The fifth, annual, top ten e-learning movers and shakers

Now in its fifth year, here are the new lists of the ‘Top Ten’ most influential people in the corporate e-learning sector, in the World, Europe, the UK and Asia-Pacific.

These lists are compiled from a corporate online learning perspective, on the basis of a person’s perceived current influence on the online learning industry – as a practitioner, commentator, facilitator and/or thought leader. In such a subjective area, opinions will always differ – and there is no guarantee that the judges’ decisions will meet with universal acclaim - but these lists represent what a number of people think about the personalities who lead the corporate online learning world.

This year, as the worldwide corporate online learning technologies market continues to develop, there is a new list – relating specifically to the USA/ Canada market. However, the World list continues to reflect the dominance on the USA and Canada on the worldwide market.

Of the 42 different names on the five lists, 26 are men and 16 are women.

While Elliott Masie has remained at the top of the World list (as well as being named top of the new US/ Canada list), he is the only person to have remained in ‘top spot’ on a list since the lists’ inception in 2010. Amit Garg remains on top of the Australia-Pacific list for the second successive year but, for the first time, there are new leaders in both the Europe and UK lists.

Those whose influence in this field appears to have grown most during 2013 include:
• Craig Weiss, rising two places on the World list, to second.
• Patti Shank and Christopher Pappas, who are both new entries on the World list.
• Rebecca Stromeyer, who not only now tops the Europe list but also is included on the World list for the first time.
• Laura Overton, who takes over top spot on the UK list from Donald H Taylor.
• While Donald H Taylor has fallen one place on the UK list, his growing international influence is recognised by being named in those ‘bubbling under’ on the Europe, USA/ Canada and World lists.

Among the comments in the report from those judging the Australia-Pacific list were:
• The Australia/ New Zealand contingent on the list did well because of their conference presentations and publications - pushing the need for change in the market. However, the Australians and New Zealanders were ‘outplayed’ this year by those from the Indian sub-continent, who seem to be more skilled at ‘getting out there’ and sharing their views with a wide audience.

• Increasingly, commentators – especially bloggers – are featuring in the lists. This confirms the growing influence of social media, not just within the corporate online learning sector but in all aspects of community life.

The 2014 lists are:

World List

1. Elliott Masie - head of The MASIE Center, a Saratoga Springs, New York, think-tank focused on how organisations can support learning and knowledge within the workforce. (Position last year: 1)
2. Craig Weiss - an e-learning analyst, expert, author, speaker and thought leader who is CEO of E-Learning 24/7. (Position last year: 4)
3. Tom Kuhlmann - one of the world’s best known e-learning designers. (Position last year: 3)
4. Cathy Moore - a well-known blogger about e-learning. (Position last year: 5)
5. Harold Jarche - the Canada-based ‘thought catalyst’, writer and blogger who is also chairman of the Internet Time Alliance. (Position last year: 9)
6. Patti Shank - founder of Learning Peaks, and an internationally recognised expert on, and advocate for, the pragmatics of the design of information and instruction to help people do what they need to do. (New entry)
7. Rebecca Stromeyer - owner of ICWE, which runs Online Educa, as well as E-Learning Africa (New entry)
8. Christopher Pappas – US-based founder and CEO of the eLearning Industry's Network elearningindustry.com (New entry)
9. Amit Garg – co-founder of Upside Learning, m-learning evangelist, international speaker and contributor to the Upside Learning Blog. (Position last year: 8)
10. Jay Cross - a writer, commentator and speaker. (Position last year: 2)

‘Bubbling under’
Others who just missed out on making this year’s list included:
• Steve Rayson, of Kineo, a worldwide player in the corporate online learning sector. (Position last year: 6)
• Roger Schank - president and CEO of Socratic Arts and a long-established thought leader in this sector. (Position last year: 7)
• Vikas Joshi - founder, chairman and managing director of Harbinger Knowledge Products and a thought leader in the field of interactivity. (Position last year: 10)
• Manish Mohan - Senior Vice President at NIIT, mentor at e3cube, extensive corporate career, award winner and writer of the Learn and Lead blog.
• Clark Quinn - learning technology consultant, writer and blogger based in California.
• Donald H Taylor - speaker and online technologies pundit.
• Nicolas Hellers – the Argentina-based author of three books on e-learning; editor and publisher of America Learning Media and the QuickThoughts blog.
• Charles Jennings - a speaker, thought leader and ‘70-20-10’ proponent.

