Tom joined our Learning & Development team in 2024, bringing his passion and energy for coaching, development and helping our colleagues reach their full potential. From leadership development and measuring learning impact to AI upskilling, Tom shares what it takes to create learning experiences that drive behavioural change and make a real impact across the business.

Can you tell us a bit about your career journey and what led you into Learning & Development? 

My journey to Learning & Development was... let’s call it scenic!

It all started at university, where I studied Computer Science. To this day, I have absolutely no idea why. Upon graduation, the only thing I knew for certain was that I didn’t see myself pursuing a career in my degree field, so I joined a management graduate scheme at a car rental company. It gave me an incredible foundation in how businesses actually run; however I quickly realised that cars were definitely not my thing. I needed to get back to the world of luxury.

I joined a luxury department store and spent six amazing years leading teams across Beauty, Menswear, and Accessories. I loved the energy, but life has a way of throwing unexpected curveballs.Out of nowhere, I was diagnosed with cancer. Going through brutal chemotherapy and a long road to recovery was incredibly tough, but it gave me a rare gift: time to reflect. I realised my true passion wasn't actually retail management. The absolute best part of my job, the thing that gave me real energy, was training, coaching, and helping people grow.

When I was ready to return to work, the universe aligned. An L&D role opened up, I nailed the interview, and changing careers at 35 became the best decision I ever made. I completely fell in love with this field. It perfectly aligns with my values and what makes me tick. Since making the leap, I’ve gained invaluable experience, gone back to school to get my CIPD Level 5, and realised my absolute favourite place to be is in the classroom. Honestly, it’s my stage!

You deliver a wide range of learning sessions across the business. What are some of the most popular or impactful programmes?

We’ve hosted a ton of sessions over the last three years, but there are a few absolute crowd-pleasers that our teams just can’t get enough of, these are our headliners:

Building Impactful Teams

We dive deep into team dynamics using the 16 Personalities framework. It’s a super interactive session where we map out our quirky traits, ask the burning questions, and figure out how to work together without driving each other crazy.

It is easily one of the most fun sessions to deliver, and it works absolute wonders for team bonding and communication.

Presenting with Impact

Currently boasting a 100% NPS (Net Promoter Score) and led by our amazing L&D Partner Stacy, this incredible 4-part program teaches you how to design killer decks and present like a pro - available in person, virtual, or standing on stage in our impressive THG Studios auditorium. 

EMERGE & BEYOND (Our Leadership Development Programmes) 

I am incredibly proud of these two. We completely redesigned them in 2026 to align beautifully with the THG Career Framework. EMERGE is designed to kickstart our new and junior leaders, while BEYOND takes our seasoned, experienced leaders to the next level. Both are packed with the exact knowledge, skills, and behaviours needed to thrive here.

They are massively oversubscribed. Seriously, getting a spot on one of these is like finding a Charlie and the Chocolate Factory golden ticket. 

Project Management

Over 150 people have now been through this 4-week program, mastering the Project Management Cycle. It’s not just theory, we’ve seen real-world impact with delegates saving time, resources, and serious money by running their projects like absolute machines.

Whether we are helping you crack the code on your colleagues' personalities or prepping you to command the stage at the Studios, our goal is always the same: maximum impact, zero boredom.

How do you measure success/impact from those sessions?

Ah, the age-old L&D riddle: How do you prove that a 90-minute workshop actually made someone better at their job?

Historically, as an L&D team, we’ve fallen into the trap of measuring "bums on seats", counting how many hours of training we delivered and how many sessions we ran. Whilst we’ve always had rave reviews (our NPS is consistently sky-high and the feedback comments make us blush), we know that "they had a lovely time" isn't enough for the business. We need to show the actual Return on Investment (ROI), proving how that classroom magic translates into real-world action. 

Here are some of the ways we are shifting the way we measure our impact:

• We are shifting our focus from how much people liked a session to how they are actually applying the learning back at their desks.
• We’re tracking real business impact - whether its time saved, projects delivered smoother, or managers leading more effectively, we want hard evidence of behavioural change.
• It’s a continuous journey: We are constantly refining our reporting, levelling up our data, and striving to show the business exactly why L&D is a non-negotiable superpower for growth.

Great feedback is nice, but behaviour change is the real trophy. We aren't just here to deliver great sessions; we're here to help colleagues perform at their absolute best.

What goes into creating a learning session, from the initial idea through to delivery?

If I had a pound for every time someone thought my job was just "making slides pretty," I’d be retired on a beach in Ibiza by now! The truth is, creating a learning session is a highly strategic, scientific process. We don't just open PowerPoint and hope for the best; we follow the entire training lifecycle to build experiences that actually stick.

Here is what the journey from napkin sketch to classroom magic actually looks like:

Aligning training with business objectives: We partner closely with stakeholders to identify genuine skills gaps and organisational needs. To make sure we are solving real business problems, not just running training for the sake of it.

