Industry recognition for Towards Maturity's team, ambassadors and supporters
Laura Overton, CEO of learning research company Towards Maturity, has been named as the most influential person in the global elearning sector.
Now in its ninth year, the Corporate eLearning Movers And Shakers List is compiled by a panel of 12 judges from around the world, all of whom work in the learning sector. It recognises individuals for their thought leadership and contribution to corporate learning.
Overton is one of three of the Towards Maturity team included in the list. Head of research Genny Dixon is placed 51st, moving up from 76th last year, and Head of Strategic Insights, Jane Daly, makes the ‘bubbling under’ category.
Chairman of the judges, Bob Little, says the judges wanted to acknowledge Overton’s willingness to push the message of evidence-based practice to all corners of the world. “Laura has been very proactive in spreading the Towards Maturity message. She’s travelled around the world sharing her research insights. The judges have been impressed by that.”
Little says that the fact that three of the Towards Maturity team are on the list shows how effective they have been at spreading their research findings that explore the links between learning innovation and business impact.
The Towards Maturity Research programme is made possible through an industry wide collaboration. The work of a number of influential leaders from the Towards Maturity Ambassador programme has also been acknowledged on the list:
- Ian Smout and Mark Penton, directors at CloserStill media
- Jonathan Satchell, CEO and Andrew Brode, Chairman of Learning Technologies Group
- Armin Hopp, founder and president of Speexx
- Andy Lancaster, head of L&D Content at the CIPD
- Martin Baker, CEO of the Charity Learning Consortium
- Rob Caul, CEO of Kallidus
- Cammy Bean, solutions consultant at Kineo and an instructional design specialist
- Piers Lea, chief strategy officer at LEO and Learning Technologies Group
- Claudio Erba, CEO of learning platform producer, Docebo
- Owen Ferguson, Managing Director, GoodPractice
The list also includes a significant representation of the wider Towards Maturity community who have contributed to and participated to the longitudinal study over the past 13 years.
Commenting on the list, Overton said, “It’s a privilege to see our work honored in this list. More importantly, I’m incredibly proud to see that so many of our ambassadors and supporters have been recognised too. We share common goals of understanding, acknowledging and building on collective good practice. At Towards Maturity, we always wanted our research to be a collaborative effort to us so to see so many of our community being recognised alongside us is a proud moment.”
The Corporate eLearning Movers And Shakers List is judged on three criteria. Those named on the list are deemed to be influential in the corporate eLearning sector in their country, continent, region, and the world. Academics can be included on the list if their work is seen to influence the corporate world. Finally, the list is compiled on the basis of a person's perceived current influence on the online learning industry whether as a practitioner, a commentator, a facilitator, and/or as a thought-leader.
When Little created the first list in 2010, he says there weren’t many industry awards and those that did exist tended to focus on team achievements. “I created this list because I wanted to celebrate individuals for their expertise and what they do.”