--- title: L&D Leader Spotlight: Teams That Changed Global Learning | Smartcat description: This L&D Month, meet the leaders at Topcon, Gilead, Cummins, and Clarins who scaled training across languages in days, not months, with AI and human expertise. canonical: https://www.smartcat.com/learning-and-development-leaders/ language: en updated: 2026-10-30 --- # L&D Leader Spotlight: Teams That Changed Global Learning | Smartcat ## The teams that changed how global learning moves It's L&D Month. We're spotlighting the people who rebuilt how their teams deliver training worldwide, and what it's meant for their organizations. - See their stories - [Book a demo](https://www.smartcat.com/book-a-demo/) ## Upcoming Webinars with L&D Leader Spotlights ## Global Learning at Scale Join Smartcat as we explore how the global team at Gilead Sciences use AI, human expertise, and connected workflows to keep multilingual learning current, accurate, and scalable. Hear from Andrew James Viglione, Senior Director of Global Commercial L&D at Gilead Sciences and Brittany Clark, Senior Director of Product Marketing at Smartcat. - [Save your seat](https://www.smartcat.com/events/global-learning-gilead/) ## L&D teams spent this year proving that learning can move as fast as the business does We are recognizing the leaders who closed training gaps in weeks instead of quarters, and got every employee the knowledge they need, in their own language, without review cycles, compliance checks, or translation backlogs slowing them down. That happened because of specific choices L&D leaders made. This month, Smartcat is shining the spotlight on the people who made that call. ![Michelle Quirke, Topcon: L&D Leader Spotlight](https://img.youtube.com/vi/EFg0szC6l1I/maxresdefault.jpg) ## Behind the Milestone ### One person, 31 languages, zero bottlenecks Topcon ran eight different translation vendors with no shared process and no memory of what had already been translated. Michelle Quirke consolidated everything onto Smartcat. Now a course lands Monday and comes back translated, reviewed, and ready by Wednesday. 298 projects, 29 countries, 31 languages, run by one person, 70% faster and at a 90% lower cost than before. Michelle Quirke Program Engagement Manager, Topcon When people hear how quickly I can run 31 languages through the Reviewer Coworker, they really perk up. That kind of speed changes what's possible." ### Global content, without losing the local expertise Every market needed the same training material, but getting there meant choosing between speed and local accuracy. Andrew Viglione's team closed that gap: translation moved faster, and local review made sure nothing got lost along the way. Andrew Viglione Senior Director, Global Commercial Learning & Development, Gilead With Smartcat, we've found the optimal balance between automation and local expertise, allowing us to accelerate translation while improving quality and consistency." Stu Moriens ### Setting the quality bar as high as the speed Stu Moriens, Learning Solutions Architect at Veeva, had pushed his team to rebuild the localization workflow before mistakes reached learners. Now everything lives in one native .story file, so text, narration, and visual context move together. Certified GxP linguists review each course in full context, at a lower cost. Errors have decreased from dozens to less than two, and they're caught*before* publishing, protecting both the learners who rely on this training and the business behind it. Even though their service level agreement is to deliver translations within 6 weeks, they have been able to deliver translated courses in as little as 1 week in exceptional circumstances. Stu Moriens Learning Solutions Architect at Veeva With Smartcat, you don't have to choose between speed and quality." Claire Delouis ### 12 languages, same release day, no extra spend Clarins' Global Retail Training team had no central repository for content and relied on local market staff to handle translation on the side. They moved everything onto Smartcat: brand-tuned AI translation, a shared review workspace, and an API pulling straight from their product library. Learning content now moves through AI translation into 12 languages. Claire Delouis Director of Learning Innovation and Digital Training, Clarins Smartcat is a huge time-saver for the Clarins Global Retail Training Team! The accuracy and quality of translations noticeably improved over the four months of using Smartcat's AI translation capabilities, and consistency in brand and product terminology across translations is a notable benefit." ## Curious what this looks like with your own course? Bring a course, a doc, or a file you're stuck on. We'll walk through it with you, no commitment, just a look at how it would actually move through Smartcat. - [Book a demo](https://www.smartcat.com/book-a-demo/) - [Start free trial](https://smartcat.com/sign-up/?) “Has been a gamechanger in terms of us being able to create campaigns and localise/translate at pace across all the markets we operate in. We were able to integrate with our ESP directly.” Verified User in Food & Beverages, Mid-Market Jun 17, 2026 “I find Smartcat easy to use and it helps me find the resources I need. The initial setup was also easy… it helps translate when no native speaker is available.” Verified User in IT & Services, Enterprise Jun 09, 2026 “When the reviewer changes specific content the system remembers, so it translates technical terms consistently… it places the translation back into the document keeping the look and feel of e.g. a PowerPoint.” Verified User in Mechanical/Industrial Engineering, Enterprise Jun 17, 2026 ## L&D Resources & Insights ### What are AI coworkers? Explore the excitement surrounding AI coworkers—often called "digital employees" or "virtual teammates"—and how they're transforming business operations. Learn more ### Making work more human with AI Smartcat's VP of People, Stacey Richey, explains the role of AI in augmenting, rather than replacing, human work at Smartcat. Learn more ### The Big AI Mistake Every Company is Making Learn why 74% of companies struggle with AI value from L&D thought leader JD Dillon and how to fix it. Learn more ## FAQs ### What is L&D Month, and why is Smartcat spotlighting L&D leaders? L&D Month is a moment to recognize the people who build how organizations learn. This year, we're using it to spotlight L&D leaders who rebuilt how their teams deliver training worldwide: closing training gaps in weeks instead of quarters and getting every employee the knowledge they need, in their own language. ### Who are the L&D leaders featured in this spotlight? Michelle Quirke, Program Engagement Manager at Topcon; Andrew Viglione, Senior Director of Global Commercial Learning & Development at Gilead; Nicole Morgan, Director of Global Sales and Service Enablement at Cummins; and Claire Delouis, Director of Learning Innovation and Digital Training at Clarins. ### What results did these teams see? Topcon now runs 298 projects across 29 countries and 31 languages with one person, 70% faster and at 90% lower cost than before. Cummins found AI translation 90% faster at 90% lower cost, turning work that took months into days. Clarins moved its global retail training onto one shared workspace with brand-tuned AI translation, and Gilead accelerated translation while improving quality and consistency. ### Does AI translation replace local reviewers and subject-matter experts? No. The teams in this spotlight use AI to take on the volume and keep people where their judgment matters most. Gilead pairs faster translation with local review so nothing gets lost, and Topcon routes courses through the Reviewer Coworker before they ship. The result is speed without giving up accuracy, compliance, or brand consistency. ### How can I learn more or try this with my own training content? Join Nicole Morgan of Cummins live on Wednesday, October 21, 2026 at 1:00 PM ET for a look at how her team scaled training across languages without scaling headcount. Or book a demo and bring a course of your own. We'll walk through how it would move through Smartcat. ## Write your team's L&D milestone next The leaders in this spotlight got training to every employee, in their own language, in days instead of months. See what that could look like for your programs. - [Book a demo](https://www.smartcat.com/book-a-demo/) - [Start free trial](https://smartcat.com/sign-up/?)