More 2009 Winners: The Top 30 Young Trainers

4-May-09
Training's second annual list of the best and brightest young stars in the training industry today

Jeffrey Adamson, 40
Manager, Learning Technologies (manages 10 to 30)
Northrop Grumman Corporation, Baltimore, MD
B.A., Towson State University; M.A., University of Maryland Baltimore County

Jeff Adamson recently was promoted from sector head in a single business area of Northrop Grumman to
enterprise lead, a role in which he directs the corporation's learning management system (LMS) implementation.
Adamson coached and mentored each business unit lead through sector implementations of the LMS, which
supports more than 100,000 employees. "Whether it's by e-mail, instant message, or phone, Jeff always takes the
time to listen to and assist others," says Kathy Thomas, Northrop Grumman’s VP of learning and development.
"[He] has proven to the company, his peers, and his colleagues that he will roll up his sleeves without being
asked, and get the job done in a timely manner."

Mary Jo Anderson, 40
Director, Training Development and Internal Communication (10 direct reports)
Huron Consulting Group, Chicago, IL
B.A., University of Dayton; M.A., Miami University

Mary Jo Anderson manages a $4 million training and development budget for Huron Consulting Group, where she
directed last year's launch of an enterprise-wide competency model linked to the company's recently deployed
LMS. Anderson also played a lead role in the virtualization of the company's classroom-based learning curricula
with the addition of more Web-based course offerings, subscriptions to key online publications, and pre-
orientation MP3 podcasts for newly hired personnel. "She is a leader on the HR team in addition to heading up
training," says Mary Sawall, VP of HR for Huron Consulting Group. "She has worked hard at developing
relationships with key constituents in the practice…such that she is sought out both as a subject-matter expert
and as a coach and mentor."

David Barnett, 30
Manager, Training and Organizational Development (6 direct reports)
CheckFree Corporation, Aurora, IL
B.S., University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign; M.B.A. (expected in 2009), Roosevelt University

David Barnett led a company-wide initiative to develop and implement an Onboarding Excellence Scorecard for
CheckFree’s customer solutions group, one of the largest customer-facing groups within the organization. The
scorecard measures key performance indicators such as efficiency, quality and attrition, process completion, and
employee satisfaction during all phases of the onboarding process. It has provided visibility into the correlation—
or lack thereof—among training process improvements, associate satisfaction, and actual on-the-job
performance. "The scorecard has created shared accountability within the business, training, and HR groups for
the success of all new-hire associates," says Jan Huskey, a CheckFree manager of training and organizational
development. According to Huskey, one of Barnett’s chief managerial strengths is his ability to "visualize and
articulate a vision for the future."
Bruce Baumgarten, 35
Training Supervisor (4 to 6 direct reports, manages approximately 17)
AAA of Northern California, Nevada and Utah, Colorado Springs, CO
B.S. and M.S., University of Wisconsin-Stout

Bruce Baumgarten is responsible for the facilitation team directly supporting a 400-person center and 150 field
employees. He also co-founded an instructional design community of practice (CoP) for all instructional designers
in the company. "The CoP has proven to be so effective that [Baumgarten] is now part of a task force initiating
CoPs for all training supervisors and facilitators," says Greg Harwell, dean of the Claims College at AAA
University. "Bruce's strategic thinking shows up dramatically in his communities of practice work for AAA
University. There are five training departments that historically worked individually. The implementation of CoPs
has provided a venue for them to collaborate and become more efficient."

Susan Berg, 39
Senior Training Manager (12 direct reports)
Paychex Inc., Rochester, NY
B.S., Pennsylvania State University

Susan Berg partnered with an operations director and national managers at her company to redesign the
organization's tiered training program for new-hire service-givers, which focuses on developing the knowledge
and skill sets necessary to retain the company’s largest revenue-producing clients. She also worked with a team
of product and program managers to evaluate the training support process associated with new product launches.
"Our sales and service employees were under-prepared to sell and service new products, and Susan's analysis
indicated that the late engagement of training project managers and instructional designers was a major
contributor," says Kimberly Kelly, director of Paychex University’s training and development center. As a result of
Berg's leadership, Kelly says, significant process improvements were made within both the product management
group and the training center project launch team.