Meauring our impact: We define learning outcomes and establish our ROI (Return on Investment) and ROE (Return on Expectations). If we can't measure how it will make the business better or more efficient, we don't build it.

Define the structure: We map out the delivery ecosystem. Is it a quick-fire workshop? A 4-part program? In-person, digital, or a slick blended learning journey? Different skills require different environments. We choose the perfect stage for the message.

Learning Design: We apply andragogy (the actual science of how adults learn) to ensure high learning transfer. Adults don't learn like kids. We design active, social, and experiential content so people actually remember and use it.

Quality Control: We design the training, host rigorous peer reviews, run a pilot session to iron out any kinks, and then we finally launch to the business. To ensure that when you walk into a classroom, you are getting a premium, polished experience.

Behind every 60-minute workshop is a mountain of data, psychology, strategy, and testing. We don't just build decks; we engineer behaviour change.

You’re leading on upskilling our colleagues on AI, what’s been your approach to this and why is it so important?

Let’s be honest: AI is completely rewriting the workplace rulebook, and it’s happening incredibly quickly. We are very lucky to work at a business like THG that doesn't just tolerate the AI revolution, we are actively encouraged to run toward it, leverage the tools, and supercharge our productivity.

But here’s the catch: AI is uncharted territory for everyone globally. While our tech geniuses are working on massive transformation projects, my mission in L&D is to make sure every single employee has the confidence, curiosity, and skills to use these game-changing tools in their day-to-day work. Our approach is highly agile, embracing a bit of "trial and error" as we figure out what works best. We are currently focusing on building a rock-solid foundation through three main avenues:

The AI Hub - We recently relaunched our central hub on our intranet, packed with handy resources, prompt-engineering guides, and self-led learning content to help anyone get started.

Tech Partnerships - We are leveraging our incredible partnerships with Google and Microsoft to host expert-led training sessions designed to demystify the tech and build initial confidence.

Internal Champions - I am collaborating with incredibly talented AI-savvy colleagues across THG to host peer-to-peer upskilling sessions and share real, practical best practices. 

How do you balance upskilling AI fundamentals with encouraging experimentation and innovation?

When it comes to AI, everyone navigates change at their own speed. On one side, we have the eager early adopters who have jumped straight into the deep end. On the other, we have people who are understandably a bit cautious and looking at the screen like it’s a foreign language. The biggest secret to balancing fundamentals with innovation? Accepting that traditional classroom teaching isn’t the magic cure for AI. Sure, it has its place, but true AI confidence only comes from roll-your-sleeves-up, hands-on experimentation.

There is a huge misconception that to "do AI," you need to be building complex agents, coding apps, or restructuring entire workflows from day one. That is not the expectation. No wonder people feel overwhelmed.

Instead, we want you to focus on the quick wins:

• How can Google Gemini help you write a tricky email in half the time.
• Can it summarise that massive report you don't have time to read?
• Can it help you brainstorm ideas for your next project?

By letting AI handle the repetitive, manual tasks, you free up your brainpower for the far more exciting, creative stuff that actually adds real value to your day (and is a lot more fun to do!). If you want to master AI without the headache, here is my recipe for success:

Experiment - Treat the AI like a collaborative, enthusiastic colleague. Ask it questions, test its limits and play around.

Ask a peer - Chat to your team. What are they using AI for? Can they show you how they did something? Peer learning is our greatest superpower.

Ask AI itself - Seriously. Stuck on how to do something. Write a prompt telling it what you what to do and ask it how to get the best result.

THG was recently named in the Learning Power 100. What does that recognition mean for the Learning & Development team?

When the news dropped, I’m not going to lie, it went straight onto my LinkedIn profile with zero hesitation. 

Being named in the Learning Power 100 is an incredibly proud moment for us. We are a relatively small team, but we are mighty, and we work exceptionally hard to deliver learning that makes a real difference to our people and our business. To have that passion and late-night slide-tweaking (which, as we now know, is complex andragogy) recognised on such a huge stage feels amazing.

But this isn't just a trophy for our cabinet. This recognition means everything because it validates our journey and proves that moving from just "delivering training hours" to building high-impact, strategic programs like EMERGE, BEYOND, and our AI upskilling initiatives is exactly what a modern business needs. It’s also a win for all of THG - we don't build these programs in a vacuum. This achievement is a reflection of the incredible, hungry-to-learn culture of everyone across the business who shows up to our sessions ready to grow.

We see this as the launchpad for even bigger, bolder things in the future. Whether it's pioneering new ways to measure real business ROI, scaling our AI enablement to new heights, or continuing to design world-class learning journeys, we are ready to raise the bar again. We’re also always appreciative to our incredible business sponsors, stakeholders, and everyone single person who champions support and believe in the power of learning - giving us the space to innovate.

Every single delegate who has walked through our classroom doors (or logged into our virtual sessions) with an open mind, ready to learn, experiment, and grow are the ultimate reason we do what we do. They make our "stage" the absolute best place to be!