In enterprise learning, partnerships often look good on slides but rarely stand the test of time—or results. The nearly decade-long collaboration between NovoEd and Entelechy is an exception. And their latest wave of industry recognition suggests the market is taking notice.
The two companies announced a series of recent honors that spotlight both their partnership and the outcomes it delivers. At the center: four 2025 Brandon Hall Group™ HCM Excellence Awards earned by Entelechy’s leadership development programs powered by the NovoEd platform, alongside a Novie Award for Best Visual Design for work delivered through NovoEd.
Together, the wins underscore a broader shift in leadership development—away from episodic, classroom-only training and toward scalable, social, practice-driven learning experiences that actually change behavior.
A Partnership Built for Scale, Not Just Delivery
NovoEd, best known for its enterprise learning platform focused on cohort-based, experiential development, and Entelechy, a global leadership development firm specializing in customized programs, have been working together for nearly ten years. Over that time, they’ve delivered leadership initiatives across life sciences, financial services, and technology—industries where leadership quality directly affects performance and retention.
“Our long-term relationship with Entelechy is a hallmark of our commitment to working with top-tier training partners,” said Scott Kinney, CEO and Chairman of NovoEd. “Our partnership runs deep.”
That depth is more than client-facing. Entelechy has also helped design and implement NovoEd’s own internal learning experiences, including hands-on training and certification programs for instructional designers using the NovoEd platform. In an industry where vendors rarely “eat their own cooking,” that detail stands out.
Brandon Hall Awards: Why These Wins Matter
The Brandon Hall Group HCM Excellence Awards are among the most closely watched recognitions in HR and talent development. They emphasize measurable impact, innovation, and alignment with business outcomes—not just polished content.
Entelechy’s Unleash Your Leadership Potential programs, delivered on NovoEd, earned four awards across two enterprise clients:
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Thermo Fisher Scientific received:
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Gold: Best Leadership Development Program
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Silver: Best Development Program for Frontline Leaders
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A global Fortune 500 technology company received:
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Gold: Best Leadership Development Program
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Gold: Best Development Program for Frontline Leaders
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That consistency across vastly different organizations suggests the underlying model—customized design plus a scalable, social learning platform—is transferable, not bespoke in a way that breaks at scale.
Frontline Leadership Gets the Spotlight
It’s notable that all four Brandon Hall awards center on frontline leadership development. For years, organizations have overinvested in senior leadership programs while under-supporting first-time and mid-level managers—the very people most responsible for engagement, performance, and retention.
Thermo Fisher Scientific’s Developing Frontline Leaders program directly addresses that gap. Designed and implemented by Entelechy, the program focuses on helping leaders build productive relationships, manage performance deliberately, and strengthen internal talent pipelines.
To date, more than 7,500 leaders have gone through the program—an adoption level that would be difficult to sustain without a digital backbone capable of supporting scale and consistency.
“I have witnessed firsthand the transformative impact of our Developing Frontline Leaders program,” said Suzanne Taylor, Senior Manager, Global Talent Development at Thermo Fisher Scientific. “This initiative has not only equipped our first-time and mid-level managers with essential leadership skills but also fostered a culture of continuous learning and development.”
From Classroom to Social, Blended Learning
To expand access beyond in-person sessions, Entelechy developed Developing Frontline Leaders–Social, a blended learning experience hosted on NovoEd and anchored by three live virtual events.
This version leans heavily into NovoEd’s strengths: cohort-based learning, peer interaction, and applied practice. Participants move through content together, exchange insights, and apply concepts directly to their real work—rather than passively consuming material.
For global organizations like Thermo Fisher Scientific, this approach solves multiple problems at once:
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It removes geographic barriers
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Maintains consistency across regions
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Preserves the human, relational aspect of leadership development
More importantly, it reflects a growing consensus in L&D: leadership skills aren’t learned through content alone, but through practice, reflection, and social reinforcement.
Design Matters—and the Novie Award Proves It
Beyond Brandon Hall recognition, Entelechy also earned a Novie Award for Best Visual Design for its work with Thermo Fisher Scientific on the NovoEd platform.
Visual and experience design is often underestimated in leadership development, yet it plays a critical role in engagement—especially in longer, behavior-change-focused programs. A well-designed learning environment can mean the difference between completion and drop-off, between surface understanding and sustained application.
The Novie Award reinforces that the partnership isn’t just about instructional rigor or technology—it’s about crafting experiences leaders actually want to participate in.
Social Learning as a Competitive Advantage
According to Entelechy CEO Donna Iacopucci, NovoEd’s social learning capabilities have been a key driver of program impact.
“Over the years, we have seen the power NovoEd’s social learning platform has had on participants in our leadership development programs,” she said. “NovoEd’s rich, innovative user experience has directly driven an increase in participant engagement, collaboration, and interaction, leading to lasting behavior change.”
That emphasis aligns with broader HR tech trends. As AI accelerates content creation and personalization, engagement and behavior change are emerging as the real differentiators. Platforms that enable peer learning, applied practice, and accountability are increasingly favored over static LMS models.
The Bigger Picture: Leadership Development at Enterprise Scale
Taken together, the awards point to a maturing leadership development market. Organizations are moving away from one-off workshops and toward ecosystems—where expert design, digital platforms, and social learning combine to support leaders over time.
NovoEd and Entelechy’s partnership offers a case study in how that ecosystem can work:
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Deep customization without sacrificing scalability
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Digital delivery without losing human connection
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Measurement and recognition tied to real-world outcomes
For HR and talent leaders under pressure to prove ROI on leadership investments, that combination is becoming less optional and more essential.
Bottom Line
The latest Brandon Hall and Novie Awards don’t just celebrate individual programs—they validate a long-term partnership built around how leaders actually learn. As organizations continue to prioritize frontline leadership and global scale, the NovoEd–Entelechy model looks increasingly aligned with where enterprise learning is headed next.
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