Pete Blank, 38
Training Advisor (typically manages project teams of 3 or more)
Personnel Board of Jefferson County, Birmingham, AL
B.S., University of Florida

Pete Blank is the lead trainer for the Personnel Board of Jefferson County (PBJC), a public-sector HR service
organization that provides training support to 23 cities and government agencies (comprising more than 9,000
employees) in the State of Alabama's Jefferson County. In this role, Blank has developed and implemented
several large-scale training initiatives, including a Supervisory Certificate Program, a Leadership Development for
Government Executives (LEDGE) course, and a Certifying Eligible Applicants with Disabilities (CEAD) Program.
As a result, the county has experienced a 68 percent increase in the number of individuals registering for and
participating in various PBJC-sponsored training courses in the last year alone. "One of Pete's greatest strengths
is his enthusiasm," says Lorren Oliver, PBJC's director. "He approaches all endeavors with a contagious
enthusiasm that motivates and inspires others and leads to greater levels of job satisfaction for everyone
involved."
Andria Corso, 38
Director, Talent Management and Development (4 direct reports, manages 8)
Lockheed Martin Corporation, Bethesda, MD
B.A., Hofstra University; M.S., Villanova University

Andria Corso managed the development and implementation of Lockheed Martin's performance management
process and system, its career development process, and its mentoring management system. According to
Marilyn Figlar, Lockheed Martin's VP of leadership and organizational development, Corso also identified the
need for a talent planning Kaizen event to make changes in Lockheed Martin's talent planning processes for all of
the company's executive general management and functional high-potential talent. "She achieved this by creating
one consistent set of outcomes and processes and [holding] regular meetings with all lead talent planners across
business units," Figlar says. In support of the changes Corso made to the way in which Lockheed Martin
manages its talent, Corso developed additional training curricula, including HR Development, Leader Talent
Management, and Total Career Plan modules.

Linda Defeo, 40
VP and Training Manager (5 direct reports)
The PNC Financial Services Group, Pittsburgh, PA
B.S. and B.A., Robert Morris University

Linda Defeo joined The PNC Financial Services Group in 1987 as an administrative assistant and quickly moved
up the ranks to become a training manager for corporate and institutional banking (C&IB). She also recently
expanded her responsibilities to support additional areas of the organization, including credit policy, compliance,
technology processing services, PNC operations, and finance. "There are many diverse and complex businesses
within C&IB," says Roxanne Larson, VP and controller, Midland Loan Services. "Linda has made an exceptional
effort to understand these businesses and what commonalities there are, as well as what differences exist, and
develop training plans accordingly." Defeo was also a key driver of PNC's Virtual Wallet, an online money-
management banking solution targeted at Generation Y. "By setting a course of action for Virtual Wallet training,
Linda was able to establish a delivery method that gave PNC employees a greater sense of ease and confidence
during training for the product," says Robin Connolly, senior VP and director of training at PNC University. Since
its introduction in mid-2008, Virtual Wallet has garnered a base of nearly 20,000 customers, 60 percent of whom
are new and 70 percent of whom are in the targeted Generation Y segment.

