For Immediate Release — Intrepid by VitalSource, the leading cohort-based learning platform to connect, practice, and upskill, has been honored with two prestigious Brandon Hall Group awards for excellence, including one Gold and one Silver award. The 2025 Brandon Hall Group HCM Excellence Awards™ are given for work in Learning and Development, Talent Management, Talent Acquisition, Leadership Development, Human Resources, Sales Performance, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and Future of Work.
Recognizing Blanchard’s Transformative Programs
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Best Unique or Innovative Talent Management Program (Gold Award)
Blanchard earned Gold for its Business Acumen Foundations course, a 10-week internal program designed to build financial and organizational fluency across the company. Delivered on Intrepid’s platform, the course used microlearning, live scrimmage sessions, and cohort collaboration to equip employees with essential business skills. Since launch, 70% of staff have completed the course, with major gains in customer journey knowledge, confidence in financial discussions, and cross-functional understanding.
“We’re thrilled to receive this recognition for our Business Acumen Foundations program. At Blanchard, we’ve always been passionate about employee engagement. Part of engaging our employees is equipping them with the knowledge, skills, and development they need to make the most informed decisions for the business. When they understand the ‘why,’ they are more able to bring their value to the table as part of the ‘how,’” said April Hennessey, Director of Strategy and Transformation and DEI Practice Lead at Blanchard.
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Best Initiative for Philanthropy and Corporate Giving (Silver Award)
The Student Self Leadership program, developed by the Blanchard Institute, earned Silver for its global impact on youth leadership. Reaching students in over 50 countries, the self-paced course teaches self-leadership, communication, and resilience skills. Supported by a companion Champion program for adults, the initiative has seen a 94% increase in student confidence and was showcased at the 2023 Special Olympics World Games.
“At Intrepid, we believe that when learning is focused on critical priorities, whether it’s advancing business acumen or empowering the next generation of leaders, it can drive lasting, meaningful change,” said Sam Herring, Vice President and General Manager of Intrepid by VitalSource. “These award-winning programs with Blanchard reflect what’s possible when great design, great technology, and great partnership come together to create scalable experiences that truly make a difference—in the workplace and in the world.”
Intrepid’s wins with its esteemed partners were announced on August 14th, 2025. Entries were evaluated by a panel of veteran, independent senior industry experts, Brandon Hall Group analysts, and executives based upon these criteria:
- Alignment to their business need and environment.
- Program design, functionality and delivery.
- Adoption, integration, user experience, innovation and creativity.
- Overall effectiveness, impact, and measurable benefits.
The winners are listed at https://excellenceawards.brandonhall.com/winners/.
Excellence Award winners will continue to be honored at Brandon Hall Group’s HCM Excellence Conference, February 9-12, 2026, at the Hilton West Palm Beach, Florida. Select winners will also serve as presenters in breakout sessions, sharing their leading practices during the conference.
“The 2025 Excellence Award recipients represent the pinnacle of achievement in human capital management. What sets this year’s winners apart is their bold embrace of emerging technologies and their commitment to creating meaningful employee experiences that drive tangible business results. These organizations have demonstrated that when you invest in your people with purpose and innovation, the impact resonates throughout the entire enterprise, creating sustainable competitive advantages in today’s dynamic business landscape,” said Brandon Hall Group™ Chief Executive Officer Mike Cooke.
About Intrepid by VitalSource
Intrepid by VitalSource is a leading cohort-based learning platform to connect, practice, and upskill. Its solutions enable organizations to solve mission-critical challenges and remain competitive in today’s ever-changing workplace. Intrepid’s platform fosters skill-building, collaboration, engagement, and measurable results, driving transformative and scalable business outcomes.
About Blanchard
Blanchard is a global leader in leadership development, consulting, and coaching. For more than 45 years, Blanchard has partnered with organizations to maximize individual achievement and organizational performance, bringing measurable progress and true transformation. Blanchard’s SLII® is the global leadership model of choice, powering inspired leaders for more than 10,000 organizations worldwide. Blanchard also offers a suite of award-winning solutions through flexible delivery modalities to meet the specific needs of clients and learners.
About Brandon Hall Group™
Brandon Hall Group is the only professional development company that offers data, research, insights and certification to Learning and Talent executives and organizations. The best minds in Human Capital Management (HCM) choose Brandon Hall Group™ to help them create future-proof employee development plans for the new era.
For over 30 years, we have empowered, recognized and certified excellence in organizations worldwide, influencing the development of over 10 million employees and executives. Our HCM Excellence Awards® program was the first to recognize organizations for learning and talent and is the gold standard, known as the “Academy Awards of Human Capital Management.”
The awards recognize the best organizations that have successfully developed and deployed programs, strategies, modalities, processes, systems and tools that have achieved measurable results. We are honored to receive applications from organizations worldwide ranging from small, medium, large and global enterprises to government, not-for-profits and associations.
