The TechWolf Podcast
The TechWolf Podcast explores how technology is reshaping HR, cutting through vendor hype around AI agents, skills, and integrations. Host Julius Schelstraete talks with business practitioners and thought leaders about the "skills-based organization" — what it really means, whether it is realistic, and where the roadblocks lie. Episodes focus on practical, real-life use cases rather than marketing promises. The show takes a critical, down-to-earth look at skills-based HR and what it takes to make it work.
Afleveringen
“Peel back the onion. It’s really not doom and gloom.” | Former CHRO Susan Youngblood on what the data says about AI and jobs
The AI bills are arriving, and some companies are already asking who should lose access. Meanwhile, the headlines say AI is wiping out entry-level jobs, and the labor data says otherwise. Susan Youngblood, a former CHRO who rolled out AI across a 9,000-person customer service organization, separates what is happening from what is being reported. She also explains why HR leaders who wait to be invi
The AI org-chart experiment | BCG's Julie Bedard on accountability, error rates and token spend
Roughly a third of companies now talk about AI as a teammate or an employee, and between a fifth and a third say it has already carried over into the org chart. The argument for doing it has always been familiarity: give people a human reference point and they will use the thing. Julie Bedard and her co-authors tested that with 1,200 to 1,300 managers in HR and finance, all reviewing the identical
Who owns work redesign, and what has to be true first | Accenture's Matthew Morgan on skills technology, ownership, and the questions nobody asks
Every leadership team is now asking which work goes to agents. Almost nobody has answered the harder question sitting underneath it: who owns the answer. The business owns the process, IT owns the deployment, talent owns the skills data, and total rewards owns the pay bands, which means any one of them acting alone produces a redesign that falls over within a quarter. Matthew Morgan, Managing Dire
“It's not a super sexy problem, but it's the foundation of everything.” | Ian Bailie, Synopsys' VP of People Strategy, on a best-of-breed skills stack
Most companies chase a skills strategy and end up with a portal nobody opens. Ian Bailie has built this twice, once at Cisco a decade ago, the hard way, and now at Synopsys, a 40-year-old company that just doubled in size and absorbed a $35 billion acquisition. His take is blunt: stop turning skills into an HR project. Lead with what AI is doing to the actual work, fix your job architecture first,
“Nothing’s being asked of HR that hasn’t been asked before.” | Deloitte's Kyle Forrest on zero-based work, spotting fake AI agents, and what the CHRO job becomes by 2030
Every vendor at every conference is selling you an agent. Most of them are selling you a workflow with a chat window. Kyle Forrest runs Deloitte’s Future of HR practice and its Next Generation CHRO Academy, and he spends his weeks in the room with CHROs trying to separate the real from the rebranded. In this episode, he lays out the test for a genuine agent, why “make HR strategic” has been the sa
“What took us months now takes minutes.” | Cotality CHRO Kendra Angier on building a skills engine, engaging the C-suite, and her 12-24mo strategy
Most skills programs never make it out of the spreadsheet. Cotality's CHRO spent nine months trying to hand-build a skills taxonomy before she killed it and started over. In this episode, Kendra Angier explains how she rebuilt the workforce-intelligence stack around dynamic data, pulled her COO, CTO, and CFO into the buying decision, and earned an 80% employee NPS on skills along the way. It&#
AstraZeneca’s 4-year Odyssey with skills intelligence | Lara Martinez, Global Director of Talent Intelligence, on why agility beats the SBO label
Everyone wants a “skills-based organization.” Almost no one has built one. At AstraZeneca, Global Director of Talent Intelligence Lara Martinez Gonzalez has spent four years connecting a tangle of recruitment systems, development platforms, and job architecture into one language for the workforce, and she’s blunt about how hard it has been. In this episode, she argues skills is a data problem, not
"Tell me about your strategy. Skills can wait." | Sandoz's Workforce Intelligence Lead on the one move that flips SWP from push to pull
Most strategic workforce plans never make it past the CHRO's desk. The horizon is five years, the work is detailed, and the business leader you need in the room would rather talk about anything else. Felipe Hessel runs Workforce Intelligence at Sandoz, and he's worked out how to flip that dynamic, getting executives to pull SWP towards them rather than dodge it. In this conversation, he walks thro
"Sellers close deals 14% faster." | Special Episode: Workday’s Josh Tarr & TechWolf CEO Andreas De Neve on Revenue-Linked Skills Strategy.
