Marjorie Powell

Marjorie Powell is a collaborative people strategist and leader with a passion for inspiring others to achieve excellence. She brings 25+ years of Human Resources Generalist, Organization Development, Executive Compensation, Talent and Learning Management, Change Management, Organizational Strategy and Executive and Leadership Development experience acquired through various senior leadership and C-suite HR roles in the higher education and large non-profits sectors. Marjorie has held leadership positions at Michigan State University, Wayne State University, Georgetown University, University of Maryland (in Baltimore), National Public Radio, Inc. and AARP.

Marjorie is skilled in connecting with people, cultivating team dynamics and crafting innovative solutions to deliver people development, performance optimization and culture change. She is recognized as an effective leader, change agent, thought partner, and executive coach who loves the challenge of inspiring individual, team and organizational effectiveness to increase revenue and organizational efficiency, employee engagement and workplace productivity. Her passion is in creating best-in-class organizational strategies that align the people resources with the goals and strategic objectives of the organization.

Marjorie holds a Bachelor's degree in Sociology from Boston University and a Juris Doctorate degree from The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law.

In her spare time, Marjorie is an avid reader and watcher of documentaries who is always on a personal development journey. She enjoys community service, theatre, all genres of music and the arts, golfing and travel.

Ellyn Shook

Ellyn Shook is Accenture’s chief leadership & human resources officer, responsible for helping the 738,000 people of Accenture succeed both professionally and personally. Her global team of HR leaders is re-imagining leadership and talent practices to create the most truly human work environment in the digital age, fueling Accenture’s ability to live its purpose: to deliver on the promise of technology and human ingenuity.

A member of Accenture’s Global Management Committee and Investment Committee, Ellyn is a strong advocate for inclusion and diversity and Accenture has been widely recognized externally as an employer of choice and for their equality efforts. As an author on the topics of future of work, inclusion and diversity and responsible leadership, Ellyn frequently advises Accenture’s clients on these topics and on leading large-scale transformational change based on the talent and culture transformation she’s led at Accenture.

Ellyn is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Shaper Community Foundation Board and serves on the board of directors of BRP Group, Paradigm for Parity and the HR Policy Association. She also serves as the program chair of the Peer Roundtable of CHROs, is vice chair for the Center on Executive Compensation and is active in both the NY Jobs CEO Council and HR50. Ellyn was named HR Executive of the Year by Human Resource Executive in 2020 and inducted as a Fellow in the National Academy of Human Resources in 2021. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Purdue University.

Brendan Reidy

Brendan joined the Acushnet Company in January 2019 as the company’s Chief Human Resources Officer. He is currently the Chief People Officer. Prior to joining the Company, he was Vice President HR - Organizational Effectiveness at Biogen where he had responsibility for talent management, global learning, culture initiatives, and people analytics. In his 7 years at Biogen, he also led HR for the global R&D organization and Global Commercial Operations. In those roles, he led global initiatives to improve leadership succession, build capability, and improve employee engagement in support of the company’s growth. Brendan holds a B.A. in English from Stonehill College.

Nakesha Lopez

Nakesha Lopez is Executive Vice President, Chief People & Culture Officer, for Advocate Health—the country’s third largest nonprofit health system with 155,000 teammates across six states. She joined the organization in March 2024 to lead the strategic management and delivery of all people programs, policies, processes and practices for Advocate Health. She will align the HR function with the organization’s strategy, driving teammate engagement, delivering the employee value proposition to ensure Advocate Health as a best place to work in health care, and enabling the organization to build human capability, among others.

Nakesha is a strategic and transformational leader who brings more than 20 years of experience building and transforming the human resources function across health care and other industries. Most recently she served as the Chief Human Resources Officer and Chief Diversity Officer for Baylor, Scott, & White. In this roles she provided strategic oversight of human capital planning, talent management, total rewards, strategic DE&I strategies and culture.

Prior to her time at Baylor, Scott, & White, Nakesha served as vice president of human resources for Barclays Capital. She joined the organization as an assistant vice president of human resources from Lehman Brothers during their acquisition.

Nakesha received her bachelor’s degree in sociology from Hunter College and a master in business administration in human resource management from the University of Phoenix.

Anthony Williams

Anthony Williams is Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer at Akamai. Williams leads global HR strategy including workplace management, employee development, talent acquisition, inclusion and diversity and compensation and benefits across Akamai’s more than 40 offices around the world.

Williams assumed the role effective January 1, 2020, after five years with Akamai. He began his Akamai career with the task of developing a world-class global recruiting function and was the company’s first diversity and inclusion leader. He led the human resources function for Akamai’s growing populations outside of the U.S., reflecting the company’s expanded footprint.

He played an essential role in the Akamai Foundation’s transition from private funding to an official corporate philanthropic entity. He serves as its president and hired its first executive director. Further, Williams launched the company’s employee resource groups (ERGs), voluntary associations that represent the needs of Akamai’s global employee population. He also launched the Akamai Technical Academy, a training program designed for people who have an interest and aptitude for technology but may not come from a traditional technical background. The unique program empowers diverse talent with technical work-ready skills while offering opportunities for prepared graduates to become full-time employees of Akamai.

Prior to Akamai, Williams held a wide range of global human resources positions at First Data Corporation, Newell Rubbermaid, and Time Warner – Turner Broadcasting System. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Management from Norfolk State University and a Master of Business Administration from University of Georgia, Terry College of Business.

Cassandra Caldwell

Dr. Cassandra D. Caldwell is Akerman’s Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer, providing strategic leadership in advancing the firm’s DEI efforts. An internationally renowned diversity and inclusion expert, she has more than 24 years of experience guiding corporate organizations and other major institutions to achieving tangible, sustainable results. She works closely with the firm’s leadership to implement programming, initiatives, outreach, and external partnerships designed to propel recruitment, engagement, development, and retention, strengthening Akerman’s foundational commitment to DEI.

Before joining Akerman, Dr. Caldwell served in various leadership roles for a number of companies, educational institutions, and government agencies. She has also held several academic appointments, instructing at the university level on an array of topics including leadership, diversity and inclusion, human resources, organizational theory and behavior, and research methods.

Dedicated to community service, Dr. Caldwell devotes her skills and time to serving in leadership positions in numerous nonprofit organizations, including establishing the Loaves and Fishes Fund that focuses on eliminating food insecurity for people and pets in Florida and North Carolina and the Triangle Area Next Generation of African American Philanthropists Fund.

Brenda Leadley

Ms. Leadley has been employed by the Allianz Group for 21 years. During this time, she has worked in a variety of functions, including marketing, communications, IT and Claims. These experiences coupled with a master’s degree in Organizational Management and Development and 17+ years in HR honed her interest in the drivers of positive corporate culture, including leadership, trust and transparency and organizational design as it relates to accountability and decision making. Currently, she is the regional head of HR for the US, Canada and Bermuda for Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS). She manages all aspects of HR from benefits ($54M+ budget, 32 benefits plans) to HRIS/payroll (22 vendors, 28 system interfaces) to development and employee relations (~1700 employees). Ms. Leadley joined Allianz in 1999 at its property & casualty company, Fireman's Fund, where she was in the marketing department. From there, she spent two years in IT, developing web application standards and becoming a usability expert and then moved to Claims building the Claims Academy. All three roles involved significant change management efforts. In 2005, she moved to the Allianz headquarters in Munich to lead three global HR IT projects, including talent and performance management, elearning and erecruiting. After five years, Ms. Leadley transferred to Paris to become global head of talent management at Euler Hermes, another Allianz subsidiary, where she implemented talent management and talent acquisition tools, processes and standards along with delivering the Euler Hermes Academy. In 2015, she returned to the US to head HR for Euler Hermes's Americas region, and then in 2018 she was appointed regional HR head for AGCS in New York.

Cole Brown

Cole Brown is American’s Chief People Officer. In this role, she leads all aspects of the airline’s People organization, including the teams supporting Global Talent and Recruitment; Benefits; Global Compensation; People Operations; Global Learning; and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

Cole most recently served as Vice President, Human Resources for Amazon’s Devices & Services, Corporate & Business Development, and Advertising & Entertainment business segments. Prior to this role, she was Amazon’s Vice President of Human Resources for North America Customer Fulfillment. In these roles, she served as each business’s chief human resources officer with responsibility for all aspects of human resources, including recruiting, organizational design, training and development, diversity and inclusion, and employee relations.

Prior to Amazon, Cole served as Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer for Conifer Health Solutions. Her experience also includes serving as Senior Vice President of Human Resources for Walmart U.S. Stores Operations, the company’s largest business segment. Before that, she served as Chief Diversity Officer for Walmart, Inc. Prior to joining Walmart in its Legal Department, Cole practiced as an attorney specializing in employment law and administrative regulations with Bashen Consulting, Wickliff & Hall, P.C. and Doerner, Saunders, Daniel & Anderson, L.L.P.

Cole holds both a bachelor’s degree and a Juris Doctor from Southern Methodist University in Dallas.

Tawana Thomas Johnson

Tawana Thomas Johnson is our senior vice president and chief diversity officer and serves on the CEO’s executive team.

In her mission-critical role, Tawana heads up our stand-alone Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion team and is ultimately responsible for leading efforts to design and implement strategies that drive diversity, equity, and inclusion to meet our mission, revenue, and talent goals.

Since joining the American Cancer Society in 2006 as director of Health Disparities for the former South Atlantic Division, Tawana has led the development of outreach tools, programs, and resources to increase awareness of the unequal burden of cancer in diverse communities, resulting in the significant increase of diverse constituents utilizing our organization’s programs and services. Among these tools is the “More Than Conquerors” documentary, which features testimonies and interviews with cancer survivors, caregivers, physicians, and renowned clergy. Tawana served as executive producer for the documentary, which received national acclaim and premiered at the National Black Film Festival.

Tawana has successfully led the American Cancer Society in increasing workforce diversity at all levels of the organization (a 17% increase in the overall hiring rate from 2017 to 2019), addressing pay parity, and significantly improving employee engagement around diversity and inclusion. Under her leadership, ACS also joined the CEO Action for Diversity and Inclusion movement, which brings together more than 1,600 organizations committed to driving diversity and inclusion within their organizations. Tawana’s ongoing role also includes engaging corporate executives, high-level donors, and leadership volunteers in furthering the fight against cancer through revenue generation and mission engagement.

Additionally, Tawana provides leadership for an initiative in partnership with The Links, Incorporated, and the Elevance Health Foundation that aims to recruit 500 diverse volunteers and reach an estimated 10,000 people with information about cancer prevention and early detection.

Tawana also serves in leadership capacities with several national organizations including the African Heritage Studies Association, The Links, Incorporated, and the NAACP. She also serves on several boards, including the Oprah Winfrey Network OWN Your Health advisory board.

Matthew Breitfelder

Mr. Breitfelder is a Senior Partner and Global Head of Human Capital at Apollo Global Management and is a member of the firm’s Management Committee. He is responsible for aligning all human capital initiatives and functions with the strategic objectives of the firm. Mr. Breitfelder leads talent management, leadership development, diversity and inclusion, performance management, learning, compensation and benefits, and recruiting. Prior to joining Apollo, he was Managing Director and Chief Talent Officer at BlackRock, as well as a member of the Operating Committee. Previously, Mr. Breitfelder held talent and strategy roles at Mastercard, PwC, and the Corporate Executive Board. He began his career at the U.S. Department of Commerce, where he focused on international trade and economic policy. Mr. Breitfelder serves on the boards of the Lumina Foundation and the Aspen Institute’s Business and Society program. He holds a BA in economics from the University of Southern California, an MSc from the London School of Economics, and an MBA from Harvard Business School. 

Kenneth Sharperson

As the firm’s Chief Diversity Officer, Kenneth Sharperson leads the execution of the firm’s strategy on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), as well as ongoing and new initiatives to build and sustain a culture of inclusion and belonging. He collaborates with firm leaders to embed a diverse and inclusive culture into the firm’s talent practices, business strategy, drive inclusion programming and initiatives, and support various affinity organizations firmwide and in the communities where we work and live.

Kenneth has extensive experience developing and implementing DEI programs in the public, nonprofit and legal sectors, including six years of service leading the Diversity Committee of a state bar association. Kenneth believes that a data-driven approach to DEI provides critical intelligence for determining where to focus DEI efforts to drive meaningful impact. As the driver of Armstrong Teasdale’s commitment to addressing the legal industry’s lack of diversity in its workforce, Kenneth will work with law schools to create pathways and expand the pipeline to the legal profession. In his role, Kenneth also will be involved in cultivating key internal and external partnerships to drive strategic diversity and inclusion marketing, as well as business development strategies.

As a practicing lawyer, Kenneth brings unique perspective to the role, as well as a deep understanding of client needs and expectations, and the challenges facing the legal industry. He previously served as counsel to clients across the country in insurance coverage and commercial litigation.

Kenneth collaborates with the firm’s Executive and Inclusion Committees in developing and advancing the firm’s DEI strategy, including the rollout of various trainings and programs, support of resource groups and affinity groups, and a targeted and intentional approach. He works within the firm to raise awareness, assist each department and practice group with implementation of best practices in alignment with the Inclusion Committee’s priorities and goals.

