Our story
After long and successful careers in the corporate world, we wanted to create a brand that harnessed our decades of international experience and combined it with our passion for culture and learning. We wanted to build a bridge between the cultures of China, Britain and the West, to promote greater understanding between current and future generations.
As the name suggests, we chose new chapters because we believe that life is a continuous journey of learning – no matter how young or old – there are always new experiences and knowledge that can enrich us and help us grow as individuals. Our cultural learning programmes are geared to enabling our clients to understand the world more fully, to learn from history and the great leaders of the past and present, to become more cultured and therefore better prepared to thrive in their increasingly international lives. This is critical for today’s aspiring leaders and even more so for our children, the potential leaders of tomorrow.
Our values
Inspiring
We believe that inspiration can light a fire in all of us to push ourselves further and maximise our contribution to society.
Holistic
We take an holistic approach to all that we do, from engaging world-class experts to coach you, through to every aspect of the programme – immersive learning experiences that give you a masterclass in a subject.
Considered
We know that understanding a client’s needs and objectives takes time. Careful thought can be the difference between good and great.
Creative
We look at a brief from many angles and develop the best way for you to get the most out of your programme.
Giving
It is a huge privilege to create our learning programmes. It is therefore very satisfying that through them we are able to give back and support partner charities and causes which are important to us.
Fun
We believe that learning is easy when you are enjoying yourself.
Our backgrounds
Esther Leong
Esther Leong is a British born Chinese. Raised and schooled in London, she studied History, Politics and Economics at university where she participated in the Erasmus programme, an exchange between European universities, enabling her to study at the Sorbonne in Paris.
Before founding New Chapters, Esther had a successful career in international marketing and innovation, working for the world’s top consumer goods companies, such as Nestlé and PepsiCo. These roles took her all over the world from the U.S.A to France and Switzerland.
After 20 years in the corporate world, she decided that she wanted to combine the expertise and skills gained in her career, with her passion for culture and learning. Capitalising on what was a nascent trend, Chinese outbound travel, New Chapters offers high-level cultural learning programmes for visionary individuals and their families.
Simon Webb
Simon grew up in England, the USA and Germany. He was educated at boarding school in England and University College London where he studied Classics – Latin, Greek, Ancient History, Literature and Civilisation. In contrast, his business career was until recently focused on creating new technology and running large international business change programmes. He was a Partner in the world’s leading management consulting firm and was also the Global Chief Information Officer and a Board member of a multi-billion-pound conglomerate. His experience took him all over the world, working across many different countries with diverse cultures.
Simon spent much of his career at PwC. He was a Partner in the technology practice, based both in London and the USA. He ran areas of the business across Europe, America, Asia and globally, working with large multi-national clients. This enabled him to pursue his interests in people, business and technology, aligning different cultures around the world to create successful businesses.
Simon founded New Chapters with his wife, Esther Leong, to provide a bridge between the cultures of China, Britain and the West. He is an avid collector and investor in fine art photography and also indulges his interests in people, cultures, art, design, history and leadership through the New Chapters programmes.
