Global Insurance Firm

Lean into Summer: Global Leadership Conference at Oakley Court

Why: Global Leadership Conference

location: Oakley Court, Berkshire

industry: Insurance

The challenge:

Our client, a leading insurer has grown to global status in recent years and was bringing together their Senior Leadership Team for a 2-day conference that balanced business objectives with meaningful human connection.

Our brief? To create a memorable summer experience that would unite this high performing team.

Our Approach

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And Relax

A calm arrival: The arrival was designed as a moment for our global leaders to to pause and settle into the experience. Guests were welcomed with coffee overlooking the lake.

- Coffee in hand: Signals "you've arrived"
- Blue space: Instantly calming
- Leave the logistics behind: The travel was done. Their luggage taken care of.

A personal moment: We leant into summer and invited guests to bring and share their favourite summer memory as an icebreaker. It set the relaxed summery tone for the next two days and got people talking and sharing.

The perfect Summer evening: The evening dinner became a relaxed summer barbecue. Live jazz, golden hour, outdoor games and a caricaturist.

The caricaturist proved to be one of the biggest talking points of the evening, helping people laugh, connect and strike up conversations with colleagues.

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Embrace Outdoors

Make the most of the outside space: The gardens became another event space: Walking breakouts, outdoor lunches, conversations in the fresh air.

Instead of looking out at the grounds, guests were encouraged to use them.

Bring summer indoors: The feeling of summer didn't stop at the meeting room door. Natural flowers and greenery flowed through every meeting space, creating a sense of continuity as people moved throughout the venue.

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Let's Play

Small, low pressure invitations to relax and have fun were designed throughout the event.. No forced fun, just gentle invitations.

Garden games, Ping pong in the client's colours, Big screens showing the football so people could watch together rather than sneaking off to check the score.

The caricaturist proved to be one of the biggest talking points of the evening, helping people laugh, connect and strike up conversations with colleagues.

Small changes like redesigning the space on Day 2, introducing new activities and features (garden games, a tea tent) kept energy high and gave our guests a fresh experience rather than another day in the same conference room.

The Result

The conference felt relaxed without losing focus.

Professional without being formal.

Every detail worked together to create an atmosphere that encouraged conversation, collaboration and connection.

Great events rarely rely on one standout moment. They're built through hundreds of thoughtful decisions that shape how people experience every moment in between.

Want to bring your leadership team together? Get in touch, we'd love to talk.
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I’ve spent 30 years designing transformative events. The events are unique, the science behind them remains the same. I use 7 trusted frameworks to build every event. I've put them into a playbook.