Kenneth has been a champion of diversity and inclusion in the legal profession for over twenty years and is a sought-after speaker and frequently called upon to discuss a host of DEI topics, including managing risks around diversity and inclusion efforts at law firms, building and sustaining inclusive workplaces and increasing a law firm’s financial outlook through DEI. Kenneth is a thought leader and regularly published in connection with his insights as it relates to the evolution of DEI in the legal field.

Kenneth is active in DEI initiatives affecting the legal field, including the Law Firm Anti-Racism Alliance’s Education Working Group. This group, which focuses on how structural racism informs various areas of law, is responsible for producing research papers and other work products that will be included in the Systemic Racism Legal Inventory. As a recipient of the certificate in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the Workplace from the University of South Florida, Kenneth is well versed in the essential practices and tools designed to increase workplace diversity and to create a business model that embraces equity and inclusion.

Laura Birk

Laura Birk is the Head of Human Resources for the Americas Division of Barilla Group where she has been for almost 15 years. Laura is responsible for all of the talent and people processes and culture enrichment for Canada, United States, Mexico, and Brazil. Prior to Barilla she was accountable for Leadership Development at Discover Card/Morgan Stanley. Laura is passionate about D&I efforts and serves on several non-profit and advisory councils outside of work. She is the proud working mom of three daughters and works in the Chicagoland area.

Jon Frampton

Jon Frampton is Chief Human Resources Officer for Baylor Scott and White Health.

Carolynn Ryan

Carolynn Ryan is BC Hydro’s Senior Vice-President, People & Chief Human Resources Officer and has been with the company since 2018. She leads the team of HR professionals who support employees through the entire employment life cycle from recruitment to retirement.

Carolynn’s portfolio includes recruitment, people development, inclusion and diversity, labour relations, benefits and ethics. Her team works collaboratively with many groups across the organization to support managers and employees to do their best work, recognizing that everyone comes to work every day wanting to add value and be valued.

Carolynn has worked in HR for her entire career, specializing for many years in Labour Relations and collective bargaining. Before joining BC Hydro, she worked at WorkSafeBC for 25 years in progressively more senior positions in Human Resources, with her final positions as Director of Labour Relations & Strategic Partnerships and Director, HR Operations - Worker and Employer Services. She also served on the Board of Directors for the Law Society of BC as a Bencher for four years and as HR Committee Chair for several non-profit childcare Boards.

Carolynn was born in Prince George, raised in Kamloops and briefly lived in Mississauga, but she’s called Vancouver home for many years. She lives by the motto “lead, learn, share” recognizing that when we lead by example, learn from one another, and are open to sharing our knowledge and experience, we all grow.

Amanda Bailey

Amanda Bailey joined BU as the Vice President for Human Resources in August 2021. Prior to her role at BU, Amanda served as the Vice President of Human Resources at Brown University and held the roles of Associate Vice President and Acting Chief of Staff at Morehouse College. She brings more than thirty years of professional experience in human resources and has held senior human resources leadership positions over the past two decades at secondary and post-secondary educational institutions. Amanda has previously served as a national board member to the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources and is a current board member to the Society for Higher Education HR Executives (SHEHRE), the American Research Universities’ Human Resource Institute, the New England Human Resources Association, Skills for Rhode Island’s Future, Operation ABLE, the Governing Body for Evanta (a Gartner company), and advisory board member to the Anne Frank Center for Mutual Respect. She frequently participates in events addressing workforce trends and thought leadership for the future of work, workplace, and workplace culture. Amanda has been featured in several publications and recognized as an influencer in HR in 2023 by Who’s Who in America for Top Executives, INC Magazine for Top HR Business Leaders in 2023, Making Boston University Resemble Boston by Vision Magazine, The Ambitious Women to Follow in Business in 2023 in FORTUNES Crown Magazine, and Top 10 Influential Business Leaders in 2022 by CIOViews. Amanda remains an active member of SHRM and additional local and national HR organizations. Prior to joining the education industry, Amanda held HR positions at private and public organizations such as American Express and the National Labor Relations Board. When available, Amanda enjoys traveling across the US, volunteering her time as a mentor, and attending arts events.

Amanda earned a bachelor’s degree from Florida Atlantic University, a master’s degree in Human Resources Management and Labor Relations from the University of Rhode Island, and has an additional certification in labor relations in education.

Parul Kapoor

Parul Kapoor leads the global Talent & Culture team, and operations supporting the company’s 800+ employees around the world. Parul joins us with a solid track record of developing and leading human resource programs at Cadence Design Systems where she was most recently the Human Resource Vice President for Global R&D, IT, and Marketing and Business Development.

Parul had several roles during her 12 year stay at Cadence where she oversaw rapid growth, transformation and scaling processes, and prior she was an HR business partner for Sales at Google in India.
Parul has a BS in Biology from the University of Delhi and an MBA from the Symbiosis Centre for Management and Human Resource Development in Pune.

Wes Burke

Wes was appointed Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) of Care.com in April 2023. As CHRO, he oversees the Company’s global human resources function, including people operations (talent acquisition, compensation, performance management and benefits), workforce strategy, and culture and engagement, among other areas.

An accomplished and seasoned executive, Wes brings 20 years of experience to Care having most recently served as Head of Human Resources for GameStop since October 2020. Earlier in 2020, he was CHRO for Accent Food Services after having spent six years as Vice President of People & Culture at Alchemy Systems. Before that Wes held various leadership roles at Target and Floor & Décor.

Wes received his B.B.A. from Sam Houston State University in Texas and serves on the Board of Directors for Goodwill Central Texas. He is also a member of the Society for Human Resource Management.

Stephanie Lundquist

Stephanie Lundquist was named chief human resources officer (CHRO) of Cargill in April 2022. As a member of the Executive Team, Steph oversees all aspects of human resource strategy and execution for our 160,000 employees in 70 countries.

As a seasoned HR and business leader, she brings expertise in aligning strategy, capabilities, people and culture to deliver results and accelerate growth. She focuses on delivering leading people and culture practices that create a preferred, diverse and inclusive workplace. Steph also fosters a ‘one team approach’ and learning culture that fuels innovation, curiosity and agility. Purpose and people driven, she brings her astute and savvy talent management expertise to every role, building high-performing diverse teams.

Prior to Cargill, Steph spent more than 15 years with Target [NYSE: TGT], a Fortune 30 company and one of the world’s most recognizable brands. She held a variety of roles in HR, as well as the company’s transformation office, before becoming a member of their Executive Team as CHRO, supporting a global team of more than 350,000 employees. Most recently, she served as the first-ever President of their food and beverage business.

As Independent Board Director for Sysco Foods from 2019-2022, Steph served on the Compensation and Leadership Development, Technology and Corporate Social Responsibility committees. Steph is also a member of Concordia College’s Board of Regents. She is passionate about contributing broadly within her industry and community, serving on various industry and community organizations.

Steph attended the Board Governance Executive Education Course at Harvard Business School and received her B.A. in Business and Communication from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota.

Rhonda Morris

Rhonda J. Morris is vice president and chief human resources officer for Chevron Corporation and has led the company’s human resources, health & medical and diversity & inclusion groups since 2016. She also serves on the company’s Executive Committee. Prior to 2016, Morris held a number of roles of increasing responsibility in human resources, global marketing and international products. In 2014, Morris received the Industry Leader Award from the Professional Businesswomen in California recognizing her work to advance gender equality in the workplace. Morris serves on the board of Techbridge. She previously served on the boards of the East Bay Agency for Children, A Better Chance, a national organization dedicated to opening the door to educational opportunities for thousands of young people of color in the United States, the Math Engineering and Science Association at the University of California at Berkeley and the Consortium for Graduate Study in Management. Morris joined Chevron’s Human Resources Development Program in 1991. She earned a bachelor's degree from the University of California, Davis, in 1987 and a master's degree in business administration from Boston University in 1991.

Nadine Augusta

As Chief Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Officer at Cushman & Wakefield, Nadine Augusta drives global commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) as a firmwide priority. This includes creating an environment that offers equitable and fair growth opportunities for all employees and the businesses with which Cushman & Wakefield works, while ensuring the firm brings diverse thought and expertise to its clients. Nadine takes a holistic approach to DEI, with a focus on workforce, workplace and marketplace, especially in the areas of recruiting, talent development and supplier diversity.

Nadine has more than 20 years of experience in financial services, with key positions in management consulting, project management, sales and trading, and diversity and inclusion. Prior to assuming her current position, she was Americas Head of Diversity & Inclusion at Goldman Sachs, where she led talent engagement, equity and inclusion efforts. Before that, Nadine worked at The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) as the Global Head of Diversity & Inclusion and Corporate Social Responsibility, and held various leadership positions at Bank of America, including Senior Vice President, Global Diversity & Inclusion. Notably, she was a member of the U.S. Trust and Merrill Lynch merger integration teams, contributing to the wealth management pre-merger assessment and integration strategy and leading the Global Markets technology deployment testing strategies. Nadine has also worked at several leading institutions, including Credit Suisse, BearingPoint LLC/KPMG Consulting LLC, and Pershing LLC.

Nadine is a member of the Board of Trustees for Brooklyn LAB Charter School, has twice received the President’s Volunteer Service Award, and was a recipient of the “Black Achiever in Industry” award from the YMCA of Greater New York. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from St. Peter's University in New Jersey and completed the Ascent Executive Leadership Program at Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth. She resides in New York.

Simon King

As Chief People Officer, Simon is responsible for leading the organization’s U.S. people strategy building our future together and strengthening our culture to realize our 2030 vision to become an “Innovative Global Healthcare Company Contributing to the Sustainable Development of Society.” Simon’s mission is to enable every colleague to be their best selves at work to serve the patients who rely on our medicines.

Simon decided early on that he wanted to help improve people’s lives and pursued a genetics degree and started his career in Biopharma Research and Development, before moving into Human Resources. He has pursued his passion to improve people’s lives with over 30 years of experience at AstraZeneca, Bristol Myers Squibb and now with Daiichi Sankyo.

Through an experience of when Simon was 16 years old volunteering in a hospital, he became close to a patient who passed away from cancer. Since that event, he has dedicated his career to seeking opportunities where he can make a difference to patients through colleagues to be their authentic selves.

Denise Shepherd

Denise is a managing director, Deloitte Services LP, and serves as the National Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Leader, accountable for Deloitte’s DEI strategy and advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion across the organization. Denise has led Deloitte Consulting LLP’s strategic talent portfolio and, more recently, Deloitte’s organization-wide workforce strategy, enabling her to bring a talent lens to the forefront of Deloitte’s DEI efforts.

She also serves on the Board of Directors of the Deloitte Foundation. She has been the Talent DEI Leader and Sacramento Inclusion Council and Women & Allies champion. Denise is also heavily involved in the Sacramento community as the National Coalition of 100 Black Women’s Economic Empowerment Chair. Her experience is greatly valued as she moves the organization forward in continuing to drive equitable outcomes and creating a culture of inclusive leadership within and outside of our organization.

Denise has a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Stanford University and a Master of Public Policy from UC Berkeley, Goldman School of Public Policy.

Sejal Patel Daswani

Sejal has over 20 years of experience as a human resource and corporate innovation executive in the technology, sustainable energy/clean tech and healthcare sectors. Sejal’s expertise in human capital and strategy consulting enables companies to drive strong business results.
Sejal brings extensive insights on building high performance teams across Talent Acquisitio, People Operations, HR Compliance, Total Rewards, HR Technology and Talent Management to help companies scale for global growth. She has also led large scale M&A activities including due diligence, change management and cultural and technology integrations. In addition to working at Fortune 500 companies, Sejal has hands-on experience building start-ups from the ground up, including a leading human capital consulting company that has now become PwC’s People practice. Sejal is well versed in working with Board Committees on all key people strategies including compensation, CEO/Board/Talent Development and Succession and ESG.

Sejal is CPO at Deputy, an HRTech global software company that helps businesses manage their frontline worker experience with a comprehensive workforce management solution. In addition to CPO roles at private companies, Sejal was CHRO at Sunrun (NASDAQ: RUN), a leading solar tech company to build a planet run by the sun. Sejal played a leadership role in due diligence, deal structuring and integration of a $3.2B acquisition of Vivint Solar. Sejal was also part of the executive team to form a solar tech joint venture with a large Korean conglomerate. She led a complex workforce through COVID-19, tripled the company size from 4K to 14K employees and helped achieve over 6X valuation growth.
Previously at Visa, Sejal was the HR head to build the Visa Innovation, Venture Capital and Digital Mobile teams tasked with driving market expansion and growth. The team launched mobile payments with Apple/Google/Facebook which scaled to over 5 trillion annual transactions as well as the development of blockchain/crypto and data security capabilities. Sejal led HR for a team of over 1500 technologists, engineers, developers and designers and expanded the Innovation team from the US to Latin America, Europe, Middle East and Asia in 18 months.

Earlier in her career Sejal served as CMO of Pfizer ShareCard; in this role she enrolled over one million seniors, created the corporate model for Medicare Part D and shaped legislative healthcare policy around prescription drug coverage for over 45 million Americans. As a KPL/Booz & Co management consultant, Sejal led workforce transformations, cost management and front line effectiveness leading to $50-500M of value generated to clients.

