THE STORY
About Ivanka Menken – 25 Years Building, Leading & Coaching Globally
25+ years of building, leading, and learning – across borders, industries, and every stage of growth.
Brisbane, Australia
Ivanka Menken is a strategic advisor, executive coach, and international keynote speaker with over 25 years of hands-on experience building and scaling businesses globally.
She co-founded The Art of Service – a compliance education and advisory company that has trained more than 54,000 professionals across 160+ countries, generating over $25 million in cumulative revenue.
Originally from the Netherlands, Ivanka holds a double degree in Applied Science and Education, and is a graduate of the MIT Entrepreneurial Masters Program – the prestigious growth program for high-impact founders. She was named one of Australia's 50 Most Influential Women Entrepreneurs (Inspiring Rare Birds, 2016) and holds expert-level certifications including ITIL Expert, ISO 20000 Expert, PRINCE2 Practitioner, and membership of the EXIN Expert Panel.
Her career spans management consulting, corporate training for the ICT industry, quality management, and organisational change – before she made the leap to entrepreneurship in Australia in 2000. She is a bestselling author of certification guides and handbooks across ITIL, cloud computing, ISO 20000, and leadership – books that are actively used by professionals around the world.
Ivanka brings real operational depth: building and managing remote teams across five continents, establishing reseller distribution networks, designing compliance and certification frameworks, and scaling e-commerce operations. Crucially, she isn't retired into coaching – she is actively in the field right now, leading operational excellence certification programs and enterprise assessment programs for international clients. This ongoing practitioner work keeps her advice grounded in current reality, not past experience.
She is a longstanding member of Entrepreneurs' Organization (EO), where she has held leadership roles at every level – from Chapter President (Brisbane) and Area Director (South Pacific/ANZ) to APAC Leadership Director, APAC Member Ecosystem Director, and Regional Council member. She has served as Accelerator Coach, Strategy Summit Facilitator, and Regional Leadership Academy chair – dedicating nearly two decades to developing entrepreneurs across the Asia-Pacific.
Ivanka is bilingual (English and Dutch) and has lived and worked across five countries.
THE PERSONAL STORY
The story behind the business
I met my husband Gerard in 1996 in the Netherlands. We were both working in IT service management, both restless, both convinced that there was a bigger life waiting somewhere. In 2000, we moved to Australia with nothing but two suitcases, a shared ambition, and a conviction that we could build something meaningful on the other side of the world.
We started The Art of Service from our living room. I was pregnant with our son when the business was taking its first steps. When Frank was born eight weeks premature, I remember the doctor saying he was in a hurry to get out – and Gerard joking that the business was like his older brother. Those early days were a blur of NICU visits, customer emails, and the quiet terror of knowing that everything depended on us.
There was guilt. So much guilt. The guilt of working when I should have been with my baby. The guilt of being with my baby when I should have been building the business. The guilt of wanting both – and never feeling like I was enough at either. Every working mother knows this feeling. Very few talk about it honestly.
Over time, I learned that the guilt does not go away. You learn to carry it differently. You learn that being present matters more than being perfect. And you learn that the values you build your business on are the same values you want to teach your child.
Three values have guided everything I do:
Integrity over convenience
Do the right thing, even when no one is watching. Especially when no one is watching.
Growth through discomfort
The most important lessons are never comfortable. Lean in, not away.
Relationships before transactions
Every business is ultimately a web of human connections. Invest in people first.
THE JOURNEY
Building across borders
From a living room in Brisbane to clients in 160+ countries – the businesses, the ventures, and the stories along the way.
The Art of Service
Our flagship business. What started as an IT service management training company became a global education, certification, and AI-powered compliance platform. Over $25 million in cumulative revenue. 54,000+ professionals trained. Certification guides that became bestsellers. It is the business that taught us everything – and it is still evolving.
theartofservice.com →Emereo Publishing
Our publishing arm. We built Emereo to create practical, accessible professional development resources. Over the years, we published hundreds of titles across technology, management, and leadership – many of which became category leaders on Amazon and other platforms. It was through Emereo that I discovered the power of putting knowledge into the world at scale.
Horses-Store
A venture born from passion. As an avid equestrian, I saw an opportunity to build an online retail platform for horse supplies and equipment. Horses-Store was a lesson in e-commerce, logistics, and the power of serving a community you genuinely belong to.
Q-LINN
An import business focused on women's sports gear. Q-LINN imported sports bras and other women's athletic wear into the Australian market. It taught me about product sourcing, logistics, and serving a community I cared about. It was a departure from our core business – and that was the point.
