Jennifer Christie

Tiffanie Boyd

Tiffanie Boyd is the and a member US Senior Leadership Team. In this role, she leads the People function for the US business and is accountable for People strategy, alignment, talent management, performance management, leadership development, and Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion. In this role she partners with leaders, employees, and franchisees to bring the McDonalds mission and values to life for all employees and partners across the country.

Tiffanie joined McDonald’s in January of 2021 after almost 23 years with General Mills. In her most recent role there, she served as Vice President, Human Resources, for North America Retail and lead initiatives to upgrade talent, transform the organization design, drive culture change, and improve employee engagement for 11,000 employees across the largest business segment of General Mills. She also has extensive global experience through her role leading HR for the global supply chain function which had 18,000 employees across 50 manufacturing plants and offices around the world. Prior to her supply chain role, she led HR for the Food service segment as well as served as the HR VP for General Mills Canada (based in Toronto). This followed a US based International role focused on leadership and culture development to align businesses outside the US that had joined General Mills as a result of the Pillsbury acquisition.

Early in her General Mills career, Tiffanie spent time in several manufacturing plants gaining experience working in both union and non-union, as well as tradition and high performing production environments. Prior to joining General Mills, Tiffanie worked at Hewitt Associates advising clients on defined contribution plan administration. She also has brief experiences with Blue Cross Blue Shield, General Motors Acceptance Corp, and Dow Chemical. She has an MBA and BBA from the Michigan Ross Business School and currently serves on the BBA Program Advisory Board.

Tiffanie is deeply committed to youth education, and health and wellness. She has done board work and consulting projects focused on closing the achievement gap for kids of color. She is an Executive Leadership Team member of the Twin Cities American Heart Association and co-chair of the Go Red for Women movement.

Tiffanie lives in Minnetonka, MN with her husband Colbert and sons, Evan and Ian. They plan on relocating to Chicago when it’s safe to do so.

Kamy Scarlett

Kamy Scarlett is the chief human resources officer for Best Buy Co. Inc. In this role, she oversees talent development and the health and well-being of our employees worldwide, with a focus on making Best Buy one of the best places to work in America.

Kamy has served in this role since 2017. She also served as the company’s president of U.S. retail stores for about a year, leading the execution and operation of all domestic Best Buy locations.

Kamy joined Best Buy in 2014. Prior to her current role, she was senior vice president of retail and chief human resources officer for Best Buy Canada. She was responsible for the sales and profits of more than 180 stores in addition to enacting the human resources and talent management strategies for the Canadian operations.

Since beginning her career in retail more than 30 years ago, Kamy has served in a variety of retail, operations, marketing and human resources leadership roles. She has a proven record of driving great customer experiences and financial results, as well as the creation and execution of HR and operations strategies and organizational transformation. This has led to great success in building strong cultures of high employee engagement, cost reduction, succession planning, training and development, and productivity improvements.

Prior to joining Best Buy, Kamy was the chief operating officer at Grafton-Fraser Inc., a leading Canadian retailer of men’s apparel. She also previously held leadership roles at Loblaw Cos., Hudson’s Bay Co. and Dylex Inc.

Kamy serves on the boards of the Best Buy Foundation and Floor & Decor.

Sean Suggs

Sean Suggs is group vice president, Social Innovation, for Toyota Motor North America (TMNA), where he is responsible for the organization’s community engagement, workforce development, inclusive mobility, and diversity and inclusion strategy.

He previously served as president of Toyota’s manufacturing plant in Blue Springs, Mississippi, where he was responsible for all manufacturing and
administration functions. Prior to this role, Suggs served as vice president of manufacturing and vice president of administration at the plant, which manufactures the Corolla.

Suggs began his automotive career in 1988 at Toyota’s assembly plant in Princeton, Indiana after proudly serving in the United States Army for eight years. During his tenure, he served in several roles and was named general manager of quality planning in 2008. In this leadership role, Suggs oversaw professional development, vehicle quality and manufacturing quality for current and new model production.

He rejoined Toyota in 2014, after serving as director of strategy, administration and human resources at Nissan’s North American headquarters in Franklin, Tennessee from 2011 to 2013. During his five years with Nissan, he also directed production quality at the company’s manufacturing and assembly plant in Canton, Mississippi.

Suggs serves on the Mississippi State Board of Education, a nine-member board responsible for setting state education policies and standards while also supporting several other nonprofit and economic development boards across Mississippi.

Suggs holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Auburn University and a Bachelor of Science from Oakland City University in Oakland City, Indiana.

Kristen Ludgate

As someone who loves to learn new things, Kristen Ludgate – who leads 3M’s human resources team – has certainly had ample opportunity. In her years with the company, Kristen has served in a variety of roles across several organizations.

“I’m adaptable, I’m curious, and I love change,” Kristen says. “3M offers so many opportunities to learn and grow, so it’s been a great place for me to work. There are always new challenges, and the people here love coming together to solve them.”

Kristen began her 3M career in Legal Affairs, where she held several positions including chief employment counsel. In her next role, as vice president of Compliance & Business Conduct and chief compliance officer, Kristen led 3M’s global compliance program and chaired 3M’s executive Business Conduct Committee. She then became vice president, Global Human Resources Business Operations, leading a team of HR professionals supporting 3M business operations and strategies worldwide – focusing on talent, organizational effectiveness and change management. Before assuming her current role, Kristen led Corporate Communications and Enterprise Services and the company’s social invest arm, 3Mgives.

Across these different 3M organizations, one thing has remained constant – the spirit of her colleagues. “3Mers everywhere are amazingly dedicated, creative and purposeful,” Kristen observes. “There’s a strong drive to do the right thing and to make the world better.”

A graduate of Bowdoin College and the University of Minnesota Law School, Kristen’s career outside 3M took her from various roles in higher education to private practice as a commercial lawyer in Minneapolis.

Kristen is a frequent speaker on various workplace, legal, ethics and leadership topics. Along with her hobbies of hiking, music and reading, Kristen’s current passion is restoring a cottage that sits high on the bluffs of the Mississippi River and watching the eagles soar by. Kristen and her husband live in St. Paul and have two grown children.

Amy Goldfinger

Amy leads the effort to build the largest marketplace for market- making, top talent for Walmart globally. Previously, she co-led the Global Human Resources Advisory Practice at Heidrick & Struggles, where she focused on senior level searches across industry and advised clients in the areas of HR transformation, talent management program strategy and execution, and onboarding.

Prior to joining the Firm, Amy was a Product Director at Dun & Bradstreet, managing a portfolio of risk management products and services. Earlier, Amy spent six years at Booz Allen Hamilton, specializing in the design and implementation of leadership development programs and competency-based human capital systems, including selection and recruitment, and post-merger integrations for both public and private organizations.

Amy earned her MBA from Columbia Business School and a BA in Psychology with a minor in Business from the University of Rochester. She is a Certified Professional in Human Resources Management and has a certificate in executive coaching.

Amy enjoys the outdoors and being active with her husband, Thor. She is a “bonus” mom to three wonderful kids.

Vinitaa Jayson

2020 Senior Vice President – Human Resources, P&G North America (Cincinnati)

2018 Vice President – Human Resources, P&G North America (Cincinnati) 2016 Vice President – Human Resources, P&G Asia (Singapore)

2010 Director, Global Grooming (Boston)

2009 Associate Director-HR, Global Olay & Global Body Care Brand Franchises and Beauty & Grooming Breakthrough Organization Design Leader (Cincinnati)

2007 Associate Director-HR, Skin, Personal Cleansing & Deodorants, Personal Beauty GBU (Cincinnati)

2004 Associate Director-HR, Global MDO Product Supply (Customer Services & Logistics) and Corporate General Manager Performance Scorecards (Cincinnati)

2002 Senior Manager, Global HR Professional Development, and Global Competencies Deployment Leader (Manila),Philippines Compensation Manager (Manila)

1999 Manager-HR, Asia Employee Data Systems & Payroll Process Owner, Asia GBS (Manila) 1997 India Sales HR Manager (Mumbai)

1995 India Recruiting Manager (Mumbai)

1995 Associate Manager, India Compensation & Benefits (Mumbai)

Rhonda Morris

Rhonda J. Morris is vice president and chief human resources officer for Chevron Corporation, a position she has held since 2016.  She is responsible for the company’s human resources, employee assistance/work-life services, ombuds, and diversity & inclusion groups. She also serves on the company’s Executive Committee.

Prior to 2016, Morris held several roles of increasing responsibility in human resources, global marketing, and international products.

In 2014, Morris received the Industry Leader Award from the Professional Businesswomen in California recognizing her work to advance gender equality in the workplace.

Morris serves on the board of Techbridge Girls, an organization dedicated to delivering high quality STEM programming to girls and is a member of the Bishop O’Dowd High School Board of Regents. She is also a member of the BetterUp Advisory Growth Council, a group of leading business, academic and HR experts shaping the future of work.  She previously served on the boards of A Better Chance; the Math Engineering and Science Association at the University of California at Berkeley; Consortium for Graduate Study in Management; and the East Bay Agency for Children.

Morris joined Chevron through the Human Resources Development Program in 1991. She earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Davis, and a master’s degree in business administration from Boston University.

Laura Watt

Laura joined Diageo as the Human Resources Director, Diageo Business Services in September 2017 and was appointed as the EVP for HR, North America in January 2020.

Laura has 25 years of experience in Human Resources and Transformation leadership roles within CPG organisations and business consulting.

Prior to Diageo she spent 6 years with SABMiller leading organisational transformation for several global operating model projects. Laura started her career with Accenture where she spent 15 years in both South Africa and the UK developing and implementing a variety of transformation and organisational change programmes for global and regional organisations.

Laura is South African born but left SA in 1999 and has since lived in London, Switzerland and now New York.

Melanie Simpson

Melanie Simpson is responsible for partnering to establish and drive Microsoft’s people priorities across Microsoft’s US subsidiary based in Bellevue WA. As a member of the extended HR Leadership team at Microsoft she plays a role in shaping Microsoft’s people agenda to support the business’ growth and culture objectives.

Melanie returned to Microsoft in February 2019 and had a number of Human Resource Leadership roles partnering with product and go to market teams across 2008-2016, most recently in 2019 she led the people priorities across the Cloud + Artificial Intelligence Platform, with a focus on the Business Applications Group as well as Global Development Centers in Boston, China, India and Israel.

Prior to returning to Microsoft, Melanie was the Group Executive People Experience Leader for ME Bank, a Digital Bank based in Melbourne Australia, and Executive Vice President Human Resources for Ellie Mae Inc, a Fintech based in California. In both these roles she was responsible for the People, Organizational and Culture strategy for these businesses partnering with the CEO and Senior Leadership Teams.

Melanie has also held HR leadership roles at GE based in Connecticut, Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore and Melbourne, where she drove engagement strategies, people and organizational strategies. She began her career in Engineering (Chemical) with GE Plastics in both manufacturing, supply chain and IT roles.

Melanie holds a Bachelor of Chemical Engineering (Hons), from The University of Melbourne and post graduate studies in Human Resources at Swinburne University, Melbourne.

