The Assembly

You can buy great content, roll it out properly, and still watch most of your people never touch it. Michelle Hazelton explains why, and the reason is simpler than motivation. Adam sits down with Michelle Hazelton, former MD of Anders Pink (acquired by Go1) and now content lead at Access Learning, part of the Access Group, to unpack the shift reshaping learning technology: from learning as a place...

If your L&D work feels invisible to business leadership, the problem might be where you're starting from. Brigid sits down with Anne-Marie Burbidge, founder of Spark L&D Consultancy and fractional Head of L&D, to unpack the mindset shift that changes everything: stop leading with what L&D can offer, and start from what the business actually needs.  With 20+ years across HR and L&am...

Your senior leaders get coaching. Your early careers get apprenticeships. But the managers actually running your organisation day-to-day? They're on their own. John Gregg has spent over 20 years in L&D and OD across commercial, regulated and nonprofit sectors - most recently as Head of Learning and OD at Alzheimer's Research UK.  With a small team and a tight budget, he built a management deve...

You've run the awareness session. The feedback was strong. People were nodding. And then... nothing changed. If that sounds familiar, it's not because your programme was wrong. It's because awareness alone doesn't change behaviour. Conditions do. Brigid sits down with Shannon Rivers, organisational development strategist, consultant and Director of Social Enterprise, Social Responsibility and Chan...

Adam sits down with Simon Gibson, the Talent Director at Center Parcs and former Group Head of L&D at M&S, to get brutally honest about what's holding L&D back and what high-performing teams do differently. With a career spanning banking, retail, nuclear decommissioning and hospitality, Simon has a rare cross-industry perspective: if you don't understand how your business makes money,...

Most people don't fail because they're incapable. They fail because the support disappears too early. Brigid sits down with  Stephanie Alayyoubi-Trattles, founder of Kyoshi Consulting, to explore what it actually takes to build learning that drives measurable change. Stephanie has spent over a decade leading learning strategy and design across EdTech unicorn Multiverse, London Business School, and...

Adam sits down with Farley Thomas, CEO of Manageable, the global manager development platform he co-founded in 2020, to explore why manager development so often falls short and what it takes to build something that sticks. After a decade in investment banking at HSBC, Farley trained as a coach and spent years advising CEOs before spotting that managers were one of the most underserved populations...

Brigid sits down with Toluwa Hughes, behavioural scientist, two-times TEDx speaker, and founder of Zoah Consultancy, to explore why the manager layer is so often the most overlooked group in any organisation and what L&D can do about it right now. Toluwa has coached over 4,000 leaders across the UN in East Africa, tech scale-ups, and global enterprises including HSBC, Dell, and Alzheimer's Soc...

In this episode, Adam sits down with Liggy Webb to explore how L&D leaders can equip their people with the human skills that matter most - cutting through noise, thinking clearly, and performing in a complex environment. Liggy, a behavioural skills specialist and author, shares practical ways to develop an “inquiring mind” - from building self-awareness and asking better questions, to strength...

In this episode, Brigid sits down with Jade Rogers to unpack how learning and development leaders can build influence, demonstrate impact, and secure a more strategic role within their organisations. Jade, an L&D professional in a tech consultancy, describes her role as “the bridge between potential and performance” - but like many in the field, she’s had to navigate the challenge of making th...

Adam sits down with Gary Clarke, former Group Head of Learning & Development at Qatar Airways, for a candid conversation spanning 20+ years of global L&D leadership - from starting in the British Army at 16 to leading functions at BlackRock, Capita, and Qatar Airways. Gary delivers a masterclass on managing a complex, geographically dispersed L&D function. He shares the real work behin...

 In this episode, Brigid sits down with Yousaf Khan, an AI strategy and business transformation consultant, to explore how learning and development leaders can shift from knowledge delivery to measurable impact, and stay relevant as work evolves. Starting his career in L&D, Yousaf quickly recognised the gap between learning and real performance. Now working across strategy, performance, and AI...

In this excellent interview, Adam sits down with Ket Patel, the founder of Change Agitators and Assemble You Expert. Ket is a master change practitioner with over 20 years of experience, specialising in helping organisations navigate the uncertainty of scaling and modernising. Transitioning away from traditional, purely process-driven change management, Ket focuses deeply on the human and relation...

