NovoEDTalks

On this episode of NovoEDTalks, Melissa sits down with Alex Kinney, Director of Learning and Development at Octapharma USA, to explore how L&D teams can move beyond simply delivering training and become true strategic partners to the business. Alex shares why the future of learning depends on creating realistic practice environments, strengthening human skills, and helping employees build capa...

On this episode of NovoEDTalks, Melissa sits down with Stephen Vellecca to explore how organizations can build leadership capability, strengthen human skills, and create learning experiences that drive meaningful behavior change. Stephen shares his perspective on moving beyond traditional training requests to uncover the real business challenges behind performance gaps, while emphasizing the impor...

On this episode of NovoEDTalks, Melissa sits down with Brandon Springle to explore what it takes to build high-performing, human-centered cultures in a world defined by rapid change and accelerating AI. Drawing on neuroscience, behavioral science, and his work in leadership development and succession planning, Brandon shares why psychological safety, accountability, critical thinking, and learning...

On this episode of NovoEDTalks, Melissa sits down with Yulia Barnakova to explore how AI is fundamentally reshaping learning, workforce transformation, and professional growth. Drawing from her experience leading AI adoption initiatives and executive learning programs, Yulia shares practical strategies for embedding AI into everyday work, redesigning learning experiences, and helping organizations...

On this episode of NovoEDTalks, Melissa sits down with Audrey Witters to explore what truly transformational learning looks like in today's rapidly evolving workplace. Drawing on her experience launching Stanford LEAD and advising organizations on scalable learning strategy, Audrey shares why curiosity, community, applied practice, and continuous reinforcement are far more powerful than comple...

On this episode of NovoEDTalks, Melissa sits down with Sonya Overstreet to explore how learning and development teams can evolve from support functions into true business drivers. Sonya shares how Leadec is approaching workforce development across manufacturing environments by reducing barriers to learning, aligning training directly to business outcomes, and embedding performance improvement into...

On this episode of NovoEDTalks, Melissa sits down with David Posluszny to explore what it takes to build learning experiences that truly drive behavior change and business impact in today’s rapidly evolving workplace. David shares how Air Products is approaching leadership development, workforce capability building, AI adoption, and skills development while balancing the realities of lean teams, o...

On this episode of NovoEDTalks, Melissa sits down with Monica Anderton to explore the realities of talent development inside a rapidly evolving manufacturing environment. Monica shares how DS Smith is navigating workforce shortages, leadership development, generational knowledge transfer, and large-scale organizational change following a major acquisition. The conversation also dives into leadersh...

On this episode of NovoEDTalks, Melissa sits down with Todd Harrison, Vice President of Global Leadership Development at GE Healthcare, to explore how leadership development is evolving in an increasingly AI-driven and uncertain world. Todd shares how his team is developing more adaptable, human-centered leaders through coaching, experiential learning, and scalable leadership programs designed for...

On this episode of NovoEDTalks, Melissa Fiske sits down with Chris Chappell, Director of Learning and Development at Weis Markets, to explore how organizations can build learning cultures that prioritize curiosity, continuous improvement, and real-world application. Chris shares how his team approaches leadership development, durable “meta skills,” AI adoption, and learning measurement across a co...

On this episode of NovoEDTalks, we sit down with Sarah Remijan, Director of Learning and Development at Rotary International, to explore what it takes to drive meaningful learning across a truly global nonprofit organization. Supporting over 1.2 million volunteer leaders across cultures, languages, and regions, Sarah shares how her team designs learning experiences that engage, stick, and translat...

On this episode of NovoEDTalks, Melissa sits down with Melanie Lepine, Global Head of Talent and E-Learning at a global real estate services firm, to explore how such a large, global organization is rethinking learning at scale. They unpack the shift from role-based development to skills-based agility, the growing importance of IQ, EQ, and TQ, and how organizations can balance global consistency w...

On this episode of NovoEDTalks, Melissa sits down with Sara Loncka, CEO of Experience Institute, to explore why traditional approaches to learning and leadership development are falling short in today’s rapidly changing world. Sarah shares how experiential learning, personal motivation, and “learning by doing” create deeper, more lasting behavior change than convenience-driven programs. Together,...