Sejal has also conducted research in molecular biology and genetic engineering that led to the discovery of a strain of the human papilloma virus (HPV-11SP) that bears her name. Sejal is currently an advisor to PeopleTech Partners providing thought leadership on AI and HRTech investing and innovation. Sejal earned an MBA/MPA from MIT/Harvard and graduated with a double Bachelors and Masters degree in Biology and International Affairs from Columbia University. Sejal enjoys adventures with her family and entrepreneurship.

Ciara Lilly

With an impressive tenure spanning more than a decade in her industry, Ciara Lilly currently holds the position of Vice President of Diversity and Inclusion at Diversified Maintenance. Within this pivotal role, Ciara masterminds and executes the organization's nationwide strategy for diversity and inclusion and supplier diversity.

Under her visionary leadership, the Company has spent over $40 million with small and diverse businesses, established a Corporate Diversity and Inclusion training program, and catalyzed the creation of over $20 million in new business growth.

Ciara's qualifications are equally as impressive as her accomplishments. She holds an Executive MBA from the prestigious Jack Welch Management Institute and earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Ciara's commitment to lifelong learning is evident in her completion of certificate programs at renowned institutions such as Dartmouth University, Cornell University, the University of South Florida, and the University of Richmond. These programs have equipped her with valuable expertise in diversity and inclusion, MBE executive management, and women's entrepreneurship, enhancing her capacity to drive impactful change in her field.

Over the years, Ciara has received numerous accolades that underscore her entrepreneurial spirit, outstanding leadership, and unwavering commitment to community improvement. Some of her notable awards include recognition as one of the Top 50 Women Leaders in North Carolina by Women We Admire, a place in Business Equality Pride Magazine's 40 Leaders Under 40, acknowledgment as one of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Black Chamber of Commerce's 30 under 30, and recognition from the Charlotte LGBT Chamber of Commerce with the prestigious Recognition of Excellence and Emerging Entrepreneur Award.

Tyler Bruce

At Diversified, Tyler leads the People Ops team and has over 20 years of experience leading human resource and operational functions in a variety of industries, including service, healthcare and hospitality. He has a passion for helping people succeed, with a track record of aligning business needs with a rewarding employee experience.

Daniel Guillory

Danny Guillory is VP and Chief Diversity Officer at Dropbox, where he leads a team that approaches diversity in a comprehensive way, while also leading Dropbox's Virtual First Community and Culture Team. Prior to this role, Danny served as Head of Global Diversity & Inclusion at Autodesk. For many years he served as CEO of Innovations International, a consulting firm that assists companies globally on leadership, innovation and diversity through assessment, strategic planning, learning and development, and internal communications. With his extensive background and B.A. from Stanford University, a J.D. from Harvard Law School, experience studying at the Universite de Paris I–Pantheon Sorbonne & Chemnitz University of Technology in Germany.

Ida Jackson Woods

As AVP and Chief Diversity Officer for ETS, Ida Jackson Woods provides leadership for the vision, direction, implementation, and evaluation of strategic efforts aimed toward advancing an organizational culture of equity. Her role is focused on embedding equity, inclusion, and diversity across the enterprise to enhance employees’ sense of community and belonging.

Before joining ETS, Ida was a Director in Human Resources for The College of New Jersey (TCNJ), where she was responsible for organizational learning and professional development, labor and employee relations, performance management and related HR workplace issues. Prior to her role with TCNJ, Ida was Court Executive EEO/AA Officer with the Judiciary’s Superior Court of New Jersey.

A proud U.S. Army veteran, Ida has earned a doctorate in Leadership and Innovation from NYU. She also holds an MBA from Rutgers University and earned her BA degree in Broadcast Journalism from the University of Mississippi.

Ida has completed the Diversity and Inclusion Professionals Certificate at Cornell University and is certified through the Human Resources Certification Institute as a Senior Professional in Human Resources, (SPHR), since 2001. As a member of the Society for Human Resource Management, she holds that organization’s designation of SHRM-Senior Certified Professional. Ida is also a Certified Public Manager, and a Development Dimensions International Certified Facilitator.

A lifetime member of the National Council of Negro Women, a member of the National Black MBA Association and the NAACP, she is also a member of Chief, a private network of executive women.  Ida is also a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.

Darren Burton

Darren Burton is Chief People Officer for Eightfold AI.

Julie Dunlap

Julie Dunlap is the Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Officer and Sr. Vice President of Talent Management at Eli Lilly and Company. In this role, Julie has responsibility for all aspects of talent management for Lilly’s 40,000+ employees including recruiting, onboarding, performance and succession management, people strategy, employee and leadership development – with DEI fully integrated throughout. Julie’s team plays a critical role in ensuring Team Lilly can fulfill the purpose of making life better for people around the world.

Julie has a wealth of experience having served in numerous capacities of expanding responsibilities in human resources over the past 20+ years at Lilly, including total rewards, recruiting, business partnership, and global strategic project leadership. Prior to this role, she served as the leader of global compensation and led the enterprise Future of Work project during the pandemic.

She is passionate about focusing on the “equity” aspect of DEI both inside and outside of Lilly and is particularly interested in advancing opportunities for education. She serves on the Board of Early Learning Indiana which strives to ensure every child is empowered with essential skills to thrive in kindergarten and beyond.

Julie has an undergraduate degree in Economics from Duke University. She is a wife and mother to four children and lives in Fishers, Indiana.

Greg Giangrande

As chief people and chief communications officer, Greg Giangrande leads all aspects of Ellucian’s global people organization, including employee experience, HR business partners, talent acquisition, total rewards, diversity, equity and inclusion, learning and development, and communications.

Greg has deep experience as a transformative human resources and communications leader. He comes to Ellucian most recently from McKinsey & Company where he served as a senior advisor working with clients across sectors and geographies on enterprise transformation, employee experience, human resources, organizational health and culture, leadership development, diversity and inclusion, and communications strategies.

Prior to McKinsey, Greg served as executive vice president, chief human resources officer and chief communications officer for Time Inc. where he oversaw human resources and communications for 10,000 employees globally. Previously, he held leadership roles in human resources and communications at News Corporation including, Dow Jones, The Wall Street Journal, Barrons, and HarperCollins Publishers. Greg is a career advice columnist for the NY Post, the fourth largest daily circulation newspaper in the U.S., and he is an adjunct faculty member of New York University (NYU).

Greg holds a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Master of Arts in Communications from New York University

Nick Piazza

Nick Piazza was appointed Emerson’s Chief People Officer in August 2023. In this role, he leads the company’s human resources function, including employee experience, culture, end-to-end talent management, total rewards, diversity, equity and inclusion, acquisition integration, organization development and effectiveness, and human resources technology.

Piazza is a member of Emerson’s Office of the Chief Executive, which helps develop and guide the company’s global business strategies. He also serves as executive sponsor of the company’s Diverse Abilities employee resource group.

During his 19-year career with Emerson, Piazza has served in eight roles and lived on three continents. He joined Emerson in 2004 and served in human resources management and executive roles with increasing responsibilities at four U.S. locations over a 10-year period.

From 2014-2016, Piazza was based in London for Emerson’s Network Power business, serving as vice president of human resources for the Europe, Middle East and Africa region and as general manager of a Munich-based business with $25 million in sales. After Emerson sold the Network Power business in 2016, Piazza stayed on with the new company Vertiv as vice president of human resources in EMEA for seven months.

In July 2017, Piazza rejoined Emerson as the Singapore-based vice president of human resources in Asia-Pacific for the company’s Automation Solutions business. In this role, he managed HR programs and services for Emerson’s 17,000-plus employees across the region.

In August 2021, Piazza was promoted to vice president of global talent and oversaw enterprise-wide talent management activities. He was given additional responsibility to lead HR operations in October 2022.

Piazza serves on the board of directors for the St. Louis chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.
Piazza has a bachelor's degree in finance, a master’s degree in human resources and industrial relations and master’s of business administration, all from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Sean Cook

Sean Cook has been an SHRM certified Human Resources Practitioner for the past 31 years. He has worked for several tremendous Hospitality and Retail organizations across the U.S., China, Japan, and India. Which has afforded him extensive experience in human resources, operations, finance, talent management, and diversity, all of which have provided him with a unique ability to see how human capital initiatives affect the entire organization.

Sean has led EDF’s global HR division through its organizational-critical growth transformation. The Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) is a crucial position entrusted to serve as an advisor to the CEO and senior leadership team. His leadership has translated global business strategies into a talent strategy for the organization. It has helped drive a performance-based culture that can change and adapt as the environment and competitive context change.

Sean believes that for robust growth, an organization needs to build a foundational Human Capital process that enhances the organizational effectiveness and regenerates focus on strategic planning for talent management.

Michele Campion

Michele Campion joined ESAB Corporation in September 2020 as the VP, Human Resources. She now serves as the company’s Chief Human Resources Officer where she leads the global HR strategy for the company in partnership with the executive team. Campion prioritizes integrity, respect, and fairness while driving strategic business outcomes and empowering team members.

Prior to joining ESAB Corporation, Campion worked at Under Armour, leading HR Business Partner and HR Operations & Analytics teams, supporting a high-growth global and iconic brand, and overseeing the work of more than 14,000 colleagues worldwide. Her experiences at Under Armour, McCormick & Co., and BP, among others, built her expertise in leading transformational change centered on efficiency and reliable delivery.

Michele Campion earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown and an M.S. in Biotechnology with a concentration in Biotech Enterprise from Johns Hopkins University.

Karyn Twaronite

Karyn Twaronite is Global and US Diversity & Inclusiveness Officer for EY.

Ginnie Carlier

As EY Americas Vice Chair — Talent, Ginnie leads the Americas efforts to create exceptional and transformative experiences for 80,000 people in 31 countries. During her tenure with EY, Ginnie has worked around the world in several key roles, building and leading high-performing EY teams on three continents. After joining EY in 1993 in Cleveland, she moved to Silicon Valley in 2000 to work with leading technology companies and was promoted to partner in 2006. In 2008, Ginnie transferred to Dubai and served as global client service partner for several technology, energy and advanced manufacturing companies, becoming the first Diversity and Inclusiveness Leader for the EY Middle East and North Africa Region. In 2011, she was appointed EY Europe, Middle East, India and Africa Assurance Talent Leader. Ginnie returned to the West Coast in 2014 to serve as the US-West Region Talent Leader, prioritizing the development and well-being of 15,000 people across 18 states while also leading Assurance teams in client service. Throughout her various roles, Ginnie’s commitment to building an EY in which everyone belongs and thrives has remained constant. Ginnie received a BA in Accounting and Marketing from Ohio University.

Dr. Anthony C. Hood

Dr. Anthony C. Hood serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer for First Horizon Bank. He also serves on the corporation’s Operating Committee.

Dr. Hood’s tenure as a DEI executive has garnered a number of leadership awards including from Savoy Magazine, the American Marketing Association and the Birmingham Business Journal.

He previously served as the Director of Civic Innovation in the Office of the President at UAB as well as a 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, he has completed studies at the Harvard Business School, Stanford University 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 member of the Kiwanis Club of Birmingham and serves on the boards of a number of organizations including the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute and the Birmingham Education Foundation. He is also the Immediate Past Chairman of the Board of the Housing Authority of the Birmingham District, the largest affordable housing provider in the state.

Monica Novomisle

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.

Elisa Wyman

Human Resource executive with over 20 years of global experience in both corporate and consulting environments. Specialized in partnering with C-Suite and Board of Directors, to establish HR and rewards strategy that are aligned with overall business objectives while ensuring all related programs support the business strategy, are easily communicated to employees, and drives engagement.

Dennis Richter

As Chief People Officer, Dennis Richter is a seasoned leader with over 20 years of experience in leading global teams, excelling in process improvements, and driving operational efficiencies. Prior to joining Fullscript, Dennis served as the Chief People Officer at Ad Hoc and held significant roles at Meta and Google.

His extensive experience in leading global teams and his passion for innovative solutions support an elevated and invigorated workplace culture. Dennis is a proud US Army veteran and world traveler who enjoys staying physically active, cooking, hiking, and contributing to his community.

Kristen Puchek

Kristen Puchek is the Chief Diversity Equity & Inclusion Officer and Vice President of Corporate Giving at General Motors. Kristen brings nearly two decades of experience advising senior executives and organizations in corporate and individual purpose, diversity equity & inclusion (DEI), talent strategies, cultural transformation, and responsible business practices.

Prior to her role at General Motors, Kristen led Accenture’s CEO Advisory practice, in addition to leading the North America Corporate Purpose and DEI practices. Kristen also previously held positions at Amazon as the Global Head of DEI for Worldwide Consumer, and at Deloitte as the founder and head of the DEI consulting practice. Kristen brings extensive experience evaluating, designing, and executing DEI strategies, enabling organizations to achieve representation, equity, and cultural outcomes. She has demonstrated a strong relationship management and advisory skillset, influencing stakeholders from the C-suite to front-line employees, and managing teams from a 60+ person organization to a 270+ practitioner consulting practice.

