Each year, Agoda’s global teams come together for aGROWda, our annual learning week, where we carve out time for 7,500+ Agodans to explore new ideas, build practical skills, and learn from one another.
This year, we set sail on a journey centered on the 3Cs: Change, Communication, and Connection. Growth begins with change. Like any journey toward new horizons, growth calls on us to step outside our comfort zones, communicate and align with others, and build the meaningful connections that help us thrive together.
A theme shaped by what matters most
When the Learning and Development team began designing aGROWda 2026, they looked closely at the realities employees were navigating across the company. They wanted to make the conversation personal, relevant, and actionable.
Change is a natural part of career growth, whether it’s taking on new responsibilities, welcoming new team members, leading new projects, or even being promoted. However, truly embracing change and finding success through these transitions requires a clear, well-informed approach.
“Change can cause a lot of anxiety when you don’t have the tools to navigate it,” shared Karin Biran (Senior Manager, Learning & Development). “What does change mean for us as people, in and out of work? How do we deal with it? How do we find a way to thrive?” Those questions made the first focus area of this year’s aGROWda clear.
The team also reviewed company-wide engagement surveys, where communication and connection emerged as recurring themes. “We wanted to use aGROWda to bridge gaps, to give leaders and employees the tools to clearly communicate, align, and navigate change together,” Karin added.
Together, these insights shaped the 3Cs. Change became the starting point, while communication and connection offered practical ways for Agodans to find shared direction, build empathy, and feel united as we work toward the same goal.
Over the course of aGROWda 2026, Agodans explored what it takes to navigate change with confidence, communicate with greater clarity and empathy, and strengthen relationships across our global workplace.
Scaling up learning, together
This year’s aGROWda marked the first time the event was hosted at Agoda’s new One Bangkok office. The larger event space, with four times the previous capacity, allowed many more employees to take part in person.
“I would describe this year’s aGROWda with two words: scale and experimentation,” shared Sudaphan Khankwa (Learning & Development Partner). Alongside the in-person experience, the team introduced a live-streamed hybrid format for the external speaker session to make the event interactive, lively, and engaging for everyone,
Bringing this new format to life required close collaboration between the Learning and Development team, external speakers, IT Support, and the team’s production vendor. “As this was a new approach for us, we viewed it as an experiment,” Sudaphan added. “We successfully delivered the session and are excited to keep finding new ways to engage with Agodans and create a great experience for everyone.”
Leadership Panel: Navigating Change with Confidence
Change is constant—at work and in life. To open aGROWda 2026, Agoda leaders came together for a panel on Navigating Change with Confidence, where they shared their personal perspectives on moving forward with intention, resilience, and impact.
Moderated by Gauri Vicknasvaran (Senior Director, Customer Service Delivery), the discussion featured Ittai Chorev (Chief Operating Officer), Idan Zalzberg (Chief Technology Officer), Anna Suchopar (General Counsel), and Matteo Frigerio (Chief Product Officer).
The panel explored how leaders approach uncertainty, stay curious through disruption, and turn new challenges into opportunities. Through candid stories and practical reflections, they reminded us that navigating change is not about having every answer from the start. It is about staying open, learning as we go, and building habits that help us keep moving forward.
“What makes aGROWda stand apart from the other Learning & Development initiatives throughout the year is the fact that the whole organization comes together for learning,” said Aanchal Gupta (Associate Director, Learning & Development). “We see commitment from our leadership teams, where they carve out time to share their personal stories with us. aGROWda is a reminder that we all have something to learn from each other.”
Leadership Panel: Communicating for Impact
Change is easier to navigate when people understand its context, feel aligned on its direction, and know how they can contribute. We focused on the role communication plays in creating that clarity with a Leadership Panel on Communicating for Impact.
Joy Herholz (Associate Vice President, People) moderated the session, which featured Omri Morgenshtern (Chief Executive Officer), Oliver Webster (Chief Finance Officer), Jeff Lee (Senior Vice President, Customer Experience Group), and Kris Suebjaklap (Senior Vice President, Marketing).
Together, they shared practical insights on communicating effectively: understanding the context before speaking, influencing others with intention, and creating alignment across teams. Their conversation showed that effective communication is not simply about delivering a message. It is about listening closely, considering different perspectives, and helping people connect the dots.
Departmental Sessions: Communicating with Empathy
Next, teams across Agoda took the conversation further through departmental sessions on communicating with empathy. Senior leaders facilitated discussions with their teams on why this skill matters—and how, despite our different perspectives and experiences, empathy helps us better understand, support, and connect with one another.
These practical sessions explored how empathy can create clearer, more trusted communication, especially when working through change. Agodans practiced tools to understand what their audience already knows, surface assumptions, and anticipate the questions others may ask.
By putting ourselves in our audience’s shoes, we can communicate change with greater clarity, reduce uncertainty, and build trust. Thoughtful communication is not only about what we say, but also about how well we understand the people we are speaking with.
Interactive Workshop: Strengthening Connection Through Storytelling and Listening
A highlight of this year’s aGROWda was an interactive hybrid workshop on strengthening connection, led by method actors from Dramatic Resources.
Through hands-on exercises, live examples, and practical takeaways, Agodans in Bangkok and online explored storytelling for impact, active listening, and meaningful recognition. The session showed how small moments of connection can strengthen relationships, build trust, and boost engagement across a multicultural workplace.
A truly global event
aGROWda brought Agodans together well beyond our global operations center in Bangkok. Offices across the globe hosted watch parties so employees could tune into the panels and sessions, learn alongside colleagues, and share in the excitement of the week.
“Distance didn’t stop us from coming together and learning in Agoda,” said Sakowkaew Kaewmongkolsawat (Learning & Development Consultant). “We wanted Agodans around the world to feel connected, engaged, and inspired—regardless of their location.”
Our local teams and office managers helped create a shared experience through promotional content on office TV screens, refreshments, and watch parties for the livestreams from Bangkok, where nearly 1,000 employees attended in person. It was a celebration of the collaboration that makes a truly global learning week possible.
Moving forward, together
aGROWda 2026 reinforced that growth is not something we do alone. Change invites us to learn, communication helps us find shared direction, and connection gives us the trust and support to thrive together.
“If there’s one thing I hope people take away from our Annual Learning Week, it’s empathy,” shares Aanchal. “In a world where we move fast, make decisions quickly, and often only see things from our own perspective, I hope we pause a little more to understand the person on the other side, their context, their experiences, their pressures, and what they may be going through.
If we can walk away from this week seeing the world a little more through someone else’s eyes, then we haven’t just learned something — we’ve become better humans and better colleagues.”
Ready to join a global tech and travel company where your growth is celebrated? Explore opportunities at Agoda and be part of a team that values learning, collaboration, and making a difference every day.
