Building a 'Coalition of Belief' for Skills

In this episode of, Gina Jeneroux, former Chief Learning Officer at BMO Financial Group and now Chief Skills & Innovation Officer at Executive Networks, shares how she helped drive a skills-first transformation inside a major financial institution.

She reveals why skills intelligence is now a business imperative, how companies can move beyond traditional HR frameworks, and why matching skills supply and demand is still an unsolved challenge.

Gina also shares best practices for HR and business leaders looking to make skills-based strategies actionable, including:

✔ How to position skills as a business enabler, not an HR initiative.

✔ Why business buy-in matters more than technology when launching a skills transformation.

✔ How to find and leverage the “wind-in-the-sails” moments to scale skills adoption.

✔ Why companies must move beyond simply collecting skills data to actually mobilizing talent based on it.

We also dive into the future of AI-powered workforce planning, how HR can become a strategic partner to business leaders, and the biggest mistakes companies make when implementing skills technology.

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Key Takeaways from Gina Jeneroux on Skills-Based Organizations

The Untapped Power of Skills Intelligence

• Skills can be leveraged to predict leadership potential years in advance, preparing future leaders before they’re even identified.
• AI is revolutionizing real-time skills mapping, replacing outdated taxonomies and static competency models.
• Organizations often struggle with matching skills supply and demand, leaving employees uncertain about where their skills fit.

Why Skills Are Now a Business Imperative

• The talent shortage is making internal mobility a must—businesses can’t rely solely on hiring external talent.
• Post-pandemic, skills have evolved from a learning department focus to a C-suite priority for business survival.
• A common skills language across HR, talent, and business strategy is key to mobilizing workforce potential.

Lessons from BMO’s Skills Transformation

• Skills became central to digital transformation by integrating talent, learning, and business needs.
• BMO adopted a horizontal ownership model—one leader working across HR, tech, and business functions to drive alignment.
• The most successful skills initiatives start with business leaders already feeling the pain, not by forcing a skills agenda from HR.

Best Practices for Driving Skills Adoption‍

✔ Find the "wind-in-the-sails" moments—Start with leaders who already need skills-based solutions to drive transformation.
✔ Treat skills as an enabler, not a goal—A "skills-based organization" should never be the endgame, but a means to achieving business success.
✔ Lead with vision, not technology—Investing in HR tech without a clear strategy leads to wasted time and poor adoption.
✔ Iterate, don’t wait—Start small, build momentum, and adjust based on real-world results.

The Future of Skills Intelligence

• Skills insights will soon drive workforce and business decisions beyond HR, impacting product innovation, customer service, and even ESG goals.
• AI-driven skills prediction models will make workforce planning more proactive and accurate.

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About the Speaker: Gina Jeneroux

Future Work & Skills Strategist | Chief Skills & Innovation Officer

Gina Jeneroux is a global thought leader in skills intelligence, workforce transformation, and learning innovation. She is the former Chief Learning Officer at BMO, where she led enterprise-wide skill strategies, digital learning transformations, and leadership development programs.

Now serving as Chief Skills & Innovation Officer at Executive Networks, Gina advises organizations on how to embed skills into talent strategies to drive business outcomes. She is also a Professor of Practice in Future Work & Skills at Toronto’s International Business University and collaborates with the World Economic Forum’s Future Skills Alliance.

Gina’s expertise spans over 30+ years in designing learning ecosystems, AI-driven skills initiatives, and workforce upskilling strategies that help companies future-proof their talent.