John DiPietro, 39
Director, Security Services Training (3 direct reports, manages more than 100 worldwide)
G4S Wackenhut, Palm Beach Gardens, FL
B.A., Kent State University; M.B.A., Waynesburg College

John DiPietro developed training programs in response to several Homeland Security initiatives and related
federal legislation targeting borders, ports, and chemical facilities. "With his insight and understanding of the
issues, John makes certain that our business is compliant and that we are always one step ahead of the
legislation—and our competition," says Dr. Michael Goodboe, G4S Wackenhut's CLO. DiPietro and his team also
worked together to develop new training resources for company personnel including Webinars; interactive
electronic training programs; and a recently launched online LMS, which offers G4S Wackenhut’s 38,000
employees access to 41 Harvard-sponsored management courses,110 Microsoft Office training programs, 42 e-
safety learning courses, and 25 customized, interactive security modules that DiPietro and his team developed in-
house. What's more, DiPietro's leadership and management training curricula are credited with substantially
lowering company turnover—a particularly vexing issue in the security industry, according to Goodboe.
Lisa Gibson, 37
Virtual Classroom Development and Training Lead (manages 3)
BD Biosciences, San Jose, CA
University of Oregon

Lisa Gibson created training for online deployment at BD Biosciences in multiple formats, including self-paced,
asynchronous courses, informational Webinars, and a variety of instructor-led curricula suitable for virtual delivery.
Gibson was the first in the Customer Education Services department to be designated a team leader for a newly
formed virtual classroom team. In this new role, she has been responsible for creating the infrastructure for a
delivery method that didn't exist, as well as creating content for the courses, and cross-training three instructors
who are new to v-classroom delivery. Undaunted by the huge amount of knowledge she had to acquire about a
medium for which she had never developed or delivered courses, Gibson did an excellent job learning all the
tools, becoming an internal expert about the delivery method, and enthusiastically sharing the information with
others. Because of her efforts, BD Biosciences has been able to offer virtual classes to customers, providing a
delivery method that adds to their class offerings and is expected to increase customer satisfaction.

Rebekah Harvey, 39
Global Education Services Manager for ProCurve Networking by HP (manages 31)
Hewlett-Packard, Boise, ID
B.A., The College of Idaho; M.A., Boise State University; Ph.D., Capella University

Rebekah Harvey sponsored the redesign of new-hire training, which aimed to reduce the onboarding period from
six weeks to three, with one week of "nesting" following formal training. Harvey worked with a team of analysts to
identify 30-, 60- and 90-day performance metrics for all newly onboarded personnel. "As a result, in FY’08,
Rebekah and her team were able to consistently release new hires who were hitting full productivity within 30
days of graduation," says Michael Inman, learning and development manager for HP Consumer Exchange. "This
new-hire 'speed-to-ramp' is the fastest within HP and is among the best in the industry. The estimated cost
savings and increased revenue generation as a result already are nearing $5 million."

John Hovell, 30
Director, Knowledge Management (2 direct reports, manages 10)

ManTech International Corporation, Fairfax, VA

B.S., Virginia Tech; M.S., George Washington University

Last year, John Hovell led the implementation of several knowledge management initiatives for ManTech
International Corporation, including the launch of 10 communities of practice, an internal wiki, and significant
development of the company’s global knowledge base. "By advocating persuasively in favor of its strategic
relevance, John has established knowledge management as a key discriminator for operational efficiency and
knowledge retention throughout the enterprise," says Alan Malinchak, ManTech's VP and CLO. According to
Malinchak, estimated cost savings for certification training, also developed by Hovell, will total more than $1.2
million over the next three years.
Andy Janning, 38
AVP, Training and Quality Service (3 direct reports)
FORUM Credit Union, Indianapolis, IN

Andy Janning launched the FORUM News Network (FNN) in late 2008. FNN is a weekly video blog designed to
communicate the company's vision and values, share information on new financial products and services, and
recognize employees for their exceptional contributions. Since its implementation, 85 percent of all FORUM
employees routinely are tuning in to FNN. Janning also created a security awareness video series to support
regulator-mandated training requirements for more than 300 employees in 14 locations across the city of
Indianapolis. "Andy's passion for training is amazing," says Jenny Budreau, FORUM's senior VP of HR and
administration. "Over the last few years, he has led FORUM to national recognition as a training leader."