In 2021, Kristen was named a Top 100 Diversity Officer by the National Diversity Council. This award recognizes individuals whose exemplary work provides a model for utilizing best practices, leading organizational change and making outstanding contributions to diversity and inclusion. Kristen also sits on the advisory board for MAKERS, a non-profit focused on gender equity, and is an executive advisor for Highview, a Denver-based non-profit focused on creating lucrative professional opportunities for students from underserved and underrepresented backgrounds.

Bala Sathyanarayanan

Bala is a recognized thought leader, sought after speaker and a respected Fortune 500 C-Suite Executive. Bala currently serves as Chairman, and Board Director for Balmer Lawrie – Van Leer Limited, a public industrial manufacturer in India. In addition he serves as a Board Director on the board of Columbus Council for World Affairs, an education-driven Columbus, USA based organization. Bala also serves on the board of Center for Executive Compensation at Washington D.C. Bala is an NACD Certified Corporate Director with a passion to advancing highest standards of boardroom excellence.

Bala is Executive Vice President & Chief Human Resources Officer at Greif, Inc. a 145-year-old Fortune 500 size global leader in industrial packaging products and services operating over 220 locations in over 40 countries across 4 continents. He is focused on delivering a world-class, diverse, and engaged workforce that can execute on Greif’s vision of be the best performing customer service company in the world. Prior to joining Greif, Bala was an Executive Vice President at Xerox Corporation where he headed Human Resources and Business Transformation for the Technology Business spread across 145 countries worldwide. Previously, Bala lead Human Resources for Hewlett-Packard’s Americas Enterprise Business organization. Earlier in his career Bala held positions of increasing responsibility at Avaya Inc., Coca-Cola, and United Technologies/Otis Elevator Company.

Bala graduated from the Advanced Management Program at the Harvard Business School. In addition, he holds a Master of Human Resources Management (MHRM) degree from Rutgers University in New Jersey, an MBA in General Management from University of Madras and BE in Electronics & Communications Engineering from SVCE.
A recipient of many global awards, Bala was named to the list of Outstanding 50 Asian Americans in Business by the Asian American Business Development Center (AABDC), Executive of the Year by Columbus CEO Magazine, Top inspiring Business Leaders of the Year in 2020 by Industry Wired Magazine, 10 Most Influential Business Leaders to Follow in 2021 by CIO Insights Magazine to name a few.

Sandra Hurse

Sandra Hurse is the Chief Human Resources Officer of Grosvenor Capital Management. In this capacity Ms. Hurse is responsible for the development and execution of the firm people strategy and leads the firm’s real estate and facilities efforts. She also serves on the ESG Committee and the Diversity & Inclusion Governance Committee. Prior to joining GCM Grosvenor, Ms. Hurse held various positions at Bank of America, most recently serving as Global Head of Human Resources for Corporate and Investment Banking. Previously, Ms. Hurse also held leadership roles in Talent Management and Talent Acquisition at Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase. She received her Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from Bernard M. Baruch College and her Master of Business Administration in Marketing from the University of Michigan. Ms. Hurse serves as a Corporate Board Member for the Harlem School of the Arts, the Council for Urban Professionals and the Thurgood Marshall College Fund where she is a member of the finance committee.

Michael Bokina

Michael Bokina is Chief Human Resources Officer for Hanwha USA & Hanwha FutureProof.

Iraisa Jones

Iraisa Jones is Chief Human Resources Officer for Harlems Children's Zone.

Angela Cheng-Cimini

Angela Cheng-Cimini is Senior Vice President, Talent & Chief Human Resources Officer for Harvard Business Publishing.

Raymond Hall

Raymond Hall is the Chief Human Resources Officer at Harvard Maintenance, he brings a wealth of experience and a unique perspective to the field of human resources.

Raymond embarked on his career with the US Army Special Operations Command, stationed at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina, where he gained valuable experience and honed his skills. This formative experience in the military laid the foundation for his future successes in the civilian sector. His career in the civilian world progressed rapidly, catapulting him into executive leadership positions within large multinational companies. Raymond’s expertise has been sought after by organizations with profits exceeding $140 billion, operating across various industries. Notably, he has held global human resources executive roles at some of the most prominent companies in the world. His journey includes key roles at Cargill, Inc., a global giant in the food and agriculture industry, where he played a pivotal role in shaping the company’s human resources strategies. He also held executive positions at Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL), a leading real estate and investment management firm, International Paper Company, a global leader in the packaging and paper industry, and the Larry H. Miller Group of Companies, a diverse conglomerate with interests in automotive, sports, and entertainment.

Raymond’s ascent to leadership roles in these companies underscores not only his professional acumen but also his ability to navigate and excel in complex and ever-evolving corporate landscapes. His unique blend of military discipline, strategic thinking, and a deep understanding of human resources has allowed him to leave a lasting impact on the organizations he has served.

The Transition from Military to Civilian Leadership

Raymond reflects on his transition from the US Army Special Operations Command to the civilian sector as a privilege and an honor to serve his country. Raymond believes that his military training, coupled with a multitude of unique experiences, has equipped him to tackle any challenge that may arise. The capacity to maintain composure under pressure and consistently deliver results are essential skills that every leader should possess, especially in today’s ever-changing and dynamic environment. However, he was eager for a new challenge where he could apply his military experiences, which included leadership, teamwork, and collaboration, in a different context.

Cecilia Nelson-Hurt

Cecilia Nelson-Hurt is Heidrick & Struggles’ Chief diversity, Equity & Inclusion Officer based in New York. She leads the firm’s diversity, equity, and inclusion strategy and delivers long-term, sustainable programs and initiatives that build on our values and commitment to creating the most diverse and inclusive executive talent and leadership advisory firm in the industry.

Cecilia joined Heidrick & Struggles from L’Oréal USA, where she was vice president of diversity, equity, and inclusion, responsible for shaping the company’s diversity and inclusion efforts. She also developed and facilitated its diversity and inclusion education programs and worked with the company’s employee-led think tanks to create and implement strategies and initiatives that positively impacted employee engagement, consumer insights and community outreach.

Before that, Cecilia was vice president of university relations and a diversity and campus relations officer at JPMorgan Chase, where she managed relationships with business and recruiting teams to create targeted events at Historically Black Colleges and Universities. She also developed and maintained relationships with multiple diversity-oriented organizations, including National Association of Colleges & Employers, Universum, and Hispanic Alliance for Career Enhancement, increasing the number of diverse applicants for its entry-level and experienced hire recruiting programs.

Angel Franklin

Angel brings a multifaceted, innovative, and fresh perspective on Human Capital Strategy to her role as Chief People Officer of Hinge. In this role, Angel is scaling one of the fastest-growing dating apps in the market to a truly global footprint while maintaining the culture that has driven the success of the company to date. Her scope includes global strategic workforce planning, talent acquisition, talent management, career development, and succession planning, compensation, benefits, people analytics, culture and diversity, and equity and inclusion initiatives.

Prior to joining Hinge, she spent time leading all aspects of Talent Strategy in multiple Blue Chip and Fortune 500 companies including Tesla, Cummins, and Ernst & Young, to name a few. In Angel's most recent role she led Cummins' global COVID-19 response and was the youngest named Officer and Vice President in the history of the company. Prior to that, she spearheaded the creation of Tesla's Performance Acceleration process, which led the company's employees to deliver on its most rapid and significant YOY growth in Tesla’s history up to that point. Leveraging knowledge of Talent Strategy, Human Centered Design, Innovative thinking, and a deep understanding of the business – the subsequent design and implementation of Performance Acceleration helped the company double its revenue during one of the most pivotal times of its growth.

In addition to her professional focus, Angel works to provide resources, education and coaching opportunities to marginalized women and young children through her support of the non-profit Too Young to Wed. She was previously a Team Leader at the Arthritis Foundation of North Carolina. She is married to her husband of 16 years, Reggie, mother of two children, Tre and Austin, and caretaker for her disabled mother and brother. Angel holds a Bachelors in Human Resource Management from the University of Central Florida.

Vincent Lim

Vince Lim is Chief People Officer of Hinge Health, a fast growing digital musculoskeletal (MSK) clinic and pioneer in the telehealth space.

Vince grew up in Singapore and spent time in the UK and Australia before immigrating to the United States. He started his career in management consulting with Bain & Co and McKinsey & Co, advising technology, financial services and CPG companies in strategy, operations and organization. He developed a passion for People and Culture and spent seven happy years at Google, first as HR Business Partner to Search Engineering's leadership team, and then leading recruiting operations and all technical university recruiting in the Americas. Since 2015 Vince has been CHRO at a number of high growth startups including LiveRamp, Juul Labs and Medium.

Vince holds a BA (Honors) in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from Oxford University, and an MBA from Columbia Business School. Vince enjoys travel, the outdoors, cinema, deejaying, and has a passion for LGBTQ+, racial equality and animal care causes. He lives in San Francisco with his partner and a host of pets including two dogs, two cats, four goldfish and an axolotl.

Tara Ataya

Tara Ataya is the Chief People and Diversity Officer at Hootsuite where she represents employee voices in the C-Suite and implements growing DE&I strategies company-wide. Formerly VP of People at Hootsuite, Tara is a key member of Hootsuite's executive team where she provides strategic direction and insight as Hootsuite continues to expand its reach globally, as the market leader in its space.

Tara is an experienced HR professional with a demonstrated history of working in SaaS and Professional Services. She is skilled in global Human Resources, M&As, people development, leadership, analytics, performance management, and HR technology.

Tara has over 15 years of experience having held several regional and global leadership roles. Prior to her role at Hootsuite, Tara was VP HR at Vision Critical, Canada’s leading CXM SaaS company based in Vancouver. There she oversaw their global people team along with the business technology team and the payroll team. Prior to that, she was in a leadership role at Sierra Systems, and spent time honing her craft at Deloitte.

Kevin Chan Bradley

Kevin Chan Bradley is the Vice President, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Community for HUB International. Joining the organization in 2021, oversees the company’s overarching DEI strategy and provides coaching and consultation to ensure the execution of the strategy on all levels or the organization.

Mr. Bradley is a seasoned Diversity & Inclusion practitioner with over 30 years in Human Resources. He has been a recruiter, business partner, EEO/AA Compliance leader and D&I leader. Bradley has worked in various industries including manufacturing, aerospace, fast food, and financial services. Throughout his career, he has had the developed D&I strategies that includes building ERGs from the ground up, introducing D&I curriculum, and establishing external community partnerships. At times has managed both the diversity and compliance functions simultaneously, which has allowed him to leverage compliance initiatives to enhance diversity strategies. Bradley has always created collaborative internal coalitions with key internal leaders and stakeholders to create, establish and grow D&I strategies. His philosophical approach is that diversity & inclusion is part of every leader and employee’s jobs.

He is often asked to speak at events on the topic of diversity as a business driver and has received recognition for his work in advocating for diverse communities. He currently serves as Board Chair for Access Living, a nationally renowned disability advocacy organization. He also serves on the Board of Directors for the Parents’ Alliance Employment Project an organization that finds gainful employment for individuals with disabilities and serves on the Board of Directors for the Chicago Philharmonic. He has been asked to serve on the Chicago advisory committee for St. Jude Children’s Hospital and is on the DEI Advisory Committee for his fraternity, Tau Kappa Epsilon,

Mr. Bradley earned his BA from Northeastern Illinois University and his MS from Villanova University.

Nickle LaMoreaux

Nickle LaMoreaux is CHRO for IBM Corporation.

Kristin Syoen

Kristin Syoen is Head of People Operations, North America for Infobip.

Marjan Panah

Marjan Panah is the Chief People Officer at J.S. Held, bringing over 25 years of human resources experience across industries to the firm.

Marjan has extensive experience in managing organizations through crises, social change, unanticipated corporate events, and mergers and acquisitions. She is an expert at building top-performing teams and capabilities, developing talent, and shaping organizational culture.

Prior to joining J.S. Held, Marjan served as the Chief Talent Officer at McCann Worldgroup, where she oversaw talent development, organizational culture, and human resource services. She also previously served in the global position of Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resource Officer for Publicis Healthcare Communications Group, where she helped shape the business and human capital strategies of the organization. Over her career, Marjan has worked in top HR and talent development positions at leading companies, including Bristol-Myers Squibb, Citibank, and Owens Corning.

Marjan graduated from Indiana University with an MBA in Human Resources and Organization Development and from the University of Michigan with a B.A. in Psychology and Political Science.

Jason LaRue

HR leader with experience delivering multi-disciplinary transformation programs, building and elevating high-performing teams, cultivating strong executive relationships and delivering business-aligned talent strategies and programs.

Jason is the National Managing Principal for KPMG’s Talent and Culture (T&C) organization and a member of the US Talent and Culture leadership team. In this role, he serves as the COO for T&C and is responsible for functional strategy, including delivery model, capabilities, technology and tools, budget and process design and delivery. He also closely collaborates with the national managing partners from other parts of the firm to ensure that T&C’s policies, processes and programs are aligned with their business needs and the firm’s strategy.

In addition to his NMP role, Jason also oversees three of the primary pillars within the T&C organization: Total Rewards, which encompasses the compensation, benefits and well-being teams that design and operate the firm’s portfolio of behavioral incentives and shape significant portions of the workforce value proposition; Workforce Shaping, which includes all talent acquisition, talent development, learning and workforce planning activities; and Service Delivery, which is responsible for critical areas such as technology and data, people relations, people operations, process enablement and global mobility.

