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Case Study
Marek Builds Smarter Talent Operations with Cognota

Scaling Learning & Talent Projects Across a 2,500-Person Enterprise—Without Adding Headcount

LearnOps Pillars:
Align | Plan | Execute | Measure | Optimize

Build

Background

Marek, a specialty interior construction company with 2,500 employees across seven U.S. locations, runs lean and fast. With a small but mighty Talent Development team of four, led by Shannon Davis, Marek is responsible for driving learning, talent development, and team effectiveness company-wide.

As Shannon puts it:

“Just like Marek builds buildings, we’re here to build people.”

The Challenge

“We tried to manage it all manually... calendars, memory, Excel—it was quite the game.”

—Shannon Davis, Talent Development Manager

As demand for learning and talent initiatives grew, so did the operational cracks:

  • Projects were tracked across spreadsheets, emails, calendars—and memory
  • No visibility or collaboration between internal customers and external partners
  • Generic project tools didn’t support learning workflows—from intake to delivery
  • Manual effort slowed execution and drained time from high-impact work

The LearnOps Transformation:

Marek needed a smarter, scalable way to run Talent Development like a strategic function—not just a service center. Cognota delivered.

Why Cognota?

All Projects, One Platform

Every initiative runs through Cognota—streamlining intake, tracking, and execution.

Stakeholder Visibility

Internal customers and SMEs now collaborate in real time, reducing delays and miscommunication.

Cross-Functional Hub

Cognota is now the system of record for L&D, talent programs, and partner collaboration.

Faster Execution

Task management and progress tracking keep lean teams productive and focused on impact.

“The ability to invite collaborators into the platform has been a game-changer—our SMEs love it.”

Results & Business Impact

Enhanced Visibility & Accountability

No more chasing updates. Every project is transparent, trackable, and aligned to business needs.

ROI & Stakeholder Confidence

The team now tracks learning impact and surfaces insights to internal stakeholders—building trust and influence across the org.

High-Performance at Scale

Despite being a lean team, Marek operates like a high-performing department—delivering faster, more efficiently, and with measurable results.

“Cognota helps us punch above our weight.”

LearnOps ®️

What We Do

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Case Study: Marek

Case Study: Marek