Chief Learning Officer honors its 2025 Learning in Practice Award winners

CLO also announced its prestigious 2025 CLO of the Year Award winner: Kelly Stuart-Johnson, Global Head of Learning and Development, VML.

The Learning in Practice Awards were established in 2003 to recognize learning leaders who have demonstrated excellence in the design and delivery of employee development programs. The awards are presented annually to practitioners and learning solution providers, with gold, silver and bronze awards given in two broad classes. 

Practitioner awards recognize CLOs and qualified senior learning leaders for their work within their organizations. Provider awards recognize qualified service providers, vendors and consultants for their work on behalf of a client organization.

And finally, the annual CLO of the Year award is presented to the learning executive who is without peer in developing and executing learning and development strategies, marshaling and managing resources and achieving measurable success. The CLO of the Year award recognizes executives for their body of work over the course of their career.

Congratulations to all of the 2025 CLO Learning in Practice Award winners!

2025 CLO OF THE YEAR

Kelly Stuart-Johnson, Global Head of Learning and Development, VML

PRACTITIONER AWARDS

The Business Impact Award

For learning executives who have implemented a significant measurement or evaluation program that has demonstrated exceptional business impact from their workforce development programs. Potential results may include measures of employee retention, sales, revenue growth, customer satisfaction or cost reduction, among others.

GOLD

• Veronica Luna, Global Learning and Development Lead, Unilever
• Kelly Stuart-Johnson, Global Head of Learning and Development, VML
• Michael Trinder, Solution Design and Learning Architecture, AlixPartners

SILVER

• Veaceslav Cusnir, Senior Language Training Manager, Global Head of Language Assessment, EPAM Systems, Inc.

BRONZE

• Kari Borroel, Head, Global Quality Operations Learning & Development, AstraZeneca

The Business Partnership Award

For learning departments that have partnered in a progressive way with business partners or external organizational divisions and functions such as the sales and marketing department or external customer groups to develop and deliver a targeted employee development program that supports the partner’s goals.

GOLD

• EPAM Systems, Inc.
• Erie Insurance

SILVER

• Pharmacosmos Therapeutics, Inc.
• Supplier Leadership on Climate Transition

BRONZE

• Hexaware Technologies Ltd
• Rubrik

The Innovation Award

For learning executives who have marshaled resources and applied innovative practices, processes and/or technologies in a new and groundbreaking way to address a significant business or organizational opportunity.

GOLD

• John Kusi-Mensah, Vice President, Global Distribution Center of Expertise, MetLife
• The Learning & Development Team, Supplier Leadership on Climate Transition

SILVER

• Mark Slaga, Executive Business Leader, Kyndryl
• Kelly Stuart-Johnson, Global Head of Learning and Development, VML

BRONZE

• Christopher Hall, Assistant Commissioner, Office of Training and Development, U.S. Customs and Border Protection

The Strategy Award

For learning executives who have demonstrated exceptional business acumen combined with forward-looking vision to develop and execute a comprehensive learning strategy that clearly aligns employee development with broader organizational strategy.

GOLD

• Cristie Mullins, Director, Learning & Development, Walgreens
• Mark Slaga, Executive Business Leader, Kyndryl

SILVER

• John Kusi-Mensah, Vice President, Global Distribution Center of Expertise, MetLife
• The Learning & Development Team, Supplier Leadership on Climate Transition

BRONZE

• Kristin Brookins Costello, COO/CPO, Blanchard
• Erica Thompson, Training Program Lead, MetLife

The Talent Management Award

For learning executives who have developed a program that effectively integrates learning into broader talent management initiatives such as employee engagement, onboarding, succession planning, recruiting or performance management.

GOLD

• Christopher Hall, Assistant Commissioner, Office of Training and Development, U.S. Customs and Border Protection

SILVER

• Jennifer Garner, Underwriting Academy Manager, MetLife Insurance Company

BRONZE

• Chantel Van Der Westhuizen, Chief Learning Officer, Momentum Group

The Technology Award

For learning executives who have delivered new and unique applications of emerging technology to employee learning and development.

GOLD

• Natalia Galavanova, Product Manager II, EPAM Systems, Inc.
• John Kusi-Mensah, Vice President, Global Distribution Center of Expertise, MetLife

SILVER

• Chris Armer, Senior Director, Talent Development, Twilio

The Trailblazer Award

For learning executives who have either launched a new enterprise learning function or completely overhauled existing workforce development initiatives in the past year.

GOLD

• Mark Slaga, Executive Business Leader, Kyndryl
• Kelly Stuart-Johnson, Global Head of Learning and Development, VML

SILVER

• Joe Malta, Manager of Organizational Development, City of Largo
• Chantel Van Der Westhuizen, Chief Learning Officer, Momentum Group

PROVIDER AWARDS

Excellence in Academic Partnerships

Recognizes accredited academic learning institutions that have partnered with an organization in the past year to develop skills, competency or knowledge in a general employee population.

GOLD

• Davenport University’s Institute for Professional Excellence (IPEx) with Perrigo Company

Excellence in Blended Learning

Recognizes vendors that have deployed a variety of tools in support of a client’s learning program that delivers engaging learning combining multiple modalities.

GOLD

• SweetRush, Inc.

SILVER

• Melbourne Business School

BRONZE

• Abilitie
• Bluepoint Leadership Development

Excellence in Community Service 

Recognizes vendors that have provided significant investment of company resources and time in support of a community service project or initiative.

GOLD

• GP Strategies

Excellence in Content

Recognizes vendors that have created superior customized and/or off-the-shelf learning content.

GOLD

• Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp.

SILVER

• GP Strategies

Excellence in E-Learning

Recognizes vendors that have rolled out an innovative and effective e-learning program or suite for a client. 

GOLD

• D2L Corp.

Excellence in Executive Education

Recognizes executive education providers that have delivered a targeted executive education program for a client that has delivered measurable results.

GOLD

• GP Strategies

SILVER

• Center for Leadership at Florida International University

BRONZE

• The Academy for Developing Administrative Leaders

Excellence in Partnership

Recognizes vendors or consultants who have effectively supported a client’s learning and development function to set strategy or establish or implement a program via consulting or whole or partial outsources services.

GOLD

• Impact

SILVER

• Avilio
• Entelechy

BRONZE

• Clearpath Learning Group
• Entelechy
• InSync Training

Excellence in Technology Innovation

Recognizes vendors that have rolled out an innovative learning technology for a client such as machine learning, artificial intelligence, apps, video, social collaboration tools or games and simulations. 

GOLD

• Harbinger Group

SILVER

• NIIT

BRONZE

• ETU
• ServiceNow with Bongo Learn