In this edition of the Serenichron Business Insights Series, I had the chance to sit down with Laura Liguori, a global educator, strategic consultant, and thought leader with a career that spans over 10 countries and nearly three decades. Laura has worn many hats, from business consultant to international school leader to AI integrator in education. And while she currently leads curriculum and professional learning at Britannica, our conversation focused on something far more personal: her incredible journey through education, technology, and global impact.
We covered everything from career paths to technology’s role in schools, to how children are already navigating a more virtual world than we adults can fathom. And we asked some big questions: Are we preparing our kids for the world as it is or the world as it will be? Can education keep up with technological change? And what happens when all the pieces of your past start clicking together?
Let’s explore.
The unpredictable path to purpose
Laura’s story doesn’t follow a straight line, and that’s the point. She began her career in business consulting, helping global corporations optimise strategies, boost profitability, and navigate change.
Her work took her across continents, offering a high-flying view of international business dynamics. But then, life steered her in an unexpected direction.
“If I hadn’t taken all those decisions, I wouldn’t be where I am right now… everything I’ve ever done is what I’m using right now.”
A personal decision brought her into the classroom. What initially looked like a temporary pivot turned into a passionate mission. Starting in a private primary school in Bangkok, Laura began teaching English as a second language.
From there, she climbed into middle and then senior leadership roles, influencing hundreds of students and shaping educational strategy at top international schools.
But Laura never viewed these transitions as deviations, they were deliberate choices that allowed her to deepen her impact. She challenged the outdated notion that a ‘serious’ career has to follow a single trajectory. In a world where change is constant, she sees adaptability as the core competency that ties every phase of her career together, less a backup plan and more a foundational strength. We talked about how each stage of her journey sharpened a different skillset, and how she now draws on all of them in her current role.
What Laura demonstrates so brilliantly is what experts call “the habit of professional reinvention.”
As business professor Dorie Clark puts it, “we need to be ready to reinvent ourselves at a moment’s notice.” The key isn’t to overhaul your career overnight but to stay in motion, whether it’s through small upskilling steps, cross-functional projects, or reframing what you already know for new challenges.
The real trick? Making reinvention a normal rhythm, not a last-minute scramble. Think of it like keeping your career muscles flexible instead of expecting them to perform acrobatics after years of standing still.
Her story is a masterclass in professional reinvention, and a testament to how winding paths often lead to the most fulfilling destinations.
Laura’s career path mirrors what experts now recognize as the new professional normal. According to recent Forbes data, nearly 58% of US adults are considering a significant career shift in 2024—a trend that has remained consistent year-on-year.
As the job market continues to evolve, the ability to pivot smoothly has become less of a luxury and more of a necessity. This aligns with what researchers call “career adaptability”,a quality that enables individuals to adjust to changing professional roles while maintaining a sense of purpose, stability, and long-term satisfaction.
Where AI meets classroom humanity
Long before AI was trending, Laura was already integrating robotics and digital tools into classrooms. As early as 2011, she was integrating technology in schools and in 2016 she helped launch the first one-to-one robotics program in Hong Kong.
Her goal wasn’t simply to introduce a gadget into the classroom; it was to reshape how students approached learning, making room for hands-on exploration, experimentation, and creative thinking right from the start.
“In fact, the school I was in, in Hong Kong, was the first one-to-one robotics program in the whole of Hong Kong, where my class were given their own robots.”
It was a forward-thinking initiative that foreshadowed where education was headed: toward interactive, experiential learning where students aren’t passive recipients but active builders of knowledge. That early exposure helped her see technology as an essential part of empowering students, something that, when used intentionally, can unlock deeper engagement, broader thinking, and meaningful learning outcomes.
Now, as Head of Curriculum and Professional Learning at Britannica, Laura collaborates with governments and schools globally to align educational tools with curricular goals and provide strategic leadership in digital learning.
Her work goes far beyond simply implementing software. It involves challenging assumptions, shifting perspectives, and walking institutions through the often uncomfortable but essential journey of transformation. It’s about empowering schools to rethink not just what tools they use, but why and how they use them.
