Data Story Academy™ Wins Silver in the 2025 Brandon Hall Group™ HCM Excellence Awards®
The 2025 Brandon Hall Group™ HCM Excellence Awards® recognizes best practices for initiatives in Learning and Development, Talent Management, Leadership Development, Talent Acquisition, Human Resources, Sales Performance, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, and the Future of Work.
Data Story Academy™, a leader in innovative data storytelling training and enterprise learning programs, won a coveted Brandon Hall Group™ Silver award for excellence in the Best Learning Strategy category.
Data Story Academy’s “Mars Data Storytelling Program” (Silver, Best Learning Strategy) award was announced on August 14, 2025.
About the winning entry
Delivered in partnership with Mars, Incorporated, the Mars Data Storytelling Program equips associates to turn complex data into clear, decision-driving narratives. The program combines:
- Short, on-demand courses and hands-on practice challenges that fit the flow of work.
- A scalable community and coaching model to expand capability across regions and functions.
- Deployment via enterprise LMS and collaboration tools to streamline access and peer learning.
- Practical toolkits, templates, and frameworks that standardize how insights are framed, visualized, and presented to leaders.
Together, these elements help Mars teams accelerate decision cycles, strengthen stakeholder alignment, and improve the clarity and impact of executive communications—at scale.
“We’re honored to be recognized alongside our partners at Mars. This award validates our belief that when people learn to translate data into clear stories tied to business outcomes, everything moves faster—decisions, alignment, and results.”
“This year's Excellence Award winners exemplify the transformative power of strategic human capital management. Through their innovative approaches to talent development and employee engagement, these organizations have not only achieved remarkable business outcomes but have also redefined what it means to create truly people-centric workplaces. Our comprehensive evaluation process has identified these programs as benchmarks for organizational excellence and innovation."
How entries were evaluated
- Alignment to business need and environment.
- Program design, functionality, and delivery.
- Adoption, integration, user experience, innovation, and creativity.
- Overall effectiveness, impact, and measurable benefits.
Conference recognition
Excellence Award winners will continue to be honored at Brandon Hall Group’s HCM Excellence Conference, February 9–12, 2026, at the Hilton West Palm Beach, Florida. Select winners will also serve as presenters in breakout sessions, sharing their leading practices during the conference.
“The 2025 Excellence Award recipients represent the pinnacle of achievement in human capital management. What sets this year's winners apart is their bold embrace of emerging technologies and their commitment to creating meaningful employee experiences that drive tangible business results. These organizations have demonstrated that when you invest in your people with purpose and innovation, the impact resonates throughout the entire enterprise, creating sustainable competitive advantages in today's dynamic business landscape."
About Data Story Academy™
Data Story Academy™ helps organizations turn data into decisions through practical courses, toolkits, and scalable enablement programs. From executive keynotes and workshops to enterprise train-the-trainer rollouts, DSA equips business professionals to frame, visualize, and present insights that drive action.
About Brandon Hall Group™
Brandon Hall Group™ is the only professional development company that offers data, research, insights and certification to Learning and Talent executives and organizations. The best minds in Human Capital Management (HCM) choose Brandon Hall Group™ to help them create future-proof employee development plans for the new era.
For over 30 years, we have empowered, recognized and certified excellence in organizations worldwide, influencing the development of over 10 million employees and executives. Our HCM Excellence Awards® program was the first to recognize organizations for learning and talent and is the gold standard, known as the “Academy Awards of Human Capital Management.”
The awards recognize the best organizations that have successfully developed and deployed programs, strategies, modalities, processes, systems and tools that have achieved measurable results. We are honored to receive applications from organizations worldwide ranging from small, medium, large and global enterprises to government, not-for-profits and associations.
About Mars, Incorporated (Program Partner)
Mars, Incorporated is a global, family-owned business with a diverse and expanding portfolio in confectionery, food, and pet care. Mars empowers its associates to create value for people and pets around the world through principled, purpose-driven growth.
Data Story Academy™ is a trademark of Data Story Academy, LLC. Brandon Hall Group™ and HCM Excellence Awards® are marks of their respective owners.