Prior to these roles, Jason led the firm’s People Strategy & Solutions organization (community of HR business and people relations advisors) and was the HR leader for the US Advisory organization. In those roles he helped shape the firm's people strategy and experience, ensured high-quality delivery of HR services, efficiently led talent processes and supported leaders through talent and leadership decisions.

Jason joined KPMG in 2005 as part of Experienced Hire Recruiting before moving to Senior Talent Acquisition in 2007. He previously worked for Bank of America / FleetBoston Financial and Management Recruiters International in various HR and recruiting roles.

Maryjo Charbonnier

Maryjo Charbonnier is the Chief Human Resources Officer of Kyndryl, one of the largest startups in corporate history. Kyndryl is the world’s leading IT infrastructure services provider. With the industry's most experienced talent and 4,600 customers, Kyndryl is uniquely positioned to help organizations build strong, secure, resilient, and adaptive digital capabilities.

Harnessing her deep experience in large corporate transformation, Maryjo is leading the global initiative to make Kyndryl the employer of choice in the more than 60 countries where the company operates. She at the helm of the company’s massive renovation of all HR systems and processes to support the company’s nearly 90,000 people to advance their skills and careers as they deliver for customers. Maryjo is also leading the company’s global effort to create and advance its differentiating culture – The Kyndryl Way.

Maryjo joined Kyndryl from Wolters Kluwer, where she served as Chief Human Resources Officer for the global provider of professional information, software solutions and services for professionals since the start of 2015. She drove the design and implementation of all human resources strategies, policies, and processes. Prior to joining Wolters Kluwer, Maryjo served as Chief Human Resource Officer at Broadridge Financial Solutions, a global Fintech company, for seven years. Earlier, she was an HR executive in a variety of leadership roles at PepsiCo, including Vice President for Talent Sustainability for PepsiCo Foods Americas, a unit with $30 billion in revenues and more than 120,000 employees.

A native of the Detroit area, Maryjo is a graduate of Catholic University in Washington, DC, and earned her MBA at the Southern Methodist University in Dallas. She was named "CHRO of the Year" in the Netherlands for 2019.

Stephanie Kramer

Stephanie Kramer is the Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) of L’Oréal USA, Adjunct Professor at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), author of “Carry Strong: An Empowered Approach to Navigating Pregnancy and Work” (Penguin Life, 2023), and the mother of two young sons.

Stephanie currently leads Human Resources for L’Oréal USA, and is responsible for the company’s overall HR strategy in the U.S. including talent, learning, rewards and people experience.

Prior to becoming CHRO in January 2023, Stephanie was the Global General Manager, US General Manager, and Senior Vice President of Global Marketing, Product Innovation and Retail at SkinCeuticals. Previously she was Vice President of Global Marketing for Kiehl’s Since 1851, and an Executive Director of Marketing at Chanel. Prior to Chanel, Stephanie was also Global Marketing Director at L’Oréal for the Professional Products and Luxury Products divisions. She joined L’Oréal from Quest International Fragrances and was a participant in their European Graduate Development Program (EGDP) with roles in the U.S., the UK, and China.

Stephanie graduated with a major in chemistry from Wake Forest University. She completed her master’s degree at FIT and graduated in 2011; in 2023 she joined the FIT CFMM Industry Advisory board. Stephanie is a member of Cosmetic Executive Women (CEW) and has been a featured speaker at the Wharton School, Harvard Business School and New York University.

Tracy Layney

Tracy Layney is Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer at Levi Strauss & Co. Tracy is responsible for LS&Co.’s people strategy on a global scale, including diversity, equity & inclusion, recruiting, employee engagement, talent management, compensation and benefits, HR technology and HR communications.

Tracy brings more than 20 years of experience in human resources and organization strategy to her role. Prior to joining LS&Co., she served as senior vice president and chief human resources officer for Shutterfly, Inc., the leading retailer of personalized photo-based products. Before Shutterfly, Tracy spent 10 years at Gap Inc., where she held numerous senior leadership roles in HR, most recently serving as the senior vice president of Global Human Resources and Communications for Old Navy. Prior to Gap Inc., Tracy held positions at LS&Co. and PricewaterhouseCoopers/IBM Business Consulting Services where she worked with Fortune 500 clients in the high tech, financial services, retail and healthcare industries on projects ranging from organization design and development to strategic change management.

Tracy holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Pennsylvania where she graduated magna cum laude. She is active in the HR thought leader community and serves on the Board of Directors for the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) Foundation. Her philanthropic commitments are reflected in her service on the GLIDE Board of Trustees and the Levi Strauss Foundation.

Sean Woodroffe

Sean N. Woodroffe is the Chief People, Culture and Communications Officer at Lincoln Financial Group, responsible for all aspects of human resources (HR), including talent management and development, employee experience, compensation, benefits and wellness, HR technology and operations, organizational and leadership effectiveness, HR business partnering, diversity, equity and inclusion and corporate responsibility. Woodroffe also oversees the company’s corporate communications function, which includes internal communications and public relations. He reports to CEO Ellen Cooper and is a member of the company’s Senior Management Committee.

Woodroffe has more than 35 years of experience in HR for financial services institutions, including insurance, wealth and asset management, commercial banking and investment banking. Prior to joining Lincoln Financial, he served as Senior Executive Vice President and Chief People Officer at TIAA, where he was responsible for HR and internal communications for the organization's global workforce. Woodroffe has also served as Chief People Officer at National Life Group. Prior to that, he served as the U.S. Head of HR and Associate Communications at Sun Life Financial U.S., and he has also held senior executive HR roles at the United Bank for Africa and Financial Guaranty Insurance Company. Woodroffe started his career and spent more than 18 years at Merrill Lynch, where he last served as First Vice President and Head of International HR, based in London. He also led HR for Merrill Lynch's Japan Wealth Management business unit, based in Tokyo.

Woodroffe is an active leader in the community and currently serves on the boards of Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina, the Peddie School in Hightstown, New Jersey and U.S. Soccer Foundation. He holds a bachelor’s degree in international relations from Shaw University.

Katy George

Katy George is Senior Partner & Chief People Officer for McKinsey & Company.

Erica J. Bolden

As the Head of Diversity, Inclusion & Equity Engagement for Mercedes‐Benz USA (MBUSA), Erica J. Bolden oversees internal and external relationships and designs strategies to attract, develop and advance the most talented individuals in support of Mercedes‐Benz Group AG’s commitment to foster a diverse workforce and inclusive environment. This includes ensuring that national employment, dealer development, training, marketing and media, purchasing and philanthropic outreach activities are implemented in ways that direct the strategic global direction of the company’s diversity, community and social engagement initiatives.

Prior to joining MBUSA, Erica was the Director of Diversity for Perkins Coie LLP where she focused on critical intervention strategies affecting more than 1K lawyers in 19 offices across the U.S. and Asia. She is also a 10‐year veteran of Pricewaterhouse Coopers LLP (PwC), where she last served as the National Diversity Programs Senior Manager in the National Office of Diversity. In that role, Erica planned and managed signature earlier minority success programs and special projects to strengthen retention and advancement strategies and execute the firm’s national people strategy targeting 55K+ U.S. partners and staff. Erica has also been responsible for driving profitable revenue growth and leading business/relationship development efforts, while sharing winning practices across the firm network.

Erica has 20 years of HR strategy consulting and change management experience in data analysis; communications; business issue identification; corporate social responsibility and employee engagement; as well as training design related to leadership development, teambuilding and cultural transformation/diversity nuances.

Erica is a graduate of Miami University in Oxford, Ohio where she earned a B.A. in Speech Communications and a B.A. in Spanish. In addition, she is a Certified Diversity Professional (CDP) and serves as a member of the American Council on Germany’s German‐American Working Group on DEI, CNBC Workforce Executive Council, the Board of Trustees for Meals on Wheels Atlanta; as well as the Board of Directors for Boys & Girls Club of Metro Atlanta, National Diversity Council (GA Chapter) and the National Coalition for Racial Justice and Equity. Most recently, she was recognized in ELLE Magazine as a 2021 Empowered Women honoree; presented the 2020 Diversity Leadership in Action Award by Career Mastered Magazine; and featured in Savoy Magazine’s list of 2019 Most Influential Women in Corporate America.

Celeste Warren

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

Ms. Warren joined Merck in 1997 and has held numerous positions of increasing responsibility within its Human Resources organization. Most recently, she was Vice President, Human Resources of Merck's Global Legal, Compliance, Communications, Population Health, Patient Health and Global Public Policy Organizations.   Prior to that, she held the role as Vice President, Human Resources for Merck’s Manufacturing Division and Global Labor Relations and US Employee Relations Center of Excellence.

Prior to joining Merck in 1997, Celeste worked for nine years in Human Resources at Kraft Foods, Inc. and General Foods and held several positions of increasing responsibility including such roles as Training & Development Leader, Diversity leader, Labor Relations Director and Human Resources Leader for several organizations within Kraft and General Foods.

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

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

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

Catherine Codispoti

Catherine Codispoti joined Mercy as Senior Vice President and Chief People Officer on Dec. 1, 2023, with a focus on hiring, recruiting and retaining co-workers for the health system’s multi-state region. Codispoti most recently served as chief people officer at Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C. Previous positions include a variety of financial and organizational leadership positions at Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston, Texas.

Kimberly Keating

As Chief People Officer of Mercy Corps, Kim is responsible for overseeing all aspects of human capital, including talent acquisition, development, engagement, and retention. She drives organizational performance through innovative people strategies.

Kim is known for her collaborative and empathetic approach to leadership as well as building and leading teams through transformative, inclusive change.

She started her career in finance and investment banking and became the Chief Financial Officer for Teach for America. She found her true calling in global human resources and helping organizations embrace healthy and inclusive cultures. Prior to joining Mercy Corps, she served for four years as Chief People Officer (CPO) for Conservation International (CI), a global nonprofit environmental organization.

Kim also has served as a senior Human Resources (HR) consultant at Mercer HR Consulting for five years. She founded and managed Keating Advisors, a successful HR consulting firm, for eighteen years. Prior to joining CI, she was the Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) for the Y in Central Maryland, one of the nation’s largest YMCAs.

She has an MBA from Harvard and is a founding board member of Lean In, a nonprofit that helps women achieve their ambitions.

Lori Young

Lori Young is Metropolitan Commercial Bank's, Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer. Lori Young most recently served as the EVP Chief Administrative Officer at Bank of New Jersey where she was recruited by the President and CEO to join a newly formed Executive Management Team. Lori had direct responsibility for oversight of the retail bank, deposit growth and related new business development, branch administration, human resources, payroll, training and development and deposit operations. She had decision making responsibilities for the strategic plan of the bank and related initiatives across the company. In addition, Lori conducted customer sales calls to retain and expand relationships. She was a Member of the Executive Management Committee, Asset and Liability (ALCO) Committee, MIS Committee, Credit Committee, Compliance Committee, Audit Committee (as needed), Core Conversion Team, and was the SAFE Act Officer.

Prior to her time at Bank of New Jersey, she built the Human Resources Department for Pascack Community Bank reporting directly to the President and CEO. She was directly responsible for all Human Resources activities for the company. In addition, Lori built the Training and Development Department at Hudson Valley Bank where she managed two trainers and created all relative internal training programs as well as named a team leader for the core system conversion team. She came to Hudson Valley Bank as a recruiter and was quickly promoted to VP Training and Development. Lori has honed her Human Resources skills over her decades long financial services career working in different roles and departments, being regularly promoted and having a passion for helping people achieve their goals.

Tracey Franklin

As Chief Human Resources Officer, Tracey Franklin leads Moderna’s talent and organizational strategy.

Ms. Franklin joins Moderna following 15 years at Merck & Co., Inc. where she most recently led Merck’s global talent strategy as Vice President, HR Chief Talent and Strategy Officer and served on Merck’s HR Leadership Team. In this role, Ms. Franklin was responsible for leading the vision, development and execution of the company’s Talent and Workforce Strategy with a focus on evolving the organizational culture and talent for the future. Ms. Franklin’s previous leadership roles included responsibility for HR for all divisions in the European region, head of HR for the U.K. and Ireland subsidiaries of Merck, and HR Operations leader responsible for HR program implementation across Merck’s global footprint. She was based in Switzerland, the U.K. and the U.S.

Ms. Franklin holds a bachelor’s in communication arts and sciences from Pennsylvania State University and a Master in industrial and organizational psychology from Fairleigh Dickinson University.

Harsha Jalihal

Harsha brings more than 20 years of experience in a broad range of HR and business roles to her role as Chief People Officer at MongoDB. Most recently she was the Vice President of HR at Unilever, responsible for delivering the end-to-end HR strategy and operations for the U.S. business, and co-creating Unilever's strategy to build a sustainable future of work across its multinational business while being on a part-time secondment to the World Economic Forum. She started her career as a business development associate with a software company before finding her calling as an HR business partner at Cognizant Technology Solutions in 2004. She spent 10 years at Cognizant, helping the company through its hyper-growth phase, and laying the early foundations of their talent acquisition, talent management, reward management, employee relations practices.

