{"id":136706,"date":"2025-09-18T13:24:13","date_gmt":"2025-09-18T17:24:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trainingindustry.com\/?post_type=magazine&#038;p=136706"},"modified":"2025-09-18T13:25:50","modified_gmt":"2025-09-18T17:25:50","slug":"the-learning-leader-spotlight-with-laura-last","status":"publish","type":"magazine","link":"https:\/\/trainingindustry.com\/magazine\/fall-2025\/the-learning-leader-spotlight-with-laura-last\/","title":{"rendered":"The Learning Leader Spotlight With Laura Last"},"author":7,"featured_media":136536,"template":"","tags":[],"class_list":["post-136706","magazine","type-magazine","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","global_topic_tax-professional-development","magazine_issue_tax-fall-2025","magazine_article_type_tax-spotlight"],"acf":{"sponsored":false,"gated":false,"gated_content_type":"","file_attachment":null,"gated_content":"","form_instruction_header":"To access the full article, please fill out the form below:","pardot_html_embed":"","author_override":true,"author_name":"Laura Last, CPTM","author_image":"","author_bio":"Laura Last is head of global talent development and enterprise learning at BeOne Medicines. As a Certified Professional in Training Management (CPTM), Certified Professional in Talent Development (CPTD) and president of the Lifesciences Trainers and Educators Network (LTEN), Laura makes her own development a priority while helping others grow and become more effective in their roles.","excerpt":"In this issue, we are pleased to spotlight Laura Last, head of global talent development and enterprise learning at BeOne Medicines, and learn about her career journey.","main_content":"In this issue, we are pleased to spotlight Laura Last, head of global talent development and enterprise learning at BeOne Medicines. As a Certified Professional in Training Management (CPTM), Certified Professional in Talent Development (CPTD) and president of the Lifesciences Trainers and Educators Network (LTEN), Laura makes her own development a priority while helping others grow and become more effective in their roles.\r\n\r\nRead on to learn about Laura\u2019s career journey.\r\n<h2>How did you get started in learning and development?<\/h2>\r\nI was working in sales and naturally gravitated to helping new members on my team. When field training positions were launched at the organization, I applied and got the role. After two years, I was promoted to running the training group. I fell in love with it because it was no longer about me, it was about helping other people achieve their goals.\r\n<h2>What\u2019s your most memorable training experience, good or bad?<\/h2>\r\nAt a large biotech organization, we trained over 1,200 new sales representatives in three separate cohorts, live, for a week and half each. As soon as one group was done, we started another. There were so many moving parts, and it was completely exhausting but so rewarding. After 16 years, I am still close to the trainers from that launch, as well as many of the salespeople and managers.\r\n<h2>What are the most pressing issues on your professional plate right now?<\/h2>\r\nThe world continues to change rapidly, and our business changes just as quickly. The biggest challenge is sorting through the noise to ensure that we build and deliver what the organization needs now, as well as for the future.\r\n<h2>What\u2019s the most challenging aspect of your job?<\/h2>\r\nLearning touches almost everything in an organization. You must be able to understand many different functions and how they operate. You have to know how to connect the dots and ensure that the team does the same. This becomes even more difficult when you are doing it globally with multiple time zones and a significant number of stakeholders.\r\n<h2>What\u2019s the most rewarding aspect of your job?<\/h2>\r\nI love seeing people grow and develop and do things that they didn\u2019t think they could do. I enjoy seeing the light bulbs go off as people learn, seeing them apply the learning and becoming even more effective in their role. At the end of the day, that\u2019s why I do what I do.\r\n<h2>What\u2019s your preferred training methodology?<\/h2>\r\nNothing replaces face-to-face learning, but using technology to customize, curate and deliver content is invaluable. We can do so much more now \u2014 and more quickly \u00ad\u2014 with the tools and technology we have. I like to see us combine different modalities as often as we can, because people learn differently.\r\n<h2>How do you find the time to continue your own professional development?<\/h2>\r\nI commit to attending at least 2-3 conferences per year. I look for webinars from a variety of resources to ensure that I\u2019m getting the most up-to-date information. I\u2019ve continued to pursue certifications and am currently working on a doctorate in education. You have to make learning a priority.\r\n<h2>Any recommendations for folks out there: books, partners, resources, etc.?<\/h2>\r\nWe have a wealth of knowledge at our fingertips; it\u2019s our job to curate it when we need it. It\u2019s important to belong to organizations designed to upskill and develop learning professionals. I also use LinkedIn to find many of the webinars that I attend. Follow as many learning groups as you can.\r\n<h2>\u201cIf someone wants to follow in my professional footsteps, I\u2019d tell them to be sure to \u2026\u201d<\/h2>\r\nBuckle up, it\u2019s a fun ride! In all seriousness, be flexible and willing to take on new challenges. Many of the roles I took were out of my comfort zone. It hasn\u2019t been a linear path, and that\u2019s ok. I don\u2019t look back on a single role in my career and regret it. I\u2019ve learned from everything I\u2019ve done.","full_width":false,"content_band":[{"acf_fc_layout":"content_area","wysiwyg":"[hubspot type=\"form\" portal=\"47185625\" id=\"6a2c3c6c-507d-45ef-bedf-a7ffd7053773\" version=\"v4\"]"}],"tice_sponsors":"","custom_dfp_keywords":"","featured_article":false,"feature_type":"","theme":"","remove_gradient":false,"title_in_image":false,"featured_text_image":null,"magazine_link":"https:\/\/www.nxtbook.com\/nxtbooks\/trainingindustry\/tiq_fall2025\/index.php#\/p\/8"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v25.8 (Yoast SEO v27.5) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The Learning Leader Spotlight With Laura Last - Training Industry<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In this issue, we are pleased to spotlight Laura Last, head of global talent development and enterprise learning at BeOne Medicines.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/trainingindustry.com\/magazine\/fall-2025\/the-learning-leader-spotlight-with-laura-last\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Learning Leader Spotlight With Laura Last\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In this issue, we are pleased to spotlight Laura Last, head of global talent development and enterprise learning at BeOne Medicines.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/trainingindustry.com\/magazine\/fall-2025\/the-learning-leader-spotlight-with-laura-last\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Training Industry\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TrainingIndustry\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-09-18T17:25:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/assets.trainingindustry.com\/content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Fall2025-Spotlight_thumb.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@TrainingIndustr\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/trainingindustry.com\\\/magazine\\\/fall-2025\\\/the-learning-leader-spotlight-with-laura-last\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/trainingindustry.com\\\/magazine\\\/fall-2025\\\/the-learning-leader-spotlight-with-laura-last\\\/\",\"name\":\"The Learning Leader Spotlight With Laura Last - 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