From London with Gratitude: Lessons on Building, Leading, and Dreaming Big
To our L&D community near and far,
I’m writing a few reflections the morning after Abilitie Europe’s holiday dinner, where I sat around a table with eight incredible teammates, all of whom are helping grow our work across the European region. As the holidays near, it’s time to slow down and reflect, take a pause and digest: what actually happened this year? Am I celebrating what happened and our wins before moving on to big plans for next year?
A quick reflection: over three years ago, I moved to London as employee #1 in Europe. Last night’s dinner was a distant dream. Today, it feels like a full-circle moment and a reminder of what’s possible when you build patiently, authentically, and within a community.
I joined Abilitie 10 years ago as employee #5. Back then, we were a scrappy team with a bold vision: to change the way leadership development is done through experiential learning. I said yes to a lot of opportunities in those early years, and one of the biggest was helping lead our global expansion.
Since we began our strategic growth efforts in Europe in 2022, we have brought Abilitie’s experiences to 10,000+ learners across 50+ organizations in the region.
Alex Whiteleather
MD, Abilitie Europe
Lessons from Leading our Global Expansion
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“Abilitie doesn’t have a ‘one-size fits all’ offering. Their ability (pun intended) to adapt to our needs in such a short amount of time highlights the flexible nature of their product design and construct. As a client, that’s a highly valuable attribute of their offering.”
Europe was the first step in our global expansion. And now, as our teams begin to grow in the Middle East and Asia, I wanted to share a few reflections on what’s helped us get here and what’s shaping the blueprint for where we’re going next.
Lesson #1: Relationships matter more than anything.
Business might start with a product, but it grows through trust. Some of the most meaningful progress we’ve seen has come from showing up consistently, listening deeply, and treating every client and partner as just that — a partner, not a transaction.
Lesson #2: You go further when you’re real.
There was a point where I felt pressure to lead the way I thought I should. But the real momentum came when I leaned into who I actually am: my voice, my strengths, my own style of building. That shift created space for deeper relationships and unexpected opportunities.
Lesson #3: It’s not just about expanding business, it’s about expanding community.
We haven’t just grown our client roster in Europe. We’ve grown an ecosystem of experts, advocates, and collaborators who are helping shape the future of learning alongside us. Our best work happens when we open space for others to contribute their voices and expertise.
We still don’t have it all figured out, and we’re not supposed to. We’re prioritizing progress over perfection, staying agile, and learning alongside our clients. That mindset helped us establish roots in Europe, and it’s guiding the way as we support our new teams launching in the Middle East and Asia.
Growing Through Partnerships
Since we began our strategic growth efforts in Europe in 2022, we have brought Abilitie’s experiences to 10,000+ learners across 50+ organizations in the region. We continue to grow and support creative and flexible partnership strategies to build our network of distribution to ensure simulations are equitable and accessible far and wide.
We have been growing our L&D-centered community with the help of our strategic partners at The Learning Performance Institute (LPI) and iVentiv and look forward to further strengthening our L&D community with the CIPD’s People Management Insights, The Talent & Leadership Club and Learning Technologies in 2026.
What began with me behind a computer screen in my East London flat saying, “Alright, let’s go,” has grown into a well-oiled, cross-functional team. Together, we’ll deliver more than 20 events across the region this year — and we might even see you at one of them.
We’re incredibly excited about what’s ahead and deeply grateful to those of you who’ve been part of this journey so far. We’re just getting started and we appreciate you for being part of our onward journey!