Gena Smith

Gena Smith is the Senior Vice President of Human Resources and Head of Global Executive & Creative Recruitment for LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton.  A highly experienced human resources executive, Gena ensures that LVMH is best in class at selecting, developing, and retaining senior executive and creative talent.  During her tenure with LVMH she has helped to further develop talent at all levels of the organization, including through attracting accomplished senior-level executives, instituting learning and development programs to prepare executives to meet business needs, and promoting mobility for high performing executives across the LVMH brands.  She led the first ever Diversity & Inclusion initiative for LVMH launching it across North America in 2012.  She has also led the Group’s regional gender diversity initiative, EllesVMH which included the Regional CEO’s signing of the UN Women’s Empowerment Principles.

Prior to joining LVMH in September 2011, Gena was Global Managing Director at Karen Harvey Consulting, where she led the luxury & retail executive recruitment practice worldwide. She previously spent 10 years as an executive search consultant at Russell Reynolds Associates and Ray & Berndtson, working with many leading retail, luxury and consumer brands. Her earlier experience included several years in International Education.

Gena holds a Bachelor’s degree in International Business.  She also studied French, Greek and Mandarin.

She currently resides in New York City with her husband Carlton Smith and two children, Madeline and Gage.  She is a Board Member of Tiffany & Co, Gabriela Hearst, and Runway of Dreams.

Rodrigo Puga

Rodrigo Puga is an executive with more than 23 years of experience at Pfizer, leading high-performance teams and implementing new and successful business models in different markets.

Rodrigo was appointed as VP, Global Talent Solutions on January 1st, 2021. As part of the HR leadership team, he is responsible to develop and lead the talent strategy for Pfizer including recruiting, growth, performance, diversity, equity and inclusion among other key HR initiatives.

In his previous role, he was VP, Global Marketing Cardiovascular and Global Brands, where he led the global marketing function for Pfizer’s Internal Medicine in line portfolio, including Eliquis, the N°1 small molecule in the pharmaceutical industry in alliance with BMS.

Prior to his headquarters experience, Rodrigo was the Country Manager in Mexico, Colombia and Peru/Bolivia.

He began his professional career in 1997 with Pfizer Argentina as a Trainee. From then until 2012, he worked in different commercial and finance positions in Argentina and Chile, which allowed him to acquire a vast experience and knowledge of the business.

Rodrigo is from Argentina and has a Bachelor´s in Business Administration from the Catholic University in Buenos Aires. In addition, he has an MBA from the Universidad de los Andes in Chile, where he received the recognition for Best Academic Performance.

Lars Minns

Lars N. Minns is the Chief Human Resources Officer of North America for Mercedes-Benz, with responsibility for the USA, Canada, and Mexico. He leads the organization in designing and implementing HR strategies that directly align with the company’s strategic objectives related to the marketing, sales, distribution, and customer service for all Mercedes-Benz products in the region.

He and his team played a pivotal role in the company’s transition from New Jersey to Georgia, including the successful onboarding of 300+ new hires since his arrival in March 2015. This included the largest single year of hiring in the company’s 50+ year history. He is now poised to lead one of the world’s most admired brands through a large-scale transformation.

Prior to joining MBUSA, he served as the Senior Manager of Talent Acquisition for The Home Depot’s Home Services division, commonly referred to as the “Do it for me” business. He led his team in executing talent acquisition strategies for the company’s fastest-growing business segment.

Lars spent 10 years with The Home Depot and served in roles of increasing responsibility. Most notably serving as the Senior Manager of Talent Management for Operations, Services, Finance, and IT. He led all facets of Talent Management and supported those business areas in several efforts aimed at increasing overall operational efficiencies. He supported the company’s Supply Chain from 2010-2012, where his talent management and consulting skills were dedicated to the logistics side of the retail business. His primary responsibilities included: talent assessment, selection, development, and succession planning.

Early in his tenure with the company, he led the design and execution of the company’s executive coaching program, the CEO’s merchandising and USA retail focus groups, various exposure and leadership development programs, along with other enterprise-wide initiatives.

Before joining The Home Depot, Lars held various roles in IT consulting, sales, and recruiting during the “.com” and “Y2K” eras.

He is a current board member of SHRM-Atlanta and Page Turners Make Great Learners.

Lars is a sought after presenter and facilitator and spends considerable time communicating the importance of cultivating the right talent for business success.

Maria Lucila Cuello

Maria Lucila Cuello is the Chief People Officer, KFC Latin America & the Caribbean for YUM! Brands where she leads human capital strategy for more than 35,000 employees and Franchise associates across 40 countries in the region. In this role she has developed and implemented an in-depth end-to-end HR consulting framework for Franchise partners and has helped increase employee engagement levels at both the restaurant and corporate level. Prior to joining YUM! Brands, Lucila held roles of increasing responsibility at country, region and global level within Kraft Foods and its eventual successor Mondelez International in three different countries over the course of 16 years.

Angela Santone

Angela Santone oversees AT&T’s global human resources strategy, which supports employees across four business units around the world. She leads a team of HR experts who are rethinking talent development practices, total rewards and benefits programs, and culture initiatives to engage employees of an evolving modern media company.

Santone was appointed to this role after serving as Chief Administrative Officer for AT&T, where she managed initiatives tied to the Office of the Chairman and the Board of Directors. She was previously Executive Vice President and Global Chief Human Resources Officer for Turner, where she led a global HR strategy aligned to Turner’s portfolio of brands and businesses – and developed and engaged top talent around the world. Her executive oversight included talent acquisition and retention, learning and development, employee engagement, workplace culture, wellness, corporate responsibility, diversity & inclusion and succession planning and global security.

She joined Turner in 2001 and has held several positions within the HR organization at Turner. Previously as senior vice president, human resources, Santone was responsible for the HR strategy and support for Turner’s corporate division. As such, she was pivotal in leading an integrated talent management strategy to grow high potential talent and increase engagement. Throughout her career at Turner, she has served as a key human resources partner to leaders across Turner’s entertainment, sales and corporate divisions. Prior to Turner, Santone was the education/documentation manager and HR generalist for S2 Systems, Inc.

A 2018 HR Hero Award recipient, Santone has been recognized as a top human resources leader by the “Atlanta Business Chronicle.” Continually active in the community, Santone is a Southwest Trustee for the Boys and Girls Club of America, and a member of the Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta’s Hope Circle. She’s also a former board member for the Atlanta nonprofit organization Cool Girls, the Emma L. Bowen Foundation for Minority Interests, Atlanta Jumpstart for Young Children, and the American Heart Association Metro Atlanta Heart Walk. Additionally, she serves on the national board for Women in Cable Telecommunications (WICT) as the head of the Governance Committee and the Florida State University Seminole Torchbearers, and was the previous chair for the Atlanta CHRO Leadership Summit. A former mentor for WICT’s Southeast Chapter Agnes Scott mentor program and executive sponsor for Turner Women Today’s mentoring program, Santone has a passion for fostering women in the industry.

Santone earned an undergraduate degree from Florida State University and a master’s degree in counseling from Troy University. She is a 2010 graduate of the Pathbuilders Achieva class and Class XXII fellow for WICT’s Betsy Magness Leadership Institute. She is a certified facilitator for the Benchmark 360 assessment by the Center for Creative Leadership and a qualified facilitator for the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI).

Eric Severson

Eric Severson is Chief People & Belonging Officer at Neiman Marcus. For more than two decades, Eric has built evidence-based systems to manage talent and drive organizational performance, enabling companies to differentiate their employment brands and drive competitive advantage through talent.

Some of the people innovations Eric has implemented include GPS, the Fortune 500’s first performance management system based on mindset psychology and neuroplasticity; the largest implementation of the Results Only Work Environment in retail; the first publication of gender pay statistics by a Fortune 500 corporation; and the establishment of Belonging as a next-generation Diversity/Equity/Inclusion capability.

Prior to Neiman Marcus, Eric was Chief People Officer at DaVita Inc. and Co-CHRO at Gap Inc., and held positions as SVP of HR for Gap, VP of HR for Gap Inc. Outlet, Head of Diversity & Inclusion, and Director of Employee Relations. Prior to Gap, Eric spent 8 years at Macy’s in various HR and operations roles.

Eric’s public service roles have bridged the public, private, and non-profit sectors. In 2014, Eric was appointed by U.S. Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker to a 2-year term on the National Advisory Council on Innovation & Entrepreneurship (NACIE). For nearly 20 years, Eric has served as a Director on the boards of various organizations, including HR People + Strategy; Society for Human Resource Management Executive Council; The Felton Institute; La Napoule Art Foundation Advisory Board; and the IM Human Advisory Board.

Eric’s work has been featured in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Business Week, Washington Post, Huffington Post, HR Magazine, HR Executive Magazine, and People + Strategy Journal, as well as in the books Future Work, The Diversity Advantage, Pull: The Power of Magnetic Leadership, The True Happiness Recipe: How to Stop Your Job From Killing You and Create Work-Life Harmony Everyday, Why Work Sucks and What to Do About It, and Why Managing Sucks and What to Do About It. Eric has also appeared on the Living Corporate, Future of Work, Purpose at Work, Talent Talk, Build on Purpose, We’re All In This Together, Pop Health, Working Gratitude, and Celebration of You podcasts.

Eric holds a B.A. in English from Pennsylvania State University and an M.A. in English from Arizona State University.

Lesley Slaton Brown

Every day, Lesley Slaton Brown inspires and drives C-suite leaders to embed diversity and inclusion strategies across their organizations and demonstrate impact from the boardroom to the business unit. As an agent of change, she has the unique ability to disarm leaders to have difficult and candid conversations around diversity, inclusion and belonging.

Lesley strongly believes that “time for talk is over, time for action is now.” She has led key efforts to address the digital divide and build sustainable enterprise in Senegal, West Africa and is passionate about social impact and human rights.

Lesley served as the Principal Investigator for the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering (NACME) Computing Project and is the Co-founder of Curated Pathways to Innovation (CPI), a collective impact model focused on broadening participation and access for minorities and women in STEM education and careers.

Lesley was named one of the Most Powerful Women in Corporate Diversity by Black Enterprise, a Woman of the Year in Technology by Silicon Valley’s Chapter of National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Inc. and a Top Influential Woman in Corporate America by Savoy Magazine. Most recently, Lesley was named Diversity and Inclusion Champion of the Year by Girls in Tech. She is a highly sought-after speaker and has spoken on the mainstage of the Consumer Electronics Show and keynoted Silicon Slopes Technology Summit in Utah.

Lesley believes strongly in giving back to the community. She serves on the National Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Business Deans Roundtable and BlackComputeHER Advisory Board and is on the UC Merced Foundation Board of Trustees, where she served as the 2017 Commencement Speaker.

Lesley holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications from Boise State University with an emphasis in Marketing. She was a NCAA Scholarship recipient where she lettered in Women’s Basketball. Lesley lives in Morgan Hill.

Rob Chesnut

Rob Chesnut is General Counsel and Chief Ethics Officer with Airbnb, Inc., a $30 billion private global travel and payments company that operates an online marketplace and hospitality service for people to rent short-term lodging including homes, apartments and rooms, and to participate in local experiences. The company has over 4 million lodging listings in 65,000 cities and 191 countries and has facilitated over 500 million guest check ins.

Rob is a graduate of Harvard Law School and the University of Virginia. He worked for 14 years with the U.S. Justice Department, including 10 years as an Assistant United States Attorney in Northern Virginia. As a federal prosecutor, Rob ran the Major Crimes unit and prosecuted a wide variety of cases, including bank robberies, kidnappings, murder, and drug trafficking organizations. He handled the prosecution of CIA, FBI and other employees of the intelligence community for espionage, including CIA employee Aldrich Ames. He is the recipient of the Justice Department’s John Marshall Award for litigation, and the CIA’s Outstanding Service Medallion.

