Insights from the WildHearts Talent Leaders Summit

Last month, we hosted the annual WildHearts Talent Leaders Summit at Linklaters Head Office in London. The WildHearts Talent Leaders Summit is our flagship event which gives us the platform to assemble L&D thought leaders from across the business landscape within our WildHearts Talent network, to share their perspectives on current trends, challenges and the technologies influencing the profession. Here are some of the key takeaways that captured the most important themes from the day.

Samson Wendes, Sustainability Advisor at Linklaters, opened the event by touching on some of the upcoming key themes of the day , followed by an insightful talk from our CEO and Founder, Dr Mick Jackson, on the importance of advancing social mobility in the UK.

Panel: The Importance of Intergenerational Talent Strategy 

Featuring Ali Beresford, Head of Nestlé Academy and Ben Izzett, Talent Management and Engagement Leader for Europe at Veolia

Our opening panel explored how organisations can build a stronger workforce through effective Intergenerational Talent Strategies. Ali and Ben discussed the increasing need to preserve knowledge as workforces age and talent pipelines narrow, emphasising that collaboration across generations is essential to maintaining both skills and organisational culture.

Both Ali and Ben also highlighted the distinction between multi-generational workplaces, where generations work alongside each other and intergenerational strategies, which deliberately create opportunities for knowledge transfer and shared learning. Both speakers noted that these strategies are most impactful when integrated into genuine and natural business needs rather than treated as standalone initiatives. Veolia’s recent Intergenerational Micro-Tyco Business Challenge with WildHearts was shared as an example of where this approach worked well.

The panel also addressed challenges, including a shrinking pool of new talent and the gap emerging between early careers and long-serving employees. They discussed the importance of designing initiatives that effectively bridge the gap for mid-career employees.

Fireside Chat: Social Mobility

Dr Mick Jackson, CEO & Founder of WildHearts, in conversation with Mark Wood, Social Sustainability Lead at Siemens

The fireside chat kicked off with Mark speaking about his own social mobility journey, from growing up in a working-class family in Salford to becoming the first in his family to attend university. He spoke about the belief instilled by his parents that you can do anything, and the importance of passing that message on to young people who may not yet see a potential for them to move into a career in STEM or other professions.

Mark stressed the need to engage with schools in communities with high rates of deprivation, helping students understand that opportunities in a corporate environment are for everyone. He provided insight on how Siemens is reshaping their recruitment strategy to make it more accessible by removing CVs and traditional qualification requirements and instead using gamified assessments that highlight a candidate’s real skills and potential.

Knowledge Exchange Sessions

To finish the day, attendees joined a series of knowledge exchange stations to discuss various challenges and ideas around Apprentices, Graduates, Skills Gaps and AI. These conversations encouraged open sharing of experiences and practical solutions, giving each group the opportunity to collaborate and gather actionable insights to strengthen talent development and address any ongoing issues in their organisations.

This year’s summit was a great success, bringing senior leaders from across our Talent network together to share practical insights and discuss any challenges emerging in their industries. The ideas and insight gathered during the summit will play a key role in driving continued collaboration with our partners and will help inform new WildHearts Talent initiatives that are planned in the coming months.

Learn more about WildHearts Talent and how our programmes can help develop people throughout your organisation here.