About Me

Hey there! I’m Kay Leslie — an energetic, bubbly, and passionate Learning & Development leader who believes training should be both fun and seriously effective.

With over 20 years of experience across diverse industries (logistics, manufacturing, security, hospitality, education, warehousing, liquor & wine, publishing, IT, call centres, and managed services including recruitment, payroll & IR), I’ve had the privilege of living and working in South Africa, the United Kingdom, and Japan — and picked up four languages along the way!

What I’m really good at:

• Building training functions and full academies from scratch in multiple organisations

• Designing and facilitating high-impact leadership development programmes (including Management Development Programmes (MDP), Future Leaders Programmes (FLP), and targeted supervisor-to-Junior Operations Manager pathways — e.g. for Gridhawk Security)

• Creating practical, results-driven training — from sales enablement and The Art of War-inspired eLearning modules to operational manuals, compliance/IR training, control room skills, and rostering systems

• Delivering and proving measurable ROI through detailed evaluation reports, POE tracking, and business impact metrics (productivity gains, waste reduction, complaint decreases, etc.)

• Working effectively in blended and remote environments — live Teams facilitation + ILIAS LMS integration, DocuSign workflows, and cross-time-zone delivery

Whether I’m leading L&D remotely for the Cre8work Group from New Zealand or growing my own remote education and coaching business (Uplift Learning), my approach stays the same: I bring high energy, strategic thinking, creativity, and genuine care into every learning experience I create.

I’ve been featured as the main article in The Inspirational Leader magazine and have shared insights on radio and through various publications.

I’m always excited to connect with like-minded professionals who value authentic, impactful development. Feel free to reach out!