Who We Are
Abilitie develops award-winning corporate leadership development and mini-MBA programs for rising leaders and executives around the world. With 50+ Fortune 500 clients, including Marriott, Coca-Cola, GE, and Southwest Airlines, and programs delivered in over 50 countries, Abilitie is a rapidly growing leader in the leadership development and executive education market.
Our History
Abilitie has its roots at Harvard Business School, where the company’s founders worked with their professors to create some of Harvard’s first interactive online simulations in the early 2000s. Building on those roots, Abilitie has grown to become a recognized brand in corporate leadership development and has taught over 20,000 employees at companies all over the world since it spun out of custom e-learning provider Enspire Learning in 2015.
Global Reach
Abilitie serves clients of all sizes in a broad range of industries. Our leadership programs have been deployed in over 50 countries by Fortune 500 clients.
Meet the Team
Bjorn Billhardt
Chief Executive Officer
Megan Fanale
Chief Operations Officer
Matt Confer
VP Strategy
Cara Ferragamo Murray
VP Marketing
Luke Owings
VP Product
Nathan Kracklauer
Chief Research Officer
Matt Rubins
VP Legal
Craig Dadoly
Sales
David Sharff
Engineering
Conrad Reese
Engineering
Ruben Martinez
Engineering
Lindsey Schell
Operations
Alex Whiteleather
Managing Director, Europe
Marne Cutter
Client Experience
Jordan Tippett
Client Experience
Tricia Burke
Client Experience
Colter Harnas
Client Experience
Rebecca Knaggs
Client Experience
Fred Tally-Foos
Marketing
Katelyn Powell
Marketing
Meet Some of Our Facilitators
Abilitie’s global network of 80+ certified facilitators includes skilled teachers with decades of experience facilitating leadership development programs and coaching executives. Our facilitators debrief the experiences and customize the simulations to your specific learning needs.
Dr. Carol Shuherk
Dr. Carol Shuherk is a member of the MBA faculty at the University of Rochester’s Simon Business School and created its management communication program. Prior to joining the Simon faculty, she was the University of Rochester’s Senior Associate Provost. Before coming to Rochester, Carol was an inside consultant to the Los Angeles Times for eight years, establishing the Times’ Newspaper Management Institute for mid-career managers.
Steve Gartrell
Steve Gartrell is in high demand around the globe as a facilitator of leadership and finance skills training sessions. Steve has a 15-year track record of international facilitation success with leaders in more than 200 corporations, spanning 20 countries on five continents and across the US and Canada. Totaling over 12,000 training hours, he has conducted hundreds of high-impact sessions, both in person and online. Steve previously spent 19 years with ExxonMobil in a variety of leadership positions in marketing, operations, project management, internal auditing, and accounting.
Kevin Pitts
Kevin Pitts began his career at Mutual of New York in a sales capacity. He has worked for the Strategic Management Group and PCG, LLC, consulting with the Fortune 50 and others to solve business problems related to strategic planning and execution. He designed, developed, and executed strategic planning sessions and assisted in the implementation for firms such as Ethicon, Merck, Panasonic, Hunter Defense Technologies, GE, IBM, Port Authority of NY/NJ, Picker International, and more. Kevin is an adjunct faculty member at Drexel University and moderator for Harvard Business Publishing.
Allison St. John
Allison St. John has a depth of expertise in management, leadership development, and change management, from her wide-ranging experiences with a global medical device company to the nonprofit world. She’s been a trusted internal consultant to director- and executive-level business partners to aid in problem-solving. She has spearheaded virtual learning for every organization she’s worked with and teaches communication skills to managers in remote situations.
Frank Ryan
Frank Ryan is a lecturer in the Finance Department at San Diego State University. After obtaining an MBA from Washington University in St. Louis, Frank started his career as a financial planner for Eastman Kodak. Following his time at Kodak, he marketed financial systems and accounting and software services for businesses in the Seattle area. Frank then returned to academia to obtain his master’s in economics from the University of Pennsylvania.
