OUR HISTORY
Since the launch of Celemi Decision Base™ in 1978, we have been pioneers in our field, pushing the boundaries of corporate learning solutions, leading in the field of gamification, and creating dialogue programs to help organizations engage people. With a client return rate of over 70%, we have a wealth of experience in creating learning solutions that make change happen.
Margareta Barchan, a pharmaceuticals Communications Director and Ad Agency founder, Klas Mellander, a teacher and pedagogue, and Krister Nathanaelson, a famous TV director, scriptwriter, and media consultant, birthed the idea. On August 14th, 1985, at a café outside of Hotel Krasnapolsky in Amsterdam, Celemi was born.
Below you can see some of our favorite cases and highlights through the years.
1978-1988: The Founding Years
In these years, Celemi was a small company based in the UK and Switzerland, pioneering the world of business simulations. Celemi’s methods quickly gained recognition, and large, multinational clients came knocking at our door.
1978: The foundation is laid
Företagets affärer (English: The company’s business), the pioneering business simulation, was developed and launched by our founder Klas Mellander. This business simulation later became Celemi Decision Base™, and was the groundbreaking start to Celemi’s methodology.
1985: a company is born
Learning Methods International (LMI) is founded by Klas Mellander, Margareta Barchan, and Krister Nathanaelson. Later renamed Celemi, the company quickly grew an impressive international client base, with many clients staying with us for decades.
1987: Our global reach begins
We start building a global partner network of facilitators and learning experts to meet demand for Celemi solutions in various markets. In 1988 we held our first global partner meeting, and by 1990 our solutions were sold by our partners in 20 countries spanning 5 continents.
Today, our partner network is a valuable part of Celemi, giving us a global reach to over 70 different countries and languages.
1989-1999: The Expanding Years
Now an established company, Celemi became a force to be reckoned with in global markets. The headquarters moved to Sweden in 1990, and in 1993 Klas Mellander’s book The Power of Learning, describing Celemi’s methodology, hit US markets. Offices opened in Belgium, the UK, and the US.
1989: The prescription for success
We begin working with a number of global pharmaceutical companies, developing learning solutions for medical sales representatives and doctors alike. These solutions cover topics ranging from dialysis to organizational change, packaging the complex topics into fun, engaging simulations.
1992: Reaching larger audiences
Our best-selling business simulation Celemi Apples & Oranges™ is launched as a more scalable, simple alternative to Decision Base: “Business finance for everyone.”
We launch the simulation at the Grand Hotel in Stockholm with hundreds of participants simultaneously.
1994: People in focus
Intangible assets become the hot topic of the early 90s, with an increasing number of clients wanting to place more value and focus on people, knowledge, clients, and other intangible assets.
Together with industry expert Karl-Erik Sveiby we develop and launch Celemi Tango™, a people- and talent-based solution that becomes an immediate hit among our clients.
1997: Gaining recognition
Celemi is named as one of Europe’s 500 fastest growing companies, and CEO Margareta Barchan is named Sweden’s businesswoman of the year.
1998: Large-scale global rollouts continue
We create a branding programme for a global leader in mobile technology, allowing them to reach over 10,000 employees in 14 countries in just over one year.
1999: Going digital
We spearhead the digital world, developing digital solutions to complement our board-based offerings. Leveraging new technologies and using a team of learning consultants, learning programmers, and graphic designers, we quickly create digital custom learning solutions on-demand. Topics addressed include patient management, sales, business ethics, and logistics.
2000-2010: The transforming years
After years of growth and expansion, Celemi restructured and found new ways to navigate changing global markets. After the financial crisis in 2008, we developed shorter solutions to fit our clients’ changing needs.
2001: Simulating real-time market data
In close cooperation with a leading supplier in telecommunications, Celemi develops a revolutionary custom-made digital simulation rolled out in Europe and the US. It uses real market data in real time to help participants understand the dynamics of their own marketplace – in order to more effectively meet customer needs.
