If you are an industry expert with years of experience and would welcome the opportunity to strengthen your reputation as a thought leader, we would love to hear from you.
Our Speaker Faculty is constantly evolving, for consideration or to nominate an industry leader, please call us at 416-829-6500 or email us at info@executiveplatforms.com.
Please check back as our speaker faculty is frequently updated.
As CDO, Lindsay-Rae McIntyre drives a multitude of existing cross-company initiatives to further Microsoft’s progress in building a diverse and inclusive culture. In addition to leading Microsoft’s efforts internally, McIntyre also plays a key role in building partnerships and working with leading organizations outside of Microsoft to help advance diversity and inclusion in the tech sector overall.
McIntyre joined Microsoft from IBM, where she spent over two decades serving as the HR leader for several business units over the years in key regions around the world. She most recently held the role of Chief Diversity Officer and Vice President of HR, leading the diversity agenda globally for IBM, and heading up the corporate processes to identify and advance executive talent. Her work and that of her team’s has been acknowledged through a variety of prestigious diversity-related awards.
McIntyre received a Bachelor of Arts degree with highest honors from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she was a Morehead Scholar, and graduated from the Cross Continent MBA Program at the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University.
She has been a thought leader for topics ranging from supporting working mothers, creating great places to work for multicultural women, LGBTQ equality, paid leave, and flex time strategies. She is also an advocate for people with disabilities, was a teacher for the Deaf, and taught American Sign Language earlier in her career.
McIntyre has spent over 20 years in human resources in the technology industry, living and working throughout the U.S. and overseas. She and her husband Stephen have three small children.
Kim Cockrell is chief human resources officer for Toyota Motor North America (TMNA), responsible for TMNA’s human resources (HR) function. In this role, she is responsible for contributing to successful team member engagement including Compensation, Benefits, Talent Development, Training & Learning, Executive Liaison, Strategic Planning Office, HR Technology, HR Analytics, HR Communications and Ask HR.
Prior to Cockrell’s current position, she served as vice president of Human Resources, Toyota Motor North America.
Cockrell joined Toyota Financial Services (TFS) in 2006, as HR manager for the company’s Eastern Customer Service Center (CSC) and, later, its Western Region and Sales, Marketing & Product department at Toyota’s national headquarters. In 2011, Cockrell was promoted to national HR manager for CSC Operations & Field Services, providing leadership and strategic direction to four HR teams responsible for providing guidance to all CSCs and various teams nationwide. She was also national manager of business readiness for the Core Receivables Program before joining the TFS service operations team in 2013 as the General Manager for service operations strategy, planning & support.
Cockrell began her career in recruiting, training, and development at Lehman Brothers, where she worked with senior management to develop strategies and created a continuing education curriculum for the company. She later continued with the HR teams at Yahoo, First Data Corporation, and BearingPoint Inc., where she held the role of HR manager.
Cockrell serves on the Southern Regional board for Step Up Women’s Network and is an active volunteer with Children’s Ministry at Fellowship Dallas Bible Church. She was recognized by Who’s Who in Black Dallas in both 2018 and 2019.
Cockrell earned her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, and her Master of Science in Counseling from Fordham University in New York.
Daniel Myers is currently a Senior Fellow at Haslam School of Business teaching as a guest lecturer for both graduate and under-graduate studies. He currently serves as a Senior Operating Executive for the Carlyle Group, one of the largest Global Private Equity firms and is on three company boards. He is the retired Executive Vice President of the Global Integrated Supply Chain of Mondelez International where he led the Procurement, Manufacturing, Engineering, and Customer Service & Logistics groups, which represent more than 70,000 of the company’s employees. Daniel held the same position at Kraft Foods Inc., the predecessor to Mondelēz International, since he joined the company in September 2011. The spin-off of the company’s North American grocery operations occurred in October of 2012. Under his leadership, Mondelez funded a major reinvention of its worldwide supply chain delivering more than $3 billion in savings over 3 years. He has extensive experience in investor management including representing Mondelez in the investor presentations at CAGNY and Barclays.
Prior to Kraft Foods, Daniel worked for Procter & Gamble for 33 years, serving in roles across all areas of the Supply Chain. Most recently, he served as Sr. Vice President, Product Supply, where he led the supply chain function for P&G’s Global Hair Care business. He was also responsible for coordinating the company’s $28 Billion Beauty & Grooming business. He had responsibility for P&G’s Customer Service and Logistics operations globally for four years and while in this role he led the integration of the operations of the Gillette company, a $56 Billion acquisition.
Daniel has strong experience launching new brands and building operations in emerging markets. He has over 25 years’ experience delivering winning innovation leading major global expansions. He has worked in 54 countries and lived outside the U.S. for more than 10 years. Daniel has mastery in the successful implementation of best practices including building High Performance Organizations and Lean Six Sigma. During his successful career, he has had responsibility for over 250 manufacturing plants and 400 warehouse and distribution centers.
Daniel received his Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Tennessee and served on the Board of the Global Supply Chain Institute at the University of Tennessee for over 10 years.
Daniel and Karen, his wife of 40 years, are Christians who have led music and youth groups for 5 churches in three different countries over a period of 25 years. They have been active in mission work helping support and build schools or orphanages in Venezuela, Romania, Nigeria, Kenya, India and Myanmar.
Ms. Hallett is a human capital professional with more than 25 years of broad ranging experience in Human Resources. Ms. Hallett is currently vice president, People eXperience and Technology (PXT) at Amazon, where she leads the PXT teams for WW Consumer Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Global Delivery Services, Global Specialty Fulfillment and Physical Stores. She enjoys supporting initiatives for enhancing educational opportunities for at risk youth, the arts, and cancer research.
Shammara serves as Vice President and Global Chief Talent Officer at McDonald’s Corporation. In this role, she is responsible for talent attraction, performance management, leadership development and organizational effectiveness. She’s been a part of the McFamily since 2017 and most recently served as Senior Director, Corporate Human Resources.
Shammara is an accomplished human resources professional who draws on her experience and passion for talent and diversity to create high-impact people strategies. In her role as Senior Director, Corporate HR, Shammara led McDonald’s corporate people initiatives for the global functions, providing leaders with support and advice for cultivating high-performing, agile teams.
Prior to joining McDonald’s, Shammara had a dynamic career with more than 12 years in human resources positions within the retail industry, including roles at PetSmart and Walmart. Throughout her career, she has built strong HR leadership experience in corporate and field HR, distribution, talent and diversity.
Shammara holds a dual degree in Psychology and Sports, Health, Leisure & Physical Studies from the University of Iowa. She also holds a master’s degree in Human Resources and Employee Relations from Penn State University. Shammara is committed to lifelong learning and development and represented McDonald’s in the 2018 cohort of the Leading Women Executives program.
Ramcess Jean-Louis is the Global Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer at Pfizer, responsible for developing and leading the execution of Pfizer’s enterprise-wide strategies to transform the company’s global diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) agenda. In his role, Ramcess is focused on creating the strategy, infrastructure and programs to ensure Pfizer’s internal talent reflects the society and patients that Pfizer serves. He advises People Experience and business leaders on divisional and regional culture and DEI roadmaps.
Prior to Pfizer, Ramcess was the Global Chief DEI Officer at Verizon Media and the Director of Workforce Diversity and Inclusion at Comcast NBCUniversal. Earlier in his career, he served as an Assistant District Attorney in the NYC District Attorney’s Office. He also served as the Chief Human Resource Officer at SPIN, an organization dedicated to securing employment opportunities and full inclusion for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Outside of work and family, he is on the Board of Directors of Turning Points for Children, a non-profit that provides adoption and foster care services to children at risk.
Ramcess holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial and Labor Relations from Cornell University and a Juris Doctorate (JD) from Columbia School of Law.
Sara Bowen is vice president of Global Equity, Diversity & Inclusion and Employee Listening & Organizational Research at The Boeing Company.
Sara is responsible for developing and executing the company’s global strategy on equity, diversity and inclusion, ensuring Boeing fulfills its promise of equal opportunity, and strengthening a culture of belonging. She also leads the Employee Listening and Organizational Research team, which harnesses the power of employee voice to drive business excellence.
Prior to joining Boeing, Sara was the global leader of inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility for Starbucks. She spearheaded Starbucks’ pay equity efforts, culminating in the company’s 2018 announcement of achieving 100 percent pay equity for women, men and people of all races performing similar work in the U.S.
Sara earned her Bachelor of Science degree from Northwestern University and her law degree from Stanford Law School.
Christopher Shryock serves as Sam’s Club’s Senior Vice President and Chief People Officer. In this role, he oversees all aspects of human resources for Sam’s Club and is responsible for attracting, developing, rewarding, and retaining talent as well as building a diverse and inclusive organization.
Prior to Sam’s Club, Christopher spent nearly 14 years at PepsiCo in a variety of global HR leadership roles in Plano, Texas; Geneva, Switzerland; Moscow, Russia; Dubai, United Arab Emirates; and New York. Most recently, he was senior vice president of human resources for the PepsiCo Foods North America sector’s Commercial organization where he led the HR agenda across the sales, marketing, and strategy and transformation organizations.
Christopher earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from Xavier University (OH) and a Master of Arts in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from Hofstra University.
As Chief People & Organization (P&O) Officer of Novartis, Rob Kowalski leads the company’s strategy to unleash the power of its people and ensure it has the diverse talent, skills and organizational capabilities to deliver on its long-term priorities and purpose as a focused medicines company.
Rob is passionate about fostering an Inspired, Curious and Unbossed culture that drives innovation and performance, and ultimately impacts how Novartis reimagines medicine for patients. Since taking his current position in 2021, he has played an instrumental role in implementing a new structure and operating model designed to support the company’s next phase of innovation and growth.
“Through the work we do in P&O, we have an impact on shaping our organization and fostering a culture that influences the way we learn together, the way we grow, the way we challenge and build on each other’s ideas and the way we empower our people to reach their individual and collective potential. Our culture is our catalyst to innovation that fuels our purpose.”
As part of his strategic focus on culture, Rob is committed to creating a diverse, equitable and inclusive environment where all employees can fully apply their talents and energies. He is responsible for delivering on the company’s pledge to the United Nations (UN) Equal Pay International Coalition to achieve gender balance in management and further improve pay equity and transparency processes by 2023.
Known for his skill in building and leading diverse organizations, Rob draws on 30 years of experience in regulatory affairs and drug development roles in the pharmaceutical industry and has led teams to successfully develop and register dozens of new medicines. Prior to his current role he was Global Head of Regulatory Affairs for Novartis. He holds a Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, US.
Outside of Novartis, Rob loves spending time with family and friends and enjoys all kinds of outdoor activities with his wife and two children, including water sports and skiing.
Joan McGrail is a proven Human Resources executive with extensive experience in all facets of the department. She assumed her current role, Chief Human Resource Officer for New Balance Athletics, Inc., in May of 2020 and currently oversees all global HR operations for the company’s 7,500 worldwide employees.
Joan is responsible for leading her team’s strategic HR planning and execution, with particular focus on diversity and inclusion; organizational effectiveness; talent development; culture enrichment, and HR operation data and analytics. She promotes agility and innovation, striving to unlock new ways of working that will transform the organization. Additionally, she is a member of New Balance’s senior leadership team, which is responsible for the creation and implementation of a corporate strategy for the more than $4 billion business.
Before accepting her current role, Joan served as the Vice President of Global Human Resources for New Balance beginning in 2014, earning the title after nearly a decade of driving change as an integral member of the NB HR Leadership Team. Prior to New Balance, she held human resources roles at Helix Technology, Fidelity Investments, and Hitachi Data Systems. She earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the Lesley University in Cambridge.
Joan is a member of Boston’s CHRO Governing Body; a Women Unlimited graduate and member of the organization’s alumni group; executive council member of The Partnership and a member of The Boston Club.
Andre Joyner is the senior vice president, chief human resources officer at JCPenney. Andre is responsible for the development and execution of strategic human capital decisions and leads the Company’s human resources functions.
Andre brings more than 20 years of innovative human resources and management experience in retail, health care, and consumer packaged goods industries. Most recently, Andre served as the senior vice president, head of human resources at Victoria’s Secret where he led the brand through its most significant organizational transformation. Earlier in his career, he held HR leadership roles at Merck & Co. and Pepsi-Cola Bottling Group.
Andre holds a Master of Human Resources and Industrial Relations and a Bachelor of Arts in sociology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Committed to lifelong learning through ongoing education, Andre holds designations as a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and Society for Human Resource Management Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP)
Jennifer Weber is chief human resources officer and chief diversity officer for ADM and a member of the company’s Executive Council. In this capacity, she oversees all human resources functions for ADM’s global workforce of more than 38,000, including the company’s global activities to support diversity and inclusion.
Weber has an extensive record of strong human resources leadership and strategic management, leading companies during times of significant transformations, mergers and acquisitions, and growth initiatives. Prior to joining ADM in 2020, she served as executive vice president of human resources at Lowe’s Companies, where she drove strategic efforts spanning talent acquisition, development, culture and broad-based business transformation. She also led human resources for companies including Scripps Networks and Duke Energy, and began her career in HR at Towers Perrin (now Willis Towers Watson), where she became managing principal of the firm’s Cincinnati office.
Weber is active in community and volunteer groups and serves as the 2020 board chair for the Charlotte Regional Business Alliance. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Miami University in Ohio, and a master’s degree from Carnegie Mellon University.
