Colleen Moorehead, the CEO of Nexient Learning, took partnering, not to mention mergers and acquisitions to a new level this year.
She was the mastermind behind a three-way deal that saw Canada’s top technology learning centres come together in one fell swoop.
Moorehead spearheaded the merger of Polar Bear Training, Acerra and CDI to become a national force for the channel and a de facto Canadian IT learning powerhouse.
The combined company has 320 full-time employees and more than 400 contract associates.
It also has 23 offices in 18 major cities across the country. Nexient Learning focuses on providing learning, training and certification programs in leadership, business skills, business process improvement and IT fields.
After the deal was consumated earlier this year, Moorehead undertook the task of defining goals, objectives and mission statement to build cohesiveness. with the newly created company. They decided to built their own brand, Nexient, and created a mission for the company. What emerged was an organization of individuals providing learning opportunities to the channel and the IT industry.
Moorehead said she sees an increased focus on training and certification programs. The demand for IT is ever-increasing, and with it, so is the need for technical training.
Managers have a renewed focus on developing leadership and managerial abilities in their young employees.
“In order to attract the best employees, companies will have to think of their learning strategies,” Moorehead said. The demand for certification and training, combined with addressing the needs of an ever-increasing intelligent workforce, will be a concern to most executives in the channel.