In 1999, Rob left the U.S. Attorney’s Office and moved to California to become eBay’s third attorney, handling a wide variety of litigation, IP and regulatory/compliance matters for the company globally. Rob was promoted to run the company’s North American legal division in 2001, and in 2004 he was promoted to eBay’s executive leadership team as Sr. Vice President of a newly created Trust and Safety department. As the founder and head of eBay Trust and Safety, Rob was responsible for overseeing all site rules and policies for the eBay global community of over 150 million users. Rob and his team built eBay’s fraud detection and prevention infrastructure, and his team of over 2000 employees reduced reported fraud and counterfeiting activity on eBay’s 20+ sites by 60% over 4 years. Rob was eBay’s spokesperson for site policies and fraud, and he was interviewed in over 200 television, newspaper, radio, and magazine stories for his pioneering role in combating Internet fraud. He left eBay in the fall of 2008 to become the General Counsel of LiveOps, Inc. in Santa Clara, CA, and moved to Chegg in 2010 as the general counsel and the company’s first lawyer. Rob set up Chegg’s legal department, and as a member of the executive team helped transform the company from a physical textbook rental site to a multi-service digital learning platform. He led the effort to take Chegg public on the NYSE in the fall of 2013, where it enjoys a market cap of over $4 billion.

Rob joined Airbnb in the spring of 2016, where he has grown the legal team from 30 to over 150 legal professionals in 20 offices around the world. His team leads initiatives to promote home sharing and address regulatory issues with local governments and landlords around the world. Rob developed a popular interactive employee program, Integrity Belongs Here, to help drive ethics throughout the culture at the company.

Lori Costew

Lori Costew is honored to serve as the Chief Diversity Officer and Director of People Strategy at Ford Motor Company. Her portfolio focuses on the company’s diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts to cultivate an environment where all employees feel a sense of belonging, while integrating DEI into the corporate strategy.

For nearly three decades Lori has leveraged her expertise across Ford in roles including marketing, UAW negotiations, Equal Employment planning, and organizational development. She also led human resources for the Lincoln Motor Company and the Mobility division.

Currently, the most important priorities for Lori and her team are to identify and remove the barriers impacting women and minorities while fostering understanding amongst all employees. This is integral towards Ford’s aspiration of becoming the world’s most trusted company.

She is also an accomplished author, writing two award winning novels that provide inspiration and tools against bullying. Lori has a master’s degree in human resources from The Ohio State University and a certification in executive coaching from the Hudson Institute.

Lisa Mulrooney Gross

Lisa Mulrooney Gross is an executive at Fitbit, where she has served as Senior Vice President, People since 2017. She has held leadership positions at some of the top global companies across diverse industries, including General Electric, Tyco Electronics, and Applied Materials, before moving into the healthcare field where her true passion lies, first at Bayer Healthcare, and now at Fitbit.

In partnership with the Board of Directors and Executive team, Lisa has stewarded a cultural transformation at Fitbit, focused on high performance, inclusion, accountability, and ownership, all while driving employee engagement scores up 20 points over 3 years.  She is a collaborator who takes pride in building positive, inclusive, high performing cultures where leaders and employees thrive, and are driven to do the best work of their careers.

Lisa holds a Master’s degree in Organizational Psychology from Columbia University, a Bachelor’s in Psychology from UCLA, as well as SPHR professional certification. She is an avid volunteer and philanthropist who has served as a five-year member of the Board of Directors for Girls Inc. of Alameda County where she currently serves as 2^nd VP and Governance Committee Chair.

Lisa is an outdoor enthusiast who can often be found kayaking, hiking, and trail running with her husband, three young-adult children, golden retriever, and of course, her Fitbit!

Mike Lauderdale

Mike Lauderdale is the Vice President of Human Resources for FedEx Services, the shared services entity of the world’s largest transportation company responsible for Sales, Marketing, Information Technology and Customer Service. As a human resources executive, he provides strategic direction to attract, develop and retain a highly talented global workforce. He is deeply committed to ensuring a diverse, equitable and inclusive culture where everyone can learn and thrive.

Previously, Lauderdale served as the vice president of FedEx Customer Technologies where he oversaw a consulting services team that designed, constructed and implemented customer technology solutions. He was also responsible for the development of large customer facing applications and senior level support.

Prior to that role, Lauderdale served as the director of IT Strategy, Planning & Analysis. In that position, he was responsible for the orchestration and implementation of leadership and performance initiatives, ongoing benchmarking and external research to ensure competitive superiority, and executive support of strategic initiatives.

Since joining FedEx in 1985, Lauderdale has experience in customer automation, revenue services and operations. He is a four-time winner of the FedEx Five Star Award, the company’s highest team member honor.

A native of Memphis, Lauderdale earned his bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Memphis. He is a member of the Board of Trustees for Memphis Museums, Inc. who oversee the Pink Palace Family of Museums. He also served as a board member for The Benjamin L. Hooks Institute for Social Change.

Jennifer Bouyoukos

Jennifer Bouyoukos is a savvy award-winning HR professional with more than 20 years’ experience in leading and transforming HR teams at high-performing companies, including Workbrain, SAP, Manulife, Kobo, and RBC. She is currently EVP, Global HR at Entertainment One and leads the HR integration office after recently being acquired by Hasbro. In these roles, Jennifer has partnered with leaders around the globe to deliver modern and high-impact people strategies. Her expertise in strategy, talent management, M&A, recruitment, and total rewards has made her a strong contributor and an advisor to leaders focused on effective people practices and processes.

Jennifer is one of 20 Canadian HR leaders recognized on HRD’s Global 100, the definitive list of the best and brightest people practitioners of 2021. Under her lead, Entertainment One received a Canadian HR award for Canadian HR Team of the Year (Fewer than 500 Employees) in 2020.

A certified Prosci Change Manager and HR tech pioneer, Jennifer is recognized as a global expert in her field by organizations such as LinkedIn, Forbes.com, and Socialmedia.org. She is a Forbes Councils member and advisor for companies in the HR technology space. Passionate about students and education, Jennifer is a past President of CACEE (Canadian Association of Career Educators and Employers), frequent guest lecturer at University of Toronto, and a mentor at Futurepreneur.

Karen Gathercole

Karen has M.B.A. in Finance and Accounting from Florida Institute of Technology, and over 21 years management experience in Human Resources. She holds certifications as a Professional in Human Resources (PHR), a Certified HealthCare Reform Specialist (CHRS), and a SHRM Certified Professional (SHRM­CP). Karen currently works for Satcom Direct, Inc. as the Vice President of Human Resources, a global telecommunications company headquartered on the Space Coast. Karen is passionate about sharing her expertise and was the Chair of the Human Resources Advisory Council for ICUBA- a Multi-Employer Welfare Association headquartered in Orlando, as well as the President for the South Brevard Society for Human Resources. In her spare time, Karen teaches Essentials of Management as an Adjunct Professor, is married to her high school sweetheart, and raising two girls. Prior positions include Head of Human Resource for Florida Institute of Technology, Director of Human Resources for AirScan, Employee Relations Manager for Coca-­Cola Enterprises, and Human Resources Manager for Sara Lee Bakery. Karen has received high praise for her management and communication style. Her generalist background combined with her CHRS designation led her to be a premier mentors in healthcare reform and a keynote speaker at the Employer Healthcare Congress and Benefits Summit. The Vice President for Student Affairs at Florida Tech stated she was the “best HR Director he has seen in over 33 years.” Karen’s passion for human resources led to her selection in a Florida Today article titled “Why resources are human,” which can be read at the following link https://www.floridatoday.com/story/money/business/2018/03/26/resources-human/33181975/

Katie Helton

Valerie Love

Valerie Love currently serves as the Senior Vice President Human Resources Coca Cola North America effective August 2019. Prior to joining Coca Cola, Valerie served as the Global Vice President Human Resources supporting Johnson & Johnson Consumer Supply Chain and Global Quality. Valerie also served as Johnson & Johnson Vision Care Worldwide Vice President Human Resources. Valerie joined Johnson & Johnson in April 2013 with over 20 years of Finance, Operations, Labor Relations and HR experience.

Prior to Johnson & Johnson, Valerie was the Vice President Human Resources at Tyco Integrated Security (Tyco International). While at Tyco, Valerie supported the Global Thermal Controls Division and Commercial Security operations.

Valerie started her professional career at General Motors and during her 20 year tenure she spent time in both local and international assignments (Argentina and Germany) where her levels of responsibility increased with each new appointment to include roles within finance, operations (manufacturing) and HR: global compensation, leading and providing overall direction and coordination of salaried HR activities for Sales & Marketing, Global Design, Global Research & Development and Strategic Initiatives; growing the talent base of both technical and leadership staff; providing HR consultation advice and support during the design and implementation stages of new facilities in emerging markets (key leadership role in launching Greenfield sites (startup plants) in China, Thailand, Poland, Brazil, Argentina and Tel Aviv, Israel).

At J&J Vision Care (JJVC), Valerie served as co-Executive Sponsor for JJVC African Ancestry Leadership Council (AALC) and Executive Champion for JJVC Diversity & Inclusion Council and she currently serves as National Co-Chair of the J&J AALC.

Valerie also served as a Board Member for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) North East Florida chapter, and currently serves as Board Member National Black MBA Association (NBMBAA) and is a member of the Executive Leadership Council (ELC).

In her spare time, Valerie enjoys running (has completed 3 marathons), reading, exploring different cultures and spending time with family.

Valerie has a BA from Tennessee State University and an MBA from Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee.

Julie Murphy

Julie Murphy serves as the executive vice president of People for Walmart U.S., leading the journey to become Employer of Choice for over 1.5 million associates across the United States, current and future. With the mindset that the associate truly makes the difference, she leads the charge to have great people in great jobs on great teams. Julie’s focus includes working with her business partners to drive results, investing in Walmart’s associates, and empowering them with technology — in the stores, distribution centers and in the home office including the merchandising, marketing and supply chain teams.

Julie began her career with Walmart as an hourly management trainee. As an advocate for her associates and customers, her Walmart career progressed from an assistant store manager to eventually the role of executive vice president for the Walmart U.S. West business unit – a $130 billion business.

Prior to her current role, Julie led the strategy, daily operations and format reinvention of Walmart U.S. Neighborhood Markets as executive vice president.

Julie’s passion for developing people continues to be a priority even outside her current Walmart U.S. responsibilities. She is a mentor and sponsor for growing leaders as well as a member of the board of directors for the Walmart Foundation, a member of Walmart’s Women’s Officer Caucus, and the executive sponsor for the Women’s Resource Community.

Julie holds a degree in marketing and management from Missouri State University.

Lars Minns

Lars N. Minns is the Chief Human Resources Officer of North America for Mercedes-Benz, with responsibility for the USA, Canada, and Mexico. He leads the organization in designing and implementing HR strategies that directly align with the company’s strategic objectives related to the marketing, sales, distribution, and customer service for all Mercedes-Benz products in the region.

He and his team played a pivotal role in the company’s transition from New Jersey to Georgia, including the successful onboarding of 300+ new hires since his arrival in March 2015. This included the largest single year of hiring in the company’s 50+ year history. He is now poised to lead one of the world’s most admired brands through a large-scale transformation.