With over 20 years managing human resources from revenue-generating commercial businesses to vast global servicing organizations, Kim has a demonstrated ability to architect transformation, forge connections, deliver insights and link talent to strategy. Kim is a trusted advisor and thought partner and has successfully built world-class business teams across different industries, functions, geographies and environments. She is a leader with people operations expertise and ensures that the employee side of the business equation enables execution of strategic objectives.
Kim wholeheartedly believes that talent, leadership and culture are the keys to successful businesses. Therefore she focuses on the quality of the talent in the business, the culture being created, the effectiveness of programs and policies, workforce dynamics, change strategy and inclusive leadership, among other key levers. A lifelong curiosity about what makes people join, perform, contribute, stay and elevate has made her a valued partner to senior leaders who understand that strong talent and the right culture are the ultimate competitive advantages.
Kim’s expertise is rooted in strong business acumen and forward-thinking HR strategies in the areas of talent assessment, succession planning, organizational design, performance management, labor relations, benefits, acquisitions, divestitures and coaching. Kim is often asked to speak to a variety of audiences globally on all of these topics as well as her personal leadership philosophies.
Kim joined Etsy to drive global strategy in all areas that impact the company’s talent. She oversees all aspects of the company’s human capital plan, with a strong emphasis on talent, leadership, diversity and organizational effectiveness.
Prior to joining Etsy, Kim served as Chief People Officer at WW where she developed and delivered impactful human capital strategies.
Prior to WW, Kim held successively progressive roles at American Express, Home Depot and General Electric.
Kim currently serves on the Board of Directors of RHR International and the Board of Trustees for Fisk University, a Historically Black
College/University. She has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Entrepreneur.com, Forbes.com, and Bloomberg and speaks on
Leadership and Culture globally.
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.
Stephane Charbonnier is Senior Vice President of Human Resources and Chief Human Resources Officer for L’Oréal USA, as of February 2017.
In this role, Mr. Charbonnier is responsible for driving leadership and learning initiatives, developing talent and building an HR team with an “employee first” approach. He serves on the L’Oréal USA Strategic Committee and Human Resources Management Committee and reports to L’Oréal USA President and Chief Executive Officer, Frédéric Rozé and Executive Vice President of Human Resources, Jérôme Tixier.
Charbonnier is a solution-oriented leader with proven success building and leading multi-disciplinary HR teams within dynamic organizations. In 2013, he joined L’Oréal USA as the Vice President of Human Resources for the Company’s Consumer Products Division. Under Charbonnier’s leadership, his team supported digital transformation with the redesign of the Marketing and Integrated Marketing Communications teams and successfully integrated employees from NYX and the Multi-Cultural Beauty Division, which includes brands such as Carol’s Daughter and Softsheen-Carson. Prior to joining L’Oréal USA, he worked more than two decades in key HR leadership positions at Towers Watson, PepsiCo, Kraft Foods, American Express and McDonalds in Europe and in the United States.
Shane A. Yount is a nationally recognized thought leader, author, and President of Competitive Solutions, Inc. (CSI), an international Business Transformation consulting firm which pioneered the acclaimed organizational development system known as Process Based Leadership®. Since 1991 he has led the offices of CSI in becoming one of the nation’s most recognized Business Transformation consulting firms, personally working with such organizations as The Department of Defense, 3M, Colgate Palmolive, Bristol Meyers Squibb, and many others.
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 five-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 former member of the Board of Trustees for Memphis Museums, Inc. who oversee the Memphis Museum of Science & History. He also served as a board member for The Benjamin L. Hooks Institute for Social Change.
Marisol Ramirez has been the Vice President of Human Resources for Berry Corporation (bry) (Berry) since September 2020. She is a key member of Berry’s executive team reporting directly to the President & CEO. Marisol was previously the Director of Human Resources and had joined the predecessor company LINN Energy in 2014. Marisol currently is responsible for the leadership and management of the Corporate Human Resources Department including Organizational Behavior & Development, Talent Acquisition / Retainment, Corporate Policy Development / Implementation and Payroll & Wellness of over 1300 employees. Marisol has vast experience creating and establishing successful human resources departments to operate as a standalone strategic partner. Marisol’s proven leadership has contributed to successful M&A activity with the most recent acquisition of C&J Well Services in which she led and managed the transition of over 950 employees in 30 days.
Marisol has 20 years of human resources management experience primarily in the oil and gas industry. From June 2012 to March 2014, Marisol served as the Senior Human Resources Manager for BPS Supply Group. In addition, she has served as the Senior Human Resources Manager and Consultant with Ivanhoe Energy Holdings Inc. from 2009 to 2015, responsible for the US and Latin America divisions. Marisol’s career path began in global communications and the hospitality industry.
Marisol holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Management with a human resources concentration from National University. Marisol is proficient in Spanish, and she is dually certified as a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and Society of Human Resources Management Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP). Marisol serves on Ally’s (formerly Pink Petro) Global Community Council and is proud to be a member of local organizations that support growth in minorities and women such as Latina Leaders of Kern County and Kern County Women in STEM.
Sarah Larson is an HR Executive with 20+ of experience in both management consulting roles and in-house HR and Operations Leadership roles, currently she is the head of Talent Management at MIT Lincoln Laboratory.
Sarah’s first chapter of her career was in management consulting, starting with the Boston Consulting Group, and then at a series of large and small firms, including her own, Larson & Associates. Her next chapter started in 2009 when she was hired by her client the MITRE Corporation. There she refined her ability to deploy initiatives collaboratively with speed and agility using a results-oriented approach. She prides herself on being an innovative yet practical executive, focused on proactive change with a bias for action.
Sarah is an ICF, Invite Change Certified Coach. Sarah lives in MA with her husband and her three children. She enjoys cooking, playing with her family and going to the beach to swim on Cape Cod.
Dr. Johné Battle has been recognized by the LA Times as a Top 100 DEIA Leader, and twice by the National Diversity & Leadership Council has one of the Top 100 Diversity Officers for 2021 and 2022. He is renown as a global Business Executive and thought leader who brings the powerful combination of skillful talent development and human capital expertise. His deep understanding of human relations, personal branding, diversity, equity, and inclusion, and organizational performance have led to a successful track record of business transformation and human capital counseling.
He currently is the founding partner and CEO of The Greatness Factory, LLC, and the Vice President of Diversity and Inclusion for Dollar General Corporation, a $38+ billion-plus retailor with more than 18,000 convenient, easy-to-shop stores in 47 states. Dr. Battle owns the strategy for diversity, equity, and inclusion for over 157,000 associates; working across the organization using belonging indexes, talent flow analysis, inclusive leader assessments and other data to make data-based decisions. Prior to joining Dollar General, Dr. Battle was a Senior Client Partner at Korn Ferry where he led clients through large-scale cultural transformation and assisted with holistic DEI leadership development, employee engagement and employee branding efforts that enabled clients to
attract, develop and retain their talent while meeting their business goals.
As the Global Director of Talent Development for Johnson Controls, a $30 billion-plus global diversified technology and multi industrial leader, Dr. Battle was responsible for the development of global strategy related to career development; culture and employee engagement, including diversity and inclusion solutions; an external executive coaching program; performance management; and components of onboarding. He established the tools and approach to help employees navigate their careers successfully, ensuring leaders understand and fulfill their roles in the career development of their teams. As Senior Partner of J.E. Battle & Associates, LLC. Dr. Battle headed up talent development, leadership development and change management interventions for MTV Networks, SAIC and Clayton County Public Schools – Leadership Academy.
Earlier, Dr. Battle was with Walmart Stores, holding concurrent roles of Senior Human Resources Director, Merchandising and Distribution, and Co-Chairman of Talent Development, UNITY Associate Resource Group. He was recruited to be the strategic business partner and executive coach for three senior vice presidents and one vice president in the merchandising business unit, with a combined 30,000 associates and more than $100 billion in annual revenue. He partnered with executives to develop talent management strategies that are still in operation today.
At J Rushman Group, a boutique consulting firm operating exclusively in the retail sector, Dr. Battle was Senior Director of Strategic Processes and a Human Capital Consultant. His primary client was TJX, a multinational off-price retailer that owns T.J. Maxx, Marshalls and Home Goods brands. He was leader of a team working closely with senior leadership on the Corporate University Global Strategy for Leadership Development.
Earlier in his career, Dr. Battle was Senior Vice President of Operations for Gridiron Technologies LLC. This was the first company to leverage the EA Sports John Madden video game technology to create virtual reality simulators to improve player/coach communication. The technology was launched with Louisiana State, Vanderbilt, Arizona State, Oklahoma State, Colorado and the University of Maryland. After early success, the NFL adopted the technology with the Dallas Cowboys, Denver Broncos and New Orleans Saints. Dr. Battle was recruited to oversee all operations in the U.S. and held P&L and budget responsibilities for $16 million and 17 direct reports. This position followed Dr. Battle’s time with MSL Combines LLC, a company that created on demand talent management technology to allow major colleges and universities to source for student-athletes to provide scholarships.
Prior to this, Dr. Battle was Director of Human Resources for L3 Technologies LLC, a professional technology firm. He began his career as Director of Artist Repertoire and Marketing with Warner Bros. Records, where he established artists such as Prince, Hootie and the Blowfish, and Eric Benet, and oversaw the soundtrack for “A Thin Line Between Love & Hate.” Dr. Battle’s community involvement is extensive, including being a Student Athlete Mentor for Georgia Institute of Technology, a Guide Right Program Coordinator for Kappa Alpha Psi, a Leader with Taskforce for Alignment at Goizueta Business School and a member of OCA Atlanta Chapter. He has been an Adjunct Professor at the UPENN CLO for Executives, Webster University Business School, and Mercer University Penfield College. He is also a guest lecturer, key note speaker, master facilitator, and a sought after speaker and thought leader at industry conferences on the topic of Intentionally Building Inclusive Leaders!
Dr. Battle received his doctorate in Work-Base Learning Leadership from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He also earned a Master of Education in Learning Leadership from the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education, a Master of Business Administration in Organizational Behavior from Emory University Goizueta Business School and a Bachelor of Applied Science in Organizational Leadership from Mercer University. He holds several education and leadership certificates through the Georgia Professional Standards Commission and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Monica Novomisle, the Chief People Officer, Kraft Heinz, North America, is known for building high performing teams that deliver profitable business results. In her 20 plus years of experience in the people space, she worked with leadership teams at Kraft Heinz, Diageo, and Tory Burch, to achieve total business and culture transformations, focusing on changes in performance culture, coaching culture, employee experience, and corporate integrity and compliance. She also has focused her career on evolving HR teams away from executional and administrative work and into business partnering and people experience strategies.
Monica has lived and worked in six countries and been the head of HR in Canada, United States, Greater China, and APAC. Prior to her work in Human Resources, Monica served as a Senior Associate for the International Employment Law Group at Paul Hastings LLP. Monica holds multiple degrees from various institutions including, Trinity College, University of Leiden in the Netherlands, and the University of Connecticut School of Law.
Jason leads a global team responsible for recruiting, developing, and celebrating diverse top talent. He is focused on building and maintaining a people-first culture for more than 3,500 team members across the world. He also helps cultivate a culture that attracts, motivates, and retains talented collaborators. He has been a People leader at Dawn since 2014.
Jason has a strong background in global HR and operations with companies including Philips, GE, and Armstrong World Industries. He continues to build on his experience of valuing intangibles for an organization like, culture, work environment, engagement, wellbeing, diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Dr. Anthony C. Hood serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer for First Horizon Bank. In this role, he provides strategic leadership and executive oversight for the corporation’s enterprisewide DEI strategy. He also serves on the corporation’s Operating Committee.
He previously served as the Director of Civic Innovation in the Office of the President at UAB as well as an Tenured Associate Professor of Management in the Collat School of Business at UAB.
An electrical engineer by training, Dr. Hood enjoyed a 10 year career with BellSouth and AT&T supporting startup telecom companies in the firm’s wholesale division. He was honored with the Pinnacle Award, the company’s highest honor for productivity and leadership.
He left AT&T to pursue his PhD full time at the University of Alabama (Roll Tide!). Since completing his PhD in only 3 years, he has completed studies at the Harvard Business School, Stanford and the Morehouse School of Medicine.
Dr. Hood received his undergrad and MBA from UAB (Go Blazers!). In 2019, Dr. Hood was honored by the UAB Alumni Association with the prestigious Distinguished Alumni Award.
Dr. Hood is a board member of a number of organizations including the Kiwanis Club of Birmingham, Birmingham Education Foundation, and Urban Impact. He also serves as Chairman of the Board of the Housing Authority of the Birmingham District, the largest affordable housing provider in the state.
Tiffanie Boyd is the Senior Vice President & Chief People Officer for McDonald’s USA and a member of the 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. By partnering with leaders, employees, and franchisees, Tiffanie brings the McDonald’s mission and values to life for all employees and partners across the country.
Tiffanie joined McDonald’s in January 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 led 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 Foodservice segment and 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 traditional 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. Tiffanie earned 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, as well as 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.
