A Lifetime of Training

Tony Bingham, president and CEO of the Association for Talent Development, began ATD25’s International Luncheon by honoring TICkA performance psychologist Jef Brouwers, who works with elite athletes, including Olympians. ATD25 marked the Belgium native’s 40th year attending ATD’s International Conference & EXPO.

After the luncheon, Brouwers spoke with the Conference Daily on his decades with training and development.

Why have you continued attending ATD’s annual conference?

I'm always coming back because it gives me energy. I’m a very old man. [laughs] I'm 80 years old. But anytime we come here, it's a joy for the brain.

What initially attracted you to come to the conference in 1983?

I came by coincidence. First, I was working at a university. And it was not my cup of tea—the academic world—because I was a doer. And so I was with a friend, and he said, “I have something for you.” And that was the start, really.

You mentioned this was a small conference when you first attended. Are there any other big changes that you've noticed in the last 40 years?

When I started, it was the ASTD (the American Society for Training and Development). They changed the name to the Association for Talent Development. So, it was not “Training,” right? Because we had a meeting in Brussels. I don’t know what year, but when they asked my opinion about it, I said that to become really worldwide-recognized, it’s very important to eliminate the “American.”

It’s such a big conference now. There's so much going on.

Read more about ATD25 at conferencedaily.td.org.