Who We Are
Exceed is a leadership capability platform that partners with organizations to strengthen leadership effectiveness, strategic thinking, communication, innovation, and transformation capability. We work with corporates, governments, banks, and family enterprises worldwide to design development experiences that are tailored, practical, and aligned to real business priorities.
Our Mission
Our mission is to help organizations build stronger leaders for a more complex and rapidly changing world. We believe leadership development should go beyond generic training and instead focus on the capabilities that shape performance, decision-making, transformation, and long-term organizational resilience.
Our Approach to Leadership Capability
At Exceed, we approach leadership development as a strategic capability-building effort rather than a series of isolated learning interventions. Our work combines organizational context, expert insight, structured frameworks, and applied learning to help leaders strengthen the skills, mindsets, and behaviours required to lead effectively in modern organizations.
Academic Director
Exceed’s programs are informed by academic insight as well as real-world practitioner expertise. Under the academic direction of Professor Michael Gates, our approach reflects a strong emphasis on cross-cultural leadership, global management realities, and leadership capability in complex organizational environments.
Professor Michael Gates
Cross-Cultural Leadership
Academic Director
Professor Michael Gates is the Academic Director of Exceed Custom Learning Solutions FZ LLC, bringing deep academic credibility, international facilitation expertise, and a highly practical understanding of leadership across cultures. He is widely recognized for his work in cross-cultural communication, negotiation, leadership, and team effectiveness, helping senior leaders and organizations operate with greater clarity, confidence, and impact in complex global environments.
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Executive Coaching
Exceed's leadership programs are reinforced by dedicated executive coaching. Under the coaching direction of Tom Battye, our engagements help senior leaders and teams turn insight into sustained behavioural change through structured, confidential one-to-one and team coaching.
Tom Battye
Leadership Development & Executive Coaching
Head Coach
Tom Battye is an accredited executive coach with over twenty years of experience working with board members, business owners, and senior leaders internationally. His coaching practice spans leadership transitions, executive presence, high-stakes decision-making, and sustained behavioural change, drawing on validated diagnostic tools including Hogan, MBTI, and SDI. As Head of Executive Coaching at Exceed, Tom leads the design and quality of our coaching engagements and oversees our network of accredited coaches across technology, commercial, and finance leadership tracks.
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Director Program Design
Exceed’s programs are shaped not only by academic insight but by rigorous, business-aligned design. Under the program direction of Dr. Dehumo Bickersteth, our learning architecture translates strategy into scalable corporate academies, certification pathways, and capability journeys that drive measurable performance and sustained behavioural change.
Dr. Dehumo Bickersteth
Learning & Capability Architecture
Director Program Design
Dr. Dehumo Bickersteth is a global learning and capability architect with more than 20 years of experience designing enterprise learning strategies, corporate academies, certification pathways, and talent transformation initiatives across Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, Europe, and North America. He holds an EdD from the University of Pennsylvania and has worked with organizations including Standard Chartered, Singapore Exchange (SGX), Prudential Corporation Asia, Al Rajhi Bank, Tawuniya, Jardine Matheson, and Saudi Finance Academy.
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Global Expert Network
Exceed collaborates with a curated network of global experts, practitioners, and thought leaders across leadership, strategy, communication, innovation, governance, and transformation. This allows us to design highly relevant programs supported by deep expertise across multiple leadership domains.
Our Team
Professor Michael Gates
Academic Director
Tom Battye
Head Coach
Dr. Dehumo Bickersteth
Director Program Design
Bharat Kumar
Director Sales
Jerry Serrao
Director Operations
Priyanshu Sharma
Head – Data and AI
Suman Baidya
Creative Guru
Partner with Exceed
We work closely with organizations to design leadership capability programs that are practical, relevant, and aligned to business priorities.