Pamela Abner

Ms. Pamela Abner has more than twenty years of comprehensive senior human resources experience in a multi-site health care system overseeing and leading benefits, pension, recruitment, compensation employee relations, human resource systems and diversity management. In the capacity of benefits executive at the former Continuum Health Partners, she was successful in managing the organization’s employee wellness and population health initiative to significantly and consistently reduce benefit plan expenses. She has expanded her management skills and enhanced her focus over the past twelve years, to provide executive diversity leadership both in a managerial and consulting capacity to establish diversity, inclusion and equity as core organizational values.

In her current role as Senior Vice President, Health, Equity and Diversity Officer for the Mount Sinai Health System (comprised of the Icahn School of Medicine and seven New York City hospitals), Ms. Abner is primarily responsible for system-wide administrative, fiscal, policy, and practice related management activities to sustain diversity, inclusion and equity. She consults and collaborates with hospital and school leadership, faculty and staff to provide expertise in best practices, conduct integrative work and set the strategic, innovative and programmatic agenda for diversity, inclusion and equity across all business lines. Ms. Abner strives to ultimately develop, advance and guide initiatives to create an inclusive environment for the workforce (faculty, staff), workplace (students, patients) and marketplace (suppliers, providers).

With regard to notable accomplishments, Ms. Abner’s thought-leadership ability and strategic management guidance was fundamental to Mount Sinai Health System attaining national ranking among the DiversityInc Top Hospital Systems for four consecutive years; in 2017, Mount Sinai Health System ranked #1 in the nation. Among her distinctions, in 2017, the Tri-State Diversity Council named Ms. Abner among the Most Powerful and Influential Women recognizing her many contributions as a diversity and inclusion leader.

Cara Stein

Cara Stein is Chief Talent Officer and Senior Vice President for NBCUniversal, a newly created position that she was appointed to in June 2011. She is responsible for talent management, including hiring staff, executive development. Since joining the company, she has been a trailblazer in how the company hires, trains and retains talent throughout NBCUniversal.

Stein and team have developed a series of unique leadership experiences for executives at all levels of the company. Under Stein’s leadership, the NBCUniversal Talent Lab was created with the purpose of creating a more strategic, well-informed and engaged workforce. She has also modernized the traditional employee survey and performance feedback process at the company. Stein’s currently re-imagining the early career development programs, including the premier Page Program, NBCUniversal’s longest running franchise. Stein is currently working on a company-wide initiative to maintain and nurture an inclusive environment for women across the entire NBCUniversal Portfolio.

Stein spearheads the NBCUniversal women's initiative, HERE SHE CAN, focused on respect, equity and opportunity for women at all stages of their career at NBCUniversal. In addition, Stein oversees a company-wide DEI initiative, MEET THE MOMENT, which focuses on education and awareness.

Prior to her work at NBCUniversal, Stein served as partner and television packaging agent at WME, a worldwide leader in the talent representation industry. Stein represented numerous well-known writers and producers for both late night and prime time television series. She also represented actors who built their own production companies, most notably Whoopi Goldberg. Stein also oversaw operations and human resources for the WME New York office during her 25 years at WME and its predecessor, the William Morris Agency, which represented some of the most well-known entertainers of the 20th century. Stein served on the Board of Directors at WMA and subsequently was a senior partner at WME.

Widely known and highly regarded for identifying talent and developing careers, Stein has been named by The Hollywood Reporter in its Women in Entertainment Power 100.

Born and raised in Huntington, N.Y., Stein is a graduate of Grinnell College, and she is married to Dr. Barry Rosenfeld, a forensic psychologist and professor at Fordham University. They reside in Manhattan with their three daughters; Jane, Kate, and Anna.

Jacqueline Welch

Jacqueline M. Welch became Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources officer in January, 2021. In this role she leads The Times’s human resources department and oversees all aspects of talent acquisition, career development, organizational development, equitable compensation practices, performance enablement and diversity, equity and inclusion. She sits on the company’s executive committee and reports to the Chief Executive Officer. Ms. Welch joined The Times from Freddie Mac, where she was Senior Vice President, Chief Human Resources Officer and Chief Diversity Officer since 2016. In this role, she led the Freddie Mac H.R. team and served as a trusted adviser to its board of directors and the executive team. She also had oversight responsibility for Freddie Mac’s corporate community engagement program and their 10 employee resource groups. A seasoned corporate executive, Ms. Welch joined Freddie Mac with 20 years of experience in H.R. strategy and execution. She served as senior vice president for international human resources for Turner Broadcasting System from 2010 to 2013 and was Senior Vice President, talent management and diversity, from 2008 to 2010. Prior to Turner, she worked for organizations such as WestRock, Accenture (formerly Andersen Consulting) and Willis Towers Watson (formerly Towers Perrin). She began her career in New York at Lord & Taylor as a merchant. Ms. Welch earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Syracuse University and a Master of Science in Human Resources Management from The New School’s Milano School of Policy, Management and Environment. She serves on the Boards of Habitat for Humanity of Northern Virginia, the Human Resources Policy Association and Buckman.

Michelle Piekutowski

Michelle Piekutowski is Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer for New York University.

Pamela Wheeler

Pamela is an accomplished leader with nearly three decades of experience improving diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB) outcomes for employees, clients, partners and communities. As NFP’s Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer, she works with leaders across NFP to drive DEIB strategy and move the organization forward with deliberate action, measurable results and continuous refinement.

Pamela Wheeler is a woman of firsts. She was the first woman appointed to lead a professional sports union, was the founding Director of the Women’s National Basketball Players Association (WNBPA) and negotiated the first collective bargaining agreement in women’s professional sports.

Currently, Ms. Wheeler is a Lecturer of Leadership & Personnel Management within the Columbia University MS Sports Management Program and is an Executive Leadership Development and DE&I Consultant. She collaborates with clients to develop transformational, cross functional leaders and advises on creating diverse, inclusive and equitable cultures, systems and fully integrated DE&I strategies.

As founding Director of the WNBPA, Ms. Wheeler created the organizational infrastructure of the organization and was responsible for improving the lives of professional women basketball players both on and off the court. Whether through collective bargaining, establishing programs for players or developing alternative income sources, she consistently implemented strategies that resulted in significant advances for WNBA players. She successfully led multiple CBA negotiations, culminating in the establishment of (i) minimum salary increases of 75% for rookies and 100% for veterans; (ii) year-round medical, maternity and retirement benefits; (iii) a landmark system of free agency; (iv) player controlled group license marketing rights; (v) player revenue sharing and (vi) a flexible salary cap system. Under her leadership player benefits, salaries and resources increased by 300% from 1998 to 2014.

In addition, Ms. Wheeler consistently worked to shift the systems and cultures within the sports industry to enhance the working conditions and social welfare of WNBA players both during and after their playing careers. To that end, she implemented and administered a myriad of Association and joint labor/management programs, including anti-drug, graduate school tuition reimbursement, career assessments & apprenticeships, financial planning and Rookie Orientation.

Prior to the WNBPA, Ms. Wheeler was the Director of Business Development for the Continental Basketball Association, where she finalized stalled negotiations with New Line Cinema to create a national branding platform based on merging sports and entertainment. Before that, she served as General Counsel & Marketing Manager at Bob Woolf Associates, creating sports and entertainment marketing programs for institutional clients and negotiating marketing agreements for athletes.

She earned a BA from Dartmouth College and a JD from Boston University. She has been profiled in a number of traditional and sports publications, including the Sports Business Journal, “Game Changer,” Sports Illustrated, 101 Most Influential Minorities in Sports, Black Enterprise, 50 Most Powerful Blacks in Sports and Essence Magazine, Powerful African American Women.

Michele Grazulis

Michele Grazulis is Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer for Northeastern University.

Maxine Carrington

Maxine Carrington currently serves as Senior Vice President and Chief People Officer for Northwell Health, New York State’s largest health care provider and private employer.

In her role, she leads the people strategy for the 83,000+ team member organization with a focus on maximizing organizational effectiveness and performance -- in support of its mission and strategic direction. She has been with Northwell since 2008 and has served in progressively responsible leadership roles. Prior to Northwell, Maxine was a manager and attorney with the New York City Mayor’s Office of Labor Relations.

Like her Northwell teammates, Maxine is committed to service beyond her core responsibilities. In addition to mentoring, she is an instructor with the Center for Learning & Innovation, Northwell’s corporate university and serves as a co-sponsor of the organization’s business employee resource groups. She is also a trustee of the 1199 Pension Fund serving employees for the New York Region, serves on the board of the National Center for Healthcare Leadership - a not-for-profit organization dedicated to advancing healthcare leadership and organizational excellence, and on the New York Urban League’s Project Ready Mentor Program Advisory Board.

Maxine holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Africana Studies and a master’s degree in Educational Administration and Policy Studies from the University at Albany in New York. She obtained her Juris Doctor degree from New York Law School. She is a graduate of Northwell’s High Potential Leadership Development Program, a prestigious succession preparation and leadership development program and the Health Management Academy’s GE Fellows Program. Her recognitions include the Human Resource Executive Magazine’s Rising Star in HR award, Crain’s Notables in Healthcare list, and Modern Healthcare’s Top 25 Women in Healthcare.

Maxine and her family reside in Stamford, CT.

Don Robertson

Don J. Robertson joined Northwestern Mutual in July 2018 to lead employee experience, driving organizational vision through the power of its people.

As the company’s chief human resources officer, Robertson is responsible for advancing the company’s people strategy and employee value proposition, as well as for the overall employee experience. He leads an organization that comprises Human Resources, change management, campus facilities and meeting events. Collectively, his organization delivers business-focused solutions that propel the business strategy and culture of Northwestern Mutual.

Throughout his career, Robertson has held senior HR leadership roles during times of transformation in companies ranging from Fortune 50s to maturing start-ups. In addition to his broad-based HR experience, Robertson brings strategic leadership, foresight, systems thinking expertise and a collaborative style to engage key stakeholders and lead the HR organization to deliver on the people strategy needed now to advance the company’s transformation.

Most recently, Robertson headed HR at Apttus, a Silicon Valley start-up firm that provides software solutions for mid-sized and enterprise companies. Previous to Apttus, Robertson was head of HR at Sutherland Global Services and start-up firm TrueCar. Before transitioning to the start-up world, Robertson worked at Hewlett-Packard Corporation for 14 years, where his broad-based HR experience culminated as SVP-HR Global Technology & Operations. He led a team of more than 300 HR professionals responsible for all HR-related matters for a global organization of 100,000+ employees.

Robertson launched his career in accounting, finance and sales roles before moving into Human Resources. He earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from California State University in Fresno, where he currently serves on the advisory board for the Craig School of Business. He is also a member of the board of directors for the Wisconsin Humane Society and the Milwaukee Public Museum.

Vijay Rao

Vijay Rao currently serves as Chief People and Places Officer at Okta, overseeing the company’s global People and Workplace strategy and teams. He has been a leader in building and growing People functions for more than 25 years. Throughout his career, Vijay has built and scaled diverse and inclusive teams which have innovated world class People processes and systems for start-ups and Fortune 500 companies. Vijay is a strengths-based leader and coach leveraging a unique blend of strategic thinking, people and business acumen, and technical skills to drive success.

Prior to this role, Vijay was SVP, People at Okta, leading teams focused on the attraction and retention of talent, employee engagement, and scaling of processes and systems during Okta’s growth from 2,000 to over 6,000 employees.

Before joining Okta, Vijay built and drove the strategy and execution of Meta’s Global People Operations function, scaling the team from 2 people to 500+ to support growth for the overall workforce from 3,000 to more than 85,000.

Previous to his work at Meta, Vijay spent time at Microsoft as a technical product manager and leading a 5-year global recruiting system and process transformation. Earlier in his career, Vijay has also had roles in benefits strategy and administration and software professional services consulting and implementation.

Vijay earned a B.A. in History at Brandeis University and a minor in Legal Studies and received an HR certificate at Bentley College. In addition, Vijay is a previously certified Project Management Professional (PMP), Six Sigma Greenbelt, and an Eagle Scout.

Heather McHale

Heather McHale is Executive Vice President, Chief Human Resources Officer at OneMain. She is responsible for focusing on OneMain’s 10,000+ team members and ensuring it remains a great place to work for all employees by focusing on leadership development, diversity and inclusion, and performance achievement. She also leads OneMain’s talent acquisition, employee development, learning, operations, compensation, benefits and employee relations teams across the United States. Before joining OneMain in June 2019, she was the SVP of Global Human Resources for Marchon Eyewear, responsible for all aspects of human resources in over 20 countries. She has also held senior roles at Merrill Lynch, Pfizer and Kidder Peabody. Heather holds a Master of Arts degree in organizational psychology from Columbia University, as well as a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from Loyola University. Additionally, Heather completed the Harvard Business School Executive Education’s HR-Executive Suite Connection program. She is a member of Chief, the Society of Human Resources Management and the Nassau/Suffolk Autism Society.