Kiersten Kaye, 39
Former Director of Training and Development (6 direct reports)
Retailer, Boston, MA
Bachelor's degree, University of Rhode Island

Kiersten Kaye led a major retailer's adoption of a wide variety of training best practices. She spearheaded the
development and implementation of a formal train-the-trainer curriculum, deployed multiple e-learning modules,
formalized talent development planning processes, and mapped new training programs to specific job
competencies across the enterprise. "Competencies, career paths, and evolution matrices were shared with the
entire company to promote awareness of career progression," says a former co-worker. She’s also a tremendous
leader, he says. "Kiersten coached her team members while working alongside them in order to develop their
abilities and empower them."

Lauren Kuzmak, 38
Director, Corporate Service Learning and Development (3 direct reports)
Thomson Reuters, Boston, MA
B.S., Charter Oak State College; M.S. and M.B.A., Southern New Hampshire University

Following the integration of Reuters with Thomson, Lauren Kuzmak led a team of subject matter experts (SMEs)
who provided a full set of virtual class offerings on a monthly basis to an employee audience of more than 1,100
personnel. Kuzmak also implemented an LMS during this transition period, which provided a platform to support
management's balanced scorecard initiative and other integration-related directives. "Lauren has proven herself to
be a strong leader of the training team," says Arzu Cevik, a director at Thomson Reuters. "Her experience with
[the company], coupled with her skills in training operations and education, has provided a unique—and much
needed—fresh look at our training programs. She has been instrumental in assessing our content, making
changes where needed and evolving the program to be more globally focused and specific to individual roles."
Marfred "Maroy" Lamigo, 36
Asia Leadership Program Manager (manages program teams of 4 to 16 members)
Intel China Ltd., Shanghai, China
B.A., De La Salle University

In response to enterprise-wide restructuring at Intel, Maroy Lamigo prepared a transition road map and a new
organizational branding strategy around the training and leadership development functions for more than 6,000
personnel at Intel. Working with a team of HR professionals, Lamigo defined and implemented Intel’s China
Executive Development Program. Lamigo also headed up the management review committee for the company’s
Asia Fast Track initiative, which is designed to leverage effective strategies for an Asia-wide leadership
development program. "Maroy is able to energize others to become excited about change and inspires them to
use creativity in addressing complex organizational capability requirements," says David Kilby, director, Intel
University.

Alice Loftus, 38
Information Systems Training Leader (8 direct reports)
Edward Jones, St. Louis, MO
B.S. and M.S., Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville

Alice Loftus leads a team providing services to more than 4,400 associates in Edward Jones' information system
division office on firm-wide software applications. To meet this challenge, Loftus employed a blended learning
strategy; built a Volunteer In-House Trainer (VIT) Program; and challenged her associates to not only design e-
learning classes but also support the classes by other means such as video and telephone conferences, live
meeting applications, and virtual classrooms. This initiative has not only saved the company money, thanks to
reduction in travel costs, it also has enhanced the quality of the firm's training, according to LaSheena Fisher, a
training support coordinator at Edward Jones. Loftus also serves on the Edward Jones Learning Council, which is
a cross-divisional team of leaders designated by the company's management committee. "The council is charged
with the governance of Strategic Learning Services (SLS) and the implementation of enterprise-wide e-learning
initiatives that stem from the firm’s blended learning vision," says Fisher.

Joel MacCharles, 35
Global VP, Development and Facilitation (10 direct reports)
Allied International Credit, Newmarket, Ontario
Diploma, Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology

Joel MacCharles rebranded the training department at Allied International Credit as the Development and
Facilitation Group because he believes training is but a small component of what his team does—and only one of
multiple tools used to deliver on Allied International Credit's commitment to developing the skills of its personnel.
"Learning initiatives [championed by MacCharles] include the launch of two 'Lunch and Learn' sessions per week,
30-second e-mail training sessions, three-minute classroom events, free Webinars, 'Superhero Handouts'
(training aids that read like comic books), 100 new optional courses, 'huddle training,' and a course on coaching,"
says Terry Mundy, a development and communication manager at Allied International Credit. Mundy adds that
MacCharles has "gone well above and beyond the call of duty to find new and innovative ways to motivate and
inspire this company."
Kara Pinto, 36
Team Manager, Training (8 direct reports, indirectly manages 5)
Pfizer Inc., Rye Brook, NY
B.S., Bentley College