Melonie Parker is an HR executive committed to innovative, relevant, and contemporary HR leadership. She is an advocate for change and a passionate thought leader. Parker is responsible for advancing Google’s employee engagement strategy across Diversity, Equity & Inclusion. Additionally, Parker serves as a Minority in Energy Initiative Champion for the Department of Energy. Prior to this role she served as the Vice President of Human Resources & Communications at Sandia National Laboratories. Parker was responsible for the leadership and Labs-wide management of human resources, health, benefits and employee services. She was also responsible for Sandia’s communication efforts, which include planning, strategy, executive communications, media relations, external branding, community affairs and internal communications. Prior to joining Sandia as the VP of HR and Communications, Parker extends expertise from a career spanning over 17 years in a variety of Lockheed Martin business areas, locations, and progressive leadership roles. During her time at Lockheed Martin, she has held responsibility for employee relations, staffing, EEO/Affirmative Action, diversity programs, compensation, benefits, and K-12 outreach initiatives. Parker received a B.A. in Mass Communications from Hampton University and an M.A. in Human Resources from Villanova University. She was named the 2016 HR Professional of the Year by the New Mexico Society of Human Resource Management. She was recognized with a Special Recognition Award at the 2014 Women of Color STEM Awards, and in 2012 graduated from Lockheed Martin’s Executive Assessment & Development Program.
As NIKE, Inc.’s Chief Human Resources Officer and member of the executive leadership team, Monique (Mo) Matheson leads the company’s HR strategy at a time of business growth and transformation. Mo oversees a global team that manages work streams ranging from recruitment and succession planning to organizational effectiveness, learning and development, total rewards, culture and diversity, equity and inclusion.
Mo leads through the lens of people. Under her leadership, Nike has reset its Human Resources function and invested in a dynamic, high-impact workforce to support a realignment in business strategy. As the company amplifies its digital advantage and widens its international reach, her expertise has been instrumental in mapping organizational capabilities, and enabling employees to feel inspired, challenged and supported to be their very best.
Cultural evolution has been central to Mo’s leadership. Since stepping into her current role in 2017, she has overseen a significant increase in employee engagement, leadership diversity, and alignment of policies and practices with Nike’s values. She continues to focus on attracting and retaining diverse talent, establishing Nike as a great place to work, and strengthening a culture that enables all employees to reach their full potential.
Mo’s achievements range from building an engaged, capable and diverse workforce to overseeing leadership transitions at the highest level. She has pioneered best practices in creating an internal development engine while recruiting external talent to maximize the company’s long-term talent pipeline. And starting in 2019, Mo led a rigorous and disciplined process as part of a successful CEO transition – Nike’s first in nearly a decade and a half.
Since starting at Nike in 1998, Mo has worked across Nike’s HR function, including as VP, Chief Talent and Diversity Officer, and VP and HR Business Partner for North America, Global Product Creation (Footwear, Apparel and Equipment), and Global Functions and NIKE, Inc. Affiliates.
Prior to Nike, Mo practiced employment law. She is a proud alumna of the University of Washington and Indiana University’s Maurer School of Law, and enjoy long dog walks, traveling, and watching and playing sports with her wife and young-adult daughter and son.
Jenn Saavedra is Dell Technologies’ Chief Human Resources Officer. She leads the company’s Global Human Resources and Facilities function and accelerates the performance and growth of the company through our culture and our people. Our commitment to our people strategy and culture code make Dell Technologies both a great company and a great place to work for all. These industry-leading commitments drive our achievements and recognition both internally and externally.
Jenn has a Doctoral degree in Industrial and Organizational Behavior from Tulane University. Jenn’s passion is in understanding the psychology of human behavior and harnessing this knowledge along with analytical insights to help people, teams and organizations be their best. She joined Dell Technologies in 2005 and has held HR leadership roles in many disciplines including talent development and culture, business partner, strategy and learning & development. Jenn has served on the executive boards for many of our Employee Resource Groups.
Jenn lives in Austin with her husband and daughter. In her free time, she enjoys being active outdoors and listening to the great live music Austin has to offer.
Shelly McNamara is Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer, Senior Vice President – Human Resources of the Company. Ms. Shelly is responsible for leading strategies to make P&G one of the most innovative, diverse, and inclusive companies in the world. As a seasoned Human Resources leader, she actively champions diversity and inclusion—driving strategic and tactical shifts in talent systems to build a pipeline of outstanding and diverse talent. She has also served as a leader of the company’s LGBT+ affinity group and is an active member of P&G’s Corporate Women’s Leadership Team. Shelly joined P&G in 1985 as a sales representative for the company’s food division. She has spent 25+ years in Human Resources, with responsibility for a full range of HR work. She has deep expertise in organization development, change management and transformation, employee relations, and executive staffing and development. Shelly has served some of the company’s largest businesses in this capacity—and currently leads these efforts for P&G’s corporate functions. Shelly is well regarded as an organization strategist who drives meaningful business results through thoughtful choices and caring leadership. She is business and people focused, results oriented, and widely recognized for the trusting, collaborative relationships she builds.
Teresa Mazur is Head of HR, Global Corporate Functions at Takeda, a global, values-based, R&D-driven biopharmaceutical leader headquartered in Japan, committed to discovering and delivering life-transforming treatments, guided by its commitment to patients, people and the planet.
Teresa is inspired to create great places to work that make a difference to individuals and collectively within our global communities. She has over 20 years of business experience developing and implementing contemporary people solutions that make an impact. She joined Takeda in 2018 and is a member of the HR Leadership Team reporting to the CHRO. She is responsible for leading an organization that delivers HR strategies and programs supporting all of the Global Corporate Functions which span 45 countries and seven Takeda Executive Team members.
In 2019, Takeda acquired Shire, expanding the company’s geographic footprint and leading position in Japan and the U.S., and creating a company that brings highly-innovative medicines to approximately 80 countries/regions with 50,000 employees worldwide. Since that time, Teresa and her Global HR team have been part of the team leading business transformations to modernize the Global Corporate Functions, in particularly in key areas of Finance, Data, Digital & Technology and HR.
Prior to joining Takeda, Teresa was vice president of HR for Fiserv, a Fortune 500 financial services technology company. She also has served in HR leadership roles for other healthcare companies (Integra Lifesciences and CIGNA) and spent her early career in a variety of roles within the consulting firm Towers Perrin, now Willis Towers Watson.
Teresa holds a master’s degree from Villanova University and a bachelor’s degree from Pennsylvania State University.
John Ferguson is the Chief Human Resources Officer at NASCAR.
In this role, Ferguson oversees NASCAR Human Resources and provides strategic leadership around talent acquisition, employee engagement and culture development to support and engage employees across more than 20 office and racetrack locations in the U.S. He is responsible for building a company culture at NASCAR that is empowering, innovative, diverse, inclusive, and collaborative.
For nearly a decade, Ferguson served in HR roles at Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE) in Washington, D.C. and most recently as Vice President of People & Culture. While at MSE, he led the HR function for six sports team properties, including the Washington Wizards, Washington Capitals and Washington Mystics, four facilities, including Capital One Arena, and more than 2,500 employees.
Ferguson serves on the Alumni Board of Directors for Furman University, UNCF Orlando Leadership Council and Durham Success Summit Advisory Council.
In 2022, Ferguson was named to the Daytona Beach News-Journal’s annual ’40 Under Forty’ list and Savoy Magazine’s Most Influential Black Executives in Corporate America.
Ferguson holds a Bachelor’s in Political Science from Furman University, Executive Certificate in Strategic Diversity and Inclusion Management from Georgetown University, and a Master’s in Business Administration from the Howard University School of Business.
Janette Batten received her B.E.Sc in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Western Ontario, Canada in 1992 and, after gaining valuable experience at General Motors Light Armored Vehicle Division designing fuel tanks, she joined 3M’s London plant site in 1994. Janette has led and driven many initiatives within manufacturing such as maintenance supervision, safety, quality, and productivity improvements. She later returned to Engineering as a Senior Engineer in 2000. From 2004 until 2007 Janette became the Human Resource Manager for the London Manufacturing Plant where she negotiated several successful union collective agreements. She then transitioned into the Laboratory as a Product Engineering and Quality manager. In January 2011, Janette moved back to Human Resources to become the 3M Canada Director of Human Resources.
In 2015, Janette relocated to the U.S. where she’s worked in various roles such as Organizational Design, Change Management, and led Global Learning & Development. She is a certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt and is currently the Vice President, Global Talent Acquisition and Workforce Planning.
Payal Sahni is Executive Vice President, Chief People Experience Officer, responsible for Pfizer’s global talent strategy, diversity and inclusion, total rewards and colleague experience.
In her prior role, Payal was the Senior Vice President, Human Resources, for Pfizer Biopharmaceuticals Group, leading the HR strategy for seven business units, as well as for the Corporate Affairs, Legal, Compliance and Chief Business Office functions.
Payal joined Pfizer Human Resources in 1997. Since then, she has held a number of Regional and Global HR Business Partner roles supporting the business around the world and has led the Talent Organization for Pfizer Global Supply. In addition, Payal has spearheaded numerous transformations as Pfizer evolved its business structure and has been instrumental in managing HR strategy for several mergers and acquisitions.
Payal holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Rider University and a Master of Arts in Psychology from Fairleigh Dickinson University.
Shammara Howell currently serves as the Vice President and Chief Field People Officer for McDonald’s USA, effective November 2021, leading the Field People Team, HR Operations and Talent Attraction and Engagement teams. In this role, Shammara serves as the Company Lead for the NFLA People Team, working alongside the Owner/Operator People Lead to advance the People Strategy for the US Business.
Prior to working in the US Business, Shammara was appointed Vice President and Chief Talent Officer in June 2020, assuming responsibility for Talent Attraction, Performance Management, Cultural Evolution and Organizational Effectiveness. Shammara and team were responsible for evolving the McDonald’s talent strategy, including targeted focus on retaining and engaging the McDonald’s workforce through the COVID-19 pandemic.
Shammara joined McDonald’s in 2017, leading the Corporate HR Business Partner team as the Sr. Director, Corporate HR. Under Shammara’ s leadership, the role of the HR Business Partner team has evolved to be rooted in the goals and strategy of the organization. The team has realigned its mission from a service model approach to a team of trusted strategic partners, standing-up critical business initiatives powered by our people to achieve our shared growth drivers. As the Sr. Director, Corporate HR for McDonald’s global functions, Shammara has help shaped the historic move and world-class culture of MHQ through her work creating and leading the Working Futures team.
Prior to joining McDonald’s, Shammara had a broad generalist career with over 12+ years in the retail space including organizations such as PetSmart and Walmart. She has built her strong HR leadership experience in roles in both Corporate and Field HR organizations, including specialist assignments in Distribution, Talent and Diversity throughout her career.
Shammara is a graduate of the University of Iowa, holding a dual degree in Psychology and Sports, Health, Leisure & Physical Studies and holds her Masters in Human Resources and Employee Relations from Penn State University. Shammara is committed to lifelong learning and development and represented McDonald’s in the 2018 cohort of the Leading Women Executives program.
Carlos Guerra is currently Vice President and Head of Human Resources for Nissan Americas. In this role, Carlos is responsible for all aspects of the strategic direction and operations of human resources (HR) for the Americas Region, responsible to lead entire HR Organization for U.S., Canada, Mexico and Latin America supporting more than 45,000 employees, and leading a HR team of more than 500 HR professionals supporting Manufacturing, Distribution, Marketing , Sales, R&D, Sales Finance and all support functions. Prior to this role, Carlos was senior director and acting vice president of HR, for Nissan U.S. and Canada.
Before to joining Nissan in 2018, Carlos was the Global HR Director at Cardinal Health for Latin America who lead the integration Medtronic’s and J&J in this region.
Carlos initiated his HR career in General Electric where he spent 10 years building an ascended Global career taking several Leadership roles in the USA and Mexico, after GE Carlos moved to PepsiCo North America where he held several HR Leadership roles.
Guerra holds a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from Universidad Valle del Bravo in Mexico.
Maren joined Walmart in 2017 as a Director of Organizational Effectiveness for Walmart U.S. In this role, she worked on strategic talent management practices and programs for the Field Operations and Merchandising organizations. She later went on to roles in talent management, people partnership, and workforce strategy. Throughout the pandemic, she was a key leader in Walmart’s future ways of working and transformation strategy.
Maren brings strong organizational design, change management, and talent management experience combined with a passion for associate and business focused solutions. Maren serves as a board member for the Northwest Arkansas Community College Foundation and as an adjunct professor in Human Resources at Claremont University. Before joining Walmart, Maren spent much of her career in various leadership development, executive coaching, talent management, organizational effectiveness, and HR roles at Ticketmaster, DIRECTV and AT&T.
Maren was born in Karlsruhe, Germany and has lived across Europe and the U.S., receiving her B.A. in Psychology from the University of Kiel, Germany, and her M.A. from the University of West Florida. In 2013, she received a Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior from Claremont Graduate University. Maren and her husband T.J. live on Beaver Lake in Rogers, Arkansas. They love to travel, cook, and spend summers out on the lake. Maren has been riding horses her whole life and competes in events with her thoroughbred, Cooper.
Since joining Procter & Gamble in 1987, Pat Rowan has worked in a variety of Site, Regional and Global Human Resources roles within our Product Supply organization throughout the U.S. (Mehoopany, PA, Sherman, TX, Jackson, TN, Cincinnati, OH, Boston, MA). 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 Vice President of Global Product Supply Equality & Inclusion and Learning & Development. Pat has two sons and currently resides in Cincinnati, OH.