When your sales team closes deals 14% faster, the "skills gap" stops being an HR problem and starts being a revenue solution. In this Special Episode, TechWolf CEO Andreas joins Josh from Workday to discuss the messy, high-stakes reality of transforming a 20,000-person organization. They move past the buzzwords to discuss why 75% of skills profiles usually fail and how Workday used AI to achieve a
"There would actually be a people shortage" | McKinsey’s Sven Smit & Anu Madgavkar on AI, Agents, Robots, and the $100-Trillion Economy.
The world is bracing for mass unemployment, but McKinsey Global Institute researchers Sven Smit and Anu Madgavkar suggest we might actually face a labor shortage. As agents and robots move from theory to the office floor, the real friction isn't just the tech; it's our inability to learn as fast as the machines. This episode challenges the "soft skills" myth and explains why your AI strategy will
"Skills are just a lazy proxy for work." | A transparent debate with FM’s Mike Manning & Preethi Gowda on why business problems must dictate talent data.
It is rare to hear two leaders from the same organization move past the corporate script and into a "healthy debate" about the very foundation of their work. In this episode, Mike Manning (VP, HR Data & Innovation) and Preethi Gowda (Global People Insights Lead) from FM do exactly that. While Preethi advocates for the proactive power of layering skills with knowledge and ability , Mi
"Stop pushing skills validation on everyone." | Why ServiceNow uses 'pull' talent strategies to find critical engineers.
Most HR leaders are obsessed with "skilling" their workforce, but they’re ignoring the tasks that actually make up the work. Josh Newman, VP of Workforce Skills at ServiceNow, argues that skills data is essentially dead weight unless it’s tied to specific business processes and AI impacts. In this episode, Josh breaks down how ServiceNow is moving beyond simple taxonomies to create a &qu
"Stop benchmarking your peers..." | Lessons from a CHRO & People Analytics duo (xABN Amro) on data-driven workforce strategy
Most organizations are pouring millions into AI tools while their actual workforce strategy remains stuck in 2010. We talk about "efficiency," but we’re failing to measure the return on investment or the impact on the people actually doing the work. In this episode, Frank and Patrick from KennedyFitch break down why the "efficiency trap" is a race to the bottom and how HR leaders must shift from m
“The 'All-Access Pass' to CEO Strategy.” | Experienced F500 CHRO, Jordana Kammerud, on the New Boardroom Mandate
Most organizations are "dabbling" with AI while the technology's capability doubles every four months. Jordana Kammerud (Experienced F500 CHRO) and Mik Wornoo (Co-founder, TechWolf) argue that we’ve reached a turning point: the "Oppenheimer moment" of workforce transformation, where HR must either step up as a business strategist or watch the organization succumb to the weight of outdated role-bas
“AI goals are now mandatory.” | How Genesys hit 75% skill adoption in 60 Days with Lisa Brockman (Part 2)
Lisa Brockman, Talent Director at Genesys, returns to prove that skills-based transformation isn't a multi-year "maybe"—it’s a 60-day "must". After launching an AI-driven pilot to 2,000 employees in November, Genesys saw 75% of users validate their skills almost immediately.But they aren't stopping at data collection. In this episode, Lisa reveals why Genesys is making
“People don’t care about skills.” | Genesys’ Lisa Brockman on the Internal-First Mobility Playbook (Part 1)
Most organizations spend 18 months building manual skill taxonomies only to realize the data was stale before it was even finished. Lisa Brockman (Talent Management Director at Genesys) realized that if employees don’t trust the data, they won’t use the marketplace, leaving leadership to hire externally for skills they likely already own. In this PART 1 episode with Lisa, we break down how to move
"Your business case isn't big enough. The best ones have these two elements" | SAP SuccessFactors' CRO on the revenue-first skills strategy
Most companies are using AI to do the same boring work faster. They’re chasing "efficiency" while completely ignoring the fact that the work itself needs to be redesigned. Jan Duthoo (CRO, SAP SuccessFactors) joins us to explain why your business case for skills is likely too small, why L’Oreal and Safran used the exact same technology for opposite reasons, and how to stop "boiling the ocean" with
“Skills tech is useless without this” | Advent Health’s culture-first playbook for skills transformation
Most organizations buy the software and hope the culture follows. Advent Health did the exact opposite. Marquita and Mary Beth spent two years building a "culture of curiosity" before flipping the switch on their technology. In this live episode from Workday Rising, they break down why skills have a five-year shelf life and how to move your workforce from "episodic learning" to
