Aptitude Research, a leading human capital management (HCM) research and advisory firm, today announced that industry expert Kyle Lagunas has joined as Head of Strategy & Principal Analyst. The firm’s strategic move comes amid increased focus on the importance and impact of HR technology investments and growing requests for analysis on talent acquisition, employee experience and more.
Noting that the gap between vendor innovation and practitioner adoption has never been wider, Aptitude Research founder and Chief Analyst Madeline Laurano shared, “This industry continues to intensify in complexity. With Kyle’s practitioner-level knowledge and research-driven perspective, Aptitude can help clients reach a deeper understanding of the changing technology landscape.”
Aptitude has spent years scrutinizing the dynamic HR technology ecosystem and worked diligently to provide practitioner-oriented research on emerging trends since day one, making Lagunas an ideal addition to the firm. A celebrated strategist, his first-hand experience as both a practitioner and analyst gives Lagunas a profound understanding of the challenges today’s HR and talent teams face despite the proliferation of new capabilities in the market. With the addition of Lagunas to the leadership team, Aptitude will launch new programs for educating, empowering and supporting practitioner leaders tasked with driving transformative programs with technology.
“Talent leaders have a demanding day job that leaves little capacity to research and workshop innovative solutions,” says Lagunas, who will be driving this new initiative. “We want to create a space where their ambitions and concerns can be reconciled through peer learning and expert instruction—and we can get first-hand, candid feedback on their successes and challenges partnering with solution providers.”
Reflecting on the state of the industry, Lagunas commented, “It’s clear that vendors and practitioners alike need help navigating the new normal, and Aptitude is one of the most respected research firms in our space. Madeline’s extensive experience studying the intersection of strategy and technology in HR has made her one of my closest thought partners over the years. Now we get to make it official and take Aptitude to new heights together.”
Most recently, Lagunas served as Head of Talent Attraction, Sourcing & Insight at General Motors and before that as Director of Strategy at Beamery. Taking the position at Aptitude marks a return to his roots, having started his career as an analyst. Prior to his move to the practitioner side, Lagunas was Research Director at IDC, overseeing the firm’s emerging trends and technologies in talent acquisition practice. Earlier, he was Principal Analyst at Lighthouse Research & Advisory, Talent Acquisition Analyst at Brandon Hall Group and HR Analyst for Software Advice by Gartner.
With Lagunas on board, Aptitude customers in the corporate space can expect more insights, conversations and opportunities to share their experiences. For solution providers, Aptitude plans to double down on research rooted in quantified analysis and qualified inputs.
Laurano concluded, “Not only does Kyle bring new perspective to Aptitude, but also more capacity to dig into the evolving needs of practitioners and emerging technology use cases. 2023 will be a defining year for Aptitude; we will bring more value and bolder research than ever before.”
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