Anyah Land is a Human Resources professional and Public Health champion with a passion for truly caring for each individual, with the overall goal of supporting equitable outcomes for all. She has proudly dedicated more than twenty years of her career to working with community agencies and nonprofit organizations who serve diverse populations and are committed to wide-spread inclusion. In these organizations, she provided equitable support for all individuals to drive key performance objective, outcomes, and systemic change. Presently, as the Human Resources Manager at Procter & Gamble’s Dayton Mixing Center, she drives innovation in recruitment and engagement by infusing both qualitative and quantitative methods to transform the organizational culture. Through this transformational approach to recruitment, coupled with building strong partnerships within the community, Anyah is continuously making a positive impact in the Dayton Community and beyond. She received her Bachelor’s in Organizational Leadership and Supervision from Purdue University and her Master’s in Public Health from Indiana University.
Heidi Manna has been Jazz’s chief human resources officer since 2018 and oversees the human resources and internal communication functions. With more than 25 years of experience in human capital management across multiple industries including pharmaceuticals, consumer products, food and beverage and management consulting, she has developed expertise in HR strategy, talent management, culture development, organizational effectiveness, and change management. Ms. Manna is a purpose-driven strategist passionate about helping companies develop human capital and organizational development strategies to unlock the potential of people.
As vice president of talent strategies and organizational effectiveness, Pamela is responsible for developing and implementing talent and development strategies across the company. She leads her teams to execute processes and tactics that help optimize the attraction, acquisition, performance and retention of exceptional associates, so in turn, they can provide a great wireless experience for customers.
Pamela joined UScellular in 2007 and has held positions of increasing responsibility in the human resources organization, most recently serving as senior director of organizational development and executive communications. Prior to joining UScellular, she worked in human resources roles primarily in the financial services industry.
Pamela has a bachelor’s degree in marketing communication from Columbia College and a master’s degree in management and organizational behavior from Benedictine University. She is a member of the Human Resource Manager Association of Chicago, a member of the Chief network focused on connecting and supporting women executive leaders, as well as a member of the Executives’ Club of Chicago.
Michael Ehret, PhD, is Head of Global Talent Management, responsible for the attraction and development of global and diverse talent across the enterprise. Michael oversees succession management, talent development, talent acquisition, workforce analytics, talent mobility, performance management and assessment.
Most recently, Michael was Head of Succession Management and Assessment in Global Talent Management, where he advanced and increased the depth and diversity of the enterprise leadership pipeline, focusing on the next generation of talent and the identification and advancement of emerging leaders.
Previously, Michael served as Head of Human Resources for the $28B Commercial Franchises within Medical Devices, Vice President of Human Resources for the non-manufacturing parts of Supply Chain (20,000 employees in 80 countries), and Vice President of Talent Development, with responsibility for global Leadership Development and Learning, as well as Talent Mobility.
Prior to his time with Johnson & Johnson, Michael worked at Bristol-Myers Squibb and CIGNA, where he held several HR business partner and talent management positions, beginning his career as a member of the CIGNA HR Leadership Development Program.
Michael received his Doctorate of Philosophy in Global Leadership and Change Management from Pepperdine University, and his Doctorate of Education in Organizational Leadership also from Pepperdine. He has a Master of Science degree in Organizational Dynamics from the University of Pennsylvania, and a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Finance and Marketing from the University of Richmond.
Michael currently serves as Chair of the Advisory Committee and adjunct faculty member at the Rutgers School of Management and Labor Relations. He also serves on the board of Arm in Arm, a New Jersey–based nonprofit that helps ensure community members have basic food and shelter needs met and, as possible, the livelihood to maintain them.
Kristin D’Angelo has been at Dish Network for 12 years. As the Vice President of the HR Partner Team, she is responsible for both the HR Generalist and HR Business Partner teams that support the development and execution against the strategic people plans of the organization. Her passion is in connecting the dots between organizational strategy and human capital planning- to find tangible ways to identify how effective HR talent management can be monetized and drive profitability, while cultivating an engaging and meaningful work environment for team members. Kristin is proud to have leveraged DISH’s greatest employment benefit: opportunity. She’s held 9 various roles of increasing responsibility across Talent Acquisition, HR Shared Services and the HR Partner team- supporting 15,000 employees worldwide. Before Dish Network, she began her HR career as a Corporate Recruiter with Liberty Medical Supply, a former subsidiary of Medco Health Solutions. She earned her B.A. in Psychology from Douglas College, Rutgers University and her MBA, Human Resources Management from the University of Phoenix.
Kim Giangrande is the Senior VP of Human Resources at LATICRETE. Kim is a Strategic Human Resource professional with extensive experience developing HR infrastructure, from the foundational level, that supports the strategic direction of the organization. She has a strong ability to balance corporate goals with employee needs to create programs that support strong results and commitment to employee engagement. Kim specializes in leadership development.
Kim started her career in retail, healthcare customer service and operations management before transitioning into her first executive HR role in 2001 at Hasler, Inc./Neopost, Inc. a leading global provider of high-end mailing systems equipment. She worked as VP Global HR for Survey Sampling International, leading the team in creating their global HR infrastructure and working with the Board of Directors to implement a comprehensive foundation for HR services. In 2009, Kim founded Intuitive HR, LLC, (IHR), a boutique HR outsourcing and consulting company that supports small to mid-sized organizations with the development and implementation of their HR programs.
It was through IHR that Kim met the team at LATICRETE and began to support us in evolving the HR structure while the company was searching for a permanent leader. The opportunity to make a substantial impact combined with the amazing people and shared core values at LATICRETE made it easy to decide to stay and continue with this extraordinary team and continue to lead the strategy of competitive and modernized HR practices.
Kim holds both a Master of Science in Management and MBA from Albertus Magnus College. Her undergraduate degree is a BS with a double major in Health Care Management and Human Resource Management. She holds the distinguished dual certifications of Senior Professional in Human Resources and Global Professional Human Resources from the Human Resources Certification Institute. As well as the Senior Certified Professional Certification from the Society of Human Resource Management. Kim also teaches HR Management and Team Building at the University of New Haven Pompeo College of Business MBA program since 2010.
Kim lives in Woodbridge, CT with her husband Bill, their incredible daughter Gianna, Cavalier Spaniels Chloe & Lucy, and Dwarf bunnies Snowball & Blizzard. Kim also has two amazing young adult children, a son Hunter and daughter Spencer.
Stephanie Fehr is Executive Vice President and Chief People Officer for UnitedHealthcare. In this role, she is responsible for building the UnitedHealthcare talent infrastructure and systemic talent strategy.
Stephanie joined UnitedHealthcare in November of 2017 and brings over 25 years of human resource and talent development experience to her position.
Prior to joining UnitedHealthcare, Stephanie spent 17 years with Apple Inc., in HR and Talent leadership roles in their Engineering, Operations, Leadership Development and Retail divisions. She led the design, development and implementation of Apple’s leadership training program, AMP, and was instrumental in leading the development of the Apple Retail Stores’ talent strategy as a key member of Apple’s Retail executive team.
Stephanie holds a B.A. from St. Olaf College and an M.A. in HRD from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, MN.
Marybeth has spent more than 25 years in the employee benefits field as an advocate working to help employers put healthcare within reach of every employee and has continually reduced costs for employers and their employees. Marybeth currently serves as a Senior Vice President of Health and Welfare Consulting with Trion, a Marsh & McLennan Agency firm supervising the overall account management for her clients. Her strategic approach to every case coupled with her vast knowledge of the industry contribute to the remarkable success she has had saving money for her clients while enhancing the quality of healthcare for their employees. Marybeth’s clients know she is available to them anytime and has a team of experts standing by to manage their healthcare program. Together with her team, Marybeth has saved clients millions of dollars with an approach that not only breaks down current actions, but helps employers understand what’s coming next. She is an expert at analyzing companies’ health care costs and benefit plans, and skilled at identifying financial opportunities and assisting with strategic planning, particularly with large, self-insured clients.
Formerly a Vice President with AON Consulting, Marybeth specialized in utilization and data management to understand key cost drivers. She is an expert in developing and redesigning pharmacy programs and understanding the cost drivers within these programs as well.
As a National Account Manager with Aetna Inc., Marybeth was responsible for overall account management from a financial and operations perspective for clients with more than 10,000 employees operating in multiple locations. She detailed plan design opportunities for clients and monitored the ongoing financial implications to those plans. She also served on the Aetna Presidents Roundtable Committee, fostering communications between clients and the president’s office regarding suggested changes that would improve Aetna’s operational procedures.
Marybeth is a member of the Chief’s Women’s network. It is a prestigious organization designed specifically for women leaders who are seated at the table from VPs to CEOs. They work together across industries to effect change from the top down and influence lasting progressive results across commerce. Membership from women’s leadership includes Microsoft, CITI, Sony, Nike, Universal and GE. This acclaimed group includes distinguished notables such as Madeline Albright and Venus Williams as investors in this esteemed fellowship.
Recently she was named EBN’s 2017 Most Influential Women in Benefit Advising: 30 leaders whose unique client management strategies, innovative data manipulation and other industry-leading skills are transforming the field. In addition, Marybeth is featured on the Marquis Who’s Who Lifetime Achievement site:
wwlifetimeachievement.com/2019/09/17/marybeth-gray
Marquis identifies and endeavors to profile the leaders of American Society; those men and women who are influencing their nation’s development and influencing the people of today in their industry. We are proud to provide their biographical information for public record for posterity. When not reading up on the latest healthcare or pharma breakthrough, Marybeth enjoys spending her time on the water. Sailing is a passion of hers that she loves for the mind-body connection.
Education
Bachelor of Science, Health Policy and Administration; Pennsylvania State University
Licensed in Accident, Health, Life, and Fixed Annuities in 32 states
Memberships
Member of the National Business Group on Health in Washington, DC
Board Member of UPMC Hamot Medical Center
Pennsylvania State University Alumni speaker for Health Policy and Administration Majors
Current speaker with University Conference Services, Academic sponsor; University of North Carolina Kenan-Flagler Business School
Founding member of “GROW a Women in Business” initiative at Trion, a Marsh & McLennan Agency, LLC
Member of the Diversity & Inclusion Committee at Trion, a Marsh & McLennan Agency, LLC
Stephanie Rose is Vice-President EdAssist Client Relations at Bright Horizons Family Solutions, responsible for leading the EdAssist Client Relations Team including working with our largest and complex clients, as well as the largest Health Systems. Stephanie has been with Bright Horizons since 2006 with the acquisition of College Coach and has a background in caregiving supports as well as educational assistance with more than twenty-three years of client relations experience.
In her role as Vice-President of EdAssist Client Relations, she has had the pleasure of strategically supporting the largest health systems and corporate accounts as they invest in their adult learners while offering support and career pathways. Prior to leading the EdAssist Client Relations Team, Stephanie oversaw the Enterprise Client Services team at Bright Horizons working with such clients as Boeing, Disney, Mass General Brigham and other Fortune 500 organizations. Stephanie brings extensive experience strategically managing highly complex organizations and fulfilling their strategic goals. Through her work with these BH client organizations, she gained a true appreciation for the impact of Bright Horizons on employees and their families.
Stephanie holds her undergraduate and graduate degree from Northeastern University. She is also the proud mother of her two children who both utilized our Bright Horizons centers and our College Coach benefit.
As Senior Director of Benefits at Orlando Health, Wendy is responsible for the strategic direction of all benefit plans for a 24k+ team member healthcare system. She previously managed employee benefit and wellness programs at a local municipal utility. Wendy earned her bachelor’s degree in interpersonal communication from the University of Central Florida and a master’s in human resources management from Keller Graduate School of Management. She is a certified professional in human resources (PHR), as well as the Society of HR Management (SHRM-CP).
Kristin Spodobalski is the Sr. Director of Growth for the Northeast region at Wellthy and is dedicated to bringing Wellthy’s support to families across the country. With a personal caregiving story of her own, Kristin immediately connected with Wellthy’s mission to help families with complex, chronic, or ongoing care needs.
Prior to joining Wellthy, Kristin spent nearly a decade as a Client Manager for National Accounts at UnitedHealthcare.
Kristin received a BA in Business Administration Management from University of Saint Joseph in West Hartford, CT.
David is a champion of technology integration and innovation in HR and recruiting. Drawing from his two-decade career spanning from technology consulting with Accenture to President and Chief HR strategist of a regional healthcare company, David is uniquely positioned to offer credible insight on the next generation of HR. As VP of Enterprise Talent Solutions at Avature, he is regularly consulting with and serving clients such as Walmart, Apple, Accenture and Delta Air Lines, as well as several emerging healthcare, financial services and RPO companies.
Sandra Moran has more than 25 years of experience enabling global software and technology companies to strengthen their brand and accelerate revenue growth through a customer-centric approach. Having held leadership roles in marketing, sales, new business, and product management, Sandra has built and led high-performing global cross-functional teams to support the identification and delivery of sustainable business growth. Before joining WorkForce Software, Sandra served as the CMO at LLamasoft and INTTRA and has held global leadership roles at OpenText and Hyperion. Sandra earned a bachelor’s degree in business analytics and research from Texas A&M University.
