The Assembly

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...

In this excellent interview, Brigid sits down with Nick Lennon-Barrett. Nick is an award-winning L&D leader with over 20 years of experience driving transformation and building learning cultures. He is the founder of Superpower Mastery and the bestselling author of Organised Chaos: Turbocharge Your ADHD Superpowers. This book blends memoir with practical self-development advice for neurodiverg...

In this excellent interview, Adam sits down with Scott Parkin. Scott is the Group CEO of the Institute of Employability Professionals (IEP), an award-winning global body with a mission to support the professionals who help others gain, progress in, and retain work. With nearly 35 years of experience across employment, skills, and social care, Scott has expanded the IEP's reach globally, establishi...

In this excellent interview, Brigid sits down with Sharon Claffey-Kaliouby Sharon is a seasoned L&D executive and HR Tech leader with over two decades of experience at organisations like Thomson Reuters, State Street Global Advisors, and Learning Pool . A passionate advocate for gender equity, she has spent the last 12 years championing the Women in Learning initiative, working to bridge the g...

In this special episode, Assemble You Co-Founders Adam Lacey and Richard Ward step out from behind the interview chair for a raw, founder-to-founder conversation - sharing the practical lessons from building Assemble You that L&D leaders can apply immediately to increase adoption, influence stakeholders and drive behavioural change. Instead of theory or frameworks, this episode is built from r...

In this excellent interview, Brigid sits down with Kat Hayes. Kat is the Senior Director of People at Boden, the iconic British fashion brand. With a commercial mindset and a passion for practical, human-centred change, she works closely with the executive team to shape culture, strengthen leadership, and build sustainable talent across the UK and US. In this episode, Kat shares the story behind B...

In this excellent interview, Adam sits down with Samah Salih. Samah is a strategic talent and learning leader with over 18 years of experience in FTSE 100 retail and corporate environments, including pivotal roles at Nestlé, BGA, River Island, and BT . She specialises in helping organisations build leadership pipelines and align people strategy with business goals to enable transformation at scale...

In this excellent interview, Brigid sits down with Jez Anderson. With over 30 years in L&D as a manager, leader, and consultant, Jez has a deep passion for understanding how people learn. He specialises in digital learning technologies, informal learning, and creating cultures that foster curiosity and growth. In this episode, Jez draws on his extensive experience to provide a masterclass on t...

In this excellent interview, Adam sits down with Adela Paun. Adela is a global L&D leader with over 15 years of experience, known for her pivotal role as a founding member of Spotify's L&D team, "The Greenhouse." During her 11+ years at Spotify, she witnessed and supported hypergrowth, scaling learning initiatives for thousands of employees globally while navigating the shift to a work-fro...

In this excellent interview, Brigid sits down with Anita Anthonj. Anita is the co-founder of Talaera, a New York-based business communication and cultural training company. Drawing on her own experience moving from Germany to the US, she has deep expertise in the challenges and opportunities of cross-cultural communication in a global business environment. In this episode, Anita provides a masterc...

In this excellent interview, Adam sits down with Ashley Robinson of Virgin Media/O2. Ashley is the Strategic Learning & Operational Lead at Virgin Media/O2, bringing a wealth of experience as a senior digital technology professional and project manager. He specialises in implementing learning systems globally, improving employee attainment, and demonstrating clear ROI across diverse workforces...