A $1.3 trillion asset management firm partnered with SimuRise to activate digital-first mindsets and leadership behaviors with digital transformation training across its global capability leadership teams. Through an immersive simulation focused on transformation agility, collaboration, and change ownership, 56 senior leaders were equipped to lead confidently in a tech-driven world.
Introduction
Digital transformation doesn’t just demand new tools. It demands a new way of thinking.
At one of the world’s largest financial institutions, transformation isn’t a buzzword. It’s a business imperative. With AI, automation, and digital workflows reshaping every touchpoint, this Fortune 500 asset management company needed to shift leadership from managing change… to owning it.
That’s when SimuRise stepped in with an experiential digital transformation training intervention designed to change how leaders think, collaborate, and execute in the digital age.
The Challenge
The client’s goal was clear: Embed digital transformation at the core of strategy and ensure leadership teams had the mindsets and behaviors to match.
But knowledge alone wouldn’t cut it. This transformation required emotional buy-in, behavioral change, and a fresh leadership lens that could thrive in ambiguity, use AI as an enabler, and drive change across traditional workflows. This is why digital transformation training became the right solution.
Our Approach
SimuRise designed a bespoke version of our flagship simulation—The Quest for King Solomon’s Mines—tailored to reflect the dynamics of digital transformation training.
In this fast-paced, high-stakes experience, 56 leaders from global capability teams were placed in a simulation where they had to:
- Navigate unpredictable, ambiguous challenges
- Maximize limited resources and time
- Build high-performing, cross-functional teams
- Align with evolving digital goals and strategy
Gold, in this world, symbolized digital outcomes, innovation, efficiency, and competitive advantage. And to mine it, leaders had to adapt, collaborate, and think beyond legacy systems.
What Emerged from Digital Transformation Training
The simulation revealed critical patterns:
- Mindset shift is the real unlock: Leaders saw firsthand that digital change isn’t just about process, it’s about perception
- AI isn’t a threat. It’s a tool: Many shared breakthroughs around using tech to enable strategy, not derail it
- Transformation needs clarity: Leaders struggled with (and learned from) misaligned priorities and unclear communication, echoing real-world friction
- Agility matters more than control: Teams that embraced flexibility and co-ownership performed better
Results & Reflections
The impact of the digital transformation training was immediate and resonant.
Leaders walked away with clarity, confidence, and renewed ownership of the transformation agenda.
“This is what digital transformation training should feel like—interactive, reflective, and empowering.” — Senior Leader, Global Capability Team
From stronger cross-functional alignment to a deeper understanding of digital fluency, the experience seeded behaviors essential for future-ready leadership.
Conclusion
In the digital era, transformation isn’t led by systems. It’s led by people.
This case study highlights how digital transformation training with a simulation-led approach helped one of the world’s most respected financial organizations move from digital awareness to digital action.
Because change doesn’t stick through presentations. It sticks through experience.
And that’s what leaders got with SimuRise.