US/ Canada list

1. Elliott Masie - head of The MASIE Center, a Saratoga Springs, New York, think-tank focused on how organisations can support learning and knowledge within the workforce.
2. Craig Weiss - an e-learning analyst, expert, author, speaker and thought leader who is CEO of E-Learning 24/7.
3. Tom Kuhlmann - one of the world’s best known e-learning designers.
4. Cathy Moore - a well-known blogger about e-learning.
5. Harold Jarche - the Canada-based ‘thought catalyst’, writer and blogger who is also chairman of the Internet Time Alliance.
6. Patti Shank - founder of Learning Peaks, and an internationally recognised expert on, and advocate for, the pragmatics of the design of information and instruction to help people do what they need to do.
7. Christopher Pappas – US-based founder and CEO of the eLearning Industry's Network elearningindustry.com
8. Jay Cross - a writer, commentator and speaker.
9. Connie Malamed - consultant, writer and speaker in the fields of online learning, visual communication, and information design. She publishes The eLearning Coach website, and is the author of the instructional design guru iPhone app and the book Visual Language for Designers, which presents visual design principles based on cognitive science.
10. Cammy Bean – an e-learning instructional designer and vice president of learning design for Kineo US.

‘Bubbling under’
Others who just missed out on making this year’s list included:
• Roger Schank - president and CEO of Socratic Arts and a long-established thought leader in this sector.
• Jerry Roche - editorial director, Elearning! and Government Elearning! magazines.
• Jane Bozarth – the speaker and author as well as being the Elearning Coordinator for the North Carolina, USA, Office of State Personnel.
• Clark Quinn - learning technology consultant, writer and blogger based in California.
• Donald H Taylor - speaker and online technologies pundit.

Europe List

1. Rebecca Stromeyer - owner of ICWE, which runs Online Educa, as well as E-Learning Africa (New entry)
2. Richard Straub - the secretary general of the European Learning Industry Group (ELIG), an advisor to the EU on all things to do with e-learning. (Position last year: 1)
3. Helge Scherlund - the Denmark-based writer and blogger on e-learning topics. (Position last year: 5)
4. Armin Hopp - president of digital publishing company AG/ Speexx and a member of ELIG. (Position last year: 2)
5. Thea Payome - editor of the Germany-based CheckPoint eLearning ezine and website. (Position last year: 3)
6. Steve Rayson, of Kineo - a City & Guilds’ owned, UK-based company which has worldwide interests. (Position last year: 7)
7. Sally Ann Moore - an events management and online learning consultancy specialist, based in Switzerland, who organises a number of online learning events around Europe and the rest of the world. (Position last year: 9)
8. Dr Ladislava (‘Vlad’ka’) Knihova - a key champion, user and publisher of e-learning applications within the corporate and academic sectors in the Czech Republic. (Position last year: 10)
9. Iva Matasi? CEO at Consulio, Inc – a Croatia-based consultancy, specialising in online learning technologies, connecting EU experts with EU research funds. (New entry)
10. Pascal Debordes - head of Cegos's international partner network. (Position last year: 8)

‘Bubbling under’
Others who just missed out on making this year’s list included:
• Christophe Ferrandou - the Paris-based founder and CEO of goFLUENT, an award-winning producer of business English training. (Position last year: 6)
• Donald H Taylor - speaker and online technologies pundit.
• Francesco Pucci, of Teeled, which supports the implementation of innovative knowledge, content and learning solutions, especially in the field of learning content management systems.
• Hans de Zwart – speaker and digital civil rights activist who is director of Bits of Freedom, based in Amsterdam in the Netherlands.
• Jane Hart - a workplace learning and collaboration advisor, writer and international speaker. She founded C4LPT to share information on new learning trends, technologies and tools.
• Charles Jennings - writer, speaker and 70-20-10 proponent.

UK List

1. Laura Overton – a speaker; member of ELIG, and managing director of Towards Maturity, a not-for-profit company that provides research and online resources to help organisations deliver effective learning interventions at work. (Position last year: 2)
2. Donald H Taylor - chairman of the annual Learning Technologies conference and chairman of the Institute of Learning and Performance. (Position last year: 1)
3. Clive Shepherd - a writer and commentator on the online learning scene. (Position last year: 5)
4. Steve Rayson, of Kineo, a company owned by City & Guilds which is a worldwide player in the corporate online learning sector. (Position last year: 3)
5. Jane Hart – a workplace learning and collaboration advisor, writer and international speaker. She founded C4LPT to share information on new learning trends, technologies and tools. (Position last year: 4)
6. Martin Baker - CEO of the Charity Learning Consortium (CLC). (Position last year: 7)
7. Piers Lea - a member of ELIG and CEO of LINE Communications. (Position last year: 6)
8. Charles Jennings - a speaker and thought leader. (Position last year: 9)
9. Julie Wedgwood – who’s been described as the trainer’s trainer. (Position last year: 8)
10. Jonathan Satchell - CEO of Epic, a major player in the online learning technologies industry for over 25 years. (New entry)