Joanna spearheads the company’s Affordable Care Act and Pay Equity auditing practices. She regularly speaks about ACA Compliance and Pay Equity at conferences. Formerly a partner with Akin Gump Strauss Hauer and Feld LLP, Joanna has over 20 years of experience advising clients on a wide range of employment, tax, intellectual property, and other related business issues.
She holds a B.Sc. degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, and a J.D. from Loyola Law School (with honors).
Josh serves as Chief Marketing Officer for Paradox, responsible for driving the company’s brand, digital, and experiential marketing efforts, while also supporting sales enablement and product marketing. Prior to Paradox, he led marketing and product at SmashFly, which was acquired by Symphony Talent in November 2019. Josh is passionate about helping companies better communicate their story — who they are, what they believe, and how they help a particular market solve real, meaningful challenges. Prior to SmashFly, Josh founded his own marketing agency and helped grow Boston-based venture capital firm OpenView into one of the world’s top venture capital brands.
Jacob Kramer is an award-winning TA executive whose digital transformation strategies have been featured in the Wall Street Journal and Forbes. He currently serves as the Senior Vice President of Talent Acquisition at US Xpress, one of the largest trucking companies in the United States. His team’s work has saved the business millions and been recognized by industry leaders, winning Brandon Hall Group’s Excellence Award for Most Innovative Talent Acquisition Solution. In 2022, Kramer was also named OnCon Icon Talent Acquisition Professional of the Year — an award recognizing outstanding leadership and innovation in the recruitment industry.
Claire Fang is a product and business executive at the intersection of people and technology. She is passionate about transforming employee experience and people practices with innovation. As the Chief Product Officer for SeekOut, she and her team are building an AI-powered Talent platform that enables companies to quickly hire, grow, and retain talent. Prior to that, she was the Chief Product Officer for the EmployeeXM product line at Qualtrics. She also held various leadership positions at Microsoft, Facebook and McKinsey. Claire holds a Ph.D in Computer Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University.
Over the past 25 years, Christy Pruitt-Haynes has worked with many of the world’s leading organizations to improve their talent and business outcomes. As the global head of the NeuroLeadership Institute’s Talent and Performance practice, Christy empowers organizations to ask the right questions and share information in a way that is compelling and memorable, pushing the leaders and teams to transform the priorities, habits, and systems of their organization at scale. Designing interventions for insight, Christy assists enterprises in improving their profitability, advancing DEI initiatives, improving company culture, and optimizing enterprise communications.
Mindy Honcoop has a calling for people and creating healing workplace ecosystems. Mindy has spent 20 years as a People Leader and HR advisor for primarily technology-focused companies. She guides organizational leaders to rethink how they work to thrive. Before acting as an interim Head of People Ops at Care.com, Mindy held a Chief People Officer role at TCP Software and HR leadership roles at Spiceworks Ziff Davis, HomeAway.com, Blackbaud, and Expedia. Mindy is based in Austin, Texas, sits on the board for the non-profit Love Justice International, and co-founded the Austin Women in Agile meetup. When she is not busy with people, she can be found reading, walking her dogs, traveling, or hiking.
Melissa Flores is the Talent Leader for Driscoll’s of the Americas and Southern Hemisphere. In this role, she is responsible for developing the business unit talent strategies that will secure a healthy talent pipeline now and in the future; while driving a culture of innovation, high performance, and engagement.
Melissa has been at Driscoll’s for 17 years, starting her career as a recent college graduate and growing through various roles in Benefits, Talent Acquisition, and strategic HRBP positions working with business operation groups (Distribution, Quality, and Production) as well as other functions like Finance, Legal, Social and Environmental Impact, and Information Systems. Prior to Driscoll’s, she worked for a semiconductor company in Silicon Valley.
Melissa earned her Bachelor’s degree in Business Commerce from Santa Clara University. She is from Watsonville, California and is married to her husband of 15 years. Together they have two dogs, a 13-year-old French bulldog and a six-year-old labradoodle.
Stacy Greiner serves as Chief Operating Officer, DailyPay. In her role as COO, Greiner is responsible for both external and internal Operations at DailyPay, ensuring the industry-leading on-demand-pay provider continues its upward growth trajectory. Internally, overseeing People Operations, she has built upon the company’s strong, inclusive culture ensuring every employee feels a sense of belonging. Externally, as head of Operations, she oversees DailyPay’s world-class service and experience to its partners, clients and customers.
Greiner most recently served as the General Manager of the Sales and Marketing Solutions division of Dun & Bradstreet (NYSE: DNB), where she was responsible for all Profit & Loss. Her experience spans senior executive roles at Cisco, IBM and Accenture where she led globally-diverse Product, Marketing, Engineering and Data & Analytics organizations.
Trained as an Aerospace Engineer at Iowa State University, Greiner also holds an MBA from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Sloan School of Management. She sits on the board, and serves as a member of the Audit Committee of Proto Labs, Inc (NYSE: PRLB).
Rachel is the CEO and Senior VP of Finance and HR a Keltic. She also is a CPA and CIA of Singapore. Prior to joining Keltic, Rachel served as GM of Strategic Investments at a renowned A-share company in China, where she led the global investment from 2016-2018. Between 2007 – 2012, Rachel led a Sino-Swiss post-JV financial integration project in China, prior to which she worked for a few top-tier MNCs in their Asia Pacific regional HQ from 2000 to 2007. At Keltic, Rachel leads fundraising, investment evaluation, and deal structuring. Rachel manages a portfolio of over CN $1.2 bill. in Hong Kong and Canada combined. She is also a Director of Oriental Yuhong (Canada) Investment Holdings Ltd., wherein she promotes the company’s expansion in North America.
Lora joined the Lipman Brothers team in 2017, bringing more than 27 years of expertise in Human Resources. Lora oversees all aspects of the Human Resources department, including employee relations, operations, compensation, benefits, counseling and recruitment. She has a B.A. in Spanish, another in HR Management, and attended U.C. Santa Barbara and University of California San Diego. Lora joined Lipman Brothers after 12 years working in Napa Valley for iconic wine properties like Harlan Estates, Mumm Napa Valley, Chappellet, and Duckhorn Wine Co. Along with her built-in education in the fine wine business, Lora spent several years working in the beauty industry for Revlon. While living in California, Lora was a leader in the Women for WineSense non-profit. She lives in Franklin with her husband Lew, daughter Ciandra, and beloved pets.
A featured HR executive by Forbes in February 2022, Anne Anderton Warren serves as Executive Vice President & Chief Human Resources Officer for MKC. Anne leads the company’s HR strategy for four companies during a period of rapid growth and culture change. She is responsible for enterprise-wide strategic planning, organizational readiness & succession planning, talent management & evaluation, employee engagement, and overall HR strategy. An HR leader for over 20 years, Anne has extensive national experience. Anne recently presented a nationwide webinar on Exploring Labor Solutions in Today’s Challenging Markets for Land O’Lakes, and is well known for her work, and volunteerism, in both private and public sectors.
Victoria Pasquale, a Certified Senior Professional in Human Resources, leads our HR and Talent Acquisition teams for Pritchard Industries. Victoria has over 17 years’ experience in both Human Resources and Field Operations, focusing on development of the team and strategic planning for the corporation. Over the years, her key successes are shown through her future planning and performance development of teams.
Victoria spent 2 years as the Regional Vice President for Aramark foods, where she was responsible for all operations and Human Resources in the Northeast territory. Before Aramark, she spent 15 years at Target stores, in both field operations and field Human Resources.
Mrs. Pasquale earned her Master of Science in Legal Studies, from Cornell University, an MBA, with a concentration in Human Resource Ethics, from Bellevue University and her Bachelor’s degree in Marketing from Johnson & Wales University.
Galyna Kruglov is a Group Director at Ryder System, Inc. responsible for HR Employee Services Operations. In this role, Galyna leads a multi-functional team supporting HR Service Center, including on-site HR support team, Employee Relations, and HR Compliance developing strategies to further improve employee experience. Galyna has more than 17 years of HR experience and hold a master’s degree in Industrial/Organization Psychology. Prior to her current role, Galyna led ‘HR Transformation’ project implementing ServiceNow HRSD module, employee portal, Workday HCM, and a new HR service delivery model for Ryder, including first-ever HR Service Center. This project provided 24×7 direct access to HR information, helped with automation and centralization of many processes, integrated HR systems, and improved productivity and the quality of HR services delivered.
Rebecca is a Global HR Executive with a track record of delivering impactful results across large, complex, and transforming organizations. Translating business strategy to people strategy and delivering through associated implementation plans is her strength.
Rebecca is currently Executive Vice President HR Projects & Technology at Shell. In this role she is accountable for integrated, strategic, global HR support to the 40,000 employees and contractors in operations, projects, information and digital technology, supply chain, research and development, process technology, safety, and asset management.
Rebecca joined Shell in 2002, and since that time has held a variety of positions with increasing responsibility in Shell’s Downstream, Upstream, Projects & Technology and HR center of excellence organizations. Prior to joining Shell, Rebecca worked for Home Depot and Enron.
Rebecca resides in Houston with her husband and two sons. She enjoys watching her boys play sports, traveling with her family, reading, and fitness.
Allyn Bailey is a talent futurist, HR technology specialist, and practitioner of organizational transformation in companies ranging from multinationals to start-ups. Allyn is currently the Executive Director of Hiring Success for Smart Recruiters, where she leads a global team of consultants to support companies in navigating their talent acquisition transformations. She has designed and led revolutionary organizational talent acquisition transformations, including inventing and implementing the Talent Acquisition Infinity Loop. Allyn is a leading voice in the talent and HR industry advocating for innovation and purposeful adaptation that allows companies to meet the challenges and opportunities of the rapidly changing future of work.
Melissa Johnston, Vice President of Human Resources for Pacific Bells, LLC and World Wide Wings, LLC. Pacific Bells, LLC is a franchisee of Taco Bell with approximately 6,000 employees within 7 different states, and World Wide Wings, LLC is a franchisee of Buffalo Wild Wings with approximately 4,000 employees across 7 different states. Melissa has spent much of her 20 year HR career in the retail/restaurant space. She received her degree from the University of Washington (Go Huskies!) and has been “people focused” ever since.
Joined O.C. Tanner in 2006
Anthony has 30 years of experience leading sales and business development teams to meet and exceed sales revenue, sales profitability, and budgetary objectives. Currently, Anthony provides executive sales support in the field by helping regional sales teams to achieve their goals. His experience and responsibilities include strategic planning, managing and developing people, thought leadership, selling, leveraging technology, and improving processes. Anthony is passionate about helping employees thrive at work. He is a graduate from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Business Administration and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Executive Business Administration.
Evan Wiggins has had a progressive career leading Global HR Shared Service functions where he has been recognized for his exemplary leadership across HR Operations and Employee Relations. With more than 22 years of HR Leadership Evan has earned a reputation for his expertise in leading Employee relations within a shared service model while orchestrating organizational scale and exceptional capability, positioning his organizations as being industry leaders. As the Sr. Director of Global Employee Solutions for Adobe he has proved vital to the development and evolution of Adobe’s Global HR Shared Services organization, Employee Relations, and Contingent Workforce strategies.
Brooke Cartus is an attorney who serves as the Vice President of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Seminole Hard Rock. She has worked in in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion since 2012 and was named part of the 40 Under 40 Class of 2019 in Columbus, Ohio. Brooke has over a decade of experience leading organizations across the globe through transformative inclusion strategies.
A graduate of The Michael E. Moritz College of Law at The Ohio State University, Brooke has been published in the Berkeley Journal of Gender, Law & Justice as well as the Huffington Post.
Boasting an extensive career in Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion, Brooke has partnered with a wide range of organizations and individuals, from law firms and non-profit organizations to the NFL. Most recently, Brooke presented at the Simmons Leadership Conference with First Lady Michelle Obama, the ATD International Conference and Expo with President Barack Obama, and the United Technologies Diversity Keynote with former Attorney General Eric Holder.
Kelly currently is responsible for leading all Human Resource functions, including planning, position design, recruitment, orientation, training and development, performance, compensation, and benefit design and administration. She works closely with Boyd’s executive team to set and execute strategic HR initiatives, including recruiting and retaining high-caliber employees and maintaining the overall culture of the company.
Prior to joining Boyd Watterson in 2021, Kelly spent eight years with a multi-state custom home builder, leading human resources; beginning as HR Coordinator, and advancing into the HR Director role. Formerly, she spent 10 years working as an OSBA Certified Employment Law Paralegal. Kelly is a graduate from Malone University and holds a BA in Organizational Management and an AA in Business.
Stephanie is responsible for the identification and implementation of strategies that promote equal access to opportunities for all team members across all of our brands. Stephanie brings over 25 years of Experience in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Human Resources, Learning & Development, and other various roles With organizations including Gilead Sciences, MGM Resorts International, and Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts.