When Pfizer's U.S.-based pharmaceutical sales force was reorganized, Kara Pinto led the effort to retrain 2,000
sales representatives on a host of new products. She developed leader guides and on-demand video training
courses to create consistency and better support the onboarding of new hires. Pinto also partnered with Pfizer's
technology management team to implement the delivery of fully configured Pfizer computers, called "Day 1
Laptops," to the homes of newly hired sales reps on their first day of employment, enabling them to immediately
participate in company e-learning courses, interact live with training managers, and utilize Pfizer's LMS remotely.
"Key to her personal success, and the success of the training organization, is her capacity to inspire by example
and hold people accountable," says Tim Kern, VP of training at Pfizer.

Allessandria Polizzi, 37
Group Manager, Accountant Training and Relations (5 direct reports, manages 12)
Intuit Inc., Plano, TX
B.A. and M.A., California State University; Ph.D., University of North Texas

Allessandria Polizzi played a key role in integrating multiple departments during a company-wide reorganization at
Intuit. "[By articulating] a clear vision and strategy for the new organization, she inspired employees to stay
engaged and continue to work well together," says Donna Duncan, an event manager at Intuit. Polizzi developed
a talent management plan for Intuit's marketing organization and also created and implemented a strategy to
educate Intuit's small business and accounting customers, which has led to a 20 percent reduction in customer
service calls and a corresponding 30 percent boost in customer satisfaction. In addition, Polizzi led the effort to
implement an enterprise-scale LMS at Intuit to handle all customer certification and training requirements for more
than 50,000 learners each year.

Nicole Scheel, 32
Director of Training (6 direct reports, manages 23)
InterCall, Chicago, IL
B.A., University of St. Francis; M.A. (expected in 2009), Roosevelt University

Nicole Scheel drives InterCall's Management Development Program, a curriculum created for managers at all
levels within the organization. This program was designed to build knowledge of key leadership and management
practices, teach proven strategies for enhancing overall performance, and demonstrate strong leadership
behaviors and management skills. It consists of 13, two-hour courses conducted in an interactive virtual
classroom environment. Since its introduction, more than 300 classes have been conducted for more than 800
participants. Scheel also directed the rollout of InterCall's LMS to the company's entire North American employee
base as part of a strategic initiative to better manage new-hire training, career pathing, continuing education,
product training, and related enterprise learning objectives. "Nicole is very much a trainer at heart and brings that
enthusiasm to work with her every day," says Janella Kaczanko, InterCall's VP of HR. "She is praised consistently
for her outgoing personality and performance in the trainings she conducts."
Marc Shecter, 38
Senior Program Manager (manages 8)
Amazon.com, Spokane, WA
B.A., Indiana University; M.S., Indiana University

In 2008, Marc Shecter designed, developed, and implemented a comprehensive new manager orientation
program for Amazon.com. He also manages the company's enterprise-scale LMS, and over the last two years,
increased the scope of the LMS to include new functionality that has driven a 40 percent increase in unique
learners using the system. "He drives the organization’s understanding of LMS operating costs relative to adding
new features and service levels," says Maureen Martin, senior corporate relationship manager with Harvard
Business Publishing. "Marc ensures the system is running day-to-day, but also strategically plans for the future to
ensure his corporation can continue to grow its internal training functions." This year, Shecter also is
spearheading comprehensive corporate integration of lean management principles and best practices throughout
Amazon.com.

