Alex ten Klei and Windshift

Alex ten Klei, Chief Play Officer,  joins our podcast from the Netherlands to chat with Rich about his start in the team building industry.  At first, he started with a kite surfing school and a shop for kite equipment. Alex realized this was not going to support himself for life due to the short summer season in the Netherlands, so he developed company away days at the beach to extend the season.

Alex started on his own, and gradually there were more instructors, more different programs, and they became a team. Windshift was the second company in the Netherlands to offer Blokarting, which was a huge step at the time, now there are over 20 companies offering this fantastic activity. It was a great challenge to invent new and exciting programs each year to keep a competitive advantage.

Early 2015 Alex joined Catalyst Global to be able to offer programs year-round and to focus more on developing skills by having fun. Many years ago they were training kids by what is now known as gamification. The tools and the audience may have changed but the basics have always stayed the same. Always fascinated by learning, Alex is still finding ways to include playing but now in day to day business world.