Stephanie holds her Degree in Business and is certified in Human Resources, Leadership Effectiveness, Diversity & Inclusion, Change Management, Project Management and Finance from many institutions including the University of California San Diego, Cornell, and PROSCI. She is a certified coach through the Center for Coaching Excellence and is a certified member of the International Coaching Federation (ICF). She has served as a Diversity & Inclusion and Leadership Effectiveness consultant, facilitator, and keynote speaker for organizations and conferences within the United States, Europe, and Asia. Stephanie has also designed and delivered a course focused on Diversity & Inclusion at the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV)
Stephanie relocated from Las Vegas with her husband Mike and dog Mochi. She has two children and two grandchildren (who are her world) and is excited about her move to South Florida. Stephanie reports directly to our Chairman and CEO, Jim Allen
Marisol Ramirez has been the Vice President of Human Resources for Berry Corporation (bry) (Berry) since September 2020. She is a key member of Berry’s executive team reporting directly to the President & CEO. Marisol was previously the Director of Human Resources and had joined the predecessor company LINN Energy in 2014. Marisol currently is responsible for the leadership and management of the Corporate Human Resources Department including Organizational Behavior & Development, Talent Acquisition / Retainment, Corporate Policy Development / Implementation and Payroll & Wellness of over 1300 employees. Marisol has vast experience creating and establishing successful human resources departments to operate as a standalone strategic partner. Marisol’s proven leadership has contributed to successful M&A activity with the most recent acquisition of C&J Well Services in which she led and managed the transition of over 950 employees in 30 days.
Marisol has over 18 years of human resources management experience primarily in the oil and gas industry. From June 2012 to March 2014, Marisol served as the Senior Human Resources Manager for BPS Supply Group. In addition, she has served as the Senior Human Resources Manager and Consultant with Ivanhoe Energy Holdings Inc. from 2009 to 2015, responsible for the US and Latin America divisions. Marisol’s career path began in global communications and the hospitality industry.
Marisol holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Management with a human resources concentration from National University. Marisol is proficient in Spanish, and she is dually certified as a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and Society of Human Resources Management Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP). Marisol serves on Ally’s (formerly Pink Petro) Global Community Council and is proud to be a member of local organizations that support growth in minorities and women such as Latina Leaders of Kern County and Kern County Women in STEM.
Dave Teeter has spent 18 years in the HR function in multiple capacities and joined Wabash in July of 2018. He is currently the Vice President of Talent and Organizational Effectiveness for Wabash, who is the innovation leader of connected solutions for the transportation, logistics, and distribution industries in North America.
Dave provides leadership for Wabash’s enterprise people center of excellence; including talent management and succession, performance management, talent acquisition, university relations, compensation and benefits, learning and development, change management, and organizational assessment and design. He has been in his current role for the last two and a half years, and began his time at Wabash as HR Director for the Commercial Trailer Products business unit.
Prior to joining Wabash, Dave spent 13 years working for Eaton Corporation in various operational and HR roles including union and non-union manufacturing, international assignments and leadership, and resided in multiple geographic locations. Dave has a Masters degree in Human Resource Management and a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology, both from Purdue University in Indiana. He currently resides in Zionsville, IN with his wife and 3 children.
Lytia Watson serves as the Vice President of Human Resource for Deceuninck North America. Lytia has more than 25 years of experience in operations, sales and marketing, supply chain, and multi-site HR leadership in the automotive, distribution, aerospace, and industrial manufacturing industries. Lytia earned an MBA from Miami University, Farmer School of Business.
As an accomplished Business Leader with experience serving as a global strategic HR Business Partner, Lytia’s successes have been achieved by effectively developing and executing HR strategies in optimizing company operations. Lytia specializes in leading organizational change, driving culture & employee engagement, and aligning functional goals with organizational objectives. Lytia is also experienced in identifying organizational needs, implementing action plans, training development and solutions, and building high performing teams. Lytia is passionate about delivering the best possible employee experience to her organizations team’s while also providing significant value to governing stakeholders.
Rick Osmer is an experienced executive sales leader with a focus on the recruiting and talent acquisition industry. Rick’s past leadership experience with ZipRecruiters and SmartRecruiters paved his way to Gem, where he has helped to scale the enterprise sales team. His deep understanding of the industry and enthusiasm for helping teams use solutions to improve their processes has helped him succeed on a global scale.
Track record of leadership in Human Resources, with expertise in executive coaching, acquiring and retaining key talent, driving cultural and behavioral change in organizations, and building leadership capability. Comprehensive experience collaborating with executive management on strategic initiatives and planning. History of guiding, developing, and negotiating with multi-disciplinary teams and diverse groups. Strong strategic thinking and project management skills. Focused, energetic, and positive, with strong creative thinking, problem solving, and decision making skills. Experience serving as a success catalyst for new programs and initiatives for a variety of sectors
Scott Rozzi joined Wabash in 2018 and has spent 22 years in Human Resources. He has excelled at building strong relationships, leading teams, project management, process discipline, data collection/analysis, aligning goals, effective implementation and working in matrixed environments.
Scott currently has the pleasure of working with the People Operations organization which includes the Human Resources business partners and HR Technologies and Analytics team, as well as the Environmental, Occupational Health, Safety and Security professionals.
Prior to joining Wabash, Scott spent 18 years in Human Resources at Ford Motor Company in both corporate and vehicle assembly manufacturing facilities. Scott has a Master of Human Resources and Industrial Relations degree from the University of Illinois, and a Bachelor of Science Psychology degree from Indiana University.
Brandy Sislow has served as the Chief Human Resources Officer for Kendra Scott since April 2020. Prior to joining Kendra Scott, she served in various executive human resources roles, including as Vice President, Human Resources at JCPenney from 2018 to 2020 and Chief Human Resources Officer at Total Wine & More from 2015 to 2018. Other positions held include Global Vice President Human Resources at Claire’s Inc., Senior Vice President, Human Resources at US Foods, Chief Human Resources Officer at Bally Total Fitness, Vice President Human Resources at The Home Depot, and roles of increasing responsibility at Gap Inc. and Marriott International. Ms. Sislow received her B.A. from the University of South Alabama and her M.B.A. with a concentration in Human Resources from the University of New Mexico Anderson School of Management. She also attended the Advanced Global Executive Program at the University of Michigan Stephen M. Ross School of Business.
Larry Kleinman is executive vice president, chief human resources officer for Highmark Health, a $22 billion national, blended health organization that includes one of America’s largest Blue Cross Blue Shield insurers and a growing regional hospital and physician network. Based in Pittsburgh, Pa., Highmark Health’s 37,000 employees mserve millions of customers nationwide through the nonprofit organization’s affiliated businesses including Highmark Inc., Allegheny Health Network, HM Insurance Group, United Concordia Dental, HM Health Solutions and Helion.
Mr. Kleinman is responsible for all aspects of human resources across Highmark Health, including compensation, organization effectiveness, benefits, talent acquisition, diversity and inclusion, and talent management. He possesses extensive experience developing and implementing large-scale workforce and organizational change strategies. Mr. Kleinman connects the knowledge, experience, resources, and ideas needed to simultaneously drive revenue and improve employee engagement.
Prior to joining Highmark Health in 2015, Mr. Kleinman worked for Covenant Health, where he served as executive vice president of human resources. His career experience has also included SAP, a global HR software company, as well as Providence Health & Services, and Campbell Soup.
Mr. Kleinman is active in the community, currently serving on the board of Vibrant Pittsburgh, an organization dedicated to attracting and retaining diverse talent to the city of Pittsburgh.
Mr. Kleinman holds a bachelor’s degree in business management from Ithaca College in New York and a master’s degree in human resources management from the New School for Social Research in New York. He also completed the Harvard Executive Program.
Current Professional Affiliations:
• Vibrant Pittsburgh
Thought Leadership Topics:
Under Mr. Kleinman’s leadership, Highmark Health is on a journey to reimagine its work using digital tools, process improvements and agile approaches to streamline and automate work that is highly manual, repetitive, time consuming and introduces unnecessary error. Building a technology first mindset allows individuals to focus on more meaningful work, enables core business performance and ultimately impacts Highmark Health’s customers, patients, members and communities.
Additionally, Mr. Kleinman has developed an “HR 3.0” model that empowers the enterprise to “HealthUp,” “ScaleUp,” and “ThinkUp.”
• Technology in Talent Development
• Change and Transformation
• AI in the Workplace
Angie Millette is the Director of Human Resources at Preferred Materials, a CRH company. She has always had a passion for people, improving organization cultures and retention through engagement.
Over her 20+ year career she has held various HR leadership roles primarily in the construction industry with such organizations as the Department of Transportation, McLane and for the last 6 years with CRH Americas Materials.
Her drive for employee engagement has led to various employee initiatives to be successfully implemented in other divisions and regions within CRH.
Angie is currently based in Fort Myers Florida, she is a certified DDI Trainer and is an active member of SHRM, NAWIC and Mission Gender Equity as a Mentor Lead.
When she is not working, she enjoys spending time with her family, painting and sketching.
A seasoned talent and organizational capability practitioner, Steven is passionate about equipping colleagues and associates with the knowledge, skills, tools, and resources that they need to fully unleash their personal performance potential. Leveraging lessons learned across multiple industry verticals: wholesale, retail, fintech, financial services, and aerospace & defense, Steven’s expertise and thought leadership have consistently delivered results that contribute to organizational and operational success.
In his current role at Wolseley Canada, Steven is responsible for implementing Wolseley’s talent roadmap, including: talent acquisition, learning & development, leadership development, organizational effectiveness, change management, and the company’s HRIS platform. A former Officer in the Canadian Army, Steven holds a Bachelor and a Masters degree from Royal Military College of Canada.
Giselle Martinez has been with Royal Caribbean Group (RCG) since the summer of 2021. She has supported various corporate and shared services organizations across RCG from an HR perspective. In her role as Director, Human Resources she works alongside the EVP, Shared Services Operations and Chief Legal Officer leading the people strategy for their organizations. Prior to joining RCG, Giselle worked in Human Resources for over 15 years. She’s worked in media, technology, and education industries with notable organizations such as CBS Sports Digital and Florida International University (FIU Online). Giselle received her Master’s in Human Resource Management, from Florida International University.
Lashree Obee is currently Vice President of Human Capital and Diversity and a member of the executive leadership team for Chenega MIOS responsible for leading Human Capital and Diversity initiatives in support of both U.S. and International business operations across 19 subsidiaries which spans 17 countries. She oversees Human Resources, Leadership Development, Talent Acquisition, Compensation and Benefits, Performance Management, Talent Development and Succession Management.
She has over 22 years of experience in Human Resources and Talent Acquisition with extensive experience in the DoD and Federal Contracting industry. Prior to this role, Lashree was Vice President, Human Resources for Chenega MIOS, a strategic business unit of Chenega Corporation responsible for leading the Human Resources team and functional area in performance management, leadership and training development, compensation and benefits, onboarding, compliance, and employee and labor relations.
Prior to joining Chenega MIOS, Lashree had 19 years of experience to include 10 years as Director, Human Resources for CBAIA, a Defense and Federal contracting organization. In addition to her extensive HR experience, she is a proud military veteran who served 11 years in the United States Marine Corps in support of various military commands to include the Deputy Commandant Policies and Operations, Headquarters Marine Corps at the Pentagon.
Lashree has a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Chaminade University of Honolulu and a Master of Science degree in Human Resources and Development from National-Louis University.
Lashree resides in Stafford, VA with her husband Rod and her children and is passionate about serving in her Church and community.
Highly accomplished and dynamic leader with fifteen years of human resources management and development experience. Proven ability to provide vision, leadership, planning, project coordination, and management of HR Operations. Outstanding communication and interpersonal skills
Barry has been at United States Steel Corporation for 5 years. He is responsible for the role of SVP & Chief Human Resources Office. Prior to United States Steel Corporation he worked at Amtrak, Alistar Inc, Owens Corning, among others. He was named HR Executive of the Year by HR Executive Magazine (2016). CHRO, Officer and Board interface in Fortune 500, Fortune 1000 and Private Equity companies. CEO confidante and strategic advisor.
A multi-versed leader, Danell O’Neill operates as Topco’s Executive Vice President of Brand, Marketing, Human Resources and Corporate Communications.
Joining Topco in 2013, Danell oversees the HR department and has established the organization’s core values to ensure continuous improvement, collaboration, communication, customer intimacy and a culture of integrity, respect and social responsibility. Additionally, she orchestrated the buildout of Topco’s people strategy that includes a performance management plan and overarching talent philosophy tenets while also overseeing the work surrounding Topco’s annual corporate priorities.
In addition to Human Resources, she has established a collaborative melding of Topco’s Corporate Communications department to operate in-step with HR. Danell has instilled a One Topco communicative approach to ensure all necessary parties—from Topco associates to member-owner leaders—are aligned on ongoing efforts and initiatives. Her leadership oversees a process to ensure a consistent organizational voice and appropriately tone messages.
In 2021, Danell also began overseeing the Brand and Marketing teams, providing member-owners with brands, assets, and strategies that complement the shopper journey in-home, in-store, and in-aisle. Danell and her team take a strategic, shopper-centric approach to brand and marketing by creating content to meet the shopper wherever they are in their purchasing journey. Through the development of brands and how they come to life, Topco provides members a competitive advantage in the communities they serve.
Aaron leads human resources in the Power Tools & Lifting business unit consisting of team members or manufacturing sites in over 42 countries, while also leading strategy of payroll, HRIS and analytics to support 16,000 employees globally in total Ingersoll Rand.
He joined Ingersoll Rand in 2015 as director of workforce analytics, and then led a global HR team supporting the company’s Compression Technologies and Services business unit where he contributed to large-scale implementations of HR technology, leadership development, and compensation programs. Prior to his current role, Aaron most recently served as the global Human Resources Leader for Ingersoll Rand’s Power Tools and Lifting business unit where his team contributed to significant improvements in revenue, EBITDA, employee turnover, and employee engagement over a three-year period.