Prior to joining MBUSA, he served as the Senior Manager of Talent Acquisition for The Home Depot’s Home Services division, commonly referred to as the “Do it for me” business. He led his team in executing talent acquisition strategies for the company’s fastest-growing business segment.

Lars spent 10 years with The Home Depot and served in roles of increasing responsibility. Most notably serving as the Senior Manager of Talent Management for Operations, Services, Finance, and IT. He led all facets of Talent Management and supported those business areas in several efforts aimed at increasing overall operational efficiencies. He supported the company’s Supply Chain from 2010-2012, where his talent management and consulting skills were dedicated to the logistics side of the retail business. His primary responsibilities included: talent assessment, selection, development, and succession planning.

Early in his tenure with the company, he led the design and execution of the company’s executive coaching program, the CEO’s merchandising and USA retail focus groups, various exposure and leadership development programs, along with other enterprise-wide initiatives.

Before joining The Home Depot, Lars held various roles in IT consulting, sales, and recruiting during the “.com” and “Y2K” eras.

He is a current board member of SHRM-Atlanta and Page Turners Make Great Learners.

Lars is a sought after presenter and facilitator and spends considerable time communicating the importance of cultivating the right talent for business success.

Melissa Howell

Melissa Howell has been Senior Vice President, Chief Human Resources Officer, Kellogg Company, since June 2016. She is a member of Kellogg Company’s executive committee. Prior to joining Kellogg, Ms. Howell was Chief Human Resources Officer for Rockford, Michigan‐based Wolverine since 2014. Prior to Wolverine, Ms. Howell spent 24 years with General Motors where she led a team of 2,800 Human Resources professionals worldwide, supporting a global business at one of the top automotive companies in the world, and also among the largest public corporations. Ms. Howell joined General Motors as a Labor Relations Representative at its Ypsilanti, Michigan, assembly plant in 1990. Over the following years, Ms. Howell served in a series of key human resources leadership roles in Europe, Asia and U.S. leading teams on six continents across an array of functional areas. She was promoted to Executive Director of North American Human Resources in 2011 and subsequently promoted to Senior Vice President of Global Human Resources. Ms. Howell received a Master of Arts degree in Industrial Relations from Wayne State University and a Bachelor’s degree in Employee Relations from Michigan State University. Ms. Howell serves on the Board of Directors of Autism Alliance of Michigan and is a member of the School of Human Resources and Labor Relations Advisory Board at Michigan State University.

Ken Barrett

Ken Barrett leads General Motors’ Global Diversity and Inclusion portfolio including workforce diversity strategy, empowering employee resource groups, and fostering an inclusive culture that promotes diversity of thought, to help GM compete and win in the marketplace.

Since joining GM in 2012 as the company’s first Global Chief Diversity Officer, Barrett has introduced key initiatives resulting in increased diversity hiring, greater accountability through actionable metrics, and leveraged employee resource groups (ERGs) to support employees and sell cars among their respective constituencies.

As Ken says, “It’s not about counting heads, it’s making heads count”.

Barrett strives to set the bar high and is regarded as a thought leader and subject matter expert in global diversity. Under his leadership, Barrett returned GM to DiversityInc.’s Top 50 Companies for Diversity, along with garnering a number of awards including the #1 Diversity Council in the U.S. from the Association of ERGs & Councils, scoring 100 percent on both the Corporate Equality and Disability Equality Indexes, Global Diversity and Inclusion Leadership Award, ranking the Best of the Best Corporations for Inclusion, as well as best places to work for African Americans, Hispanics/Latinas, LGBT, Veterans, Native Americans and People with Disabilities.

Prior to joining GM, Barrett, a retired Navy Captain, served as the Under Secretary of Defense’s acting director of the Office of Diversity Management and Equal Opportunity in Washington, D.C., where he set the D&I agenda for 2.1 million military personnel. Prior to that, he had five years of award-winning performance as the U.S. Navy’s Diversity Director, where he achieved historic levels of minority and female officer additions and transformational work-life balance initiatives. Further, through his leadership, the U.S. Navy was selected as the Top Federal Agency by DiversityInc. For his efforts as lead of the Navy’s Task Force/Life Work, Barrett and his team were recognized with the Ted Childs Work Life Excellence Award by Working Mother.

A Worcester, Massachusetts native, Barrett holds a bachelor’s in political science from Holy Cross, a master’s in national security and strategic studies from the Naval War College and an executive master’s degree in business administration from the Naval Postgraduate School. Additionally, he was Navy’s Federal Executive Senior Fellow at Harvard University’s Olin Institute and a graduate of the Armed Forces Staff College.

Ken serves on several boards including Advancing Minorities’ Interest in Engineering (AMIE), National Organization on Disability (NOD), Families and Work Institute (FWI), Asian & Pacific Islander American Scholarship Fund (APIASF), New Detroit, Inc. and the editorial board of “Insight into Diversity.”

Fenella Chisholm

Fenella Chisholm is SVP and Global Head People & Organization for the Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research (NIBR).  In this role, Fenella partners with leadership across the 6000 strong global early discovery science unit to operationalize the Novartis People strategy in service of the vision to Reimagine Medicine and deliver better patient outcomes. In 2019 and 2020 a few key areas of focus for Fenella and team are shifting the culture toward “Inspired, Curious and Unbossed”; reimaging performance management to performance development; ensuring a robust and diverse talent pipeline; and building strategic capabilities to support the new, cool and soon-to-be-imagined science of the future.

Fenella joined Novartis in 2004 as Global Head Talent Management and Organization Development for Gerber and previous roles include Head Human Resources, Animal Health North America, Head Human Resources, OTC Europe, and Global Head Human Resources Global & Corporate Functions.  Fenella started her career as an Occupational Psychologist for Ford Motor Company before moving to Bristol-Myers Squibb where she held roles of increasing responsibility in HR in both a specialist and generalist capacity.  Fenella’s passion and leadership-purpose is to build sustainable organizations and help others grow and develop and reach their individual potential.

Fenella is a Chartered Occupational Psychologist and received a BSc in Mathematics and Psychology and an MSc in Occupational Psychology.  She is a British national and has lived and worked in the UK, US and Switzerland.  She currently lives in the Boston area with her husband, Aaron; two amazing daughters, Meghan and Madeleine and their dog, Marmite.

Melissa Harper

In this leadership role, Melissa is responsible for developing, transforming and executing global talent strategies that drive a high-performance culture of innovation and inclusion at Bayer.

Melissa brings her nearly 10 years’ experience at Monsanto, acquired by Bayer, to lead enterprise wide talent transformation. Through best in class operational capabilities and analytics, Melissa developed a global function at Monsanto responsible for attracting talent, development, ensuring an inclusive environment, shaping a digital culture, and delivering talent needs that align to strategic business goals and preparedness for the future workforce.

She has been recognized as a Diverse Business Leader and as a Top Executive in Corporate Diversity. Melissa began her career at Spencer Stuart Executive Search and later served as Senior Vice President of Talent Acquisition at Whirlpool Corporation and Wachovia.

Melissa is from Chicago, IL, and received her BA in Psychology from Roosevelt University, and her MBA from the Keller Graduate School of Management. She is on the Boards of the YMCA, Junior Achievement and the St. Louis Opera.

Allan Church

Dr. Allan Church is the Senior Vice President of Global Talent Assessment and Development at PepsiCo. He is responsible for setting the enterprise talent assessment and development strategy for high-potential identification throughout all levels of the organization, and strengthening the leadership pipeline via the talent review process. Along with leading the global strategy and execution of these efforts, Allan and his team also deliver 1-1 internal assessment and development to the top 200 executives in the company. In 2018, PepsiCo’s state-of-the-art multitier LeAD Program, which Allan has owned and championed since its design, was awarded the prestigious HRM Impact Award by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and the Society for Industrial-Organizational Psychology (SIOP).

Previously he held a number of VP positions in the talent management and OD areas at PepsiCo. During the past 19 years he has designed and delivered many of the company’s world class processes and tools including performance management, talent planning and review, employee surveys, 360 feedback, and several leadership competency models. Although he has spent the majority of his career as a Center of Expertise leader for the enterprise, he has also held the Corporate relationship manager role on two separate occasions leading the functional and Global Groups OD agenda in that part of the organization.

Allan joined PepsiCo in December 2000. Previously he spent nine years as an external OD consultant working for W. Warner Burke Associates where he designed 360-degree feedback and organizational survey interventions to support large scale culture change initiatives for Fortune 100 clients. He also spent several years at IBM in the Communications Measurement and Research, and Corporate Personnel Research departments where he worked on advertising insights and global surveys.

On the side he has served as Chair of the Mayflower Group and has spent 12 years on the SIOP Executive Board in various leadership positions. Currently he serves as Membership Services Officer for SIOP, and sits on the Conference Board’s Council of Talent Management and the Board of Directors for SHRM’s Executive Network HR People & Strategy. He is also an Adjunct Assistant Professor at Teachers College, Columbia University where he teaches Strategic Talent Management. He is on the editorial board of several journals including Industrial-Organizational Psychology, Consulting Psychology Journal, Journal of Social Psychology, Journal of Business and Psychology, and the OD Practitioner. He is also Associate Editor of the Journal of Applied Behavioral Science.

An active writer, he has authored seven books, 30 chapters and 150 practitioner and scholarly articles. His latest books include The High-Potential’s Advantage with Jay Conger from Harvard Business Review Press, and The Handbook of Strategic 360 Feedback from Oxford University Press.

Allan received his Ph.D. in Organizational Psychology from Columbia University, and is a Fellow of the Society for Industrial-Organizational Psychology, the American Psychological Association, and the Association for Psychological Science. In 2018 he received the SIOP Distinguished Professional Contributions Award in recognition of his sustained, significant and outstanding contributions to the field of I-O psychology.

Jenna Susanke

Jenna currently leads the People & Culture (Human Resources) function of the Latin America & Canada region for Phillip Morris International. In her role, she works with leaders in Latin America and Canada to shape strategies, processes, systems, and cultures that deliver organizational and talent solutions as PMI continues to accelerate its journey towards a Smoke-Free Future.

Jenna has built a global career spanning over 20 years across multiple geographies in the areas of organization effectiveness, people development and change management that she built by leading multiple transformations in companies experiencing large-scale business model and organizational change.

She started her journey in Human Resources working for Hewitt Associates where she held HRBP and specialist roles, including leading the design, development and execution of the talent management & development strategy for the Asia Pacific region, spearheading the focus on talent differentiation and focused development within the firm. Jenna continued her career in PricewaterhouseCoopers, where she helped lead engagements with Fortune 100 companies with specific focus on M&A transactions, operating model transformations, workforce planning, and change management.

In 2011, Jenna joined PepsiCo as Sr. Director Change Management for Global Categories & Functions. Her most recent role at Pepsico was Head of Talent Management and Organizational Development for Asia Middle East North Africa Region, where she led the integrated culture transformation for the region, based in Dubai, UAE.

Jenna received her Bachelor’s degree in African History and her Master of Science in Learning and Organizational Change, both from Northwestern University.

Jennifer Saavedra

As SVP of Dell Technologies Talent and Culture organization, Jenn accelerates business performance with leading edge strategy, innovation and signature practices across the talent and culture ecosystem including succession planning, learning and development, performance and career, surveys, assessments and culture strategies all powered by predictive, analytical insight.

