The Learning and Talent Podcast

Scaling leadership in a hypergrowth business is not just about doing more, faster. It requires a fundamental rethink of how leaders operate, how talent functions deliver value, and how organisations balance structure with agility.In this conversation with Richard Parfitt, Marketing Director, iVentiv, and Yulia Denisova, VP Talent & Development at Fanatics, we explore what it really takes to build leadership capability at pace in a business that has grown to 20,000 employees across 200 countries. From redefining prioritisation and decision-making, to introducing structure without bureaucracy, Yulia shares how Fanatics is evolving its talent strategy in real time.The discussion also dives into the role of AI in leadership, the importance of maintaining human connection at scale, and why Learning and Development must shift from control to enablement.

“We as practitioners, we as leaders in this field, need to continue to be comfortable with the fact that technology will continue to disrupt and force us to adapt and think differently.” - Gordon Trujillo, VP, Enterprise Talent Management and Learning & Development, DaVitaThere are moments in history where technology doesn’t just enhance work, it redefines it. For Chief Learning Officers and Talent leaders like Gordon, the rise of artificial intelligence represents one of those inflection points.From the early days of Learning Management Systems to today’s generative AI tools, Gordon Trujillo has witnessed multiple waves of transformation. Yet, as he reflects, today’s shift feels fundamentally different. AI is not simply another tool in the ecosystem. He says that it is fundamentally reshaping how we learn, how we lead, and how organisations operate.For leaders across the iVentiv community, the challenge is not whether to engage with AI, but how to do so thoughtfully, responsibly, and effectively.

“We as practitioners, we as leaders in this field, need to continue to be comfortable with the fact that technology will continue to disrupt and force us to adapt and think differently.” - Gordon Trujillo, VP, Enterprise Talent Management and Learning & Development, DaVitaThere are moments in history where technology doesn’t just enhance work, it redefines it. For Chief Learning Officers and Talent leaders like Gordon, the rise of artificial intelligence represents one of those inflection points.From the early days of Learning Management Systems to today’s generative AI tools, Gordon Trujillo has witnessed multiple waves of transformation. Yet, as he reflects, today’s shift feels fundamentally different. AI is not simply another tool in the ecosystem. He says that it is fundamentally reshaping how we learn, how we lead, and how organisations operate.For leaders across the iVentiv community, the challenge is not whether to engage with AI, but how to do so thoughtfully, responsibly, and effectively.

Learning leaders are operating in one of the most consequential moments for the profession. AI is reshaping how work gets done, business strategies are shifting faster than ever, and organisations are demanding clear evidence that learning drives performance.Against that backdrop, one question keeps surfacing: what does modern Learning leadership actually look like?In a recent conversation with iVentiv, William Varsos, Head of Global Learning at Marsh, explored how Learning functions can embed development into the flow of work, align learning more tightly with business strategy, and navigate the growing noise of emerging trends.His perspective offers a grounded view of the future of Learning, one built less on chasing the next big thing, and more on creating cultures where learning never stops.

In today’s fast-changing business environment, the biggest Leadership challenge may not be skills, it may be mindset. In this conversation with iVentiv’s Hannah Hoey, Nikhil Shahane, VP Global Head of People Development at TechnipFMC, explores why adaptability, curiosity, and the ability to let go of legacy ways of working are becoming critical Leadership capabilities.From navigating a “BANI” world to embedding learning in the flow of work, Nikhil shares practical insights on how organisations can shift from skills-focused development to cultivating the mindsets that enable leaders and teams to thrive through constant change. Watch our interview with Nikhil now

In an industry where thousands of frontline employees may be trained in a matter of hours rather than months, hospitality leaders are being forced to rethink how learning, leadership, and communication really work. Many take the view that traditional onboarding, static compliance courses, and one-size-fits-all leadership models simply can’t keep pace with the speed, scale, and expectations of modern hospitality.In this conversation, David Goddard, VP Talent at Levy Restaurants, shares how one of the world’s leading sports and entertainment hospitality brands is developing leaders that deliver even in the most high-pressure environments.

Leadership Development is under increasing scrutiny. As AI reshapes how work is done, organisations are questioning whether their leadership programmes are building the capabilities leaders actually need to succeed in an environment defined by speed, complexity, and uncertainty.In this conversation with Bjorn Billhardt, Founder and CEO, and Alex Whiteleather, Managing Director, Europe, at Abilitie, the pair highlight one consistent message: as they see it, the era of Leadership Development centred primarily on knowledge acquisition is ending. What organisations now require is leadership judgement.

Hot takes, anyone? 🔥 We’ve spent the last 12 months talking to Heads of Learning and collecting surveys about their priorities, so we asked three members of the team to predict the trends we might see in 2026. Their thoughts? L&D will increasingly step into org development. L&D’s AI focus will become a focus on AI governance. Skills-based approaches will move from getting started to mainstream practice.As a team, we’re in the fortunate position to eavesdrop on the discussions that are driving corporate L&D. We’re not learning experts, but we know a lot of people who are. We’ve been doing more over the last few years to share insights from the iVentiv community with you. This is our latest experiment, and we’d love to hear your thoughts.We’ll revisit these at the end of the year to see how close we got (or didn’t get!). In the meantime, join Richard Parfitt (Marketing Director), Kristy Kitson (L&D Strategist), and Hannah Hoey (Content Director) for the full conversation.

What skills and challenges should Chief Learning Officers be focusing on right now? Digital skills, leadership skills, internal marketing skills? It can be difficult to know what areas should be top of your list. Charles Jennings, iVentiv Advisory Board member and co-founder of the 70:20:10 Institute, gives his view in this video. His advice is to focus on communityship, on creating a culture where CLOs can bring their teams along with them. Every CLO is facing big challenges, but two longstanding questions are still foremost, Charles says: 1) How can you expand your learning solutions beyond the provision of formal training? 2) How can you demonstrate the ROI of learning? To join the conversation with Charles, plus CLOs and learning experts from around the world, visit https://www.iventiv.com/events