design and gamification. Over a 20-year career spanning 15 countries and 7 languages, he has designed behavioral experiences for dozens of Fortune 500 companies and mid-sized organizations, reaching over 1.5 billion users through the Octalysis Framework.

He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, a 270-year British institution whose past fellows include Stephen Hawking, Charles Dickens, Benjamin Franklin, and Adam Smith. He was awarded the fellowship in 2023 for contributions to behavioral design and its application to critical human challenges. He is featured as a case study in Yu-kai Chou’s book 10,000 Hours of Play: Unlock Your Real Life Legendary Success.

Selected client outcomes

For Porsche Motors, he led the design of a gamified loyalty platform that achieved a 90% daily active user rate with a projected reach of 90 million customers, setting a new industry benchmark for automotive engagement.

For Pfizer, he designed a digital therapeutic ecosystem for patient adherence and habit formation, integrating behavioral economics with game mechanics.

At LATAM Airlines, he led the engagement redesign that replaced standard promotional banners with a narrative-driven treasure hunt. The design produced a 123% increase in open rates, a 153% increase in click-through rates, and a 1,407% increase in engagement with promoted products.

For BitDegree, his motivational design increased course completion rates by 400% with only 20% of the recommended architecture implemented.

With DBS Bank, he led the development of a company-wide gamification strategy, building behavioral architecture that sustained engagement across the entire customer relationship.

For VÍS Insurance, Iceland’s leading insurance company, he designed Ökuvísir, a gamified driving app that rewards safe driving habits. Over 60% of drivers improved their driving scores within three months. The app was recognized as App of the Year and Technology Solution of the Year.

For Booking.com, his team conducted a behavioral science analysis of the platform’s conversion architecture, mapping how urgency, scarcity triggers, and social proof drive booking decisions.

For Procter & Gamble, he designed a sales gamification ecosystem that shifted the focus from short-term sales contests to long-term habit formation.

For Astana Hub, Kazakhstan’s largest tech hub, he led a full behavioral audit and engagement redesign that delivered a 504% increase in active users.

Career before The Octalysis Group

Joris began his career as a diplomat in the Netherlands Foreign Service, where his work included creating a peace group between rebel groups, government soldiers, public-private partnerships, and refugees. He authored and coached the virtual training mission for the NATO mission in Afghanistan (ISAF), designing engagement protocols for high-stress operational environments.

As a Global Advisory Manager at PricewaterhouseCoopers, he led an eight-figure United Nations project to improve engagement between the organization and its members. He later headed large corporate entities in Indonesia, Singapore, and Hong Kong.

Speaking and thought leadership

Joris is a recognized keynote speaker on gamification and behavioral design, having presented at conferences across Europe, Asia, and Australia. His talk on applying Octalysis design to real-world projects breaks down how the framework moves from theory to measurable business outcomes. At Gamification Europe, he presented the award-winning international sales team project. His comparative test of Human-Focused Design versus Design Thinking examined which methodology produces stronger engagement results.

Writing

Joris has authored 159 articles on gamification, behavioral design, and enterprise engagement on The Octalysis Group blog. He also writes on LinkedIn, where his analysis of habit formation, loyalty program mechanics, and workplace engagement has reached thousands of practitioners.

Education and credentials

He holds a Master’s in International Relations and Economics from the University of Amsterdam (top 15 in Europe) and an Executive MBA from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University (ranked 22 globally). He holds Expert Level Gamification and Level 2 certifications from the Engagement Alliance, earned in 2014.