The Assembly

This episode features former professional athlete and mental health coach Aaron Ridley of Tribox & OPTIEDGE. Aaron is a former professional athlete who has spent years learning, improving, and gaining qualifications to switch from the ring to developing businesses in the corporate mental health arena. In this powerful Mental Fitness Masterclass, we go beyond stress management and the normal ex...

In this fantastic interview, Adam chats with Learning Manager at River Island Tom Kirk. Tom has nearly 15 years of experience in various learning formats, including sports and business coaching, and university lecturing, and is a qualified Science teacher and former Head of Year.  Since transitioning to Learning & Development post-COVID, he has trained thousands in leadership, skills developme...

In this fantastic interview, Dr Kinga Petrovai chats with Adam about her unique approach to workplace learning, The Learning Hive.  Dr Kinga Petrovai is a workplace learning consultant and podcaster with a doctorate in learning technologies from Oxford University and an M.Ed. from Harvard University. With a background as an electrical engineer, Kinga works at the intersection of research and pract...

In this fantastic interview, Adam chats with Tom Newman, the Group Head of Talent Development at Together Money. Tom is passionate about talent development and creating an environment for people to realise their full potential. He believes that talent development done well empowers others to define their own success and allows organisations to thrive by building an ongoing culture of learning.  In...

In this excellent interview, Adam discusses the tips and tricks of retaining great employees with Kelly Pirotte. Kelly is the Group Head of Learning and Development for the Keys Group, a national multi-site business in the care sector. She holds an MSc in Management, which sparked her interest in Learning and Development and has completed the CIPD Advanced Diploma, earning Fellow status.  Kelly's...

In this fantastic interview, Adam chats with head of talent management, learning and DEI at travel agency Love Holidays, Clodagh Beatty. Clodagh has spent over 20 years shaping Talent Management and Learning and Development across various industries worldwide, with a focus on financial services and tech scale-ups.  Throughout her career, Clodagh has supported elite athletes transitioning into new...

This bonus episode features Emma Ewing With a leading trainer provider and founder of Big Fish Training, Emma chats with Adam on how individuals can make the most of life at work, grow in their careers, and build up their professional confidence and happiness.  Emma and Adam walk through the six ways to take control of your career: Building Your Career, Building Success, Building Relationships, Bu...

In this great episode of L&D Challenges, Adam chats with Nicki Finnigan, Director of Learning and Development at financial advisory company St. James Place, about SJP’s new learning experiences they’ve created recently. Leading a number of transformative L&D projects, Nicki launched a new platform and app that delivers a learning programme to the SJP partnership and employees. Combining th...

In this incredible episode, Alison Armstrong walks us through the importance of trauma-informed training and the essential skills of intervention when having conversations around challenging topic of suicide.  Alison is a best-selling author and training specialist with a wealth of experience in the areas of alcohol, drug and suicide prevention. She has developed training across these topics to va...

In this exciting interview, Adam speaks with Harry Chapman-Walker, CEO of Kallidus . Harry Chapman-Walker studied Politics and International Relations at the University of Bath and later earned a Master’s in International Business Law and joined Kallidus in 2013. After completing an Executive MBA in 2020, Harry moved to the US in 2021 as Executive Vice President of Sapling, driving Kallidus' North...

In the second podcast episode recorded at the Learning Futures event by iVentiv, Adam chats with Charles Jennings, Sina Melder, Leon Jacob about embracing collaboration and different learning cultures to foster learning development. Topics include:  Demonstrating value to the organisation through L&D with Charles Jennings AI beyond content creation with Sina Melder Transforming soft skills int...

In this special podcast episode, Adam interviews Sam Zalcman of ST Microelectronics, Priyakumar Nair of Roche, and Peter Fischer of HEC Paris at the Learning Futures event in Basel, Switzerland, hosted by iVentiv. Adam dives into data-driven decision-making, personalisation, and measuring impact to enhance learner engagement with Sam Zalcman, Priyakumar Nair, and Peter Fischer. Topics include: Lev...

