Celeste C. Brantolino
My career journey spans nearly 30 years in learning and development. I began with an undergraduate degree in education and started my career as a teacher. During my time at the university, I was trained in DACUM, a process that brings industry input directly into curriculum design. I facilitated workshops with expert workers to break down roles into duties and tasks, map them to the curriculum, and identify learning gaps and opportunities for improvement. I also developed a performance transcript aligned to industry expectations, which helped graduates fast-track their careers and start at higher salaries.
One of the companies that participated in those workshopsAmerican Power Conversion (APC)later invited me to join the launch team for Data Center University, a free online e-learning experience for data center managers. Although I had never developed e-learning before, I enjoy startup environments and green-space projects, so I welcomed the opportunity.
When APC was acquired by Schneider Electric, I joined the launch team for Energy University, creating online learning for people who buy, manage, or sell energy. I was then recruited to Tyson after it acquired Advanced Pierre Foods and needed to overhaul its training program. There, I helped shift the organization toward competency-based training and supported reduced turnover through stronger onboarding and development.
From there, I supported Del Montes training program and later became Vice President of HR and Learning & Development for 80 Acres, a startup vertical farming company founded by former executives I had worked with at Tyson and Del Monte. In that role, I launched the training program and built the foundational HR infrastructure.
A former vice president from APC later asked for support building a new training team and creating an experience similar to Data Center University, but designed for packhouses. I launched Pack House Academy and helped establish a strong, scalable training program.
After consulting for organizations including Walter Klugers, RTI, and USAID, Exela Pharma Sciences contacted me in early 2022. The company had grown rapidly and needed support building a learning and development function. At Exela, I oversee four core areas: (1) a training team that supports new and experienced employees, (2) a team that develops work instructions, (3) a team of instructional designers who create instructor-led training, e-learning, as well as digital enablement and (4) the company's Learning Management System. Over the past three years, we have created more than 300 e-learning modules.
I am also responsible for the design and execution of our proprietary three-tier leadership development program. Tier 1 supports individual contributors who want to learn foundational leadership skills. Tier 2 is designed for new supervisors and managers. Tier 3 the Senior Management Academy is for directors and vice presidents. Each program runs for a year with varying levels of intensity and includes mentorship, coaching, and structured reflection to ensure participants apply what they learn.
• AI Mastery in Learning & Development
• AI Certification for L&D
• Certified PDP Professional
• Six Sigma Black Belt (CSSBB)
• Six Sigma Green Belt (CSSGB)
• Systematic Curriculum and Instructional Design
• DACUM (Developing A Curriculum) A Process for Occupational Analysis
• MBA-International Business
• On Conferences Top 10 Learning & Development Professional 2025
• On Conferences Top 50 Learning & Development Team 2025
• On Conferences Top 50 Learning & Development Professional 2026
What do you attribute your success to?
I think my approach to training has been my secret sauce. I focus on driving the needs of the business forward “not learning for learning’s sake". Training has to connect to business objectives and improve business outcomes; otherwise, there’s no point in investing time or resources in learning and development. That mindset was probably more revolutionary 30 years ago than it is today, because more people now recognize you can’t train just to check a box. Beyond that, I believe accountability is key to career success. People who don’t know how to take accountability don’t progress. I’ve never hired the perfect person, but those who can step up, own the outcome, and learn and grow from it are unstoppable. And you also have to be humble enough to ask for help. I’ve solved some of my biggest challenges by tapping into my network people I’ve met along the way and learning from their experience.
What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Get a mentor. Choose someone you can go to with questions AND make sure its someone who will practice radical candor with you. Be willing to hear where you need to improve. We’re all “works in progress”, but a willingness to grow and evolve is what will propel you to success. When you choose a mentor, look for someone confident enough to be honest and to call you out when you’re making a mountain out of a molehill.
A great mentor won’t rush in with answers; instead, they’ll ask questions that help you find the solution. That’s what makes mentoring effective. If they simply tell you what to do, you may not truly own the plan, and if it goes sideways, it becomes easy to blame them. When you arrive at the decision yourself, you own it, because it is your decision.
Locations
Exela Pharma Sciences LLC
Lenoir, NC 28645