Company: Science Exchange — a global platform streamlining outsourced R&D by uniting researchers, labs, and organizations around the world
Challenge: After merging two fast-growing teams with distinct ways of working, Science Exchange faced the challenge of integrating cultures, rebuilding trust, and forming a shared identity
Solution: Wilder crafted a Chicago-area retreat designed to spark collaboration and connection. Through a mix of strategy sessions and immersive team-building — from blindfolded tent-building and “monkey mines” to forest escape rooms and ziplining — colleagues rediscovered how to communicate, problem-solve, and celebrate together
Impact: The retreat broke down barriers, fostered empathy, and aligned everyone behind a renewed vision for the company’s future
Next: Science Exchange now views Wilder Retreats as a key driver of team cohesion and cultural alignment during continued growth
The Challenge: Uniting Two Distinct Teams into One Cohesive Culture
Science Exchange is redefining how R&D gets done by connecting the world’s best scientists, labs, and research services on one unified platform. Following a recent merger that brought together two powerhouse teams with distinct cultures and working styles, leadership recognized the need for more than operational alignment. They needed human connection. To move from two companies to one team.
Kelsey, Science Exchange’s Head of People Operations, knew the stakes. Post-merger, the team had doubled in size and geographic spread. With overlapping roles, new reporting lines, and a flood of hybrid collaboration challenges, communication silos were forming fast. It wasn’t tension. It was disconnection.
That’s where Wilder came in.
The Solution: Reconnecting Teams in the Chicago Suburbs’ Woodlands
Science Exchange partnered with Wilder because we specialize in outcome-based retreats designed to strengthen culture, trust, and alignment, especially in moments of organizational change. From our first call, it was clear that this retreat needed to serve a deeper purpose than relaxation. It had to build belonging and momentum for the company’s next chapter.
We proposed a setting just outside Chicago, a balance of convenience and retreat. Surrounded by forested trails and open skies, the chosen venue gave the group space to disconnect from screens and reconnect as humans. The nearby adventure park offered the perfect backdrop for a shared challenge: one that required communication, collaboration, and a little courage.
The retreat unfolded with intentional design. Teams kicked off the team building day with blindfolded tent building, an exercise in trust, patience, and humor that set the tone for the days ahead. Next came “Monkey Mines,” a problem-solving course that demanded real-time communication and quick alignment. By afternoon, zip lines and a forest escape room pushed teammates to rely on one another in unfamiliar, exhilarating ways.
Wilder managed every logistical detail, from rooming assignments and ground transport to timing out each session, so Kelsey could focus on connection rather than coordination. Our on-site retreat managers ensured each transition felt effortless, keeping the energy high and the schedule invisible.
The Impact: Breaking Barriers and Building Collaboration
By the end of the retreat, the shift was tangible. Formerly separate teams were laughing together, making plans for cross-functional projects, and speaking in “we” instead of “they.” What began as a merger was starting to feel like a community.
Now, Science Exchange is planning its next Wilder retreat to build on this momentum, focused on innovation and long-term leadership alignment as they continue expanding globally.
At Wilder, we believe nature doesn’t just host transformation, it accelerates it. For Science Exchange, the forests outside Chicago became more than a venue. They became a proving ground for trust, teamwork, and a shared sense of purpose.
Because in times of change, culture isn’t rebuilt in a meeting room. It’s rebuilt side by side. One challenge, one laugh, one shared win at a time.