"If We Do Nothing, We Lose." | HSBC’s Blueprint for Future Competitive Advantage
Is your workforce plan looking in the rear-view mirror, or is it predicting your next market win? Rob Etheridge, Group Head of Workforce Strategy at HSBC, argues that most organizations are drowning in "use cases" while missing the bigger picture: future competitive advantage. In this episode, Rob reveals why he rejected the "4,000 skills" taxonomy, why buying more HR tech won't solve your talent
“AI Could Turn White-Collar Work Into the New Assembly Line.” | Former IBM CHRO Diane Gherson on the Future of HR (LIVE from Workday Rising)
In this episode of the TechWolf Podcast, Julius Schelstraete sits down with Diane Gherson, former CHRO of IBM and current independent director at TechWolf. From her vantage point as one of the most influential HR leaders of the past decade, Diane shares a candid, strategic, and urgent message for HR executives navigating AI, workforce intelligence, and the shift to skills-based organizations.Diane
“Skills-based hiring isn’t broken. Your interviews are.” | The Business Case for Skills-Based Hiring at Workday With Marianne Herrmann
In this episode of the TechWolf Podcast, recorded live at Workday Rising in San Francisco, Marianne Herrmann (Principal, Skills-Based Hiring Strategy & Enablement at Workday) reveals the real numbers behind a hiring revolution.Workday didn’t “experiment” with skills-based hiring; they rebuilt hiring around it.By combining AI-driven insights from TechWolf with behavioral science and relentless
Special Episode | “The Skeleton of the Skills-Based Org” | A Deep Dive on Job Architecture with Richard Hanson (WTW)
This special edition of the TechWolf Podcast puts the spotlight on a topic that’s often misunderstood, frequently overlooked, but absolutely foundational: Job Architecture.Julius sits down with Richard Hanson - former founder of Jobbable and now leading Digital Strategy & Innovation at WTW - for a deep, candid exploration of the frameworks behind workforce transformation.Whether you’re mapping
"HR Problems Became Business Problems. For the first time" | TechWolf Founder & President Mikael Wornoo on Task Data, Workforce Planning & the New HR Mandate
In this episode of The TechWolf Podcast, host Julius Schelstraete speaks with Mikael Wornoo, co-founder of TechWolf and the leader of its US expansion. Calling in from New York, Mikael lays out why skills data alone is no longer enough—and how task-level intelligence is the key to making workforce AI transformation actionable.From task automation to strategic workforce planning, this episode unpac
“Excel Didn’t Help in a Crisis” | How the Belgian Government Built a National Skills System from Scratch
In this episode of The TechWolf Podcast, Carolien Sonck, Director of Support Services at the Belgian Government, joins Julius Schelstraete in Ghent to share a remarkable transformation story. When the COVID-19 crisis exposed a fundamental blind spot in their workforce data, Carolien and her team set out to build something entirely new: a skills-based workforce intelligence system that could suppor
“We Built Competency Models. They Weren’t Enough.” | Sanofi’s Guillaume Lavoix on Building a Workforce for the AI-Driven Pharma Era
In this episode, Guillaume Lavoix, Global Skills Intelligence Lead at Sanofi, shares how one of the world’s largest pharma companies is embedding skills at the heart of its transformation. Guillaume explains how Sanofi’s “Skills Power” program emerged from a shifting business strategy: moving toward R&D-driven innovation and AI-enabled drug development.He details the early steps — from buildin
One Common Language of Skills In a Decentralized and Global Group | How Atlas Copco Group Is Using AI to Rethink Talent Strategy
In this episode of the TechWolf Podcast, we travel to Stockholm to meet Cecilia Sandberg, Chief HR Officer, and Dorna Shafiei, VP Talent Management at Atlas Copco Group. Together, they break down the practical journey of making a 55,000-person industrial tech company skills-enabled, without introducing a new platform or compromising on cultural values. The conversation covers internal mobility, sk
Why Skills-Based HR Is Still Stuck | Harvard Prof. Joseph Fuller on Cracking the People-Productivity Code
Why do so many companies say they’re going skills-based, but still hire like it’s 2005? In this episode of The TechWolf Podcast, Julius sits down with Harvard Business School Professor Joe Fuller to uncover the disconnect. From the real business case for skills to the hidden role of AI, Joe makes one thing clear: skills are more than an HR experiment—they’re your edge in a high-stakes transformati
“We Needed More Skilled Talent to Save Lives” | How Bristol Myers Squibb Used Skills Data to Solve a Life-or-Death Talent Shortage
