Podcast Summary - Driving Organizational Growth With Strategic Learning Solutions with Zachary Beasley of Synovus
When you meet Zachary Beasley, you quickly realize he’s more than just the Director of Talent and Learning at Synovus Bank, he’s someone who sees learning not as a function, but as a ripple effect that reaches thousands of people. With responsibility for nearly every dimension of enterprise learning, consulting with business leaders, overseeing instructional design, managing learning tech, coaching executives, and even connecting learning to big change initiatives, Zach is right at the heart of how learning moves through an organization of over 5,000 people.
But the road here wasn’t linear. His path to learning and development started in sales, detoured through education, and landed in learning by what he calls a “happy accident.” Once he stepped into the learning space, though, he knew he had found the best way to make a broad and lasting impact.
From Sales to Learning Impact
Zach’s story could have stayed on the sales track, he began his career on the producer side, making deals and driving results. But a liberal arts background gave him an appreciation for learning how to learn, and that curiosity never left him. When he briefly prepared to become a public educator, the timing didn’t align, his son was born right before he was about to step into his first teaching role. That shift redirected him into corporate learning, where he’s been ever since.
What drew him in? Impact. Leading a small team was rewarding, but Zach wanted to touch the lives of more people. Today, he’s doing just that, helping 5,000 employees grow, adapt, and stay future-ready.
How Learning Has Changed
Asked about the most impactful changes in L&D over the last few years, Zach doesn’t hesitate, it’s about how people consume information. Forget the days of dusting off a manual or flipping to page 72 of a binder. Today’s workforce expects information in the moment: short, contextual, and directly tied to what they’re doing.
It began with microlearning but has matured into true “in-the-flow” learning. For Zach’s team, this shift has meant designing resources that show up right when employees need them, not six months before they will use them when the details are forgotten.
The Future: AI and Simulation
Zach spends a lot of time thinking about where L&D is headed. And while five- to ten-year predictions are interesting, he believes the real changes will play out over the next two to three years.
Two trends dominate his radar:
1. Generative AI – Tools like Copilot and ChatGPT are shrinking tasks that once took weeks down to minutes. For L&D, this isn’t just about speed, it’s about redefining what human expertise looks like when automation handles the heavy lifting.
2. AI-driven simulations and coaching – Imagine practicing a tough conversation or sales pitch and receiving real-time, adaptive feedback powered by AI. This kind of experiential learning has the potential to transform how employees build skills.
What this means for learning professionals, Zach says, is a heightened need for critical thinking. “When Google hands you a quick AI-summarized answer, you have to pause. Is this fact? Do I need to verify? That discernment is where humans come in.”
If Money Were No Object
Dreaming a little, Zach shares what he’d do with 10 times the budget. Top of the list: predictive and algorithmic learning experiences. Platforms that recommend the right “next step” the way Netflix or Amazon suggests shows and products.
He’d also love to expand learning globally across the enterprise, curating certifications and continuing education inside the organization, so employees don’t have to go outside to grow. And finally, he’d invest deeply in people. Building purposeful in-person connections and giving his team the upskilling and reskilling opportunities to thrive in a rapidly changing field.
The Skill That Matters Most
For Zach, the number one skill his team must master moving forward is critical thinking fueled by curiosity. In a world where so much is rubric-based or checklist-driven, he’s looking for employees who will pause and ask “why?” and then go find out.
He even models this himself: curious about how HR colleagues approach decisions differently than L&D, he started studying for his SHRM certification, not for the letters after his name, but to understand how they think.
He pairs curiosity with another essential ability: knowing how to learn (and unlearn). With technology filling gaps for us, it’s easy to forget how to figure things out ourselves. Zach believes future-ready professionals must relearn that skill.
Mentorship and Influence
Zach credits much of his development to a former boss and ongoing mentor, Wayne Zi, who came from a consulting background rather than traditional learning. Wayne taught him the art of consulting, seeing through the lens of a sponsor or executive asking for solutions. That perspective reshaped how Zach approaches performance consulting and how he equips his team to think strategically.
Books and Resources
When asked what book he recommends to new L&D professionals, Zach doesn’t go with the usual technical manuals. Instead, he chooses The Culture Code by Daniel Coyle. It’s a book he and his team read together, and it became a practical guide for intentionally shaping culture. Full of stories and easy to digest, it offered something for everyone while giving Zach a tool to reset and reenergize his team’s culture with purpose.
Beyond books, Zach is a multi-source learner. He reads LinkedIn, Training Magazine, Gartner research, financial services publications like American Banker, and stays close to peers, vendor partners, and industry associations. For him, no single source is enough, it’s about balancing perspectives and always testing ideas against multiple inputs.
Final Thoughts
Zach Beasley’s career is proof that L&D isn’t just about programs and platforms, it’s about impact. From his focus on in-the-moment learning to his curiosity-driven approach to leadership, he’s shaping how thousands of employees at Synovus grow and adapt. As AI accelerates change, Zach’s reminder is timely: the real differentiator won’t be how fast we produce content, but how thoughtfully we question, discern, and keep learning ourselves.
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