Four years ago, TheFork, a leading European technology business in the hospitality sector, was growing fast and managing the tensions that come with it. Restructuring. Rapid expansion. The pressure of moving from startup energy to sustainable profitability. Over 150 managers trying to lead effectively through all of it.
Tony White has been with them for every step of that journey.
The work
What started as a Manager's Academy; a structured development programme for a growing management population; has become something considerably more embedded. Over four years, Tony has partnered with TheFork to train in excess of 150 managers, facilitated their annual January leadership meeting that kicks off strategy and planning for the year, run their June innovation catalyst event, coached individual market teams, and provided ongoing informal coaching to the HR function.
How it evolved
The programme evolved as the business did. Insights from the Deeper Signals psychometric diagnostic identified four specific development priorities for the coming year. A new programme; Leading with Impact; was designed around that data. It won an audience-voted award at the MERIT conference in Malaga. Not judged by a panel. Voted for by peers in the industry.
One of the more distinctive elements of the programme has been the use of AI-powered simulations; built on no-code platforms; that allow managers to practise real leadership decisions in a safe environment before facing them in the business. The response from participants was immediate: they wanted more. Feedback from the most recent programme delivery noted that managers' conversation skills had dramatically improved over the previous twelve months.
In May 2026, a senior leader shared the latest engagement survey results unprompted; because they wanted him to see what four years of work looked like in the data. The message ended with a thanks!
The numbers
74%
Of managers agreed the company is a great place for them to develop; 6 points above benchmark
+13
Point increase in that score since the collaboration began
+12
Points above benchmark for new tech companies in Europe
90%
Of managers reported having access to the L&D they need; 19 points above benchmark
Sometimes the data speaks for itself.