Jenn joined Dell in 2005 and has held several roles in HR focused on organization design, talent management, HR business partner, analytics and culture. Prior to joining Dell, Jenn was a lead practice consultant for global clients across multiple industries.

Jenn is originally from San Francisco, California and currently lives in Austin, Texas.

Patrick Curry

Pat has been with the LEGO Group since 2012 and is currently the Head of Partnering & Operations for the Americas. In this capacity he serves as the People Operations lead for the LEGO Group’s Americas Hub in Enfield, CT, and as the Strategic People Partner for the Americas Market Group. Prior to his current role, Pat served as the People Partner for Latin America and LEGO Brand Retail, North America.

Prior to joining the LEGO Group, Pat worked at The Hartford Financial Services Group for 10 years.  He worked in a variety of functions including Group Benefits, Corporate Relations and Human Resources, where his highlight was managing The Hartford’s scholarships and internships for students from the city of Hartford.

Pat attended Trinity College in Hartford, CT where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Religion and his Master’s Degree in Public Policy. He lives with his wife and two children in Glastonbury, CT and if he’s not at work or at home, you’ll probably find him on a basketball court or baseball field, coaching youth sports.

Sharon Goodwine

Sharon Goodwine is an executive vice president of Human Resources (HR) at Wells Fargo, leading the Enterprise Talent team. She is responsible for a holistic end-to-end view of enterprise talent planning while she and her team ensure that we are well-positioned to meet the needs of today and the future by focusing on trends for talent acquisition, development, planning, and organizational effectiveness from a team member lifecycle perspective. The team also oversees the creation of talent-related products and tools.

Holding various Human Resources positions at Wells Fargo since 2000, Sharon was most recently the senior HR leader for Wholesale Banking. In this role, she and her team identified and capitalized on common advantage points, including talent intelligence, movement and development, diversity and inclusion, and long-term human capital strategies. Under her leadership, Sharon’s team successfully built effective partnerships with HR Centers of Excellence and line-of-business partners to leverage efficiencies, drive innovation, manage risk, apply metrics, manage annual processes, and develop implementation plans for business priorities.

Sharon has a bachelor’s degree in political science from Spelman College in Atlanta, and is a certified diversity practitioner through Elsie Y. Cross & Associates.

Active in her community, Sharon currently serves on the board for Freedom School Partners. She also regularly volunteers at her daughter’s school and with local nonprofit organizations. She lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, with her husband and two daughters.

Craig Robinson

Craig Robinson is Executive Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer for NBCUniversal. He reports directly to NBCUniversal CEO Steve Burke.

Robinson is responsible for defining and building a corporate culture that values diversity of backgrounds, talent, experiences and ideas across the company’s portfolio. He serves as the main liaison between NBCUniversal and key local and national organizations, collaborates with the businesses to foster an inclusive work environment, oversees the company’s eight internal Employee Resource Groups and co-leads the industry-leading Comcast NBCUniversal Joint Diversity Council.

NBCUniversal was recently ranked in the Forbes list of Best Employers for Diversity for 2018. Comcast NBCUniversal was also recognized by Fortune as one of the 50 Best Workplaces for Diversity, by DiversityInc as a Top 50 Companies for Diversity, and by LinkedIn in their list of Top Companies for 2018.

Robinson was named to his position in August 2011, having previously served from 2008 as President and General Manager of KNBC-TV, the NBC Owned Station in Los Angeles where he oversaw all aspects of the television station including news, sales and community relations.
Previous roles include President and General Manager of WCMH-TV, the NBC affiliate in Columbus, Ohio; Vice President of Sales for WRC-TV, NBC’s Owned Station in Washington, DC; and Local and National Sales Manager of KCBS-TV in Los Angeles. After studying Political Science at UCLA and a brief stint in retail sales and management, he took an entry level job at KCBS-TV (then KNXT-TV) in Advertising Sales and quickly realized that broadcasting and entertainment was where he wanted to spend his career.

Raised in the Echo Park district of Los Angeles, Robinson’s interest in public service was sparked at an early age by his parents. His Chinese-American mother retired after a long career in public service, much of it in support of low-income families through the Aid to Families with Dependent Children program. Robinson’s father was one of the first African-American consultants for the Fair Employment Practices Commission (FEPC), where he investigated allegations of racial, gender and age discrimination in housing and employment. Race, equality and civil rights were frequent topics at the Robinson dinner table and those discussions continue to inform and drive his commitment to diversity and inclusion today.

Chevalier Cleaves

Chevy Cleaves is the inaugural Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Lincoln Laboratory.  A four-time CDIO (Higher Ed, Industry, Government, R&D), Chevy is an experienced and transformational executive leader skilled in building and influencing coalitions to help further connect the application of Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) to an organization’s core strategy and goals. He has proven experience leading high-profile initiatives across national / international landscapes.  Chevy is an expert in optimizing best practices across large government and private sector organizations, enabling increased collaboration, innovation, and productivity. He helps leaders develop a clear vision of how to maximize D&I across employee and operations life cycles to leverage all talent, enhance performance and create a strategic advantage.

As the inaugural Chief Diversity Officer for the United States Air Force, Chevy was also a member of the Federal Senior Executive Service.  In this role, he was responsible for leading D&I transformation for the Air Force’s 500,000 uniformed and 140,000 civilian workforces.  This transformation included creating sustainable change while integrating visionary leadership with operational and talent management strategies / processes.

Chevy was previously recruited to become the first Chief Diversity Officer and to lead D&I from inception to implementation for an innovative Fortune 300 company in a highly regulated industry.  He partnered with the Board of Directors, CEO, Chief Human Resources Officer, Division Presidents, and the Executive Committee to create and deliver a transformational competitive advantage. His team’s efforts immediately improved benchmarking results while identifying markets where lines of business could be further penetrated to increase topline earnings.

Prior to this role, Chevy was nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate to lead the Air Force Academy Admissions Directorate, where the Superintendent selected him as the first Head of Diversity and Inclusion.  He worked directly with the Academy leadership team, Board of Visitors, Association of Graduates, Falcon Foundation, and Congressional leaders to identify, select, advance, and graduate the best and most well-rounded talent from every state in the nation. He presented his team’s tremendous results to the Congressional Tri-Caucus and the Military Leadership Diversity Committee, leading to widespread acclaim from senior Air Force and Congressional leaders.

Chevy retired from active duty after a career as an instructor pilot, commander, and airpower strategist, and was the lead T-38 Evaluator for the B-2 Bomber Initial Cadre selection process.  He played a critical role in the response to 9-11 as the lead Checkmate (USAF Air / Space Strategy Division) team chief, commanded a total force flying squadron and later as a Joint Staff division chief responsible for delivering Integrated Joint Special Technical Operations capabilities to unified commanders while driving formation of the Information Operations Career Force. Chevy has an MS degree in strategy and planning from the National Defense University, an MA degree in human resource development from Webster University, and a BS degree in basic sciences from the Air Force Academy, and is a Cornell University Certified Diversity Professional / Advanced Practitioner.  He is the recipient of multiple awards and decorations, including the Defense Superior Service Medal.

Celeste R. Warren

Celeste Warren is Vice President, Global Diversity and Inclusion Center of Excellence. As the leader for Merck’s Global Diversity and Inclusion Center of Excellence, she is responsible for working with Merck’s global leaders to advance and embed diversity and inclusion as a strategic approach to maximize business performance and create a competitive advantage.

Ms. Warren joined Merck in 1997 and has held numerous positions of increasing responsibility within its global organization.

Prior to joining Merck in 1997, Celeste worked for nine years in Human Resources at Kraft Foods, Inc. and General Foods.

She has been honored with many awards, including Black Enterprise’s “Top Executives in Global Diversity and Inclusion”, Savoy Magazine’s “Most Influential Women in Corporate America”, “21 Leaders for the 21st Century” and Diversity Global’s “Influential Women in Global Diversity.”

Celeste attended the University of Kentucky where she earned her B.S. degree. She received her Masters Degree from Carnegie Mellon University.

She is the wife of John Warren and the mother of two children, Christina-Celeste and John Steven, Jr.

Stefond Harris

Stefond began his UPS career in 1984 in the Missouri District as a part-time package handler. While in the district, he held a variety of operations and staff assignments before concentrating his focus on Human Resources. He served in all aspects of Human Resources as a supervisor and manager in the district before being promoted to Iowa District Human Resources Manager in 1996. He later held the same position in the East Bay District, Northwest Region Office, Metro Chicago District, and CACH.

In 2008, Stefond became the North Central Region Human Resources Operations Manager, and in 2011 was promoted to the Central Region Human Resources Manager. He held the same position at UPS Freight before joining the Supply Chain Group in 2016. In 2018, Stefond accepted the assignment of Vice President of Human Resources for U.S. Operations, supporting H.R. transformation efforts and planning and implementation of the H.R. operating model.

Later in 2018, Stefond was promoted to Vice President, U.S. Operations Human Resources, responsible for all facets of Human Resources activities including hiring, training, retention, employee relations, and wellness and safety for UPS’s U.S. small-package business unit, UPS Airlines, UPS Freight, and The UPS Store.

In January 2019, Stefond accepted the assignment of Vice President, Human Capital Strategy.

Stacey Calvert

After years as a practicing employment lawyer, both as a litigator in a national law firm as well as in-house legal counsel partnering with Human Resources professionals in the aerospace, technology, and manufacturing industries, Stacey Calvert took a new career path and moved into a Human Resources role.

She is currently Vice President, Human Resources for the North American aerostructures business of GKN Aerospace, part of a U.K.-based global engineering services and manufacturing company which traces its legacy back to 1759. Prior to this role, she was with a private equity-owned global industrial manufacturing business as Corporate Director of Employee Relations and Division Vice President of Human Resources and previously held other roles in the Legal and Compliance function within the technology and manufacturing industries.

Stacey earned her Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Alabama School of Law and has a Master’s degree in Organizational Management.

She holds the SHRM-SCP credential from the Society of Human Resource Management. Stacey has lived and worked in the Dallas, Texas area for the past 21 years.

She is married to Jim, a clinical psychologist and Lecturer at SMU, and has two teenagers.

Tiffanie Boyd

Tiffanie is the newly appointed VP of Human Resources for North America Retail where she will lead the talent and organization strategy for the segment. Her experience spans talent management, leadership development, HR transformation, organization design, change management, labor/employee relations and employee engagement.

Tiffanie joined General Mills more than 20 years ago as an Associate HR Manager and quickly accelerated through positions of broader responsibility in several manufacturing sites (Toledo, Covington, and West Chicago). She spent three years in the International Division of General Mills prior to relocating to Canada in 2006 to become the VP HR for General Mills Canada. In 2010, upon repatriation to the US, she was promoted to VP HR for the Convenience and Foodservice segment. In 2013 she was promoted into the VP HR role for the Supply Chain organization. Tiffanie was appointed to VP HR, North America Retail in July 2019.

In addition to her General Mills experience, Tiffanie also worked at Hewitt Associates (currently Alight) and has internship experiences at Blue Cross Blue Shield, General Motors Acceptance Corp, and Dow Chemical. She has an MBA and BBA from the Michigan Ross Business School and currently serves on the BBA Program Advisory Board.