Nancy Tostanoski

Nancy Tostanoski has served as OUTFRONT Media’s Executive Vice President, Chief Human Resources Officer since February 2015, and oversees talent acquisition and management, compensation and benefits, recruitment, communications and administration. From May 2014 to February 2015, she served as Senior Vice President, Human Resources at OUTFRONT Media. Ms. Tostanoski served as Vice President, Global Compensation and Benefits at PVH Corp. (formerly known as The Warnaco Group, Inc.) from 2010 to 2013, where she was responsible for global compensation, benefits and performance management for the publicly-held branded apparel company. From 2007 to 2010, Ms. Tostanoski served as Vice President, Global Compensation, Benefits and Shared Services at Reader’s Digest Association, Inc., where she was responsible for global compensation, benefits and U.S. shared services for the privately-held publishing and media company. Nancy currently resides in New York with her husband and has four children.

Candace Barnes

Candace Barnes is Vice President, Global Head of DEI & Culture for Papa Johns.

Ellie Shephard

Ellie Shephard is currently the Chief People Officer at a $2.5 billion hedge fund in the Bay Area, where she develops and implements programs to acquire, develop, and retain a top-performing, diverse team for the company. She is passionate about people programs and strategies that contribute to business success while focusing on team members as individuals.
Ellie is passionate about building transformational, cutting-edge teams, as well as innovative ways to build diverse communities. Ellie has also been the featured speaker at multiple financial services industry events, including but not limited to 100 Women in Hedge Funds, LinkedIn Talent Connect, JP Morgan - Disabilities in the Workplace, and multiple Cornell University ILR panels on Human Capital Management.

Ellie has nearly 20 years of experience as a Human Resources leader, primarily in the financial services industry. She began her career at Goldman Sachs within their Human Capital Management Division, where she concentrated on recruitment, strategic hiring, and diversity. Ellie continued her focus on recruitment strategy in a global role as a vice president for JP Morgan before becoming a vice president and Human Resources Business Partner within their Asset Management division. She left JP Morgan to join a 10-billion-dollar hedge fund, as their Global HR and Talent Management Director. Lured by the appeal of the Bay Area, Ellie rejoined JP Morgan Chase as Executive Director, Regional Head of West in San Francisco. While there, she spearheaded a program to decrease workplace bias in partnership with the Neuro Leadership Institute. After a brief stint as Regional Head of People Practices for a commercial real estate firm, Ellie returned to financial services when she joined the executive team in her current role.

Ellie holds both bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations. She is a member of the WEC-CNBC Council as well as CHIEF, a network for C-Suite women. She is an elected member of the Cornell University External Recruitment Advisory Committee, as well as an active alumna and speaker at Cornell events.

Ellie currently lives in Marin with her husband, Peter. She spends her time volunteering with and serving on the Board of Directors for 10,0000 Degrees, an organization devoted to getting young people from low-income backgrounds to and through college.

Paul Wolfe

Paul Wolfe is a Human First Leadership Advocate who champions the development of workplace cultures built on authentic connection, shared vulnerability, and purpose-led performance. Wolfe came to this mission through two decades of service as an HR executive and his experience of seeking to show up– and view others as humans before titles. Paul has served as an HR Executive at some of the world’s most prominent companies, including Indeed, Conde Nast, Match.com, and others.

Paul is a board member at Payscale and an HR Venture Advisor for SemperVirens Venture Capital. He hosts the “52 Humans” vlog cast, a live weekly video podcast on the human side of workplace experiences. He released his book in March of 2023, "Human Beings First - Practices for Empathetic, Expressive Leadership." Paul enjoys much of his time speaking to– and leading workshops for organizations, companies, and teams on various topics in HR and leadership.

Paul lives with his husband and their three dogs in New York.

Learn more and reach out at paulwolfe.com. You can also email Paul at pw@paulwolfe.com

Kausik Rajgopal

Kausik Rajgopal is PayPal’s Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer, responsible for global workforce planning, talent acquisition and evaluation, compensation, benefits, learning and development, as well as culture, diversity and inclusion initiatives.

Kausik brings a unique blend of senior leadership experience and expertise in human resources, technology and payments to his role. Prior to joining PayPal, he spent nearly 15 years with McKinsey & Company leading the development of high-performing HR functions for global companies across industries and sectors. Most recently, he served as the firm’s co-Managing Partner for the United States office where he was responsible for HR-related priorities and initiatives. Kausik also helped advance and scale McKinsey’s fintech efforts in his time with the firm. He co-founded the Digital Payments Practice in 2005, led the firm’s global Payments Practice for five years and served as McKinsey’s global Fintech co-lead.

He serves as Chair of the Board and Executive Committee of the Bay Area Council, and is on the Leadership Council of California Forward. He was previously a board member for the World Affairs Council, the San Francisco Symphony and the Center for Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity at Stanford University.

Kausik earned his MBA from Stanford’s Graduate School of Business, where he was an Arjay Miller Scholar and now serves as Vice Chair of the Advisory Council. He holds a Bachelor of Arts and Science in Political Science and Industrial Engineering from Stanford University.

Laila Salguero

Laila serves as Chief Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I) Officer and is responsible for working across Peraton’s sectors and functions to help align the company’s DE&I goals with measurable business outcomes. She is charged with establishing and executing programs that support enterprise DE&I efforts, including the company’s employee resource groups.

Prior to her current role, Laila served as Peraton’s vice president, corporate responsibility where she led the company’s ethics, compliance, quality, and risk management efforts. She previously served in a range of human resource leadership roles with aerospace, defense, national security, and government contracting companies.

Laila earned a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) from Strayer University and a Master’s degree in Organizational Development and Knowledge Management from George Mason University.

Renuka Iyer

Renuka Iyer is Chief People & Culture Officer at PhRMA. In her role, she develops PhRMA’s talent philosophy and implements HR and DEI strategies to drive organizational excellence and employee engagement. She has over three decades of global experience in human capital management in organizations ranging from start-ups to large companies, in the commercial and nonprofit sectors. She has held leadership roles with Infor-SoftBrands, Levi Strauss & Co., Population Services International, Grameen Foundation, and more recently the World Resources Institute, where she was the Chief Human Resources Officer. She has led diverse teams and worked with multiple countries across the Americas, Asia, Africa, and South America.

Renuka is a certified Senior Professional of Human Resources. She has an undergraduate degree in economics, undergraduate degree in interdisciplinary studies and a master’s in organizational development and knowledge management.

Hollie Delaney

Hollie Delaney is Chief People Officer for Power Home Remodeling.

Jon Couture

Jon Couture is executive vice president and chief human resources officer (CHRO) of Principal Financial Group®. He oversees all aspects of human resources for more than 18,500 employees worldwide and is also responsible for Principal’s service operations in India and the Philippines.

Couture joined Principal in 2018 and has more than 25 years of experience in human resources. Previously, he was the executive vice president–human resources for consumer lending, payments, virtual channels, operations, and innovation at Wells Fargo. Prior to Wells Fargo, Couture was senior executive vice president of human resources for HSBC North America Holdings, Inc. He's held various CHRO and senior human resources leadership roles in a variety of industries and is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force.

Couture has a doctorate in human performance from the University of Southern California, a master’s degree in instructional and human performance technology from Boise State University, and a bachelor’s degree in management from Southern Illinois University.

Sheila Rostiac

Sheila Rostiac was named Senior Vice President Human Resources and Chief Human Resources Officer, effective September 2019. Ms. Rostiac leads the Human Resources team in delivering a rewarding employee experience that meets the evolving needs of a diverse workforce. She also serves as a strategic partner to the business in developing a talent pipeline to drive organizational success. In addition, she assumed the role of Chief Diversity Officer, merging the company’s diversity and inclusion efforts within the Human Resources organization, in January 2020. Ms. Rostiac is a member of the Executive Officer Group. Previously, Ms. Rostiac was vice president -Total Rewards and Talent Management. Ms. Rostiac joined PSEG in 1997 and has held a variety of management positions across finance and human resources. She also served as director-Corporate Responsibility and president of the PSEG Foundation. Ms. Rostiac also held key roles in global human resource management at Schering Plough and financial roles with Jersey Central Power & Light and Arthur Andersen & Co. Ms. Rostiac holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Lehigh University and a Master of Business Administration from Centenary College. Ms. Rostiac was formerly a Certified Public Accountant and is a SHRM-certified senior professional in human resources. She sits on the Executive Council of the Center for Energy Workforce Development. Active in the local community, Ms. Rostiac is corporate executive sponsor for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and serves on the Trustee Emeritus Council for Imagine, a grief support center. She is a former board member and treasurer for Lead New Jersey. Ms. Rostiac was a NJ Biz Best 50 Women in Business Honoree and is a Lead New Jersey fellow.

Tobi Russell

Ms. Russell has more than 30 years of Human Resources (HR) experience working in various industries, including financial services, retail, consulting, high tech, and insurance. Throughout her career, she has provided leadership for all of the functions within HR from talent management, acquisition, training and development, compensation, HR Information Systems (HRIS), and business partnerships. A passionate advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I), Ms. Russell served as the lead sponsor for PCG’s inaugural D&I Advisory Council and established a new leadership position at the firm, that being the Corporate Director of D&I. Ms. Russell is an adjunct professor of HR at Framingham State University’s Graduate School of Business. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Human Development from Boston College and her Master’s degree in Instructional Design from the University of Massachusetts, Boston.

Yolanda Seals-Coffield

Yolanda Seals-Coffield serves as the Chief People & Inclusion Officer, providing strategic leadership to align the firm’s people and inclusion strategies with the firm’s growth strategy. She is committed to helping the firm remain a place where people can be their authentic selves, grow their careers, service our clients and thrive in their personal and professional lives.

Yolanda previously served as the firm’s Chief Employment Counsel and worked closely with business leaders and partners across many aspects of the people agenda. She also served as president of the PwC Charitable Foundation where she championed diversity and inclusion, education and humanitarian efforts.

Yolanda is passionate about her community. She is an active leader in the Stamford Norwalk Chapter of Jack & Jill of America, Inc. and the Fairfield County Chapter of The Links Incorporated. She received her juris doctor degree from the Boston University School of Law where she was a Martin Luther King, Jr. Fellow and a staff editor of the Public Interest Law Journal. She is also a proud graduate of Howard University. Along with her husband, two daughters, and Teddie, their dog, Yolanda resides in Stamford, Connecticut, where she enjoys watching college basketball, serving her community and spending time with friends and family.

Cecilia McKenney

Cecilia McKenney is Senior Vice President, Chief Human Resources Officer for Quest Diagnostics. She is responsible for all human resources activities across the company.

Prior to joining Quest in February 2018, Ms. McKenney spent more than a decade at Frontier Communications, where she led the telecommunications company’s human resources function, as well as held senior leadership roles leading the Consumer Division and sales, marketing, business operations and customer service. Before Frontier, she served in various HR leadership roles at PepsiCo over a period of 16 years.

Ms. McKenney earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration at Franklin & Marshall College, and a Certified Employee Benefits Specialist certification from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans.

Jalie Cohen

Jalie Cohen serves as Chief Human Resources Officer for Radiology Partners, where they are committed to transformative radiology leveraging AI and other technology to provide the best patient and clinical care.

Prior to joining Radiology Partners, Jalie was the SVP Global Talent for the Adecco Group, which included DEI, People Analytics, Talent Acquisition, Talent Management, Learning and Development, Wellbeing and the Talent Experience for their 50,000+ colleagues around the world. She is a seasoned human resources executive with more than two decades of experience leading global teams in matrixed environments. She has held various human resources executive and business partner roles while living in various locations throughout the US, EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa) and Latin America with Newell Brands and Centene.

Jalie is also a member the Forbes HR Council, serves as an advisor for SHRM Labs, and is a member of the Gartner CHRO Council. As a trusted industry expert, Jalie has been quoted or published in national publications such as Fast Company, HR Brew, Inc., US News & World Report, CNBC Make It and Investor’s Business Daily, and is often asked to speak on the evolution of the workplace. Due to her extensive business partner and enterprise wide transformation experience, she is also a highly requested executive coach for Fortune 500 C-Suite executives and Start Up CEOs.

Jalie received her BA in International Studies and Juris Doctorate from the University of South Carolina.

Smita Pillai

Smita Pillai is a global leader in the space of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion with an accomplished career spanning Life Sciences, Technology, Financial Services and Media. She is the Chief Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Officer for Regeneron, one the world’s most innovative biotechnology company, based out of New York. In her role Smita is responsible for a comprehensive DE&I strategy and implementation at the company, ensuring that equity is at the heart of the company’s mission: Science to Medicine.

Prior to joining Regeneron, Smita held Global Head and CDO roles for a variety of multinational Fortune 50 and fast growing companies like Zendesk, Dow Jones, including The Wall Street Journal, Prudential Financial and Johnson & Johnson. In her career, Smita has led groundbreaking global diversity efforts and established clear metrics for DE&I measurement that have advanced this import work across multiple organizations. She has also been a founding board member for several global employee groups and has always approached this work with a trifecta impact on talent, business and community. Her holistic approach to DE&I seeks to create a climate of inclusion and belonging where innovation can thrive.

