Alicia Gambrell joined iAM HCM Consulting as the first vice president of education and innovation on Nov. 1. In her new role, she will be responsible for expanding the iAM University curriculum and establishing the firm’s product innovation team.
iAM HCM Consulting is a human capital management technology company focused on JD Edwards HCM applications. iAM CEO and founder Tammy Castro launched iAM University last year with knowledge gained during her 20 years of consulting and human capital management experience with JD Edwards software. “It was a huge undertaking for one person,” Castro said.
Initially, the purpose of the university was to educate and onboard new consultants. But as they planned to roll out another semester this year, Castro expanded it to fill a need for their customers.
Gambrell said her role will be more outward facing than traditional CLO roles. She will work primarily with JD Edwards customers focusing on how to use JD Edwards software to run their businesses.
Castro said Gambrell will have the freedom to review and expand the curriculum, add more on-site training boot camps and provide more online education. “The hope is that it will be a new revenue stream and we’ll be able to offer access to more robust education to our current customers and any new customers,” Castro said.
Gambrell brings more than 25 years of experience in the human capital management industry to her new role. She was formerly the senior principal product manager for JD Edwards HCM at Oracle, where she managed the software development lifecycle to deliver across HCM disciplines, including human resources, payroll, benefits, talent and customers.
Gambrell said branching out to education was a natural shift for her. “In that role there was a lot of critical and creative thinking that goes on and that fits in well with a consulting organization,” Gambrell said. “I’m also very customer focused and attuned to what customers need and how to counsel them to get the most out of the product.”
Castro has worked with Gambrell for more than 10 years and said hiring Gambrell is like welcoming home an old friend. “It’s a natural transition because we’re going to be doing very similar things that we’ve already done together,” Castro said.
Ave Rio is a Chief Learning Officer associate editor. Comment below or email editor@CLOmedia.com.
