From Experimentation to Transformation: The Future of Learning and AI

Submitted by Kerry Summers on 4 September 2025 - 2:29pm

event participants

Scaling AI Across the Business

AI is no longer an isolated experiment sitting within IT or innovation labs. For CLOs, the challenge is ensuring that learning plays a critical role in helping the organisation move beyond pilots to tangible enterprise-wide outcomes.

Participants emphasised the importance of creating safe spaces where employees can share ideas, test prototypes, and even admit to failures without fear. This psychological safety enables experimentation at scale.

Another priority was democratising access: everyone in the business, from frontline employees to senior managers, needs opportunities to explore how AI can help them work smarter. Pilots and proof-of-concepts were seen as critical confidence-builders—small wins that pave the way for broader adoption.

CLOs also agreed that executive sponsorship makes or breaks success. When leaders actively champion AI, communicate a bold vision, and model curiosity themselves, experimentation becomes embedded into organisational DNA.

Rethinking Skills Strategies in the AI Era

The conversation quickly turned to the future of skills. Participants agreed that AI is accelerating the need for clarity on what skills truly matter, and how they should be measured.

CLOs see AI as a tool to personalise learning and make the “what’s in it for me” clear to every employee. At the same time, leadership skills remain difficult to identify and evaluate; there was consensus that the best measurement comes through real-world application rather than theory.

Playbooks and roadmaps help bring clarity to skills strategies, but flexibility is vital. Whether skills are gained through formal training, project work, or career rotations, what matters most is demonstrable capability. Career mobility is becoming central, with employees expecting to prove and apply skills across multiple contexts.

The group’s shared conclusion?

CLOs must move beyond transactional learning delivery to shape enterprise talent strategies where skills act as the core currency of growth and adaptability.

Building Learning Cultures That Balance Engagement and Performance

If AI is transforming how people learn, CLOs must rethink the cultural foundations of learning itself. Several participants warned against over-indexing on engagement at the expense of performance.

Instead, CLOs described the need to combine motivation through small wins, such as badges and certifications, with a clear link to business outcomes. Personalisation plays a big role, as context—economic, cultural, organisational, and industry—determines what works best in practice.

Ultimately, the most effective learning cultures were seen as those that make learning meaningful to individuals while also delivering measurable business impact.

What Leaders Need to Navigate Disruption

External change is relentless, and the CLOs in this group debated what capabilities leaders must now build to thrive in this environment.

The group agreed that leaders need clarity of vision paired with agility to adapt quickly, strong human skills such as curiosity, empathy, and courage, and the ability to shift perspectives between the big picture and immediate priorities. More than process management, leadership now requires enabling teams to embrace identity shifts and reinvent themselves.

Above all, self-awareness was described as the glue that ties these skills together, ensuring leaders can inspire resilience and trust in their teams.

Reshaping HR with AI

Susie Lee, CLO in Residence at Degreed, reminded participants that the AI revolution is already here. With more than 11 million jobs expected to be reshaped by 2028, the stakes are high.

Her analysis was stark: while CEOs express declining confidence in their people’s preparedness, L&D budgets have been cut by more than a third since 2022.

The message?

CLOs must achieve more with less.

Susie traced the evolution of HR roles—from administrators to curators and marketers, and now to AI architects and strategists. She urged CLOs to reframe AI as a catalyst, not a threat, citing examples of organisations already realising business impact, from Colgate generating $50M in new business through digital upskilling, to AstraZeneca cutting costs by reducing its tech stack.

Her call to action was simple but powerful: “What will you do differently to prepare for the shift?” For Susie, CLOs must invest with purpose, experiment boldly, and ensure transformation remains both ethical and human-centred.

Key Themes for CLOs

While the dialogue was wide-ranging, five themes consistently emerged:

Scaling AI from experimentation to transformation
Redefining skills and career mobility
Building learning cultures that balance engagement and performance
Equipping leaders for disruption
Positioning HR as a catalyst for change

Final Reflection

The CLOs in California closed their conversations with a sense of urgency. To move forward, organisations need to equip leaders with agility and human-centric change skills, embrace AI as a driver of strategic transformation, use pilots to build confidence, and create safe spaces where experimentation is both encouraged and rewarded.

