Talent Garden buys majority stake in Hyper Island

The European market has not escaped the ‘Great Resignation’ and resulting talent shortages that are undermining US economic recovery.

Could digital upskilling and reskilling help? Italy-based co-working and education company Talent Garden believes so.

In fact, in an attempt to overcome these shortages in Europe with education, Talent Garden has acquired a majority stake in Hyper Island, a business school with a global presence. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. 

The pair are now planning to partner to scale their online courses and help employees to update their digital skillsets. They also want to become Europe’s leading education tech platform.

Talent Garden and Hyper Garden believe that their revenues could reach €50 million in 2022, and they could train 20,000 professionally annually.

Talking about the deal, Talent Garden co-founder and executive president Davide Dattoli said: “Digital education is the great social and economic challenge of our century.

“From the outset, we have focused on the value of community, viewing digital training as the way of creating new talent and helping companies face digital transformation.

“Through joining forces with Hyper Island, our project is making a new leap forward.

“In such an important but fragmented market, we are readier as ever before to act as aggregators and game-changers. We will expand our training offering for the benefit of many current and future workers who are living through this time of digital transition.”

While Hyper Island chairman Fredrik Mansson added: “For more than 25 years Hyper Island has yearly assisted many thousands of individuals and organizations to adapt and take charge in a fast-changing world.

“Our human-centric approach to handle tech-driven change truly represents life-shifting development for our students and corporate clients.

“Through the alliance with Talent Garden, we will jointly get a substantial increase in the resources to accelerate both company’s growth and impact in the world.”

Talent Garden appoints new CEO

At the same time as announcing the deal and its ambitions for the future, Talent Garden has appointed a new CEO.

Dattoli said: “To manage it strategically and effectively, we have set up a new governance system with the important addition of Irene Boni as CEO.

“Thanks to her proven experience with digital and integration management, Irene will work alongside [Talent Garden’s co-founders], as well as our entire management team, ensuring optimal execution of the group’s growth strategy.”

Boni has previously worked at Yoox Net A Porter and at McKinsey. She has been a senior advisor at Talent Garden since November 2020.

Talking about her appointment, Boni said: “Having had the privilege of experiencing the potential of digital transformation first-hand, I am convinced that my contribution is even more significant now that the founders’ vision is poised to realize its full potential.

“Talent Garden has an opportunity to grow considerably in the digital education market in Europe, also by training individuals as well as large companies that want to take advantage of the benefits of digitization — which is certainly a technological issue, but most of all a question of human capital.

The future of work and education looks bright, but only if companies and workers embrace digital skills.