“You’re always going to need a human being to look after the social-emotional well-being of another human being.”
Laura’s early adoption of classroom technology shows remarkable foresight. Today, educational systems are actively exploring how AI-powered capabilities can support students with disabilities, multilingual learners, and others who benefit from greater adaptivity in digital learning tools.
However, the process of developing AI systems for education raises important questions about potential bias and fairness that require careful governance. This balancing act – embracing technological possibility while maintaining human judgment, is precisely what Laura has advocated throughout her career.
She warns against the belief that AI will replace teachers. Her take is nuanced: use technology to enhance, not replace. That means smarter personalisation, tools that respond to individual learning paths, and most importantly, preserving space for curiosity, empathy, and connection. She sees inquiry-based learning as an ideal partner to educational tech, enabling students to explore the world not through scripted lessons but through genuine exploration and reflection.
Children are already living in tomorrow’s world
Laura’s global experience offers a front-row seat to how children behave and learn today. Whether in war-torn classrooms or elite private institutions, one thread runs through:
“All children have the ability to learn and all children have the desire to learn.”
But learning today doesn’t look like it did even a decade ago. The digital world has rewritten the rules. Children now walk into classrooms carrying phones with more computing power than the Apollo missions. They are exposed to vast libraries of content, YouTube tutorials, online courses, and global conversations. They’re informed, curious, and often, far more aware of world events than adults give them credit for.
“We can’t ram a curriculum agenda down their throat that’s not keeping in line with the pace of the changes in the world.”
And that creates tension. On one hand, students are ready for complex, meaningful engagement. On the other hand, many educational systems are still locked into rote memorisation and standardised tests. Laura highlights a stark and painful divide between what’s needed and what’s available, especially when it comes to access and equity.
“I talked to a government a few days ago… 55 children crammed in a classroom without a skilled teacher.”
The contrast is glaring: some schools have 3D printers and robotics clubs, while others don’t even have enough desks. Technology alone can’t close these gaps. We need more than tools, we need systems that ensure those tools are used wisely. That means equitable access, well-trained educators, responsive policies, and above all, a commitment to meeting children where they are, not where outdated curricula expect them to be.
What schools and systems are missing
Laura has advised schools, ministries, and entire governments. She sees a big gap between vision and execution when it comes to digital integration. Schools often present polished narratives online, but the reality on the ground reveals a different picture, one where the promise of innovation hasn’t quite matched the practice.
“You look across 30 international school websites, they all say they embrace technology. Scratch beneath the surface and they’re still learning how.”
This isn’t just about rolling out devices or installing new platforms. Laura emphasises the need for schools to first clarify their educational values and pedagogical goals before choosing any tools. It’s about intention before implementation.
“This technological tool can support learning against that objective. And then have you assessed whether or not it has?”
Too often, tech is treated as a silver bullet or an afterthought. Laura advocates for a thoughtful approach: one that connects tools directly to learning objectives and outcomes. She encourages leaders to ask hard questions, run pilot comparisons, and be okay with admitting when something isn’t working.
At the heart of her vision is inquiry-based learning, a student-centered approach where curiosity leads the way. In today’s fast-changing world, this model empowers students to explore and investigate, rather than just absorb facts.
When Laura champions inquiry-based learning, she’s speaking to an approach with solid educational foundations. The Centre for Teaching and Learning at Queen’s University defines it as an “array of classroom practices that promote student learning through guided and increasingly independent investigation of complex questions and problems, often for which there is no single answer.” This approach helps students develop transferable skills like realistic goal-setting, critical thinking, and self-assessment. Think of it as teaching children to fish rather than simply handing them fish fingers, they’re learning the process of discovery itself, not just memorising what someone else has discovered.
“The teacher introduces a concept, then the children form their own questions to deepen their learning.”
This is more than a theoretical framework, it’s a practical guide, grounded in real-world experience and adaptable to diverse learning environments. It matches the way students already engage with information online, curating, clicking, connecting. Laura’s message is clear: the systems that thrive will be the ones that adapt, experiment, and reflect with purpose.
