From shifting employee expectations to rapid workplace transformation, the world of work is evolving at record speed. As we look to 2026, L&D teams must navigate rising demands for personalization, manager enablement, and strategic alignment—without chasing every trend. Hosted by Matt Confer, VP of strategy and business development at Abilitie, and Nadine van Veen, director of learning and development at Ferrara, this session explores how experiential learning, simulations, and AI will shape sustainable strategies for the future of work.
During this event, you will learn to:
Nadine van Veen is the director of learning and development at Ferrara, where she shapes enterprise-wide strategies to strengthen leadership capabilities and accelerate talent growth. She brings more than 15 years of global experience building innovative learning solutions. Passionate about making learning a strategic business level, Nadine has introduced simulations, AI, and experiential approaches that drive measurable impact. She is a recipient of two Brandon Hall Excellence Awards for leadership development and the use of simulations in learning.
Long before his TEDx Talk on effective decision making was viewed more than 300,000 times, Matt Confer made the decision to focus his career path on developing leaders through learning. Matt’s passion for leadership development was sparked early in his career while overseeing the roll-out of a leadership program for new hires at Deloitte Consulting. Now VP of strategy and business development at Abilitie, Matt is keenly focused on Abilitie’s global client base, which spans more than 50 members of the Fortune 500.
When he’s not exploring the hidden gems of Austin’s vibrant restaurant scene, Matt deep-dives into leadership development, professional development, and effective organizational leadership on his podcast, Learn to Lead. In addition to holding an MBA from Boston University, Matt also earned a BS in economics from Wheaton College.