Outside of talent and organization related work, Tiffanie’s passions include youth education and health & wellness. She dedicates her volunteer time to non-profit board work focused on closing the achievement gap. She is also a newly certified yoga sculpt fitness instructor. She is most proud of her thriving family which includes a 22-year marriage to Colbert and two teenage sons, Evan and Ian.

Mayank Bhatnagar

Mayank Bhatnagar is Executive Vice President, Human Resources of GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS), the $40 billion commercial aircraft financing and leasing unit of GE.

As head of HR for GECAS, Mayank is responsible for people strategy and execution and leads a global team. He is based in Norwalk, CT, USA.

Mayank first joined GE in 2002 at GE Capital International Services (now Genpact) and was their Assistant Vice President HR, based in India. He left Genpact in 2005 to join Novartis Pharmaceuticals at their HQ in Basel, Switzerland. Over the next 5+ years at Novartis, Mayank was in diverse roles, from leading HR for a Commercial BU to global leadership development. He rejoined GE in 2010 as Director & Head HR for GE Healthcare India and South Asia, where he led HR for his fast growing and complex organization comprising sales, marketing, manufacturing and technology.

He earned his bachelor’s degree in Engineering from NIT Tiruchirappalli, India and his post-graduate degree in Human Resources from XLRI School of Management, Jamshedpur, India.

In his free time, Mayank likes to read, travel and cook. He is involved in and is passionate about the education of girls, especially in developing countries.

About GECAS

GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS) is a world leader in aviation leasing and financing with 50 years of experience. The GECAS portfolio comprises a wide range of aircraft types including narrow bodies, wide bodies, regional jets, turboprops, freighters and helicopters. GECAS offers multiple financing products and services including operating leases, purchase/leasebacks, secured debt financing, capital markets, engine leasing, airframe parts management and airport/airline consulting. GECAS owns or services a fleet of over 1,900 aircraft+ in operation or on order, plus provides loans collateralized on an additional ~400 aircraft. GECAS serves ~ 250 customers in over 75 countries from a network of 25 offices.

www.gecas.com

Barbie Winterbottom

A strategic and insightful business leader with experience building healthy, people centered cultures and strong diverse leadership teams in fast-paced, goals-driven corporate environments. She has built and realigned HR teams to meet the needs of very demanding businesses both in start up and multi-national Fortune 500 companies. Her strengths and experience include, talent acquisition with expertise in high-volume recruiting and call center, retail, medical esthetics, healthcare, TV, IT and more, employee relations, executive and management coaching, talent management and employment branding/marketing. She has experience leading high performing agile HR teams across multiple locations, virtual teams across the globe. She understands the businesses. She supports and establishes HR practices and policy to help drive optimal people experiences, business goals, strategies and objectives. Known as a true partner to my business leaders, she has earned a seat at the table and she ensures HR and People remain a relevant voice, driver and strategic partner.

Pat Rowan

Since joining P&G in 1987, Pat Rowan has worked in a variety of Site, Regional and Global Human Resources roles within our Product Supply (PS) organization throughout the U.S. She earned her M.S. in Industrial/Organizational Psychology at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a B.S. in Psychology from Syracuse University. Pat is HR Director of Global Corporate Functions Product Supply which includes Human Resources responsibilities for Purchasing, Engineering, Quality Assurance, Manufacturing, Innovation Diamond Management, Supply Network Operations and PS Learning and Development. Two of the most exciting P&G initiatives Pat is currently working is Manufacturing of the Future and Product Supply Skills for the Future. Pat has two sons and currently resides in Cincinnati, OH.

Karla Younger

Karla Younger is the Vice President of HR Services for Coca-Cola Business Services North America where she is accountable for human resource services and transformation. She has been in shared services for over 18 years and has contributed to the Coca-Cola system for 25 years in total. During her tenure, Karla has launched Payroll Shared Services within Coca-Cola Enterprises’ Finance Shared Services start-up, led the North American HR Shared Services operations at launch, and contributed to the start-up of a multi-function Business Services organization within Coca-Cola Refreshments. She has a continuous focus on elevating the employee experience, improving efficiency and effectiveness, and delivering value to customers.

Angela Roseboro

As a 20-year Diversity and Inclusion, and Human Resources veteran, Angela Roseboro was recruited by Riot Games as it’s first Chief Diversity Officer to evolve and transform the culture of the company. Driven by the philosophy, be the change you want to see in the world, Angela has spent her career building and executing strategies that increase representation for women and people of color in leadership, ensure fairness and equity in process and programs, and that foster a culture that empowers employees to do their best work. Named as 25 Most Influential Black Women in Business by the Network Journal and 50 Out Front for Women in Leadership, Diversity and Inclusion, she has worked at such Fortune 500 companies as T. Rowe Price, Jones Lang LaSalle, and the Whirlpool Corporation. Angela received her bachelor’s degree from Roosevelt University in Illinois. A Chicago native, Angela is a wife, and mother of two daughters.

Machelle Williams

Machelle Williams has 24 years of experience in the Volkswagen Group of America.

Offering a blend of strategic and operational strengths, Machelle has worked to align the company’s diversity and corporate giving strategies with overall corporate objectives. During her tenure she has implemented initiatives that impact talent strategies, employee engagement and represent VWGoA’s commitment to serve the communities where they operate.

Under her leadership, VWGoA has been recognized by DiversityINC as a Top 25 Noteworthy Company and as a Best Place to Work by the Human Rights Campaign achieving a 100% score on the Corporate Equality Index several years running.

In 2017 she was recognized by the Washington Business Journal as one of the 25 Women Who Mean Business in D.C ; and by Network Journal as one of the 25 influential Black Women in Business. In 2014, The Rainbow Push Coalition honored her as an “Emerging Leader,” and in 2012 she was recognized as “Woman of the Year” by the National Association of Minority Automobile Dealers. She was also named by Savoy Magazine as one of the most influential black women in corporate America.

Machelle served as the Chair of the INROADS Mid Atlantic Regional Board from 2014-2017 and is currently serving on the INROADS National Board of Directors. She serves as the Co-Chair of the Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce Women In Business Council, and is the Vice Chair of Together We Lead, and initiative of the Washington Area Women’s Foundation.

Machelle received her B.A. from Drake University, where she majored in Magazine Journalism. She is the founder of Machelle’sVoice, an audio book narration business, and is the proud pet parent of two Boston Terriers Daphne and Lilah.

Laura Blythe

Laura Blythe currently serves as the Human Resources Leader for the North America Vision Care team. In this role, Laura leads and implements the regional HR strategy in support of the North America organization. She is responsible for strategic leadership to the business leaders with a primary focus in the areas of Talent, Organization Effectiveness and Culture.

Laura joined Johnson & Johnson with over 12 years of work experience, both within Consumer Package Goods and Academia. Laura was most recently with PepsiCo, as a Frito Lay HR Director in their Supply Chain. Prior to that Laura was with General Mills where she spent over 6 years. She supported multiple manufacturing sites and her most recent role was supporting the Global Innovation, Technology and Quality function.

Laura has a passion to leverage individuals’ strengths to coach and elevate the people and organizations she supports by creating effective, energized, Agile teams. She is motivated by driving collaboration and introducing new ways of working. She has been awarded for her robust experience in talent development and engagement. She is certified in Labor Negotiations and Change Management.

Laura received her Bachelor’s Degree in Human and Community Development and a Master’s Degree in Human Resources and Industrial Relations both from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Laura’s greatest passion is spending time outdoors. Laura lives in Jacksonville with her husband, Austin and two boys, Leo and Fitzgerald, and soon to be new daughter.

Kimmy Reinking

Kimmy serves as a trusted business partner to top executives at WWE with over 15 years of HR experience in Engineering, Financial, Government, Media Sports and Entertainment industries.  Kimmy has a talent for building strong relationships with business executives in order to establish people strategies and drive business results. In her three year tenure with WWE, Kimmy has driven notable projects to advance the HR function at WWE.  Specializing in HR strategy and organizational design, Kimmy also redesigned WWE’s annual performance management process and helped to build XFL’s HR function, an affiliate of WWE.

Prior to joining WWE, Kimmy spent 8.5 years with Bloomberg partnering with various businesses such as Bloomberg Government, Bloomberg Technology, Bloomberg Tradebook, Bloomberg New Energy Finance and Bloomberg Bureau of National Affairs.  During her time with Bloomberg Government in Washington DC, Kimmy acted as an integral member of the management team to provide input on the HR implications of strategic and operational decisions impacting employees at Bloomberg Government.  In addition, Kimmy spent 4 years at Lehman Brothers where she supported the Fixed Income Department.  In her final year with Lehman Brothers, she focused on the organizational design to manage strategic reductions in force for the declining business.

Kimmy received her Bachelor of Arts from Cornell University and she received her Master of Science in HR Management from Stevens Institute of Technology.

Jim Viola

Jim Viola is the SVP, Chief Human Resources Officer at Party City Retail Group, responsible for providing the leadership for all HR value streams and supporting a talent culture that drives the strategic business objectives of the company.

Jim has been a leader in the HR, Talent Management and Learning space for over 25 years. Prior to joining Party City, Jim was the SVP, Chief Learning Officer at Sleepy’s, and an SVP, Human Resources and Organizational Effectiveness for Saks Fifth Avenue. Jim’s prior experience includes over ten years as the Vice President of Human Resources at Lord & Taylor where he started his career.

Jim earned a bachelor’s degree in Psychology/Management from New York University and has certifications as an SPHR and Human Capital Specialist (HCS). He has received numerous awards for his efforts in building a diverse workforce from national and local organizations.

Jim resides in New York City and is an avid sports fan, golfer and all around competitor.

Rhonda Davenport

Rhonda Davenport is the Chief People Officer for Cain Watters & Associates (CWA).  She focuses on the design, implementation and execution of meaningful HR strategies to foster a company culture conducive of attracting and inspiring excellence.

Prior to joining CWA, Rhonda served in a number of HR leadership positions including both functional and business partner roles supporting multi-state and international businesses across public and private sectors.  With over 17 years of HR experience, she is known for her dynamic, business minded approach to HR.

Rhonda received a Bachelor of Science in interdisciplinary studies with an emphasis on human resources development from Texas A&M University.  She resides outside of Dallas, Texas with her husband, Bo and coonhound, Gracie. Rhonda enjoys bowhunting, CrossFit, and volunteering in her church.

Cindy Blendu

Although Cindy’s recent experience is in HR leadership roles, she has held several roles in other areas and beyond traditional HR. Cindy has diverse and hands-on experience in driving large scale change and transformation, including post-merger integrations, organization and operating model redesigns, and global systems implementations. Cindy’s career has been primarily focused in the technology, technology services, professional services, and healthcare industries.

Cindy is currently the Chief Transformation Officer and Chief HR Officer at Clearwater Analytics, a high-growth global SaaS Fintech company based in Boise, Idaho. Prior to Clearwater, Cindy launched Headpoint Consulting to support companies looking to accelerate growth and transformation.

Formerly, Cindy has held IT and HR leadership roles at Solera Holdings, Advantia Health, and CSC (now DXC Technology) with the common theme that these were all companies undergoing accelerated growth and/or transformation. These companies range from startup-mode to a global Fortune 500 company.

Cindy also worked at the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) for 10 years. While at BCG, Cindy led many large scale change efforts successfully and was BCG’s IT in PMI topic expert globally. While at BCG, she spent time as BCG’s Global Manager for Transformation / Accelerated Change. Before BCG, Cindy worked at Deloitte Consulting with a focus on post-merger integration projects.