In this in-person episode of The TechWolf Podcast, we sit down with Ben Wein, Director of Workforce Skills Enablement at Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS), live from the Flanders House in New York City.Ben shares the inside story of how one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies is becoming a skills-based organization—starting with a business-critical talent shortage in cell therapy manufacturin
You Can’t Nail Skills Without Tasks | Marc Ramos & Jeroen Van Hautte (TechWolf) on Redefining Work With Task Intelligence
In this episode of The TechWolf Podcast, Marc Ramos, industry learning leader with Google, Novartis, Microsoft, Cornerstone, and EdTech advisor to leading HR tech companies, joins TechWolf CTO Jeroen Van Hautte to explore the emerging frontier of task-based intelligence. Live from New York, we unpack how tasks are reshaping the future of work, why task data may be even more actionable than skills,
"You Don’t Have a Skills Problem—You Have a Data Opportunity" | Learnings On Skills Governance, Buy-In, and Momentum from Kason Morris @Merck
In this face-to-face episode of The TechWolf Podcast, Kason Morris, Global Director of the Future of Work and Skills-Based Organization Strategy at Merck, joins us in New York City to discuss why skills are not a trend—they're infrastructure. With experience at Allstate, Salesforce, and now Merck, Kason breaks down the practical realities of skills transformation: where to start, how to prove valu
“We Did the Skills Work. Nothing Happened.” | PayPal’s Sarah Gretczko on The Truth About Skills Strategy
In this in-person episode of The TechWolf Podcast, recorded live in New York City, we sit down with Sarah Gretczko, Head of Talent & Belonging at PayPal. With 20+ years of experience in HR strategy, Sarah shares unfiltered insights on the evolution of skills-based organizations—and why focusing only on skills is a mistake.From her time at MasterCard and JP Morgan to PayPal today, she brings st
Why Skills Still Feel Theoretical—And How CCEP Is Making It Real | Nico Orie
In this episode of The TechWolf Podcast, Nico Orie, VP of People and Culture at Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP), shares why technology investments often fail without equal focus on people. He dives into CCEP's skill-based transformation, the critical gap in how we value human capital, and why organizations must balance AI with a human-first approach. From dynamic work design to driving adopt
Fixing Skills Data with AI | Creating Insights from Skills | Lessons from Data Science with Robert Gibby
In this episode, Robert Gibby, current Data Science Director at Cox Enterprises, former Director of People Analytics at Meta, and Chief Talent Scientist at IBM, shares his experience designing AI-powered skills intelligence for workforce planning, talent mobility, and hiring.Robert Discusses:How AI can be used to redefine skills-based job architectureWhy skills-based transformations can stall - ho
DHL’s Talent Tinder & The Future of Skills: How They Built a Winning Strategy with Meredith Wellard.
Meredith Wellard is the former VP of Group Talent Acquisition, Learning, and Growth at DHL, where she spent nearly five years laying the foundation for one of the most ambitious skills-based transformations in a global enterprise. At DHL, she championed internal mobility, launching innovative initiatives like ‘Talent Tinder’ to shift hiring from external to internal placements, reduce onboarding c
Sandra Loughlin — Inside a True, Skills-Based Organization
Sandra is the chief learning scientist at Epam Systems, a global provider of software engineering, digital platform engineering, and product development services.
Interestingly, EPAM has been on a skills-based journey for over 30 years and is as close an example as you’ll find of a skills-based organization.
Sandra has been a proud advocate of Epam’s journey and helped build the critical foundatio
Gina Jeneroux — Building a 'Coalition of Belief' for Skills
Gina Jeneroux is the former Chief Learning Officer at BMO Financial Group, where she gained years of experience in enterprise learning and skills strategies, design, operations, and governance.
She now sits at the intersection of AI, skills, and industry as the Chief Skills & Innovation Officer at Executive Networks, Professor of Practice in Future Work & Skills, and Director of the Futur
Josh Tarr — Workday's Skills-Based Organization: When Hype Meets Reality
Josh Tarr is the Director of Skills-Based Organizations (SBOs) at Workday. He and his team are fully committed to the concept of skills-driven organizations for Workday's internal workforce. In this interview, we explore Josh's vision for SBOs and the steps he has taken to achieve it.
We cover many topics, from the hype cycle around SBOs to Workday’s skills transformation journey, practical miles