For CLOs everywhere, the message is unmistakable:

AI is changing not just what we learn, but how we define skills, design careers, and prepare leaders for the future.

The role of the CLO is shifting from being a steward of learning programmes to being a strategic architect of transformation.

In an era of disruption, learning leaders have the chance to do more than adapt—they can lead. The challenge is to seize this moment, to reimagine what learning means, and to ensure that people and organisations alike are prepared not just to survive change, but to thrive in it.

Curious to hear more?

Let’s continue the conversation. Join us for an upcoming Executive Knowledge Exchange near you, now, and join iKnow to read this Executive Summary and more in this series in full.

Related Resources

Thumbnail:

Feature on Homepage:

News category:

Latest Trends in Learning

More Insights

The What, the Why and the How of Building a Skills-Based Organisation

For more than 50% of the iVentiv community, ‘Reskilling and Upskilling’ is a topic that remains top-of mind as we push ahead into 2025 – an increase of almost ten percentage points from a year ago according to the iVentiv Pulse, which tracks the priorities of Global Heads of Learning and Talent.

What questions have your peers been asking?

‘How do we establish a skills-based framework?’
‘How do we successfully upskill an organisation with skills for today and tomorrow?’
‘How do we upskill and reskill our workforce to become future-ready?’

This blog dives into the topic of skills-based organisations (SBOs), pulling from the insights of some of the most influential voices in Learning, Talent, and Executive Development. Read it now.

The iVentiv Pulse: What Are The Top Priorities for Heads of Learning and Talent in 2025?

As we step into 2025, the landscape of Learning and Talent Development is evolving at an unprecedented pace.

The 2025 iVentiv Pulse report sheds light on the key priorities and challenges that Heads of Learning, Talent, and Executive Development are grappling with. This comprehensive report, based on iVentiv pre-event questionnaire responses from 563 leaders across 448 companies, offers a unique glimpse into the future of work and the strategies that will shape it.

You can download the full report here, or read on for a summary of the top five topics:

Solving Big Challenges in Learning and Development, with Charles Jennings, Medbase, Lindt & Sprüngli, and the L&D Challenges Podcast

This L&D Challenges Podcast from iVentiv’s Learning Futures Basel event in 2024 is a must-listen for C-suite executives aiming to transform Learning and Development into a strategic organisational advantage.

Adam Lacey, Co-Founder of Assemble You and Host of the L&D Challenges Podcast joined iVentiv's Learning Futures Basel at the Bovartis Campus for conversations that got to the heart of L&D's biggest challenges.

Featuring insights from industry leaders Charles Jennings, Co-Founder of the 70:20:10 Institute, Sina Melder, Head of Global Organisational Development at Lindt & Sprüngli, and Leon Jacob, Director of People Experience at Medbase, this episode delves into demonstrating L&D’s organisational value, fostering a unified learning culture, and leveraging AI beyond content creation.

Join us to discover how these strategies drive innovation, enhance employee engagement, and align global initiatives with local needs, equipping organisations to thrive in a competitive and ever-evolving business landscape.

The Power of Data and AI in Learning and Development with Roche, STMicroelectronics, HEC Paris and the L&D Challenges Podcast

Data-driven decision-making, personalisation, and measuring impact to enhance learner engagement were hot topics at iVentiv’s Learning Futures Basel event in October of this year.

Adam Lacey, Co-Founder of Assemble You and Host of the L&D Challenges Podcast took the time to join us for those discussions, and got into the thick it with key thought-leaders in his most recent podcast episode: How Roche and STMicroelectronics are Harnessing the Power of Data and AI in L&D.

Sam Zalcman, Global Head of Learning & Development at STMicroelectronics, Priyakumar Nair, Global Head of Learning Services at Roche, and Professor Peter Fisher, Associate Professor of Marketing & Academic Director of Creative Destruction Labs’ AI stream at HEC Paris made up this episode’s panel of distinguished leaders, and the discussions illuminated cutting-edge strategies in L&D and their implications for organisational transformation.

