The Learning and Talent Podcast

At a time when organisations across the world are rethinking the way they develop and retain talent, Sandvik is taking a holistic, integrated approach to talent optimisation. 

Eva Wikmark Walin, Global Head of Employee Experience at Sandvik, sat down with iVentiv’s Content Manager, Hannah Hoey, to reflect on how the Swedish engineering company is building a connected talent ecosystem, and what others can learn from their journey.

Listen to our interview with Eva now to see how you could optimise your talent strategy.

“You need to change the people, and changing the people goes through leadership.”
– Christophe Vanden Eede, Global Head of Talent Management, bpostgroup

As the demands on global organisations evolve in the face of disruption, digitalisation, and competitive reinvention, Christophe Vanden Eede’s work at bpostgroup offers a powerful case study in how leadership can catalyse transformation, not just through top-down mandates but by reshaping the very DNA of leadership across every layer of the organisation.

In a recent conversation with iVentiv, Christophe reflected on the seismic changes taking place within the Belgian postal service and how he’s leading an integrated transformation strategy rooted in leadership behaviour.

When HU-X Founder Tia Katz first attended an iVentiv event, it marked the start of a relationship that would help shape her business, her thinking, and her sense of what’s possible in Leadership Development. Having first attended as a delegate in a corporate role at Citi, she now attends regularly as a sponsor, helping her connect with the iVentiv community of senior leaders in Learning and Executive Development.

“I was just so pleasantly surprised by everything,” she says. iVentiv events are “professional, of course–but also so human and so connecting.”

In this case study, Tia reflects on her journey with iVentiv, from first-time delegate to multi-session sponsor, and shares how these experiences redefined her approach to learning, organisational development, and executive growth. 

What does sustainable leadership really look like in today’s high-pressure business environment? For Amy Cribb, Head of Learning, Development & Culture at BorgWarner, the answer starts with a mindset shift: resilience alone is no longer enough.

In this conversation with iVentiv, Amy explores why organisations need to rethink burnout, recovery, and wellbeing as critical leadership capabilities rather than employee “benefits”. Reflecting on BorgWarner’s journey through intense transformation, post-pandemic pressures, and rapid industry change, she shares how a deeply human approach to leadership development helped spark meaningful cultural change across the organisation.

In a world where microchips power everything from smartphones to AI supercomputers, ASML is a key partner to chip makers. But behind this technological powerhouse lies a deep investment in people. Caroline Vanovermeire, Global Head of Talent Management, Learning, and Knowledge Management at ASML, is leading a fresh approach to building an adaptive, inclusive, and purpose-led workforce.In this interview, Caroline shared her insights into how ASML is preparing its talent strategy for a rapidly changing world, where human curiosity, personal growth, and AI-powered enablement converge to build not just careers, but enduring purpose. 

In a world of rapid technological acceleration, generative AI is no longer a distant promise—it is an active force reshaping how people learn, work, and grow. For C-suite executives, particularly Chief Learning Officers and Heads of Talent, this presents both a challenge and a strategic opportunity.

At the heart of this evolution is a reimagining of the role of the Chief Learning Officer (CLO)—from a provider of content to a curator of developmental ecosystems, integrating AI and human expertise to build skills that matter. 

In a recent interview with iVentiv, Heather Stefanski, Chief Learning & Talent Officer, McKinsey & Company, outlined how AI is transforming the development ecosystem at McKinsey, and what it means for the future of learning and leadership more broadly.

“Every single leader, especially in Germany and Europe, will realise they need to invest in their people — otherwise they will lose this competition.”
- Katrin Marx, Head of Corporate Learning, Bosch

The race for talent is no longer about recruitment alone. For multinationals navigating economic changes, AI disruption, and intensifying competition, the real differentiator is how fast organisations can reskill and transform the capabilities of their existing workforce. 

This was the core message from a recent conversation between iVentiv’s Hannah Hoey, Katrin Marx, Head of Corporate Learning, Bosch and Charles Jennings, Co-Founder of the 70:20:10 Institute. Both leaders agree: traditional learning models — designing courses, pushing content, and measuring satisfaction — are obsolete. The new mandate is to create performance-driven ecosystems where skills development is continuous, embedded in work, and tightly linked to business outcomes.

For Michelle Agnew, Global Head of Learning, Engagement, and Culture at CNH Industrial, the work of L&D goes far beyond delivering skills training. It’s about creating an environment where “people want to come to work, and they’re excited about that and giving it back.”

With more than 20 years of experience in HR and Talent Development which includes senior roles at the American Red Cross, Michelle has built a career around connecting learning to culture, engagement, and ultimately, business performance. 

In this conversation, Michelle shares her views on where L&D is headed, how to link learning to ROI, and why human connection may become the ultimate differentiator in the age of AI

At Boehringer Ingelheim, the “university” concept has been reimagined as a global ecosystem serving every one of the company’s 54,000 employees.

In conversation with iVentiv, Martin Hess, Chief Learning Officer at Boehringer Ingelheim, outlined how his team has created a federated model that unites more than 500 contributors worldwide, built a skills-based approach that directly connects capability to business goals, and implemented a vendor management system that reframes L&D as a value creator rather than a cost centre. The impact, he says, is measurable in both euros saved and credibility gained.

In a world where the shelf life of skills is shrinking from years to mere months, the question facing every Learning leader is no longer if we move to a skills-based model, but how fast. For Comcast, the answer has been a bold, enterprise-wide journey called Skill Forward.

Spearheaded by Sara Dionne, Chief Learning Officer at Comcast, Skill Forward is a data-driven approach that redefines how the business identifies, develops, and embeds skills. What began with conversations with just over 1,000 business leaders has grown into an integrated system shaped by more than 3,000 voices, weaving skills into hiring, strategy, and day-to-day operations.

But transformation at this scale is never simple. How do you balance enterprise-wide consistency with the needs of individual business units, or even individual learners? How do you make assessment meaningful at volume? And how do you keep pace when skills are being redefined almost quarterly by technologies like AI?