James Gilchrist

James Gilchrist is the Founder and Director of Lighthouse L&D Consulting, where he helps organizations design leadership and learning programs that put people first. His own path to learning and development has been transformative. Before discovering L&D, James worked both as an actor and musician — experiences that taught him the power of presence, connection, and storytelling. His Learning and Development journey began in unlikely circumstances over 25 years ago, when, as a struggling customer service rep at a payroll company, he stepped into a training manager role and discovered how deeply he loved helping others grow. Since then, James has partnered with organizations across many different industries and discovered that the biggest roadblocks to performance rarely come from a lack of tools or talent. More often, they stem from conflicting initiatives, siloed communication, and top-down mindsets.

His work now focuses on helping leaders and teams clear obstacles, align authentically, and design solutions with the end user — learners, employees, or leaders themselves — always in mind. Since launching Lighthouse L&D Consulting, James has worked as a consultant for financial services, scientific, and healthcare organizations, along with L&D industry leaders like iSpring Solutions and The Learning Guild, supporting learning professionals around the world. His mantra of late? "What makes you unique is what makes you indispensable.