Hirdesh Singhal, 37
Head, Advanced Project Management Education
Satyam Computer Services Limited, Hyderabad, India
B.E., University of Rajasthan; P.G.D.B.A., ICFAI Business School

Hirdesh Singhal leads an initiative called Advanced Project Management Education (APME), which aims to
improve the project and program management competencies of managers at Satyam Computer Services Limited.
"As an IT services company, Satyam requires several high-quality project managers and a strong project
management framework," says Anu Khendry, AVP of Satyam Learning Worldwide. "It is one of the critical factors
customers evaluate during their decision to choose an IT services partner. APME, under the leadership of
Hirdesh, is responsible for achieving this critical business goal." Singhal also conceived, designed, and
successfully deployed a 15-day boot camp for aspiring project managers (PMs). "Through this boot camp, Satyam
has avoided hiring 60 PMs from outside the company, realizing cost savings of $1.2 million," according to
Khendry. "Hirdesh collaborates with the behavioral and management education team, as well as the School of
Leadership, and integrates their courses into the PM programs," Khendry adds. "His energy and passion have
inspired members of these teams to make their programs more contextual and focused."

Jason Spafford, 39
Training Supervisor (5 direct reports)
AAA of Northern California, Nevada and Utah, Colorado Springs, CO
B.A., California Lutheran University

Jason Spafford managed a leadership initiative across multiple lines of business that provided an intuitive Web-
based interface consolidating four disparate leadership road maps into a single application organized by job
function, which allows employees to assemble leadership development plans specific to their job role and in
support of their career development aspirations. The tool also includes an experience and exposure component
that includes a listing of appropriate development activities to support traditional instructor-led and Web-based
coursework. "The application initially was implemented in support of approximately 1,500 employees in two lines
of business," says Greg Harwell, dean of AAA University's Claims College. "It has [since] been adopted as an
effective tool by the AAA University Executive College and now is being considered for use across all colleges
within AAA University."
Yon Sugiharto, 30
Project Manager, Center for Organizational and Leadership Effectiveness (manages 5, including 2 direct reports)
NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, New York, NY
B.A., Trent University; B.Ed., Queen's University; M.A., Columbia University

Yon Sugiharto developed and managed a blended learning initiative to train 5,000 staff in support of the
implementation of the hospital’s new electronic medical records system. Sugiharto also managed the planning
and build-out of NewYork-Presbyterian's Revenue Cycle Academy, a collaborative project among the hospital's
finance and training departments, as well as an external vendor aimed at deploying comprehensive revenue
cycle/finance learning modules for the hospital's administrators and other personnel. According to Mary
Beaudette, director, technology learning solutions, NY-Presbyterian Hospital, this initiative enabled the RCA team
to create approximately 10 process-based e-learning courses in six weeks while formulating a working learning
strategy focused on improving revenue cycle performance throughout the hospital. Yon also produced a task-
based scenario model for highly complex and fluctuating clinical IT training by leading a team of clinical
instructional designers and classroom instructors to develop a suite of blended learning modules.

Catherine Susie, 31
Training Manager (5 direct reports)
TAC Americas, Carrollton, TX
B.S.E., Tulane University

Catherine Susie managed the implementation of a branch manager leadership acceleration program for TAC
Americas, which she designed to help minimize management disruptions associated with Baby Boomer
retirements at the company. "Cathy challenges the team to continually review the value we bring to the company
through surveys and metrics," says Melissa Chapel, a trainer on Susie's team. "We are encouraged to adapt our
existing training programs and actively seek opportunities to take on new training initiatives." For 2009, Susie
reduced the total cost of company training programs by more than $70,000, "thus helping TAC with profitability
and making training more affordable and available to all employees," Chapel says. She also helped implement a
company-wide initiative to provide energy awareness training to more than 1,400 TAC Americas employees
throughout the U.S. "She was responsible for managing and delivering all training materials to each satellite
branch to ensure each employee within our company was well-versed in global energy trends and the impact they
can have not only on the environment, but on our business," says Chapel.

