BUCHAREST, ROMANIA - February 19, 2026 - Marco Polo CEE, a leading leadership development consultancy in Central and Eastern Europe, announces a strategic partnership with Blue Horizon Training to integrate LeaderCoreAI, an AI-powered leadership practice platform, into its portfolio of learning journeys and executive programs.
This new collaboration strengthens Marco Polo CEE’s long-term approach to behavioral transformation by adding a scalable, data-driven practice layer to its flagship development journeys.
For over a decade, Marco Polo CEE has designed immersive “learning journeys” that extend over 3 to 12 months, combining workshops, coaching, and applied business projects to drive measurable capability growth. Yet, one persistent industry-wide challenge remains: traditional leadership training often lacks structured, ongoing practice between sessions and after the program ends.
“Leadership transformation does not happen in the training room alone,” said Raymond Marin, Managing Partner at Marco Polo CEE. “Our programs are designed as journeys because behavior change requires time, reflection, and application. With LeaderCoreAI, we now add a continuous practice environment that ensures skills are not only understood—but rehearsed until they become instinctive.”
From Insight to Repetition to Mastery
LeaderCoreAI provides AI-powered simulations of real workplace scenarios, enabling leaders to practice difficult conversations in a psychologically safe, consequence-free space. The platform features:
- Real-time interaction with dynamic AI personas that adapt to the manager’s leadership style
- Customizable leadership situations aligned to company culture and business priorities
- Instant, personalized feedback after each session
- Progressive levels of difficulty—from first-time manager challenges to high-stakes executive decisions
- 24/7, self-paced access for scalable deployment across cohorts
Through its structured portfolio, LeaderCoreAI addresses key capability areas such as new manager readiness, influence without authority, decision-making under pressure, leadership gravitas, coaching conversations, and strategic alignment.
“Learning without repetition fades quickly,” added Octavian Stanciu, Managing Partner at Marco Polo CEE. “Our learning journeys already create strong conceptual and experiential foundations. By embedding AI-powered deliberate practice between milestones, we close the reinforcement gap and significantly increase skill retention and transfer into daily leadership behavior.”
The platform provides HR and L&D leaders with real-time visibility into cohort progress, recurring skill gaps, behavioral patterns, and areas where reinforcement is needed. Instead of relying solely on post-program surveys or qualitative feedback, organizations gain data-driven insight into how leadership capabilities evolve throughout the 3–12 month journey and afterwards.
This aligns directly with Marco Polo CEE’s commitment to impact and accountability. Learning journeys are no longer evaluated only by participant satisfaction or conceptual understanding, but by observable behavioral shifts over time. By tracking how managers handle difficult conversations, decision-making under pressure, delegation, influence, or feedback scenarios across repeated simulations, organizations can see where confidence grows—and where targeted intervention is required.
“Leadership is built through deliberate reps, not passive consumption,” said Frank Basinski, Founder of Blue Horizon Training. “Marco Polo CEE has long delivered high-impact leadership experiences. By integrating LeaderCoreAI, they are adding an enduring muscle-building component—structured, repeatable practice supported by intelligent feedback.”
A Strategic Fit for the CEE Market
Both organizations share a Bucharest base and a belief that modern leadership development must combine human facilitation with intelligent technology. Through this partnership, Marco Polo CEE clients gain access to an integrated solution: expert-led learning journeys reinforced by AI-enabled practice infrastructure.
LeaderCoreAI is now available as a core component within Marco Polo CEE’s leadership programs or as an add-on to existing development initiatives.
About Marco Polo CEE
Marco Polo CEE, part of the Marco Polo Performance group, has trained over 10,450 professionals and delivered more than 1,600 coaching sessions across Central and Eastern Europe. The company partners with multinational organizations across FMCG, financial services, technology, and pharmaceuticals to design transformative leadership journeys. Clients include Coca-Cola, Vodafone, Novartis, LG, KPMG, and BCR. Learn more at marcopolocee.com
About Blue Horizon Training / LeaderCoreAI
Blue Horizon Training develops AI-powered leadership practice solutions. LeaderCoreAI is a B2B SaaS platform enabling managers to rehearse real-world leadership challenges through adaptive AI simulations with instant feedback. Clients include Leonardo UK and EU-CONEXUS. Learn more at https://leadercore.ai.
For media inquiries, please reach out to us at:
For Marco Polo CEE: Bianca Schmidt, Sachiel Creative Hub, bianca@sachiel.ro | +40 731 034 892 | https://www.linkedin.com/in/biancaschmidt/
For Blue Horizon Training: Frank Basinski, Founder, Blue Horizon Training office@leadercore.ai | +40 724 219 503 | linkedin.com/in/frank-basinski
Media Contact
Company Name: Marco Polo CEE
Contact Person: Bianca Schmidt, owner of the advertising agency managing com
Email: Send Email
Country: Romania
Website: https://www.marcopolocee.com/
