How to Put People in the Room: Culture, Careers & Next Gen Talent

What does a cultural architect actually do?

How do you build a career when AI can write your CV, jobs are shorter, and young people are told they’re “not work-ready”?

In this episode of the Wit + Grit Podcast, we sit down with Ad Davies - ex-Head of Talent Development & Internal Comms at Gymshark.

We dig into opportunity, soft skills, and the future of careers in a world where:

• CVs aren’t enough - and maybe never were
• Young people are more value-driven than ever
• Employers say “we can’t find talent” while thousands of applicants can’t get in the room

Ad shares his journey from a state school in special measures and self-funded UEFA B coaching badges with Gary Neville & Ole Gunnar Solskjær, to helping scale Gymshark into a billion-pound brand - and why he still believes the real differentiator is human skills and access to opportunity.

#gymshark #culture

In this episode you’ll hear about:

Ad’s “jack of all trades” career: coaching, HR, talent, culture & comms
What sport taught him about leadership, connection and performance
Inside Gymshark: “no dickheads”, leaving the jersey better, and belonging
Why soft skills are the hard skills that change lives
CVs vs real access: getting people in the room, not just in the system
AI rejection emails, screener platforms and the moral duty to give feedback
Confidence, auditions and helping young people “sell themselves” their own way
BTECs, different learning styles and why grades don’t define potential
Leadership in 2025: “What do you need from me?” and the value of time
From Leicester to the US: global career expectations and working anywhere
Project-based careers

If you care about next gen talent, culture, and how to build a meaningful career in the AI era, this conversation will hit home.

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