Trish Uhl, 39
Founder and Chief Learning Strategist (manages 10-plus)
Owl's Ledge LLC, Chicago, IL

Trish Uhl provides professional certification coaching to candidates worldwide who are pursuing the American
Society for Training and Development's (ASTD's) Certified Professional in Learning and Performance (CPLP)
credentialing program. She also volunteers her time by traveling to ASTD chapters across the U.S. to assist their
local members by conducting "CPLP Boot Camps" for candidates in the credentialing program. In the last year at
Owl's Ledge, Uhl led project teams across a wide variety of initiatives and industries, including design and
development of a series of avatar-based e-learning courses around implementation of a new sales process;
service and product knowledge training; and engineering collaboration software for R&D engineers in the U.S.,
Europe, and China. Uhl spent 18 months working on a global transition management effort including components
of traditional instructional design, course development, facilitation, change management, and organizational
development with respect to development efforts on complex systems (e.g., SAP) and business process re-
engineering. Says Kimberly Seeger, president, Solution Source Café, LLC, "Trish is a leader with clear vision, a
firm grasp on what success looks like and how to achieve it, and the ability to clearly and passionately
communicate it and inspire others to action."
Mike Vaughan, 38
President and CEO (manages 35)
Regis Learning Solutions, Denver, CO
B.A. and B.S., Colorado State University; M.B.A. (pending), Regis University

As co-founder of Regis Learning Solutions, which provides business simulations to clients worldwide, Mike
Vaughan created the four-quadrant "Richness & Reach" model, which is used by multinational corporations
worldwide to identify training requirements and economically plan organizational development activities. Vaughan
and his team also designed an innovative methodology to aid in the rapid prototyping of immersive, robust training
simulations. "In the time it takes to build your typical e-learning course, now you can have a fully customized
simulation—for a fraction of what it used to cost end users just a short time ago," says William Husson, VP of
professional studies and strategic alliances at Regis University. "Mike's understanding of client needs and how to
address those needs encourages others to jump on board with Mike's suggested solutions and follow his lead,"
adds longtime business partner Patricia Kunkel, VP of learning strategy, curriculum, and content services at ACS
Inc. "As a result, our teams have delivered seven large, rich, and complex simulations globally and have trained
more than 180 facilitators and 5,000-plus participants."

Eugenio Jose Villamizar de Argumosa, 38

Consumer Learning and Development Manager (manages 6)
Goodyear Dunlop Tires Europe
Bachelor's degree, Florida International University

Eugenio Villamizar led the development team responsible for deploying the Goodyear Sales Academy, which
offers curricula for certifying sales personnel as Goodyear sales representatives, business advisors, and business
consultants. The Sales Academy also focuses on driving sales force development standards throughout the
Goodyear organization to improve sales capabilities on an enterprise scale. Drawing upon internal and external
best practices, Villamizar also created Goodyear's Consumer Selling Skills training module. "Through his
leadership, Eugenio [led] his team to consistently drive and follow up sales development and to demonstrate the
value it brings to the organization," says Aitor Larrabe, HR and talent management director for Goodyear Dunlop
Tires.

Robert Webb, 39
Senior Director, People and Performance (6 direct reports, manages 23)
Mohawk Industries Inc., Dalton, GA
B.A., Emory University

Robert Webb conducted a company-wide assessment of both formal and informal training at Mohawk Industries,
which entailed a comprehensive review of all curricula, online modules, and learning resources across the
enterprise. He identified cost savings to the organization in excess of $750,000 by eliminating redundant training,
blending and rebranding multiple training functions, reducing instances of outsourcing, and establishing better
training oversight controls. Webb also aligned the organization’s training priorities with its job competency model
and HR's succession planning tool in an effort to better identify and address gaps in employee skill sets. "The
organization has roundly praised his efforts in making the training function parallel the business and emphasizing
accountability and measurable results," says Jerry Melton, Mohawk's VP of HR. Recently promoted to senior
director of people and performance, Webb now is responsible for training and development, staffing, diversity, and
communications.