2001-2003: Bringing vision and strategy to life
In 2001 we develop and run a large-scale rollout of a large US clothing retailer, training over 180,000 employees in 8 countries. In 2003, a large telecommunications company uses Celemi solutions to engage their top 1000 leaders in a dialogue about their vision and values.
2005: Innovation and diversity
The Medici Game® is released in cooperation with Frans Johansson, author of the best-selling book “The Medici Effect.” This dialogue program helps organizations understand and create conditions for break-through innovation and understand how to leverage diversity.
Diversity also becomes the topic of several custom-made Celemi solutions, developed for large global clients, e.g. in the construction industry.
2006-2007: Venturing new solutions
In 2006 we launch Celemi Cayenne™, a fast-paced, one-day project management simulation, and in 2007 Celemi Enterprise™ is launched, a pioneering simulation focused on market segmentation. Both have become client favorites, and are today used in future talent programs across many industries, executive MBA programs, and management training alike.
2009: Celemi in demand in a turbulent climate
During the financial crisis, many of our clients across all industries, including pharmaceuticals and manufacturing, continue to turn to Celemi for help in aligning on company strategy and growth.
We also release Celemi Performance™ – a half-day workshop where you turn around the performance of a company in three steps (focus on business fundamentals, value added services, and customer segmentation).
2011-2019: The Enterprising Years
With a new global management team, we are continuing to find new ways to engage peoples’ hearts, hands, and minds in complex topics and help organizations create strategic alignment to drive success.
2012-2015: Adapting to a changing world
We update and relaunch some of our bestselling products to better meet the concerns of an increasingly digital and VUCA world, including Celemi Tango™, Apples & Oranges™, and Decision Base™.
We also launch our dialogue program Celemi Exploring Change™ as a way for companies to address the objections and roadblocks that arise when undergoing change processes.
2015: 30 year jubilee!
Together with our partner network, we celebrate 30 years of learning with a jubilee celebration at our headquarters in Malmö.
Later in the year, our global partner network helps us to conduct a large-scale roll-out for an international aerospace copmany, reaching over 3,000 participants in 20 countries over 4 months.
2017: Innovative digital solutions for retail
We revive our cooperation with a leading global retailer. Together, we develop custom-made learning- and change implementation programs on topics like sustainability and agile practices. Innovative solutions are developed using new digital authoring tools, for access on a range of digital devices.
2018: Broader manufacturing offerings
Celemi Partnerstock™ is released as a new strategic simulation to address typical issues in the manufacturing supply chain. We also release a digitalization twist to our top-selling Celemi Decision Base™, in order to help manufacturing clients tackle the challenges of a digitalizing workplace.
A number of custom solutions for manufacturing clients are developed, including the start of a large strategy implementation project for a global manufacturer, that brings together employees from all over the world to align behind their new global strategy.
2019: Working with an agile mindset
Celemi Agile Move™ released as our first off-the-shelf fully digital solution, tackling the challenges of working in a VUCA world, and is an instant hit among both our partners and clients.
2020-now: The Adapting Years
The COVID-19 pandemic brought about a host of difficulties and challenges. Thanks to an enormous amount of resilience and effort from our team members, we have not only stayed afloat, but also continued to innovate and improve in a quickly changing world.
2020: The Pandemic Hit
For most of the year, the entire company works virtually, with most people working from home. The focus shifts to virtual learning, and we build and launch the digital version of our bestselling Celemi Apples and Oranges™ simulation on what will become Celemi Learning Space™.
2021: In the Virtual World
We continue to operate virtually throughout most of the year. We further expand our virtual simulations, with some of our webinars drawing in hundreds of global participants.
Hilti provides us with a challenging custom project, which we build on our Celemi Learning Space™ technology. In December, we get to run a massive in-person event at the Dallas Cowboys stadium with 400 participants.
2022: Sustainability in focus
We continue to grow and adapt as the world changes. Digital and virtual learning are now an established part of Celemi’s business. We also see in-person simulations making a comeback. Celemi Sustainability launches towards the end of the year.