Maryann Billington
Maryann Billington offers consulting, facilitation, executive coaching, and leadership development for leaders in scores of organizations around the globe. She is the CEO of Action Leadership Group, a firm that assembles the “best of the best” capabilities to develop and deliver innovative solutions for clients. She was previously a Senior Partner in Korn Ferry International’s Leadership and Talent Consulting Group and Chief Client Officer at Lore International Institute, where she fueled growth with dynamic programs.
AJ Josefowitz
AJ Josefowitz honed his craft through more than 30 years of working in global Fortune 500 companies coaching leaders, developing executive teams, and designing talent development pipeline programs and processes. His experience includes cross-cultural leadership development, organization design, team development, and leadership assessment and coaching. AJ is a consultant and coach who helps leaders leverage the ever-present tension between organizational goals and individual needs by helping leaders build healthy work environments for trust, collaboration, and accountability.
Nick White
Nick White has over 20 years of experience as a business learning professional specializing in the development and delivery of financial learning events. Prior to becoming a business trainer, he spent 9 years working in various industries and held finance and IT positions in the UK and Germany for Reuters, Abbott Laboratories, and De La Rue. He holds a BA (Hons) in engineering science from the University of Oxford and, in his early career, qualified as a chartered accountant with Binder Hamlyn in London.
Paul Kirkitelos
Paul Kirkitelos was previously a consultant at McKinsey & Company with a focus on corporate finance. Paul has also served in an advisory capacity for a number of early-stage companies around the globe, and his extensive travel experience has helped feed his interest in understanding the differences and similarities between cultures throughout the world. Paul holds a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Virginia and is a former research fellow with NASA’s Laboratory for Extraterrestrial Physics.
Our Advisors
Abilitie’s Advisory Board draws on the wisdom of world-renowned faculty and seasoned CEOs.
Advisor
Dr. Michael Watkins
Dr. Michael Watkins is the Director of the Transition to Business Leadership executive program and a professor at IMD, a top-ranked business school in Lausanne, Switzerland. Dr. Watkins is the author of the international bestseller The First 90 Days: Critical Success Strategies for New Leaders at all Levels, which The Economist called “the on-boarding bible.” With more than 400,000 copies sold in English, and translations in 27 languages, The First 90 Days has become the standard reference for leaders in transition. Recently, The First 90 Days was named one of the best 100 business books of all time.
Advisor
Zeynep Young
Zeynep Young is an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year finalist and was named one of six Women of Influence in Central Texas. She is the founder of Double Line Partners, a technology company focused on delivering data systems and tools to improve student performance in K – 12 education. Prior to founding Double Line Partners, Zeynep was a portfolio manager with the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, where she oversaw a $150M portfolio of grants, and also worked at McKinsey & Company. Zeynep holds a BA from Rice University and an MBA from Northwestern University.
Advisor
Shon Bayer
Shon Bayer is the CEO, President, and Owner of Spa Partisan, Inc., which owns and operates milk + honey spas and salons in Austin, Fort Worth, and Houston, Texas. milk + honey has been recognized as the best day spa in Texas and has also been rated one of the Best Places to Work in Austin. Prior to his time at milk + honey, Shon was Vice President of Marketing at Enspire Learning and held various leadership roles at The Princeton Review. Shon holds a BS in material science from the University of California at Berkeley.
Advisor
Adrian Taylor
Adrian Taylor is a principal and co-owner of Pushstart Creative, a multidisciplinary product development agency that he co-founded in 2011. Adrian is an experienced executive and creative director focused on conceiving and executing original interactive solutions that are designed to meet real-world business needs. Prior to starting Pushstart, Adrian built an award-winning multimedia department that produced best-in-class rich media solutions for dozens of Fortune 500 companies. He has worked with a variety of organizations, including tech startups, software development houses, publishers, and advertising agencies. Adrian holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Rhode Island School of Design.
Select Clients
Featured Partners
Abilitie partners with a select group of consulting and leadership development organizations from around the globe. Many of our partners incorporate our simulations into their own offerings. Do you have clients that can benefit from our solutions? Schedule a 15-minute conversation.
