Building Leadership and Culture: Molly Hill’s Insights from Disney, Starbucks, Airbnb, and Toast

Welcome back to The Talent Development Hot Seat! In this episode, host Andy Storch sits down with Molly Hill, Global Head of Talent Development at Toast, for a lively and insightful conversation on the evolving landscape of talent development. Molly shares her fascinating career journey, from her early days at Disney and impactful roles at Microsoft, Starbucks, and Airbnb, to her current adventure at Toast—where she blends her professional passion with the hands-on experience of owning a bar in picturesque Lake Chelan, Washington.

Together, Andy and Molly dig into the art and science of large-scale leadership development, codifying company values, and fostering a culture of connection in remote and in-person environments. Molly offers practical advice and lessons learned from orchestrating major events at Starbucks and spearheading innovative programs like the Leadership Lunchbox series and executive development initiatives at Toast. Plus, the conversation touches on the importance of behavior change, using marketing principles in L&D, and adapting to the growing influence of AI in HR—including hosting internal hackathons to inspire curiosity and collaboration.

If you're ready for fresh ideas on building manager capability, driving career development, or creating memorable learning experiences, you won't want to miss this episode!

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This episode is also sponsored by LearnIt, which is offering a FREE trial of their TeamPass membership for you and up to 20 team members of your team. Check it out here.

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Connect with Molly: LinkedIn: LinkedIn

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