Aaron came to Ingersoll Rand with nearly 20 years of operations and human resources leadership experience from his time with CVS Health and Family Dollar Inc. He received his degree in business administration from Franklin University in Columbus, Ohio. Aaron is also a certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, and certified Prosci Change Management Professional.
Tania has been at Grupo Bimbo for 18 years. She earned her Masters in Human Development, Human Studies and Bachelor in Industrial Engineering at the Iberoamericana University in Mexico city.
Elaine joined Diageo in 2005 in her home country of Ireland as an HR Director Business Partner. Over the course of nearly two decades, she held several senior HR leadership roles across multiple Diageo markets. In 2019, Elaine joined the Diageo North America team as SVP for HR, where she sits on the Commercial and Marketing leadership teams for North America.
Elaine has more than 30 years of experience in Human Resources, Change and Transformation leadership roles within the CPG, Oil/Gas, Hospitality and Retail sectors. She is an engaging and inspirational leader with a proven track record of delivering bold but simple and effective strategies. During her career, she has developed a personal purpose, which is to energize others to deliver beyond what they thought was possible. Bringing this purpose to life every day gives her enormous satisfaction and joy.
Prior to her role in North America, she led Diageo’s HR function for their International Supply business based in the Global Supply headquarters in Edinburgh, Scotland. Previous to this role, she led the HR function in both Mexico and in Northern Europe, based out of Amsterdam. Elaine prides herself on creating conditions for her team to deliver strong outcomes in support of overall business performance.
Throughout her tenure at Diageo, she has led transformational organization change, acquisition and integration of new businesses, along with establishing best-in-class talent and capability initiatives, all in service of delivering accelerated business performance. During her time in Mexico the business was recognized as #1 Great Place to Work by the Great Place to work Institute following the implementation of a strong employee engagement and cultural strategy.
Elaine started her career in the hospitality industry, holding management roles in various hotels across Berlin, London, and Dublin. From here she moved to BP Oil and Statoil, holding various senior HR leadership positions for more than 13 years.
Elaine lives with her husband and three children in the New York Metropolitan area
Yesenia M. Gallegos focuses her labor and employment practice on a wide range of matters, including restrictive covenants, wage and hour law, discrimination and harassment claims, executive
employment agreements, leaves of absence, employee terminations and reductions in force. Yesenia represents employers in employment litigation—including class actions—pending in both state
and federal court. She also represents employers in actions against former employees in trade-secret and embezzlement actions that require immediate restraining orders, injunctions and/or liens.
Yesenia advises an array of domestic and international companies, from small business owners to Fortune 500 companies. Yesenia assists employers in establishing work rules and registering such with local labor regulatory agencies in Latin American countries. She also conducts and oversees workplace harassment and discrimination investigations and conducts wage and hour audits. Yesenia provides organizations with English and/or Spanish training on the following: sexual harassment prevention; employment law for managers and supervisors; compliance with California wage and hour law; and the interplay between disability law, reasonable accommodations and leaves of absence.
Yesenia is a frequent author and speaker on labor and employment topics, including those pertaining to the defense of wage and hour class actions and California Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) representative actions. She also often speaks on diversity topics in the legal profession.
Dawn M. Peacock is an employment advisor and litigator. She regularly defends employers in all phases of singleplaintiff and class action litigation in state and federal court. Dawn also regularly handles employment-related agency matters. Her practice focuses on discrimination and retaliation. She has particular experience with claims brought under the ADA, ADEA, Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act and data protection laws.
Dawn’s pro bono practice includes directing diversity efforts with a focus on addressing individuals who are impacted by systematic racial inequality. During law school, Dawn was a notes & comments editor for the Chicago- Kent Law Review and was president of the Student Bar Association.
Director, HR USA for Solotech US Corporation – Human Resources professional with over 30 years of experience. Have served in various sectors and industries to include public, start up, private, PEG owned and venture capital backed companies in Construction, Utilities, Recycling and Bio-Fuels, Medical, Banking, Technology, and Entertainment industries supporting National and Global companies as well as being a Military Veteran of the United States Air Force. Graduated Troy State University with a Masters Degree in Management, Human Resources and a Bachelors Degree in Business Administration from Saint Leo University. I have been a Senior Certified Professional in Human Resources since 2006. Originally from North Carolina, have lived and worked in various states including the Country of Turkey with home being in Florida now for the last 10 years.
Robyn Barker is the Vice President of Sales at Atlas Jobs. Robyn is responsible for developing and leading the partnerships and Go-To-Market strategies for the world’s largest interactive jobs map with smart alerts and intelligent matching. She values integrity in her professional and personal relationships and strives to be a resource through collaborative, strategic, and meaningful business partnerships.
She is an entrepreneurial-minded, experienced, dynamic leader with more than ten years of demonstrated history working in a SaaS organization. She has impacted organizations for both private and public entities with experience in M&A, CRM, ATS, and Background Screening.
Jennifer Christie is Chief People Officer at Twitter. She leads the global People team and works with the executive management team and board of directors to support the strategic direction of the company. Specifically, she oversees talent acquisition and management, diversity and inclusion, People systems and analytics, organizational and performance management, training and development, and total rewards and mobility. She also leads the HR Business Partner teams globally that support the engineering, product, sales and partnerships, and corporate function organizations. The global real estate and workplace organization is also a part of the People Team that she leads.
Prior to joining Twitter in 2017, Jennifer was the senior vice president and head of HR for the Global Consumer Services Group at American Express. In this role, she was responsible for developing and executing the talent, organizational, and leadership strategy for the business. Prior to this role, Jennifer was the vice president and HR Business Partner for Enterprise Growth Group.
In her first three years with American Express, she served as Chief Diversity Officer and vice president, Global Executive Recruitment and was responsible for developing the company’s global diversity and inclusion strategy and led executive level recruitment for all business and staff groups worldwide.
Before joining American Express, Jennifer was a consultant at a leading executive search firm and also spent two years as a Special Assistant to the President of the United States in the White House Office of Presidential Personnel. Before joining the White House, she was an associate at Booz Allen Hamilton in their organizational design and change management practice.
Jennifer started her career in the federal government working for more than a decade for several federal government agencies to support community safety and security programs and implement offender reentry initiatives.
Jennifer received a master’s degree in criminal justice from The George Washington University and a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
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.
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.
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.
Additionally, Kamy serves as executive vice president of Best Buy Canada, where the company operates more than 150 stores. She also previously 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 the company’s 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 & Décor, a leading specialty retailer of hard surface flooring based in Atlanta.
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.
Andrew Davis is the Executive Vice President and Global Chief People Experience Officer at Sony Music Entertainment. Sony Music Entertainment is a leading music, entertainment, and technology company based in Manhattan, NY. In his role, Davis is charged with leading the Company’s global people experience function; including talent acquisition, talent management, compensation and benefits, as well as organizational development and corporate strategy. Davis champions a culture of belonging, excellence, growth and innovation across Sony Music’s global operations in 60+ countries.
Throughout his 22+ years in Human Resources, Davis has held several key positions of increasing responsibility at Yum Brands, Best Buy Company, The Home Depot and most recently served as Chief Human Resources and Inclusion Officer for Lennar Corporation where he was responsible for the areas of culture transformation, talent management, organizational and performance management, learning and development as well as benefits for the Company.
Prior to Lennar, he spent more than a decade leading human resources teams and strategies at The Coca-Cola Company. During his tenure at the Company, he held several key positions of increasing responsibility including leading the Southeast Asia Human Resource function while based in Phnon Penh, Cambodia. Additionally, he served as the Global Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer where he was instrumental in driving strategic DE&I initiatives across 200+ countries.
Davis serves as an independent Board Director and Compensation Committee Chair for Adventist Health, one of the largest Westcoast healthcare systems, based in Roseville, CA. He is also a member of Emory’s Goizueta’s Business School Corporate Advisory Board, and a governing body member of Florida’s Chief Human Resource Officers’ Association. Davis is also a regular guest lecturer for business schools throughout the Atlanta and Miami area.
Davis received his Bachelor of Science in Organizational Management from Washington Adventist University in Takoma Park, Maryland and his MBA from Emory University – Goizueta School of Business in Atlanta, Georgia. Davis also holds several Human Resources certifications in assessment systems and skills training.
Davis is a native of Jamaica, West Indies and proudly calls himself a ‘Ja-Merican’.
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.
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.
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 over 25 years of experience in Human Resources and Transformation leadership roles within CPG organisations and business consulting.
Prior to Diageo she spent six 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.
Originally from South African, Laura left there in 1999 and has since lived in London, Switzerland and currently resides in New York City.
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)
Teresa Mazur is Head of HR, Global Corporate Functions at Takeda, a global, values-based, R&D-driven biopharmaceutical leader headquartered in Japan, committed to discovering and delivering life-transforming treatments, guided by its commitment to patients, people and the planet.
Teresa is inspired to create great places to work that make a difference to individuals and collectively within our global communities. She has over 20 years of business experience developing and implementing contemporary people solutions that make an impact. She joined Takeda in 2018 and is a member of the HR Leadership Team reporting to the CHRO. She is responsible for leading an organization that delivers HR strategies and programs supporting all of the Global Corporate Functions which span 45 countries and six Takeda Executive Team members.
In 2019, Takeda acquired Shire, expanding the company’s geographic footprint and leading position in Japan and the U.S., and creating a company that brings highly-innovative medicines to approximately 80 countries/regions with 50,000 employees worldwide. Since that time, Teresa and her Global HR team have been part of the team leading business transformations to modernize the Global Corporate Functions, particularly in key areas of Finance, Data, Digital & Technology and HR.
Prior to joining Takeda, Teresa was a vice president of HR for Fiserv, a Fortune 500 financial services technology company. She also has served in HR leadership roles for other healthcare companies (Integra Lifesciences and CIGNA) and spent her early career in a variety of roles within the consulting firm Towers Perrin, now Willis Towers Watson.
Teresa holds a master’s degree from Villanova University and a bachelor’s degree from Pennsylvania State University.
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.
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.
Enabling people to shape their own career paths. This exciting proposition perfectly sums up my professional work. I began my own career in human relations – employee training and reconversion – and those formative years left an indelible impression on how I view Human Resources. I learned the importance of combatting discrimination. I witnessed the strength that some people gain from their fragile situations.
I have always had a taste for risk, complex and innovative environments. I feel very much at home at LVMH, which I joined in 2007. For the past 10 years, I have worked in the area of talent and career management while developing and leading in-house coaching and leadership programs (EllesVMH coaching and Women@Dior). Identifying and revealing people potential, showcasing their abilities and finding the right environment for them to move up within the company is very gratifying. The positive impact of helping others is a source of daily satisfaction.
What could be better than having the freedom to work creatively as part of a global luxury goods company that is such a high concentration of brilliant minds? The values of diversity and inclusion promoted by LVMH are consistent with my own views regarding equality and doing things the right way. My arrival in New York in 2019 was a wonderful cultural transition, since words turn quickly into actions here.
Motivated by the examples of high-profile women, e.g. Hannah Arendt or Michelle Obama to cite but two, I have had the good fortune to work with many inspirational talents. A member for the past 20 years of various associations and boards promoting gender equality and human rights, I continuously strive to break through glass ceilings and celebrate intersectional identities.
Carlos Guerra is currently Vice President and Head of Human Resources for Nissan Americas. In this role, Carlos is responsible for all aspects of the strategic direction and operations of human resources (HR) for the Americas Region, responsible to lead entire HR Organization for U.S., Canada, Mexico and Latin America supporting more than 45,000 employees, and leading a HR team of more than 500 HR professionals supporting Manufacturing, Distribution, Marketing , Sales, R&D, Sales Finance and all support functions. Prior to this role, Carlos was senior director and acting vice president of HR, for Nissan U.S. and Canada.
Before to joining Nissan in 2018, Carlos was the Global HR Director at Cardinal Health for Latin America who lead the integration Medtronic’s and J&J in this region.
Carlos initiated his HR career in General Electric where he spent 10 years building an ascended Global career taking several Leadership roles in the USA and Mexico, after GE Carlos moved to PepsiCo North America where he held several HR Leadership roles.
Guerra holds a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from Universidad Valle del Bravo in Mexico.
Sam Jackson currently serves as vice president of human resources for Domino’s, developing and driving talent strategies for the company. He is a senior leader with proven results around navigating complex problems, driving performance and inspiring change. Jackson joined Domino’s in 2018 and leads the human resource business partners teams, as well as the company’s pandemic and future of work strategies.
Prior to joining Domino’s, Jackson served as Target’s senior director of human resources where he managed teams across Asia, India, Latin America and the U.S. He has held various roles with Target, including leading human resources for more than 3,000 employees at the corporation’s headquarters in India.
Jackson also served in a number of real estate, supply chain and store design management roles with Target, after joining the corporation in 2006. Jackson holds a Bachelor of Arts in international studies from Brigham Young University, as well as a Juris Doctor from Hamline School of Law, where he focused in dispute resolution and employment/labor law.
Willie S. Grant has 25+ years of global Human Resources experience across multiple industries and cultures. He has a proven track record in HR strategy development, driving organizational performance and building and leading globally diverse teams.
