Summary

Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult partnered with Abilitie to deliver immersive leadership development through its AI Cases and competitive simulation programs, helping first-line and matrix managers build confidence and soft skills. By blending Abilitie’s cutting-edge AI simulations with coaching, feedback, and inclusive design, CGT Catapult achieved a high NPS, reduced attrition, and fostered a culture of psychologically safe leadership development.

The Challenge

As a cutting-edge biomedical organization, Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult (CGT Catapult) is built on scientific excellence, but many of its people managers were “accidental leaders” without formal training in people development. These highly skilled technical experts needed help navigating complex interpersonal dynamics, providing feedback, and influencing across teams.

To address retention and strengthen its leadership pipeline, CGT Catapult leveraged internal talent data, onboarding feedback, and a nine-box talent matrix to identify gaps in management confidence and performance. A recurring theme emerged: new and emerging managers needed help having difficult conversations and leading without formal authority.

The Approach

CGT Catapult partnered with Abilitie on two programs: a Career Accelerator for matrix managers and a Manager Academy for first-line leaders. Both programs combined Abilitie’s AI-powered learning programs, including AI Cases and team-based competitive simulations with coaching, facilitator debriefs, and action learning.

With AI Cases, participants engaged in challenging leadership conversations with interactive, AI personas powered by natural language processing and machine learning. These simulations are dynamically adapted to the learner’s tone, intent, and communication style, creating emotionally realistic, psychologically safe scenarios to practice critical conversations like feedback, influence without authority, and conflict resolution.

Abilitie’s competitive simulations were also incorporated into the programs, allowing learners to lead virtual teams, allocate resources, and respond to evolving business conditions while receiving feedback on both outcomes and leadership behavior. This added a layer of strategic thinking and peer collaboration to the experience.

Key program innovations included:

• Abilitie’s AI Cases for individual scenario practice and emotional intelligence development

• Team-based competitive simulations to build strategy, collaboration, and decision-making under pressure

• Dynamic feedback loops tailored to each participant’s choices

• Human oversight and faculty-led debriefs to complement AI interactions

• Scenarios tested and adapted to reflect diverse learners and experiences
  
  

Accessibility and ethical AI were top priorities. Abilitie’s platform incorporated Microsoft content filters, multi-model monitoring, and human facilitation to ensure bias mitigation and data security. CGT Catapult also tested the platform across demographics to ensure cultural relevance and inclusivity.

The Results

The AI-powered learning experiences delivered both immediate and long-lasting impact across the organization.

Career Accelerator Outcomes:

• 71 Net Promoter Score (NPS) — more than double the target of 30

• 100% of learners reported increased critical thinking

• 100% said they felt more confident in their roles post-training

• 83% strongly agreed the program was a valuable use of their time

Manager Academy Outcomes:

• 8.5/10 average satisfaction

• Boosted retention and reduced attrition

• Increased willingness to lead inclusively and manage with empathy

Beyond the numbers, participants shared their learnings with peers and managers, cascading the program’s impact throughout the organization. CGT Catapult’s People Dashboard also showed improved leadership behaviors and performance. 

The blend of AI Cases, competitive simulations, coaching, and live facilitation created a learning experience that was not only educational, but transformative, giving participants the tools to confidently lead in a fast-paced environment. This success has sparked internal demand, as senior leaders are now eager to expand AI use into CGT Catapult’s 12-month Leadership Program.

With the foundation laid, CGT Catapult is poised to scale its use of AI in L&D across leadership levels. The focus moving forward includes incorporating different AI scenarios, deeper analytics, and building a shared leadership language throughout the organization.

Through its partnership with Abilitie, CGT Catapult has not just developed stronger managers, it has redefined what effective leadership looks like in the life sciences industry.