‘Bubbling under’
Others who just missed out on making this year’s list included:
• Donald Clark - a long-established speaker and commentator on e-learning and Ufi Board member.
• Nick Shackleton-Jones - group head of e-learning at BP, as well as a writer and speaker.
• Kenneth Fee - a specialist in evaluation, talent development, work-based learning, leadership and management development, and a director of the Stirling-based company, Airthrey Ltd.
• Asi DeGani – the head of Digital Learning at Telefónica UK.
• Ben Betts - CEO of HT2 and a specialist in collaborative and game-based learning principles, focusing on engaging learners in online collaborative learning.
• Gillian Broadhead – a director of Learning Light and the E-Learning Centre.
• Clive Snell - publisher of E-Learning Age magazine and the man behind the E-Learning Awards.
• Colin Steed - a writer, editor and long-time chief executive at Learning & Performance Institute.

Asia-Pacific list

1. Amit Garg – Co-founder of Upside Learning, m-learning evangelist, international speaker and contributor to the Upside Learning Blog. (Position last year: 1)
2. Manish Mohan - Senior Vice President at NIIT, mentor at e3cube, extensive corporate career, award winner and writer of the Learn and Lead blog. (Position last year: 4)
3. Abtar Kaur - Professor of education and languages at Open University Malaysia, Programme Head for Master of Instructional Design and Technology and Programme Coordinator for Bachelor of Teaching (Science), international speaker, consultant and award winner. (Position last year: 3)
4. Joyce Seitzinger - Lecturer of blended learning at Deakin University, author of Moodle Tool Guide for Teachers, international speaker and writer of the Cat’s Pyjamas blog. (Position last year: 6)
5. Anne Bartlett-Bragg - Managing Director Asia-Pacific of the Ripple Effect Group, Executive Director of the Learning Technologies User Group, Lecturer of e-learning at the University of Technology Sydney and contributor to the Ripple Effect Group blog. (Position last year: 7)
6. Ryan Tracey - E-Learning Manager at AMP, Advisory Board Member at eLearn Magazine, Reviewer at the Journal of Online Learning and Teaching, author of magazine articles and writer of the E-Learning Provocateur blog. (Position last year: 9)
7. Sahan Chattopadhyay - Enterprise Community Manager at Thoughtworks and writer of the ID and Other Reflections blog. (Position last year: 2)
8. Manish Gupta - CEO of G-Cube Solutions, an e-learning products and services company; director of Vivo Collaboration, offering unified conferencing software, and speaker on performance support, experiential learning, gamification and just-in-time learning. (New entry for 2014)
9. Sumeet Moghe - Training Manager at Thoughtworks, avid tweeter and writer of the The Learning Generalist blog. (Position last year: 5)
10 equal. Zaid Ali Alsogoff - E-Learning Manager at the International Medical University, avid tweeter and writer of several blogs including ZaidLearn and e-Learning In Malaysia. (Position last year: 10)
10 equal. Gautam Ghosh - in charge of HR strategy and projects for Philips India. He specialises in HR, organisation development and how businesses can use social tools for HR. He’s a subject matter expert in the HR and social media area for SHRM India, and his blog has been listed, by HRWorld, among the top 25 HR blogs worldwide. (New entry for 2014)

'Bubbling under'
Others who just missed out on making this year’s list included:
• Rob Wilkins – Head of Learning & Development at Aussie Home Loans, extensive corporate career, avid tweeter and writer of the Ruminations of a Learning and Development Professional blog. (Position last year: 8)
• Vikas Joshi - founder, chairman and managing director of Harbinger Knowledge Products and a thought leader in the field of interactivity.
• Jeevan Joshi - Principal Consultant & Founder of KnowledgeWorking, Producer & Community Manager at The Learning Cafe, speaker, author of the ‘KnowledgeWorking’ blog and co-author of ‘The Learning Cafe’ blog.
• Janhavi Padture – online learning interactivity specialist and speaker, working with Harbinger Knowledge Products

These lists are also available at: http://www.hotblog.co.uk/boblittlepr/ and http://bit.ly/19LLT7j

Please note that the chairman of the judges for all of these lists, Bob Little, is available for interview/ comment.

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About Bob Little Press & PR
Bob Little Press & PR provides business-to-business public relations (PR) services, telling the truth as you would want it told. Over the years, it has drawn many of its clients from the learning technologies sector, especially corporate e-learning. Currently, it has clients from around the world in this sector and the firm’s senior partner, Bob Little, is well known internationally as a writer, author and commentator on online learning.

Further information:
Bob Little, Bob Little Press & PR, +44 (0)1727 860405, bob.little@boblittlepr.com