Cindy holds degrees from MIT Sloan School of Management and Miami University (Ohio) and spent two years at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy.

Kate Reed

Kate Reed is the Chief Human Resources Officer of American Modern Insurance Group, a Munich Re company. Kate oversees human resources, facilities and internal communications functions. Kate began her career at the company in 2001. Starting in the Legal Department as the employment attorney, Kate has provided legal counsel regarding employment-related issues for all levels of management in each business unit. She also developed her skills in numerous disciplines by leading strategic projects in the areas of training, compliance and benefits, and organizational transformation.

She has served in leadership roles for the Compliance Council, Pension and Savings Committee, American Modern Women’s Network and Green Team Employee Resource Groups, American Modern Talent Council, AMIG University and the US Regional Talent Acquisition team. Throughout her career she has held numerous leadership roles in contribution to community and philanthropic efforts, including the Board of Directors for Insuring the Children, Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) for abused and neglected children, and the American Modern Charitable Giving Committee. Kate received her B.S. in political science from Ohio University and her Juris Doctor from the University of Cincinnati. She also holds a certification as a Senior Professional in Human Resources.

Kate resides in Mason with her husband Ken and daughter Annika

Patrice Dudley-Aviles

Patrice Dudley Aviles has led executives in Fortune 100 to success in areas of human resource strategy, organizational effectiveness and diversity inclusion. Spanning nearly 20 years in career management and executive coaching, Patrice has set the pace for change and established precedence in strategies for career success. Patrice’s valued expertise in human capital solutions and strategy defined her success in a variety of industries to include oil and gas, publishing, pharmaceuticals and most recently bio-technology where she is currently Head of Human Resources for Pharma Technical Operations North America and the Global Business Partner to the Drug Substance Biologics Manufacturing organization at Genentech. As an advocate of diversity and inclusion, her stewardship of women — in particular women of color — enables Patrice to serve as an advisor and mentor to many. She is led by a deep personal commitment to excellence in self and others and can be found working tirelessly to serve the call for those in career crisis. A 2008 recipient of “40 Under 40 ” by the Providence business news is a testament to Patrice’s work in industry. Patrice has also served as a board member of the Arts and Business Council of Rhode Island, Corporater – William Backus Hospital – Connecticut, past member of CARE New England Quality Committee, Year Up and past member of the Providence College Business School Advisory Council. Patrice holds a degree in Industrial and Labor Relations from Cornell University and lives with her teen-aged daughter Maya and their 4 year old Australian Shepherd Luna in the East Bay.

Nan Weitzman

Nan Weitzman is the Global Head of Talent for HP based out of Palo Alto, California.  In this role, she drives the strategy, delivery and operations associated with attracting the best and brightest talent in the world from interns to executive level roles. This includes workforce planning, strategic sourcing, organizational design and selection, talent scouting, university relationships, talent management and employer branding. Previously, Nan led talent for North, Central and South America where she was responsible for the strategy and delivery of talent acquisition, relocation, immigration and workforce management.

Nan is a results-focused Human Resources executive with significant experience in leading large, progressive regional and global HR talent acquisition teams.  She has extensive experience in human resource business transformation, talent assessment, succession planning, strategic organizational design and solutions across multiple industries for HP and other global, multi-national organizations and entrepreneurial start-ups.  Prior to joining HP in 2007, she held leadership positions at Knightsbridge Solutions (acquired by HP), Deloitte and PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Brandi Khoury

Brandi Khoury is currently the Head of Internal & External Resourcing – Americas for Shell Oil company. She assumed her current role in October 2018. The role (newly constructed in 2018) includes internal staff resourcing, external recruitment and the management of Shell’s contingent workforce. The role expands across Canada, the U.S. and Latin & South America. In her 23 years with Shell she has held roles in HR in the Business, HR in Country, Talent, Policy, Processes & Systems and now Resourcing. She has worked in a number of Shell’s businesses and led local, regional and global teams. Brandi joined Shell in 1997 from New Mexico State University after completing her Bachelors in Human Resources Management and International Business. Brandi is the Executive Sponsor for EnABLE, the persons with disabilities network in the U.S. Brandi is originally from Wyoming, went to school in New Mexico and worked in both Houston and Louisiana. Her husband also works for Shell and has a daughter at LSU and a son in 5th grade.

Tonya Hallett

Tonya Hallett is a human capital professional with more than 20 years of broad ranging experience in Human Resources.   Tonya is the Executive Director Human Resources, Global Manufacturing for General Motors where she is responsible for leading the people strategies to support the continuous dynamic evolution of where, how and why we manufacture around the world.

Tonya began her career with General Motors in 1996 and progressed through several different assignments in Labor Relations and field HR leadership positions, including an international assignment in Germany.  Prior to Tonya’s current role, she was the Vice President of Human Resources for TouchTunes Interactive Networks, the largest digital out-of-home interactive entertainment, advertising and music-related commerce network in North America.

She holds a Master of Science in Manufacturing Management from Kettering University and a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial & Labor Relations from Cornell University.

Tonya is married and a proud mom of 3 vibrant and thriving young men.  She enjoys supporting initiatives for enhancing educational opportunities for at risk youth, the Arts, and breast cancer research.

Elizabeth Musico

A bi-lingual and results driven Human Resources Executive Leader that values the sustainable impact of a business focused, accountability driven, and solution-oriented people agenda. Notable for the ability to lead change across functions. Highly focused with the ability to inspire strategic thinking to enable positive change while promoting the company vision.

Liz Musico is Vice President, Talent Acquisition for McKesson Pharmaceutical, a $208 B business unit of the McKesson corporation serving 700 M customers annually Ranked Fortune 7.

In this role, Liz is responsible for leading and overseeing the recruiting and selection services of people leaders and employees across the US and Canada. She also partners with McKesson leaders to ensure the talent acquisition strategy aligns with key business objectives.

Over her career, Liz has held positions at a number of global companies, including PepsiCo where she spent 12 years and served as an HR Executive who led HR teams to support National Sales and Operations. Liz also held senior HR roles at Towers Perrin and DHR International.

Liz received her BA at the UNIVERSITY OF DALLAS and studied abroad at the UD Rome, Italy Campus
Other notable education programs include:
Wharton – U Penn Executive Education Program
Dartmouth College-Executive Education-Tuck Business School ASCENT Multi-Cultural Women in Corporate America

Christine Krull

Christine “Chris” Krull is Head of Diversity and Inclusion and a member of the Diagnostics HR Leadership team for the North American Diagnostics division of Roche, headquartered in Basel Switzerland.

In her role, she consults with others across the Diagnostics organization to develop strategies that will increase diversity and inclusion within the business. This includes influencing workforce talent management strategies and workplace practices, and implementing corporate initiatives that have demonstrated positive impact on Roche’s culture, workforce diversity, and business performance. Chris has a passion for creating an inclusive environment where all employees feel a sense of belonging and purpose. She believes this kind of environment is necessary in order for people to contribute at their fullest potential.

Under her leadership, Roche Diagnostics has adopted a stronger and more focused approach on diversity and inclusion, the company has seen increased employee engagement and involvement. Through the organization’s seven Business Resource (BRGs) they have engaged nearly half of their employee population to be a part of the Diversity and Inclusion strategy. In addition, they have made significant progress in talent acquisition and development, building an inclusive culture, and leveraging the power of diversity and inclusion for business impact.

Chris has spent most of her nearly 20-year career at Roche in leadership roles providing oversight to operations, developing service- and customer-focused strategies, and championing inclusive leadership to build high-performing teams.

Chris has a bachelor’s degree in economics from Purdue University. She resides in Carmel Indiana with her husband and two daughters.

Jon Tice

Jon Tice is the VP of Global HR at IMMI. Under Jon’s leadership, IMMI began its global initiative “IMMI Serves,” which gives team members two paid days to volunteer at charitable organizations within their community. Jon is a certified SHRM-SPC specialist and holds a MA in Counseling. He is a work group member of the Indiana Economic Development Corporation through Governor Holcomb’s office in partnership with Slovakia. He’s written several books, including The Golfer’s Guide to Understanding & Loving Your Wife. His passions include continuous learning and intentional mentoring.

Erika Lance

Erika Lance is a distinguished leader with 25+ years of experience in Human Resources. Currently, Erika is the Senior Vice President of People Operations at KnowBe4, one of the fastest growing cybersecurity companies in the country. When she stepped into her role at KnowBe4 a year and a half ago, there were only about 400 employees; now there are 750+ and KnowBe4 is valued as a billion-dollar company. Erika ensures this hyper-growth organization continues to run properly while maintaining a unique and fun company culture. She has turned KnowBe4 into a philanthropic organization, highlighting at least one philanthropic activity every month. She has also championed the growth of inclusivity within the workplace by ensuring there is a focus on diversity in all aspects of the company, starting with hiring; resulting in a workforce of over 40% women, more than double the industry average. In 2018, Erika was awarded Tampa Bay Busines Journal’s People First Award for her countless contributions to the People Operations department at KnowBe4.

Prior to KnowBe4, Erika worked as the Chief Information Officer for Nationwide Title Clearing where she was responsible for all software development and infrastructure for the company. She also served as the Chief Human Resources Officer for Nationwide Title Clearing, where she was instrumental in the organization earning the Tampa Bay Business Journal’s award for one of the Best Places to Work for 4 years.

For the past 5 years, Erika has served as the President of the Center of Academics for Business Administration and Management (CABAM) at Palm Harbor University High School, which helps students learn practical business skills and earn industry certifications. She is also a published author who does work with local non-profits “Wordier Than Thou” and “Ink Slingers Guild”; both focused on supporting local authors.

Ina Lankenau

Ina is a senior HR leader with 20 years of experience leading and supporting cultural transformations for some of the most complex organizations in the U.S. including Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Cedars-Sinai Health Systems, Deloitte Consulting LLC, and The J. Paul Getty Trust.

At The Franklin Institute, one of the top science centers in the country, Ina is responsible for working with the CEO and senior management team and overseeing the employee and volunteer functions to cultivate exceptional talent and create an enlivened work culture to drive business performance. With 763,000 visitors from the region and around the world visiting The Franklin Institute in 2018, it is the most visited museum in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Ina received a BA from Scripps College and an MBA from Claremont Graduate University. She is certified in behavioral and personality assessment tools (DiSC, PDI Profilor), diversity management, as well as process improvement and change management methodologies (Prosci, Kotter).

Sandy Buchanich

Sandy Buchanich, SPHR, SHRM-SCP currently serves as the Vice President of Human Resources for Byrne Electrical Specialists. Sandy is responsible for facilitating organizational design initiatives to better align Byrne’s structure with business and customer needs. She has completely transformed the HR function by hiring a team to align HR to the Vision, Values, and strategic direction of the organization. More importantly she has aligned HR to carry on, grow, and emphasize the “Honoring Tradition, Pioneering Change” and “1 of 1” culture at Byrne. Sandy Buchanich has over 28 years of experience in the Human Resources field in a variety of industries and organizations. She has worked in large family owned businesses, such as Amway, smaller family owned businesses, such as Nucraft Furniture and Byrne, and also Fortune 500 companies, such as United Parcel Service, Kimberly-Clark, and Alcoa.