On this episode of NovoEDTalks, Melissa sits down with Sara Cavallucci, Director of Training, Development, and Customer Service at GS1, to explore what it takes to design learning that truly works across a global, federated organization. Sara shares how her team embeds learning into the flow of work, prioritizes adoption over attendance, and balances technical expertise with human capability in co...

In this two-part NovoEDTalks Season 2 Finale, Dr. Benjamin Granger (Qualtrics), Karen Ganitsky (3M), and Kathy Burton (Robert Half) unpack how mentoring, succession planning, and knowledge transfer can protect institutional legacy while preparing the next generation of leaders. Across the conversations, they explore the realities of leading across five generations, the rise of inclusive leadership...

In this two-part NovoEDTalks Season 2 Finale, Dr. Benjamin Granger (Qualtrics), Karen Ganitsky (3M), and Kathy Burton (Robert Half) unpack how mentoring, succession planning, and knowledge transfer can protect institutional legacy while preparing the next generation of leaders. Across the conversations, they explore the realities of leading across five generations, the rise of inclusive leadership...

In this Episode of NovoEDTalks, John Jell, Director of Organizational Development at Dole Packaged Foods, unpacks what frontline and people leader development looks like when it’s built for real business constraints. John shares how engagement and exit insights revealed career development as a top driver and how “people planning” can be integrated into annual planning so development is proactive,...

In this Episode of NovoEDTalks, we chat with Mark Monaghan, VP of Organizational Development at iQor, to explore how leadership development can scale across 40,000+ employees in 10 countries while staying deeply human. Mark shares how iQor uses a competency model, mentoring structure, and measurable assessments to build internal pipelines—while adapting programs over time to meet evolving workforc...

In this Episode of NovoEDTalks, Melissa speaks with Caroline Hanke, SVP of People and Culture and Global Head of Organizational Growth and Health at SAP, about what it truly means to become a skills-led organization at enterprise scale. Caroline shares how SAP is unifying skills data, workforce planning, organizational design, and learning to prepare more than 110,000 employees for rapid technolog...

In this episode of NovoEDTalks, Rony Shir breaks down how Miami Herbert Business School designs modern executive education programs that keep pace with rapid technological and cultural change. She shares why growth mindset, adaptability, and human-centered leadership are the core competencies organizations need now — and how her team blends faculty expertise, organizational insights, AI-enabled to...

In this episode of NovoEDTalks, Comcast VP of Learning and Development, Sara Dionne, shares how her fully centralized uLearn team serves 65,000 employees while still personalizing learning by role, level, and moment of need. She explains Skill Forward, an enterprise skills program that crowdsources priorities from the entire workforce, blends micro-learning with social practice and coaching, and r...

In this episode of NovoEDTalks, Jamie Worrall, Senior Manager of Global Leadership Development and Coaching at Amgen, takes us inside her work helping district managers shift from a directive, “telling” approach to a culture of curiosity and collaboration. She discusses how her team redesigned Amgen’s manager onboarding into an immersive “Coaching Clinic,” blending virtual emotional-intelligence t...

In this episode of NovoEDTalks, Tarisse Grant-Shelton, Senior Manager of Active Learning Classrooms at iQor, breaks down how she supports a global community of nearly 500 trainers across 40 sites and 10 countries — from brand new classroom assistants fresh off the phones to 20-year veteran facilitators. She shares how iQor’s flipped classroom model, certification pathways, and long-form coaching p...

In this episode of NovoEDTalks, Broadcom Learning Experience Researcher Nanxi Meng shares how she’s helping preserve critical mainframe knowledge while preparing the next generation for emerging technologies. She explains how Broadcom partners with universities, leverages data, and builds global learning communities to keep legacy systems vibrant in a modern world. From student mentorships to paid...

In this episode of NovoEDTalks, Tim Foley, Head of AI Adoption at International Motors, shares how his team transformed a company-wide mindset around AI by starting small, building trust, and scaling intentionally. Drawing from 35 years in organizational development, Tim reveals how early adopters, social learning, and a bottom-up approach helped overcome fear and resistance to change. Listeners w...