This episode features Ket Patel, the founder of Change Agitators and a Change Management Institute Accredited Master Change Practitioner. With over 20 years of experience helping organisations as they scale, grow and modernise, Ket chats with Adam on how to support others through change and how to not be victim to organisational change.  Adam and Ket discuss how to build the capacity to handle the...

In this excellent interview, Adam sits down with John Hinchliffe of Emirates NBD. John is a digital learning expert recognised as a Top 30 thought leader in the eLearning Industry in 2022 and 2023 and was the youngest recipient of the LPI Colin Corder award for outstanding contribution to learning. John is the Digital Learning Experience Manager at the banking group Emirates NBD.  John founded the...

In this fantastic episode, Adam chats with Wali Rahman of the Forestry Commission.  Wali is the Diversity and Wellbeing Manager at the Forestry Commission, with over 18 years of experience in higher education, Local Government, and the Civil Service.  Wali has pioneered diversity initiatives, including Wiltshire’s first Prevent Officer role and diversity training for over 700 individuals across mu...

In this great episode, Adam chats with Neil Cunningham. Neil began his career in acting before transitioning into sales. He then moved from sales to training, where he built an L&D program for new hires.  This led him to a career in Learning and Development, where he finds passion in measuring the impact that L&D has on an organisation. Founding Align Learn Do, Neil works to help others bu...

In this fantastic interview, Adam sits down with Fred Thompson of Thirst.  As a seasoned learning and development expert and CEO of Thirst, with over two decades of experience helping businesses create learning environments that level up learner engagement, Fred offers his insights on transforming L&D through skills-led practices.  Fred has spearheaded numerous L&D initiatives that have em...

In this bonus episode, Adam and Ruth explore three of the nine leadership lessons Ruth has drawn from interviewing many CEOs and Managing Directors across the UK: Develop a Clear Intention, Actively Manage Yourself, and Deepen Your Listening Skills. These are lessons which culminated in her book, Next Level Leadership (also an Amazon bestseller). Adam and Ruth look at why these different leadershi...

In this fun interview, Shawn Jensen and Mallory Glessner chat with Adam about their experience at, Trainual, a cloud-based training, onboarding and SOP platform.  Mallory is the Manager of Content and Product Marketing at Trainual and currently specialises in process improvement, project management, and fostering positive workplace cultures. Shawn is the Senior Success Coach at Trainual, passionat...

In this brilliant interview, Adam speaks with Matt Jones, Head of Talent at nonbank specialist mortgage lender Pepper Money, responsible for L&D and recruitment.  With 20 years of experience as an L&D professional, he champions continuous learning and a people-centric approach to business through his work at Pepper Money and by delivering talks on neurodiversity. Holding a law degree and a...

In this exciting interview, Adam speaks with Avinash Chandarana, a learning strategist and proven leader in global workplace learning and performance.  He is an innovative and passionate leader in the L&D space. He integrates AI into learning strategies to create personalised learner experiences on a global level. A fellow at the Learning and Performance Institute and current Learning and Deve...

In this exciting interview, Adam speaks Phil Yetzes, L&D Lead in the Nuclear Business Unit at Morgan Sindall.  He is passionate about leadership development and has crafted bespoke programs for senior executives and trained managers in effective communication and change management. In this episode, Adam and Phil discuss:  The importance of psychological safety in L&D initiatives.  Training...

Liggy and Adam are back with another webinar from the Future Human series - Leading Future Humans - Unleashing the Potential in Others.   Inspired by the Skills for the Future outlined by the World Economic Forum, we'll explore the essential behavioural skills that define tomorrow's leaders. From fostering Resilience to igniting Initiative, we'll equip you with the tools and insights needed to cul...

In this exciting interview, Adam speaks with Shellie Le Bras, Global Learning and Development Manager at a large international drinks company. She is a passionate advocate for social justice and education and has built her career in L&D on the belief that education drives societal change. With a background in political science and HR, she now leads strategic training initiatives across Europe,...

In this fascinating interview, Adam speaks with Ash Wedderburn, the Learning & Development Manager at GB Railfreight.  Ash leads on all things training, learning and development. Previously at Showsec and before that at G4S, Ash has a background in identifying learning needs and developing, launching and managing complex learning initiatives in a variety of organisational environments. In this...