Sandy’s educational background includes a Bachelor of Science Degree in Communications, a Master’s Degrees in Labor Relations and Human Resources from Michigan State University, and a Master’s Degree in Organizational Communications from Western Michigan University.

Kymberlee Dwinell

Kymberlee Dwinell is the corporate director for Diversity and Inclusion for Northrop Grumman. She is responsible for the strategic direction, implementation, and alignment of the company’s integrated diversity and inclusion initiatives around the world.

Ms. Dwinell manages initiatives designed to foster inclusive workplace behaviors, create educational vehicles for expanding diversity knowledge, and develop employee networks and strategic communications plans for diversity. She has recently testified before Congress on the topics of Women Parity and Women in the 21^st Century Workplace.

Prior to her current role, Ms. Dwinell served as director, Diversity and Inclusion, EEO/Compliance, Corporate Citizenship, as well as Environmental, Health and Safety, as part of her center of excellence in Northrop Grumman’s Information Systems sector. She was previously director, Human Resources, of the former Information Technology sector’s Enterprise Infrastructure, Commercial, State and Local and Defense business groups.

Before then, Ms. Dwinell served as HR director for a number of divisions within Northrop Grumman’s former Mission Systems sector, including Surveillance and Reconnaissance and Information and Technical Services. Ms. Dwinell joined Northrop Grumman in 1991 and before that held HR positions with the National Rifle Association of America and Mobil Oil Corporation.

Ms. Dwinell holds a bachelors of arts from Wheaton College, Norton, Massachusetts, and has attended postgraduate courses at Cornell, Fordham, the University of Virginia, and the University of Michigan. She also holds the Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) certificate from the Human Resources Certificate Institute. She completed the advanced leadership program, Creating the Future at the Darden Graduate LEAD1NG One Northrop Grumman leadership program.

In addition, she is a certified coach for the Personnel Decisions International Profiler 360, is Myers-Briggs Type Indicator qualified, and certified to facilitate the Drexler-Sibbet Team performance model, Prosci change management learning systems, as well as William Bridges and Associates Leading Organizational Transition.

Modeane Walker

Dr. Walker is evolving the City of Houston’s approach to strategic workforce planning and organizational development with programs and experiences which highlight the skills and capabilities that are needed. She believes in and fosters a “People First” strategy – from creating talent-centric learning experiences to championing efforts that focus on the employee experience.

She has earned designations as a(n) SHRM Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP), Certified Public Manager (CPM), International Public Management Association for Human Resources Certified Professional (IPMA-SCP), Performance Management Innovation Certification (PMI), Strategic HR Business Partner Certification (sHRBP), Strategic Workforce Planning Certification (SWP), and Certified Technical Trainer (CTT+).

Dr. Walker earned a Bachelor of Criminal Justice and Master of Public Administration with an emphasis in Human Resources Management from Grambling State University. She also earned a Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Technology from Mississippi State University.

Valerie Fulbright

Valerie is a Human Resources executive with 30 years of HR, Community & Business expertise, in Manufacturing, Telecom, Healthcare, and Financial Services. Currently as VP, Community Engagement & Program Development, at First Home Bank in St. Petersburg FL, Valerie leads the banks community engagement and program growth activities. Before launching The Fulbright Method, her own consulting firm, Valerie served in an executive level at; Well Care Health Plans, GTE Financial, Truman Medical Center, and UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, TX. Received BA from University of Michigan in 1982 and her master’s from Webster University in 1993. Valerie is an experienced Certified Professional Coach (“CPC”). She is also a Senior Professional Human Resources, (“SPHR”) certification.

Dawn Frazier-Bohnert

Dawn Frazier-Bohnert joined Liberty Mutual Insurance in the spring of 2013 to shape the new office of Diversity and Inclusion. As Senior Vice President, Global Diversity & Inclusion Officer, Dawn is responsible for leading the design, development and implementation of Liberty Mutual’s diversity and inclusion strategy and programs. This includes enhancing employees’ D&I capability and skills, internal and external communications, metrics and measurements, benchmarking, external partnerships and the development of employee resource groups.

Prior to joining Liberty Mutual Insurance, Dawn was Chief Administrative Officer and Partner at Global Novations, a Korn/Ferry International Company, where she developed their human capital strategy and led their post-merger company culture-shaping efforts. Before employment with Global Novations, she was at The Gillette Company as Vice President, Global Diversity and Inclusion, where she developed and led their Global Diversity Strategic Plan. Dawn has also held HR leadership positions at Lotus/IBM, Fidelity Investments and Millennium Pharmaceuticals.

Growing up in an Air Force family as an Air Force brat, Dawn lived and traveled all over the world. She believes that these experiences helped her to develop the ability to be effective in most any culture. Building her cultural dexterity has enabled her to learn to navigate new organizations and to value and appreciate differences.

Dawn attended Mount Holyoke College and graduated from Boston University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Rehabilitation Counseling. She served on the Board for the Black Achievers Branch, YMCA of Greater Boston and was a volunteer Big Sister for over 10 years. She served as a member of the Women’s Network Advisory Board for the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce. Dawn is on the GK100 list of Boston’s 100 Most Influential People of Color, a list the Boston Globe reports, “showcase(s) minorities who are shaping the region across various sectors, including academia, business, health care, and philanthropy.” Dawn is also a four-time recipient of the Profiles in Diversity Journal Diversity Leader Award. She was awarded the Race Amity Medal of Honor in 2017 and recognized in 2017, 2018 and 2019 on the Black Enterprise List of “Top Executives in Corporate Diversity.”

Sue Wall

Suzanne Wall is the Senior Vice President of Human Resources. She first joined Chapters Health System as the Associate Vice President of Human Resources in January 2016, and was promoted to her current role in September, 2018.

Sue came to Chapters Health with over 15 years of experience in human resources, 12 of which were in health care. Prior to joining the health care system, she was the Vice President of Human Resources with St. Joseph Health System in Orange, California and was responsible for overseeing human resources, recruitment, compensation, benefits and payroll functions, as well as strategic development for over 2,700 employees at multiple locations throughout California. Additionally, Sue served as an instructor in Human Resources Management at California State University Fullerton-Extended Education.

She received a Bachelor degree in Management of Human Resources from St. Joseph’s College and her Master in Human Resources and Organizational Development from Azusa Pacific University.

Joe Pollina

Joe Pollina currently serves as the Director of Human Resources Operations at Tutera Senior Living. In his current role, he is responsible for the entire function of HR as it relates to recruitment, retention, and employee engagement spanning over 69 senior living communities across 9 states as well as the corporate headquarters in Kansas City, MO. In his previous Tutera position, as the Regional Human Resources Director, he was responsible for 29 Skilled Nursing Facilities and Assisted Living Communities over 5 states. Joe has been with the Tutera organization since July 2009 and has worked in several different HR positions over the last 10 years. His most memorable and greatest achievement took place while he learned nursing home operations, for the first time in his healthcare career, by working at a Kansas City Tutera skilled nursing home in 2014 as the Employee Relations Director. Doing so, it gave him key and valuable experiences of nursing home operations. More importantly, it gave him the opportunity to learn and see, first-hand, the struggles and frustrations that CNAs, Nurses, and Management teams go through while caring for the residents that they serve. Joe is now better poised with assisting nursing professionals with their concerns, in his current role, due to the great experience of working alongside with the people that he now serves.

Prior to Tutera Senior Living, Joe was the Regional Director of Human Resources at AseraCare Hospice & Home Health. While at AseraCare, he directed the implementation of HR initiatives and provided liaison between operations and human resources for the Home Health and Hospice divisions of this $2 billion national provider of healthcare services.

Joe started his professional HR career at Payless Cashways in 1996, which was where he made the transition from Assistant Store Manager to Regional Human Resources Manager. Payless Cashways was a national supplier of hardware and building supplies to both contractors and to do-it-yourself retail customers.

His initial love was to be a store manager, which is why he began his professional retail career at Montgomery Wards and later worked at a local grocery store chain. Eventually, he achieved his goal as the Store Manager of a Wal-Mart Vision Center in 1992 as he was chosen from a group of competing experienced vision center professionals to open a new store in Olathe, Kansas.

Joe speaks fluently in Italian since his parents were born in Italy and Sicily. In his spare time, he enjoys playing tennis, exploring different cultures, and spending time with family.

Joe has earned a Bachelor’s of Business Administration from University of Missouri – Kansas City.

Katie Spahnie

Katie is a Human Resources executive with over 15 years of HR and Employee Benefits expertise. Currently serving as a Vice President of Human Resources and Safety, Katie is focused on developing and implementing effective HR strategies to provide the best alignment of people and company’s mission, and to support a high-performance culture of delivering results through teamwork and effective leadership.

Prior to joining Midwest Industrial Supply, Inc. in 2017, Katie served as a Corporate Human Resources Director for ALL Family of Companies, the nation largest privately-held crane rental company with approximately 1,300 employees in the US and Canada.  There, having built the Human Resources function from the ground up, Katie was responsible for human resources policies and strategy, total rewards programs, employee relations, and delivery of business partner services.

Katie holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration, is certified as a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) through HR Certification Institute (HRCI) and a Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP) through Society for Human Resource Management, and is always looking for opportunities to learn.   Katie volunteers her time serving on the HR Advisory Board at the University of Akron, and the Board of Directors of the Goodwill Industries of Greater Cleveland and East Central Ohio.  Katie and her husband reside in the Cleveland, OH area and are parents of three adult children.  Katie enjoys reading, spending time with family and friends, and long walks with her three dogs.

Mary Flesch

Mary Flesch is a Regional Human Resources Director at Tutera Senior Living, a national long-term care corporation that owns and manages more than fifty skilled nursing homes. Mary has been with Tutera for three years, specializing in recruitment and retention. She has a Master’s in Human Resources Management from Indiana Wesleyan University, and is an active member of SHRM. Prior to working with Tutera, Mary served as an Assistant Executive Director with Meridian Senior Living. She has now been in the long-term care industry for more than ten years.

Andrew Suchoff

Andrew Suchoff has been with Stallergenes Greer since 2015, prior to the merger of the two companies and leads Global People Operations and Talent Development. He has over 25 years of experience, which includes living and working in US, Asia, UK and Switzerland. Over his career, Andrew has led HR in high-growth companies of 30,000 employees, built HR infrastructure, led key integrations of acquisitions and overseen dramatic cultural transformations. In addition, Andrew has worked in entrepreneurial ‘start up’ environments complimenting his experience in life sciences and consumer product global organizations.

Prior to Stallergenes Greer, Andrew was Chief HR Officer at inVentiv Health a leading global provider of clinical, commercial and consulting services. Earlier in his career, for 7 years, he worked at Serono International (acquired by Merck KGaA in September 2006) in a variety of senior HR leadership roles. Prior to Serono, he worked in both Financial and HR roles at The Gillette Company, for 12 years.

Samantha Rogers

Samantha started her corporate Human Resources journey at VIVO Cannabis Inc. and has been with the company for over two years. Samantha’s time at VIVO has afforded her valuable “in the trenches” experience in a multitude of Human Resources facets, all of which she now leads strategically as the Head of Human Resources Operations. She has grown with the company through two major acquisitions and will support the company from the people perspective as it expands internationally.

During graduate school Samantha began providing Human Resources consulting services to small business in her community, an impactful learning experience and passion that she still pursues today. Samantha earned her Masters of Industrial Relations and Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Queen’s University. She is an avid equestrian and spends as much time in the saddle as possible.