Mr. Grant is Vice President, Human Resources, Enabling Functions for Bristol-Myers Squibb. He leads strategic Human Resources efforts across eight global functions reporting to the Chief Human Resources Officer and is a member of the Global Human Resources Leadership Team.
Prior to joining Bristol-Myers Squibb, Mr. Grant spent 12 years at Mead Johnson Nutrition, a $4 billion-dollar leader in infant nutrition, in roles of increasing responsibility working both domestically and internationally.
Before joining Mead Johnson, Mr. Grant worked in regional and global HR leadership roles for multinational companies including General Electric, PepsiCo and Pfizer.
He obtained his Master’s degree in Industrial Labor Relations and Human Resources from Rutgers University in New Jersey. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business with a concentration in Human Resources from the University of Buffalo in New York.
In addition to his professional work experience, Mr. Grant served on the Conference Executive Board Asia Leadership Council; the Board of Directors for the National Association of African American Human Resources Professionals (NAAAHR) Atlanta Chapter; is a current member if the NAAAHR New Jersey Chapter, he previously served on the Board of Directors for the Joshua Academy Charter School in Evansville, Indiana. Mr. Grant has also served as an Adjunct Professor at University of Evansville in Evansville, IN.
Binh Nguyen is the Vice President of Talent Acquisition, Strategy & Operations for Walmart. He is a seasoned talent acquisition executive with 21 years’ experience delivering forward-thinking recruiting solutions for top Fortune 50 companies. He joined Walmart from IBM, where he was Vice President of Talent Acquisition. He also acted as the Global TA Delivery Leader across IBM’s business and major geographies. Before IBM, Binh held Talent Acquisition Leadership positions at GE Digital, Microsoft, and InterSystems, where he successfully implemented enterprise-wide recruiting strategies, rolled out an Agile recruiting methodology, and drove differentiated sourcing models using AI and Machine Learning. He has led talent delivery teams across all major continents and has spent considerable time working in international markets, including Latam, EMEA, and Asia-Pacific. Binh is a steadfast and passionate advocate for his teams. He earned bachelor’s degrees in Anthropology and Sociology from Wheaton College. For leisure, Binh enjoys playing tennis and camping with his wife Naomi and two daughters, Autumn (12) and Carmela (8).
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.
Robin Everhart joined Louisiana Pacific in April 2019. She is responsible for leading LP’s global human resources strategy and driving organizational effectiveness and transformational change to create a high-performance business culture. In her role, she leads talent acquisition, leadership development, diversity and inclusion, organizational design, cultural development, employee education and training, corporate communications, compensation and benefits. Prior to joining LP, Everhart served in a variety of executive, leadership, and operational roles within Fortune 500 companies including: Cintas Corporation, The Home Depot, and Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc.
Everhart is a member of the Louisiana Pacific Executive Team and has held multiple advisory and board positions for private and non-profit organizations including: ArtsWave, Talbert House, Miami University Center of Business Excellence, Women’s Food Service Forum, Xavier University Williams College of Business, St. Aloysius Orphanage, American Heart Association. Robin has served as keynote speaker, panelist, subject matter expert, and executive presenter at various conferences, corporations and universities. Robin’s leadership messages have also been shared in written form as well as via podcasts.
Throughout her career, Robin has been recognized in many capacities including: Top Executive in Corporate Diversity by Black Enterprise Magazine, one of Ohio’s Top 12 Business Women by the Ohio Diversity Council, YWCA Career Woman of Achievement, one of Ohio’s Most Powerful and Influential Women by the National Diversity Council and Civic Leadership Award by Venue Magazine.
A native of Connecticut, Robin transitioned to the south to earn her degree from the University of Georgia and currently resides in Nashville, TN with her husband, dogs, and three wonderful daughters.
Tina Krebs is Chief People Officer at Relias, a healthcare technology company. She leads the People function and works with the executive management group and board of directors to support the strategic direction of the company. Specifically, she oversees talent acquisition, total rewards, diversity and inclusion, HR systems and analytics, organizational and performance management, training and development, and the project management office at Relias. She also leads the facilities organization, which focuses on real estate, building operations, and corporate responsibility at Relias.
Prior to joining Relias in 2016, Tina was a partner at the boutique management consulting firm, ScottMadden Inc., and led its HR practice area. In this role, she was responsible for advising Fortune 500 companies on HR strategy and operational improvements, working across all functions in the HR continuum. Prior to leading the HR practice area, Tina also consulted in the areas of Finance, Supply Chain, and Environmental service operations. She has worked in numerous industries including energy E&P and utilities, defense and aerospace, technology, automotive, transportation and healthcare.
Tina started her career as a reservoir engineer working for Shell Oil in the international division, Pecten Producing Company, working on fields in Cameroon and Yemen.
Tina received a master’s degree in business from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University and a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Florida State University.
Robin proudly serves as the Chief People Officer of Ivy Rehab, a network of 275+ best-in-class outpatient physical, occupational, speech and ABA therapy clinics backed by the Private Equity firm Waud Capital Partners. With 2,200 teammates and growing rapidly, Ivy Rehab Network consists of multiple brands in 11 states within the Northeast (NY, NJ, CT, PA, DE), the Midwest (IL, IN, MI) and the Southeast (NC, SC, VA). As head of the Human Resources team, Robin leads Ivy’s talent acquisition, performance management, talent development & engagement and learning & development functions, all focused on delivering exceptional patient experiences and outcomes.
Robin began her career in management consulting with PwC Consulting and has held Human Resources leadership positions at Diageo, Nestle and the Blue Buffalo Company.
Outside of work, Robin is on the Board of Directors of The Tiny Miracles Foundation and enjoys spending time with her husband, triplet teenagers and rescue dogs.
Christina currently acts as the EVP HR business strategic partner within the private equity space. She has worked within a variety of successful organizations and industries to scale & transform HR in early stage growth and companies with extensive global reach. Christina creates organizational momentum partnering with the business to support the strategic direction and coaches leadership to align initiatives with P&L goals. She has combined her strong international law background with HR compliance and program development to deliver total rewards and talent management programs to support succession planning, workforce planning, and Human Resources Business Partner Models. Christina has extensive experience leading M&A due diligence & integration with public and privately held organizations spanning in size from 350 to 50,000 employees. She provides Executive and Senior leadership coaching, partners with the business in defining and cultivating successful and differentiated cultures, employer brands as well as university programs mentoring. Christina is a key member of several advisory boards and has attended the Wharton Executive Program. She holds an MBA, Human Resources, Capella University and a BS, Business/Human Resources Management, Southern Connecticut State University, Florida State University.
Sherry’s project experience spans 20+ years across multiple industries including retail, healthcare, legal, and now cannabis. She has a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Virginia Tech and migrated from IT to Human Resources mid-career. Sherry has supported business leaders in all areas of HR with expertise in managing projects and delivering solutions to enhance people processes. Throughout her career, Sherry has led countless program implementations and thrives while working with leaders to improve the employee experience and support strategic business initiatives. Sherry joined Columbia Care in 2019 where she now leads enterprise-wide initiatives such as M&A integration, the Project Management Office, Diversity & Inclusion, Learning & Development, Organizational Design, and more. Sherry is also a Gallup-certified Strengths Coach, and when she’s not working, she enjoys lake-life, golf, and weekend road trips with her Carolina dog and husband.
Tim Betry is an experienced People & Talent executive with a passion to help build inclusive, high performance, and scalable organizations. With a background rooted in Talent Acquisition, Tim provides a unique lens as a People leader with a focus on creating highly differentiated cultures to attract and retain top talent. His experience ranges from scaling startups through hyper-growth from 50 to 400+ employees, to his most recent position at GoPro where he leads global People and Places functions. Tim also serves as an Advisor for People Tech Partners which is an early stage advisory and investment group to support the acceleration of its portfolio companies. Tim holds an Executive MBA from the University of San Francisco and a B.A. in History from San Francisco State University.
Karen has an 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 PHR, SHRM-CP, and a Certified HealthCare Reform Specialist (CHRS). Currently working for Satcom Direct, Inc. as the Vice President of Human Resources, a global satellite telecommunications company, Karen is passionate about sharing her expertise. Voluntary work includes serving as 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 Associate VP 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 mentor 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/
Ms. Stacey S. Calvert is currently Vice President, Global Head of Human Resources for Draken International, a provider of contract air services and training support to military and civil customers. Prior to joining Draken, Stacey was VPHR for GKN Aerospace and before that was with a private equity-owned global industrial manufacturing business as Corporate Director of Employee Relations and Division VPHR for the Precision Flow Systems business unit (now an Ingersoll Rand company). Before changing career paths and moving into Human Resources, Stacey held in-house legal counsel roles in the technology and manufacturing industries and was an employment litigation associate with a leading employment law boutique firm. Ms. Calvert earned her Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Alabama School of Law and has a Master’s degree in Public Administration from the University of Alabama at Birmingham with an emphasis in Organizational Management.
Since joining Reell in 2004, she has worked across many areas of manufacturing including sourcing, customer account management, accounting support, manufacturing process improvements, HR management, quality and overall office administration of Reell’s Spring Technologies division. Since 2010, Ms. Erdman serves as Reell’s Corporate Secretary overseeing the overall governance of the corporation. Since 2012 Ms. Erdman holds the role of VP of Global HR (CWS) with primary responsibilities including overseeing global benefits, recruiting, compensation, performance management, HRIS system administration, overall corporate training and succession planning. Since 2012 she has been serving and continues to serve as an Officer, ESOP Trustee and 401K fiduciary. Ms. Erdman is an active member of the Senior Executive Network, HR Executive Network in the Twin Cities, as well as other local chapters including the Midwest ESOP chapter.
Melissa Johnston, Vice President of Human Resources for Pacific Bells, LLC and World Wide Wings, LLC. Pacific Bells, LLC is a franchisee of Taco Bell with approximately 6,000 employees within 7 different states, and World Wide Wings, LLC is a franchisee of Buffalo Wild Wings with approximately 4,000 employees across 7 different states. Melissa has spent much of her 20 year HR career in the retail/restaurant space. She received her degree from the University of Washington (Go Huskies!) and has been “people focused” ever since.
Rick Hamman is the Global Director for Talent Management and HR at Ascend Performance Materials, a chemical company headquartered in Houston, TX that specializes in Nylon 6,6. His primary area of focus is leadership and employee development along with organizational effectiveness. He also serves as the global HR partner for Ascend’s commercial organization.
Rick is a talent management professional with 20 plus years of experience in various aspects of training, education, professional development, leadership development, succession planning and organizational development. His career has included positions in multiple industries including software, waste management, public and private education, offshore drilling, manufacturing and chemicals.
Rick moved to Houston in 2000 after spending 2 years living in Spain. Rick graduated from Indiana University – Bloomington in 1996 with bachelor’s degrees in both Spanish and Criminal Justice. Rick serves on the Board of Communities in Schools of Houston and he and his wife have 6 children.
CeLois Steele is Director Global Diversity & Inclusion External Engagement at Bristol-Myers Squibb. In this role CeLois has the responsibility for building collaborative partnerships and reputational trust among key influencers and decision makers in government, business, and national and local community-based organizations and developing and driving the company-wide strategy to shape a diverse culture of inclusion that drives business performance in the U.S. and global markets.
Steele brings over 25 years of experience in HR, Diversity & Inclusion and Marketing across multiple industries. Leveraging her cross-industry experience and leadership roles in the private, public and non-profit sectors she has a successful track record of building strategic alliances that complement the reputation of Bristol Myers Squibb as leader in the bio-pharmaceutical industry.
Throughout her career she has led with a commitment to inclusion and equity as both a corporate and community leader and has developed strategic programs and initiatives in health, education, workforce development, and human trafficking.
CeLois has earned a reputation for leadership, innovation, and results, in previous roles in Marketing at IBM, Director of Diversity at the Pillsbury Company, Multicultural Marketing at General Mills, Corporate Affairs at Carlson and non-profits organizations at Minneapolis United Way and Girl Scouts, Inc. Her awards include the Minneapolis United Way Unsung Hero, Minnesota NAWBO Corporate Woman of Achievement, and the NAACP New Brunswick Area Branch Corporate Diversity Award.
She is a member of The Conference Board Diversity & Inclusion Council, serves on the NAACP Foundation Board of Directors where she is Chair of the Programs and Scholarship committees. CeLois is a former Board Chair of the Minneapolis Urban League and a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
Michelle Radcliffe is a performance-driven senior level Human Resources executive committed to developing people and organizations by applying expertise in human resources and business strategy, talent acquisition and retention/turnover, employee and labor relations, workforce planning, conflict resolution and talent management. She is passionate about building an exceptional organizational culture through team member and provider engagement, collaborative relationships, and service excellence.
Michelle graduated from Rollins College with honors with her Master’s degree in Human Resources Management. She currently lives in Orlando with her husband, two daughters and puppy Mimi. When Michelle is not working she likes to spend time with her family, run, read, travel and bake.
A global Talent Acquisition COE leader establishing best in class recruitment and DEI practices across various industries, including hospitality, retail and medical device. Since commencing with Getinge in March 2017, together with a great team and cross-collaboration, developed a talent acquisition strategy which included recruitment and diversity related training, employer branding, social media campaigns, internship experience program, and networking sponsored events. Accomplishments include development of a virtual orientation program, implementation of a talent community website, roll-out of an internship program and production of video testimonials.