The Assembly

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...

In this excellent interview, Brigid sits down with Dan Philips. Dan is a highly experienced L&D consultant with a deep background in psychology and behavioural change. For the last 15 years, he has specialised in using the Insights Discovery model to help individuals, teams, and leaders improve their self-awareness, communication, and collaboration. In this episode, Dan provides a masterclass...

In this excellent interview, Adam sits down with Sybrand Oudega. Sybrand is a global learning and talent development leader with 25 years of international experience at iconic brands like Nokia, Microsoft, and Adidas . As the former Senior Director of the Global Sales Academy at Adidas, he was responsible for the skills and performance of over 35,000 employees across 75 countries and 37 languages....

In this excellent interview, Brigid sits down with Nahdia Khan. Nahdia is a strategic advisor and purpose-driven leader with over 20 years of experience in digital learning, public policy, and executive education. As the former Chief Impact Officer at Mind Tools, she has deep expertise in transforming customer relationships into vibrant communities of practice that drive both engagement and commer...

The Summer of Learning: Building an AI-Ready, Experimental Culture at Immediate with Kathryn Swandale In this fascinating interview, Adam is joined by  Kathryn (Katie) Swandale , Senior Learning and Development Partner at Immediate . Immediate is a major publishing group known for brands like Radio Times , Good Food , and BBC Gardeners’ World . With over a decade of experience designing and delive...

In this excellent interview, Brigid sits down with Lindsey Coode and Funmi O'Dell of Learning Pool. Lindsey is Learning Pool’s Director of Content Software, with over 25 years of experience in learning design and technology. Funmi is a Product Manager at Learning Pool, specializing in shaping impactful digital learning and compliance solutions with a deep background in product development and UX d...

In this excellent interview, Adam sits down with digitial learning industry leader, Peter Riber. Peter is the Head of New Tech and Digital Learning Solutions at Novo Nordisk and is known for being at the forefront of technological innovation in L&D. Over the last two years, he and his team have pivoted to building and deploying internal Generative AI agents to tackle long-standing challenges i...

In this excellent interview, Brigid sits down with Lavinia Mehedințu of Offbeat. Lavinia is a co-founder and Learning Architect at Offbeat, with 12 years of experience designing learning experiences and career development programs. She specialises in applying adult learning principles to help L&D professionals connect, collaborate, and grow. In this episode, Lavinia challenges the popular buzz...

In this excellent interview, Adam sits down with Pooja Shemar. Pooja is a senior L&D leader and passionate mental health advocate with over 20 years of experience, including 17 years driving transformation at Microsoft. Fuelled by her own personal journey, Pooja is on a mission to normalise conversations around mental health in the workplace, creating environments where people can truly thrive...

In this excellent interview, Brigid sits down with Jayne Mather. Jayne is an author, consultant, and expert in technology adoption, focusing on digital transformation and intelligent automation. She is the author of Humans and AI: The Future of Work and Super User Networks for Software Projects and specialises in helping businesses integrate emerging technologies to deliver long-term value. In thi...

In this excellent interview, Adam sits down with Dwayne Britton of DayWon. Dwayne is a seasoned expert in learning, brand, and culture with over 15 years of experience at iconic, people-first companies like Apple, Lululemon, and On . Now, through his consultancy, DayWon, he helps growing organisations align their learning initiatives with their unique brand culture. In this episode, Dwayne draws o...

In this excellent interview, Brigid sits down with Barry Ryan of Thirst. Barry is a seasoned marketer turned L&D advocate and is the Head of Marketing at Thirst, the learning platform built for SMEs. With a deep background in B2B marketing, Barry is on a mission to help L&D teams think more like marketers to drive real impact and boost learner engagement. In this episode, Barry talks Brigi...

In this excellent interview, Adam sits down with Sarah Clayton Jones. Sarah is the Founder and CEO of Read to Lead , an organisation that delivers book-inspired peer learning experiences to develop human-skilled leaders and connected teams. With over 20 years of experience leading teams at global organisations, including VW and Accenture, Sarah is an ICF-accredited performance coach, facilitator,...

In this episode of The Assembly, host Brigid sits down with Susi Miller, an internationally recognised expert in e-learning accessibility and the award-winning author of Designing Accessible Learning Content . With over 30 years of experience, Susi breaks down the essentials of creating digital learning that is not just compliant, but truly inclusive and effective for all learners. Together, Brigi...

In this interview, Adam sits down with Will Thalheimer, a world-renowned expert in learning science, learning evaluation, and evidence-based practice in L&D. Will is the founder of Work-Learning Research, a respected speaker, and the creator of the Learning Transfer Evaluation Model (LTEM). He is also the author of Performance-Focused Learner Surveys and his latest release, The CEO’s Guide to...

In this episode of L&D 101 , host Brigid McCormack sits down with renowned senior learning strategist Lori Niles-Hofmann to demystify the big shifts shaping Learning and Development today. With over 25 years of experience across international banking, consulting, and marketing, Lori offers a compelling look into the evolving world of L&D—from digital acceleration to AI and skills-based tra...