Start with the pattern
Most leadership problems are repeating behaviour, not missing knowledge. The work begins by naming what repeats.
About
About VIA Frontiers
A leadership consultancy built on behaviour, not theory — founded and led by Sylvia Fernandes.
VIA Frontiers
VIA Frontiers works with leaders and organisations on the behaviour that decides whether strategy actually happens.
VIA Frontiers was founded in Sydney in 2002 and relocated to Singapore in 2007. Across more than two decades of operating in the Asia Pacific region we have helped organisations install high-performance cultures while deepening employee engagement — creating self-management in the workplace, where people are driven by their own sense of purpose.
Most organisations we met were time poor and searching for fast results. That led to Rapid Success Technology, developed alongside Neuro-Linguistic Programming tools so clients could reach elite levels of performance at speed. The methodology is practical, sustainable, efficient and replicable.
The work spans leadership consulting, executive coaching, culture transformation and practitioner development. Programmes are highly experiential, broken into easily digested modules, and delivered through facilitation, group coaching and one-to-one coaching rather than reports.
VIA Frontiers is also the home of the Bye Bye Black Cat work and of Society of NLP certification delivered by Sylvia Fernandes.
Founder
Sylvia Fernandes
Founder of VIA Frontiers, author of Bye Bye Black Cat, and a licensed trainer with the Society of NLP (USA).
Sylvia launched her business in Sydney, Australia, in 2002, re-inventing herself from a career in banking into a behaviour change specialist. She now lives in Singapore. Having aligned culture in many organisations, her focus turned to helping employees become self-reliant, and she evolved her own brand of Rapid Success Technology with self-management of the workforce as the highest objective.
Her understanding of corporate needs and cross-cultural issues came from working in large organisations across Asia Pacific — among them Maybank, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, IT@Manpower, Cap Gemini Ernst & Young Consulting, IBM Global Services Australia and PeopleSoft.
Today Sylvia specialises in training, coaching, facilitation and consulting, using accelerated models that make change fun, fast to learn and immediately applicable to daily life. Her transition from employee to entrepreneur has been featured across mainstream media — 938LIVE Radio, Mediacorp, Channel News Asia, BFM 89.9 Radio, New Straits Times, Her World, The Edge and Malaysia Business Times. She is also the author of Bye Bye Black Cat — Turn Your Luck Around.
Beyond work she contributes travel and dining reporting to Expat Choice Asia, volunteers with initiatives including coaching inmates in Changi Prison and Willing Hearts soup kitchens, and is passionate about opera, lawn bowling, cooking and the arts.
[VIA: confirm final approved biography wording and career highlights.]
The Approach
Leadership and behavioural transformation
Work in real situations
Coaching and facilitation use live decisions, live conversations and live tension, not case studies.
Embed the new response
Change holds when the chosen response becomes the default. Rhythm and follow-through are part of the design.
Professional Credentials
Source-backed credentials
- Licensed trainer with the Society of NLP (USA)
- Founder of VIA Frontiers
- Author of Bye Bye Black Cat
- 35+ years of corporate and coaching experience across APAC
[VIA: supply any further qualifications, memberships or accreditations to be listed. Nothing is published here that has not been confirmed.]
Our Team
Trainers and coaches
Under Sylvia’s mentorship, VIA Frontiers has introduced additional trainers and coaches, each bringing industry experience alongside NLP Practitioner certification.
Kelvin Lee
Nearly 20 years in the education industry as a change management and communication coach, specialising in team development, leadership and customer experience. Has worked with government agencies, education institutions and corporates across Australia, the UK, Sweden, China and South-East Asia.
Kamlesh Ramchand
Began his career as a Local Merit Scholar in the Singapore Police Force, with later experience at G4S, Singapore Power and DoCoMo interTouch. A Certified NLP Practitioner and WSQ-accredited trainer focused on helping individuals realise their potential.
Amy Tan
A hybrid designer of ten years who came to NLP through communication tools for high performance, and now coaches on relationships, human behaviour and self-awareness.
[VIA: confirm the current team roster, approved biographies and portraits before launch.]
Lineage
Dr. Richard Bandler — co-creator of NLP
Richard Bandler, co-creator of Neuro-Linguistic Programming, conducts NLP seminars, workshops and training internationally, and continues to develop new human change technologies. Sylvia is licensed through the Society of NLP, the body he founded.
NLP certifications at VIA Frontiers →
Photograph needed
Licensed photograph of Dr. Richard Bandler, and the approved image of Sylvia with Dr. Bandler (Orlando, Florida, August 2024).
How It Fits Together
One ecosystem, four parts
VIA Frontiers
The parent brand and consultancy: leadership consulting, executive coaching and culture transformation.
Sylvia Fernandes
Founder, lead consultant, coach and trainer behind the methodology.
Bye Bye Black Cat
The book and sub-brand about hidden patterns, and the basis of the coaching methodology and coach licensing.
Society of NLP
The certifying body for the NLP education delivered through VIA Frontiers.
Client Voices
In our clients’ words
“Sylvia’s style of training is light, fun and humorous while delivering very deep messages. She is an excellent facilitator with very sharp listening skills.”
“Sylvia had a mix of East and West that augured well for my regional I.T. team, and worked with corporate clients of all levels.”
“Her professional approach and expertise to ensure the team was highly motivated and fully engaged enabled us to deliver a fully successful outcome.”
Quotes carried over from the current VIA Frontiers site. Read all client voices →
Let’s talk about your leadership challenge.
Tell us the outcome you need and we will shape the engagement around it.