Brazil, 2009
Travelled to Brazil to deliver train the trainer programs – sharing our IT service management methodology with local practitioners. It was the first time I experienced the entrepreneurial energy of South America up close, and it reinforced my belief in the power of knowledge transfer across cultures.
A-Players
The single most important lesson I learned about scaling: you cannot build a great company with B-players. Hiring for culture, raising the bar on talent, and being willing to make hard decisions about who stays and who goes – that is what separates companies that scale from companies that stall.
Remote since the early 2000s
We've been a remote-first company since the early 2000s – long before it became fashionable. Our team spans continents, our clients are global, and we learned early that the best talent doesn't always live in your city. This operating model has been one of our greatest competitive advantages.
IN THE FIELD
Bestselling author. Active practitioner. Still in the arena.
Most coaches left the field years ago. Ivanka never did. She is a bestselling author of certification guides and handbooks used by professionals worldwide – and she's currently leading live operational programs for international enterprise clients. Her advice comes from what she's doing this month, not what she did a decade ago.
Bestselling Author
Ivanka has authored bestselling certification guides and professional handbooks across multiple domains – books that are actively used by practitioners and organisations around the world.
- ITIL Service Management
- Cloud Computing
- ISO 20000
- Leadership & Organisational Change
Available through major global retailers
Currently in the Field
Unlike coaches who rely solely on past experience, Ivanka is actively engaged in high-level operational work for international enterprise clients right now.
Operational Excellence Certification Program
Designing and delivering a comprehensive certification framework for an international technology solutions company
Enterprise Assessment Programs
Building and running structured assessment programs for a global industry network organisation
Client names available upon request
BEYOND BUSINESS
The passions that keep me whole
Horses & Dressage
I have been riding since I was 12 years old. Horses have been the constant thread through every chapter of my life – across countries, careers, and every stage of personal growth. When everything else is in motion, the stable is where I find stillness.
Dressage, in particular, has taught me more about leadership than any business book. It is the art of communicating with a 600 kg animal through invisible cues – leadership without control, partnership without words. You cannot force a horse to perform. You can only create the conditions for willingness.
I am a C-level EA Dressage Judge, registered with Equestrian Australia, and I actively judge most weekends. Judging dressage requires the same skills I use in coaching: observing without bias, providing clear and constructive feedback, and holding a standard without losing compassion.
“The horse is a mirror. It reflects back exactly who you are in the moment – not who you think you are, not who you wish you were. And judging teaches you to see clearly, without attachment to the outcome.”
Painting
In 2024, I started painting. It was unexpected, unplanned, and exactly what I needed. After decades of building systems, analysing frameworks, and optimising processes, painting gave me permission to create something with no KPIs, no deadlines, and no client expectations.
I work primarily in acrylics and watercolour. I am drawn to colour, texture, and the way light interacts with water. There is a meditative quality to painting that is unlike anything else in my life – it requires presence in a way that business rarely does.
Painting has taught me that not everything needs to be measured, optimised, or strategised. Sometimes the most valuable thing you can do is create something beautiful for no reason at all.
You can see my work at ivankapaints.com
AT A GLANCE
Credentials & experience
WHAT LEADERS SAY
In their words
Ivanka is a business leader at the top of her tree. She has achieved these heights because of her heart-centered integrity, clarity and professionalism that her clients and colleagues receive with such warmth and energy. The practical and logistical way in which the Art of Service wrap their educational programmes and AI technology driven assessments makes them highly accessible to anyone navigating the complexities of IT, cyber, compliance and business risk management. I love working with Ivanka – she’s truly inspirational.
Ivanka is a no fuss, to the point advisor who doesn’t shy away from the tough questions and challenges you on your excuses. She has a unique ability to be tough when you need it and warmly supportive when you are really in a hole.
Ivanka’s accountability sessions were a game-changer. Her blend of tough love and empathetic guidance kept me focused, aligned, and on track to surpass our growth targets by 25%.
Personable, but straight to the point. Ivanka helps you identify the bottleneck in your business and supports you while you execute on your plan. Every session is a combination of strategy, execution and mindset.
I found Ivanka’s coaching sessions to be life changing. I highly recommend her as a coach but also – and probably more importantly – an amazing person.
Ivanka gave me clarity and direction on how to take the next steps. I was lacking confidence in how I should execute. I felt empowered and informed after our session.
During our sessions Ivanka isn’t just talking theory – she is sharing her own lived experiences.
Ivanka has the unique ability to ask the challenging questions and be supportive at the same time.
Ready to think more clearly about what comes next?
Book a confidential conversation. No obligation, no sales pitch – just an honest exchange.
Or email directly: ivanka@ivankamenken.com