How Do You Turn Training into a Leadership Pipeline?

Beyond The Protocol

What if your training programs didn’t just meet compliance—but built your next generation of leaders?

In this episode, Melody Keel sits down with Celeste Brantolino, Senior Director at Exela Pharma Sciences and a 2025 Top 10 OnCon Learning & Development Professional, to explore how pharma and clinical organizations can transform training into a powerful leadership pipeline.

Drawing from her success leading scalable development programs and integrating AI-powered learning across operations, Celeste shares how smart L&D strategy drives real business impact.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How competency-based training can drive measurable promotion and performance outcomes
• What it takes to scale leadership development in GMP-regulated, cross-functional environments
• How immersive tech (AI/VR) is transforming onboarding and clinical readiness
• Why tying learning to culture, feedback loops, and operational systems is key to long-term success

If you're navigating high turnover, readiness gaps, or building internal talent pipelines, this conversation delivers the blueprint clinical ops leaders have been looking for.

Welcome to Beyond the Protocol—where authentic conversations about clinical research happen.

Hosted by Melody Keel, bringing together diverse professionals from across the industry to share insights and experiences about what it really takes to deliver successful clinical trials.

This isn't about perfect processes—it's about real people sharing real solutions.

Let's go beyond the protocol.

That's all for today's episode of Beyond the Protocol—where we explore what it truly takes to deliver successful clinical trials.

If you found value in today's conversation, please subscribe, share with your network, and leave a review.

Have experiences or insights to share? Reach out and be part of the conversation.

Join us next week as we continue to discover what lies beyond the protocol.

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📺 YouTube ▶️https://www.youtube.com/@BeyondTheProtocol

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🎧 Podcast address ▶️https://beyondtheprotocol.buzzsprout.com/
This Podcast is Sponsored by The Research Associate Group, Inc.

챕터

1. Welcome & Guest Intro (00:00:00)

2. Celeste’s Career Journey (00:03:28)

3. Manufacturing vs. Clinical Training (00:06:59)

4. What Makes Training Programs Fail (00:08:51)

5. See One, Do One, Teach One (00:15:23)

6. The Three-Tier Leadership Program (00:18:55)

7. Lessons in Leadership (00:26:44)

8. Culture of Learning & Impact on Patients (00:32:47)

9. Common Training Mistakes (00:37:01)

10. The Decline of CRA Training Programs (00:38:44)

11. Final Wisdom & Closing (00:39:44)