Are your inclusion efforts driving real impact or just ticking boxes? In this episode, Brigid sits down with Chris Shearer-Wright, Senior EDI and Community Partnerships Manager at Oliver Bonas, to explore how L&D and EDI can work together to create more inclusive, effective workplaces. Starting his career on the shop floor in 2012, Chris has grown with Oliver Bonas through every stage of the b...

In this special live episode recorded at the Podcast Learning Festival, Adam speaks with Stephen Holderness, Learning and Development Lead for Digital Strategy and Growth at AO.com . Stephen shares his journey of transforming the digital learning offering at AO, a rapidly growing electrical retailer known for owning every part of its customer journey—from in-house legal teams to logistics networks...

In this engaging episode, Brigid sits down with Charlie Manthorp. Charlie is a passionate workshop facilitator and the head of the talent development function at Wiser, where he focuses primarily on early talent and developing future leaders. With an unconventional career path that transitioned from management consultancy at Accenture to a coaching role at Multiverse (Europe's first EdTech unicorn...

In this insightful episode, Adam is joined by Dr Lalith Wijedoru. Dr Lalith is a social health champion, emotional well-being consultant, and a former NHS consultant paediatrician in emergency medicine. He is the founder of Behind Your Mask , a consultancy that uses the power of personal storytelling to improve human connection and trust within teams. In this interview, Dr Lalith explores the ofte...

In this insightful interview, Brigid sits down with Caroline Freeman of Grey Space Consulting. Caroline is a leadership and learning consultant and the founder of Grey Space Consulting. Her career began at Nordstrom in 2008 , where she learned the value of promoting from within and prioritizing people development. Today, she focuses on bridging the gap between ambition and reality , helping organi...

In this insightful interview, Adam sits down with Kelly Rodrigues. Kelly is a multi-award-winning learning specialist currently at WebPros, with a diverse background spanning the arts, non-profits, and commercial sectors. She shares her unique journey from professional dancer to global L&D leader and discusses the transition from community-focused roles to the fast-paced corporate tech world....

In this inspiring episode, Brigid speaks with Kate Jenkinson, an HR Director turned Business Poet and Creative Executive Coach. With over 25 years of experience in HR within engineering and science sectors, Kate now runs her own business, Next Step HR. She is a sought-after neurodiversity coach, spoken-word artist, and founder of the Poetry in Business Conference. Kate uniquely bridges the gap bet...

In this enlightening episode, Adam is joined by Zavier Coyne and Patrick Quinton-Smith, the founders of Gen Z Coach. Zav is the youngest qualified master intuitive psychology coach in the world and a TEDx speaker. Patrick is a certified leadership trainer and ICF PCC coach who has led multiple high-performing teams globally. Together, they combine their expertise to help businesses bridge the gap...

In this excellent interview, Brigid sits down with Julia Jones of Altezza People UK. Julia is the founder of Altezza People UK, a leadership and emotional intelligence consultancy that uses embodied learning with horses to create measurable behavioural change. With a background in financial services and psychometrics, she combines commercial acumen with a passion for helping leaders and teams unde...

In this excellent interview, Adam sits down with Nelson Sivalingam of HowNow. Nelson is the CEO and Co-founder of HowNow, a learning experience platform used by over 100 fast-growing companies and global enterprises. A serial entrepreneur and author of Learning at Speed , Nelson brings an outsider's perspective to L&D, challenging traditional approaches to solve the "mother of all problems": e...

In this excellent interview, Brigid sits down with Neil Cunningham. Neil is a strategic L&D people partner at the Children's Investment Fund Foundation with over 15 years of experience across diverse sectors such as tech, comms, utilities, and philanthropy. His expertise lies in developing key capabilities, measuring learning impact, and driving digital L&D strategy. In this episode, Neil...

In this interview, Adam sits down with Abi Holmes of Assemble You. Abi is the Head of Content at Assemble You, bringing over a decade of experience in learning design. She has led teams creating blended programmes, bespoke solutions, and off-the-shelf learning, always with human-centred design at the heart of her work. She now leads the development of Assemble You's audio learning content, solving...