Join us as we listen in on a podcast that provides a wealth of insights for C-suite executives in multinational organisations, focusing on how L&D leaders are leveraging data, AI, and cultural shifts to address modern challenges.

The Future of Learning, Leadership, and AI: with HEC Paris, Akkodis, Reckitt and The Learning Hack Podcast

In a dynamic and transformative era, the Learning & Development sector is grappling with profound questions about innovation, technology, and leadership. The Learning Hack Podcast, hosted by John Helmer, offers rich insights into these themes through candid conversations with global leaders.

In a recent episode inspired by conversations at iVentiv’s Learning Futures Basel Executive Knowledge Exchange, three thought leaders — Anne-Valérie Corboz (Dean, HEC Paris), Jane Underwood (Global Head of Learning, Reckitt), and Sarah Otley (SVP, Global Head of Akkodis Academy) — came together to share their perspectives on navigating the future of L&D, with discussions covering the evolving nature of leadership, the role of generative AI in L&D, and the enduring challenges of aligning learning strategies with business goals.

The advent of generative AI has sparked widespread discussions across industries, but for Learning and Development, its potential remains a double-edged sword.

On the one hand, for many leaders, AI promises to revolutionise the way learning is designed and delivered. On the other, it risks reinforcing old habits and hindering meaningful change.

In a recent episode of The Learning Hack Podcast, hosted by John Helmer, guest Charles Jennings— iVentiv Advisory Board member, regular iVentiv Event Chair, pioneer in L&D transformation, and Co-Founder of the 70:20:10 framework—offered deep insights into these challenges.

This blog unpacks the key themes from their conversation and asks how can L&D leaders avoid complacency? How can they leverage AI responsibly? How can they refocus on performance improvement over outdated methodologies?

In an age of constant change, Zurich Insurance has embraced a skills-based approach as a core strategy to future-proof its workforce and drive business success.

In an interview with iVentiv, Adrian Stäubli, Group Head of Skills Development Solutions at Zurich Insurance, highlighted Zurich’s commitment to identifying, developing, and deploying skills across its global workforce.

This model isn’t just a tool— to Adrian it’s a "secret ingredient" that touches every aspect of employee development, from career progression to job design, setting Zurich apart as a truly agile and resilient organisation.

Watch our interview now to see how Adrian has embraced skills, and how it’s transforming Zurich’s employee experience.

The power of partnership: how iVentiv and HEC Paris drive Executive Development together

In the ever-evolving world of executive education and corporate learning, partnerships are key to success. iVentiv has nurtured a long-standing relationship with HEC Paris, a prestigious European business school that was founded in 1888, since 2010 and has become a leading institution in Executive Development. Through this collaboration, HEC Paris has not only elevated its presence within the corporate learning community but has also provided valuable insights and support to iVentiv’s events worldwide.

Join us as we dive into the partnership between iVentiv and HEC Paris, how it's bloomed over the years, and where it will go next.

What Makes an Effective Learning and Development Team Event?

In today’s complex global landscape, even the most experienced L&D executives face a persistent challenge: ensuring alignment and collaboration within large Learning & Development teams spread across geographies, business units, and time zones.

Too often, L&D functions in multinational companies operate in silos. Teams set objectives independently, repeat each other’s work unknowingly, or miss opportunities to scale successful initiatives. Despite good intentions, the lack of structured knowledge-sharing and alignment can hinder progress, dilute impact, and ultimately affect how well organisations respond to change.

So, how do you create an event designed to build a strong, connected L&D team that learns from each other and works towards a shared vision? Read on to find out.

10 Questions to Ask Before Planning an Internal Event

Whether you’re launching a new initiative, or planning a team-building day, internal corporate events need more than just good food and a decent venue. Without the right strategic groundwork, even the most beautifully executed event can fall flat.

Instead, before diving into logistics, you should pause and ask the foundational questions that shape a purposeful, effective experience.

This guide explores the key questions to ask before you start planning an internal event to help you clarify objectives, understand your audience, and align the event with your broader organisational goals. Read more.