A future built on critical skills, not just content
So what are we really preparing students for? Not just tests, Laura argues, but life, and a life that will be defined by constant change, complex problems, and technologies that haven’t even been invented yet.
“Digital literacy, creativity, collaboration, problem-solving, critical thinking, resilience, independence… these are the fundamentals that children need.”
These “soft” skills, though that label hardly does them justice, are the real power tools for the future. They’re what enable people to adapt, to navigate ambiguity, and to thrive amidst disruption. But here’s the catch: they’re also the hardest to quantify, the trickiest to teach, and the most likely to be neglected in traditional systems focused on standardised scores.
Laura views these skills as foundational elements of modern education, integral to how we design curricula, train educators, and shape school environments. These skills deserve a central role in shaping future-ready learning experiences, anchoring how we educate, rather than being treated as optional or secondary.
Critical thinking shouldn’t be confined to a standalone class wedged between core subjects. Instead, it should be woven into the entire learning experience, guiding how students engage with content, interact with peers, and approach real-world challenges in every subject area.
As I pointed out in our conversation, it’s a little ironic: the very skills many governments and institutions struggle to support are the ones that make societies resilient. The same skills that make businesses innovative, that fuel economies, that strengthen democracies. We shouldn’t just teach kids facts. We should teach them how to think, decide, and thrive. Because in the world ahead, knowing is just the beginning, doing something valuable with that knowledge is what will count most.
Laura’s emphasis on foundational skills aligns perfectly with what today’s business world demands. LinkedIn’s “2024 Most In-Demand Skills” report identifies adaptability as the “top skill of the moment” in our AI-driven landscape. While AI will impact certain roles, McKinsey predicts that eight of the top ten skills future workers will need are precisely these “soft” skills Laura describes.
As Aneesh Raman, VP and Workforce Expert at LinkedIn, puts it: “Adaptability is the best way to have agency right now… at the core of managing change is building that muscle of adaptability.” It’s worth noting that business leaders consistently cite skills shortages as one of the top three challenges preventing their organisations from effectively responding to change. The message is clear: these aren’t “extra” skills, they’re the main event.
Conclusion: When the puzzle pieces finally fit
What struck me most about Laura’s story was how seamlessly it all comes together now, her consulting background, her educational leadership, and her passion for tech and strategy. The pieces didn’t make sense in isolation, but together they form a powerful toolkit. It’s rare to see such clarity in the arc of a career, where each chapter prepares you for the next in ways you only understand in hindsight.
“I wake up some days and think: Wow, I never thought I’d be in a role where everything I’ve ever done is what I’m using right now.”
This article takes a broader lens, uses education and AI as the starting point to explore how people and systems grow, adapt, and rethink what progress looks like in a changing world. As individuals. As systems. As societies. It’s about being open to change, willing to reflect, and brave enough to reinvent ourselves when the moment demands it.
Laura’s insights reinforce a bigger truth: the future of education isn’t fixed. It’s fluid, complex, and deeply human. It requires us to stop waiting for clarity and start creating it, one thoughtful decision, one bold experiment at a time.
If you’re a school leader rethinking your curriculum, a policymaker designing systems for the next generation, or a business owner navigating rapid technological change, Laura’s journey is a reminder that your past experiments, even the messy ones, might just be your greatest strategic advantage.
This is the kind of evolution we all need to embrace: not perfection, but progress. Not knowing all the answers, but having the courage to ask better questions.
The way Laura’s career experiences now form a cohesive whole reflects what Harvard Business Review describes as “career resilience”, a quality that’s built by strengthening emotional intelligence, expanding skill sets, and staying ready to pivot when needed. Like a muscle, this resilience grows stronger through regular exercise in the form of challenging oneself with new skills and perspectives.
Laura’s story beautifully illustrates how today’s most valuable career paths aren’t straight lines but rich tapestries of experience that create unique value precisely because of their varied threads.
About the Author
Vlad writes about automation, operations, and the little tweaks that make a big difference in how businesses run. A former game designer turned founder, he now helps teams fix broken workflows and spot the revenue leaks hiding in plain sight.
About Serenichron
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