Smita is a well-recognized global thought leader and has received several awards and recognitions like the Top 100 DEI Leaders of Influence, Leadership Excellence Award Tri-State Diversity and Leadership, NY Moves Mentor, Diversity MBA Top 100 Under 50, Economic Times, Leaders executive profile, COLOR profile, for her outstanding achievements in community, leadership and education. An accomplished public speaker, Smita has led various global forums like the Women’s Economic Summit, SOCAP, Sundance Film Festival, WSJ Women In conference, WSJ CEO Council, Latina Style, HACR, Diversity Council, COLOR magazine, W.I.N Forum NY, The Conference Board, Working Mother Media, and Diversity Best Practices, among others.

Originally from India, Smita has a master’s degree in International Business from India, and a Wharton Executive Education on Strategic Management certification. She is a Certified Diversity Professional and considers herself a true global citizen, having worked across the globe and based in Mumbai, Dubai, Tokyo, Singapore, Florida, San Francisco and New York. She loves to spend time with her family, travel, practice yoga and run trails. Smita lives with her husband, their three children and their Rottweiler in their historic barn home in Central New Jersey.

Apple Musni

Apple Musni is Chief People Officer for REI.

Dina Clark

Dina L. Clark, EdD is Senior Vice President of Diversity & Inclusion at Skanska USA Building (Skanska USB), a multi-billion-dollar construction leader in markets that span Healthcare, Science and Technology, Higher Education, Aviation and more. With over two decades of experience leading national and global D&I efforts, Dina’s career exemplifies the passion she has for building inclusive cultures that are aligned with strategic business objectives.

As part of Skanska USB’s Senior Leadership Team, Dina collaborates with operations teams and professional service groups to embed inclusion into the foundation of our core business while managing comprehensive and strategic inclusion efforts. She drives culture transformation alongside a dynamic team that leads action-oriented efforts to strengthen and deepen relationships among team members, customers and communities. Dina’s positive energy and focus have led to tangible change within Skanska. To further solidify the company’s commitment to inclusion, she oversaw efforts to develop a D&I Strategy; publish the first, and ongoing, annual D&I progress report; and establish local D&I Councils that evolve internal and external inclusion efforts.

Dina holds a Doctor of Education in Leadership and Administration from Point Park University, a Master of Science in Global Leadership from Duquesne University, and dual Bachelor of Arts degrees in Psychology and Child and Family Studies from Syracuse University.

Anna Avalos

Anna is SoFi’s Chief People Officer, responsible for the company’s total talent strategy. Her career spans large, global organizations with fast-paced growth environments, and she has a breadth of experience building teams and business. Prior to SoFi, Anna led HR for Tesla’s EMEA region. She previously spent 14 years at Stryker, where she began her career in product operations and business unit leadership before she transitioned into several HR functions. Anna holds a BA in Communications and an MBA from the University of Arizona.

Lori Spicer Robertson

Lori Spicer Robertson is a creative change agent always pursuing opportunities to transform lives and foster sustainable progress. As a natural connector and multi-hyphenate, she currently serves as the VP, Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, founder of The DEI Collective - an industry agnostic collaborative of DEI leaders creating more just work environments and communities, and the founder and Chief Joymaker of an experiential membership community created to reconnect women and mothers to a life of joy called Wundher. Most recently, she held the role of VP, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for Saks Fifth Avenue to design a more inclusive experience for employees, customers, and partners. A thought leader on women and mothers; diversity, equity, and inclusion; leadership and authentic joy, Lori is sought after by companies, universities, and organizations annually to share her narrative. She is wife to her fellow community crusader Eric Robertson, mother to her amazing boys - Liam and Emory, and they all believe in their family motto to ‘live in your vision and not your circumstances’.

Jackson Lynch

Mr. Lynch has served as Sunnova’s Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) since May 2023. Mr. Lynch brings to Sunnova nearly 30 years of experience in various HR leadership roles, having served as the CHRO at multiple public and private companies. Prior to joining Sunnova, Mr. Lynch served as Senior Vice Presidentand CHRO of RentPath from 2016 to 2021, Vice President and CHRO of Blueline Rental from 2015 to 2016, and Senior Vice President and CHRO of Clearwater Paper Corporation from 2013-2015. Mr. Lynch has also served in HR roles at Nestlé and PepsiCo, and he has also run his own consulting firm, 90Consulting, where he advised boards of directors and senior management on issues related to executive compensation, organizational redesign, and M&A integration. Mr. Lynch received his Master of Business Administration from the University of Notre Dame and a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Western Washington University.

Adrienne Gemperle

Adrienne Gemperle has successfully led people functions for a large scale global Fortune 500 company as well as high-growth, disruptive, start-ups. Adrienne’s passion is to enable organizational success through building progressive, mission-driven culture where people thrive and grow.

Adrienne joins Sweetgreen from SoulCycle where she served as Chief People Officer. SoulCycle is a leading fitness brand differentiated by talent and its mission to “move people to move the world.” At SoulCycle, Adrienne led the talent strategy and built a people function for global expansion and the innovation and launch of the digital bike.

She served as CPO for Plated, reporting to the Founders and led the people strategy through a period of high-growth and positioning for sale. Plated is leading meal-kit service serving fresh, delicious meals to the US market through subscription and in-store pick up. Plated’s funding included investment on Shark Tank and was acquired by Alberstsons in 2018, making Plated Shark Tank's most profitable venture.

A former Starbucks executive, Adrienne spent 10 years in a variety of leadership roles serving as SVP HR, Partner Resources for the US and Americas, Global HR Operations and Head of Global Staffing. Adrienne led a dynamic team of over 150 HR professionals responsible for the partner experience strategy serving over 100,000 retail partners (employees) and 10,000 stores.

Adrienne holds a BA, Communications from Washington State University and a MS, Management from Antioch University. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband James and their two children Rachel and Max and two dogs Leo and Friday. They’re a family inspired by food, fitness and travel.

DJ Casto

DJ Casto Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Leader Our culture is truly special. We have created an environment where inclusion and development are not just initiatives, but enablers to our greatness.​David "DJ" Casto is Executive Vice President and Human Resources Leader of Synchrony. Previously, he served as​ Senior Vice President, Human Resources for the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer and their organizations consisting of 9,000+ Synchrony employees in 20 locations in the US, India, and the Philippines. ​He joined Synchrony in 2014 serving as HR Client Leader for the Corporate Governance Functions: Finance, Risk, Credit, Regulatory, Compliance, Legal and Internal Audit, where he helped manage the integration and separation from General Electric. DJ started his career at PepsiCo and held several roles of increasing responsibility within HR Field Operations. He later became Director of Labor Relations where he led labor and employee relations for the North America Beverages business, a division with over $14B in revenue. In that role, DJ managed all aspects of union awareness strategies and programs. After that, DJ served as Senior Director Global Organization Development responsible for global career development and succession planning. Highlights: Holds a BS in Business and MS in Industrial Relations from West Virginia University Serves on three Boards: The West Virginia University MSIR Executive Alumni Board BuildOn for Connecticut, an international nonprofit organization that runs youth service after school programs in the United States and builds schools in developing countries​JAG (Jobs for America's Graduates, a state-based national nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting the educational and career pursuits of at-risk students across the country​.

Alan Winters

Alan Winters is Chief People Officer & Chief Diversity Officer for Teleperformance USA.

Linda Aldred

Linda Aldred is Texas Children's Hospital's, Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer and also serves as the principal strategist and implementer for the People Strategies and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives across the Texas Children’s system.

Ms. Aldred has been an executive at Texas Children’s for nearly two decades. In addition to her Human Resources role, her tenure has also included leading marketing, public relations and community initiatives.
Her enthusiasm lies in fostering leadership development, enriching the employee experience and creating a compelling and inclusive environment where people can perform their work with fulfillment. Ms. Aldred characterizes her leadership approach as “thinking it big, leading it bigger and being the difference.” She is steadfast in her belief that an organization cannot attain preeminence without building and executing effective and meaningful people strategies that demonstrate and exemplify its brand and culture.

Ms. Aldred holds a Bachelor of Science in Finance from the University of Houston and a Master’s in Organizational Performance and Change from Colorado State University. Outside of work, Linda enjoys spending time with her family, hiking in international locations, and consuming leadership books and podcasts.

Anna Edwin

Anna Edwin is a Managing Director at TPG based in San Francisco and is the Global Head of Human Resources. Joining the firm in 2018, Anna was formerly the Global Head of Talent where she led the strategy for performance management, talent management and diversity and inclusion. Previously, Anna worked at BlackRock, where she served as the Head of Leadership Development. In this role, she was responsible for all of BlackRock's executive leadership programs. Prior to joining BlackRock in 2017, Anna spent ten years at Goldman Sachs in a variety of Human Resources roles, including serving as a Business Partner for the Technology Division and roles within the Global Leadership and Diversity team and Goldman Sachs University. Anna earned a BA in Political Science from the University of Pennsylvania. She is a former trustee for Deerfield Academy, an independent co-educational boarding school in MA.

Taylor Bradley

With over a decade of experience, Taylor is a business leader with an HR focus who has successfully shaped talent strategies and fostered cultures of innovation and scalable growth in late-stage tech environments. As the Head of HR Strategy (HRBPs, Compensation, Talent Development) at Turing, an AI empowered Talent Cloud, he leverages his expertise in building and aligning HR infrastructure with business objectives to drive meaningful results.

At Turing, Taylor has a hands-on role with the economics of a globally dispersed workforce, rapidly establishing entities in new countries, while evolving a scalable, world-class culture. He has also partnered with late-stage, often founder-led startups such as DocuSign (DOCU), Squarespace (SQSP), and Datto (MSP), crafting IPO-ready talent strategies that supported the hyper-growth of the business.

As a member of the CNBC Workforce Executive Council and the host of the TroopHR podcast, Taylor shares insights on building diverse, sustainable, high-performing, accountable teams and creating inclusive and financially disciplined environments that foster innovation and sustainable growth.

Taylor holds a Master of Arts in HR Management from Seattle Pacific University and an MBA from the University of Cincinnati. His unique background as a former Firefighter-Paramedic provided a foundation of people-based assessment and diagnostics in dynamic and disruptive environments, which has influenced his steady-hand approach to leadership and crisis management.

He resides on the East Coast with his wife, Michelle, and their two young children.

Pat Wadors

Pat Wadors serves as chief people officer of UKG. In this role, Pat’s day to day responsibilities are driven by her deep commitment to the entire employee experience — starting from a job candidate’s first touch with UKG to building a strong alumni network of brand and culture ambassadors — and all the moments that matter in between. Pat oversees the critical HR functions that bring this experience to life, including talent acquisition and development, compensation and benefits, employee listening and people analytics, employee communications, HR technology, HR business consultants and shared services, and components of workplaces services and physical security. Her personal mission is to ensure that U Krewers around the world are better people for having worked at UKG.

Known for transformational and strategic HR leadership, Pat believes that organizations thrive when they have a blend of people with differing backgrounds and ways of thinking, and who feel they belong as a contributor to the company’s success. As a multiple recipient of the National Diversity Council’s Top 50 Most Powerful Women in Technology, Pat is a frequent speaker on HCM, diversity, and inclusion issues, and has served on the board of several prominent technology companies. Prior to UKG, Pat served as CPO of Procore Technologies, and has held multiple leadership roles at ServiceNow, LinkedIn, Plantronics, Inc., and Yahoo!

Tracey Power

Tracey Power isn’t your typical human resources professional. In fact, she describes herself as a business person first and foremost, and an HR person second. Her first priority is growing, protecting and tending the vital resources that ensure our company’s measured success.

Spoiler alert: it’s people.
As our Chief People Officer, Tracey spends her days focused on the hearts, minds, souls and goals of the Vaco Planet. She brings people, culture and business strategy together to create a pretty amazing place to work, populated by genuine, hand-picked humans who are committed to doing the right things for our customers. Our signature over-the-top client service experience begins with Tracey’s commitment to doing the right thing for our employees and consultants, so they can do the right thing for our customers.

Prior to joining the Vaco executive team, Tracey served as Manager of Training and Internal Communications for Affinion Group, Assistant Vice President of Professional Development for J.C. Bradford & Co, and Executive Vice President of Human Resources for Comdata Corporation/Stored Value Solutions. She’s been a proud Vacotian since 2015 and is currently an adjunct faculty member of Lipscomb University College of Business teaching Talent Management Strategy and Organizational Behavior.

Tracey holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and an M.Ed. from Vanderbilt University. She is a certified executive coach (PCC) through the International Coaching Federation, Tennessee Rule 31 Mediator, Global (GPHR) and Senior Human Resource Professional (SPHR) by the HR Certification Institute and Senior Certified Professional (SCP) with the Society of Human Resource Management. Tracey volunteers for various community organizations, including serving on the board of Impact100 Nashville and as a member of the American Heart Association’s Circle of Red.

Christina Schelling

Christina Schelling is a highly influential global HR executive recognized for her expertise in talent and culture with proven success working across different industries including technology/telecom, financial services, consulting, government and prestige beauty.

As the Chief Talent and Diversity Officer for Verizon, she oversees all talent practices including acquisition, learning and career development, talent management, succession planning, DEI and more for over 120,000 employees globally.

Christina and her team leverage data science and market intelligence to create people strategies that ensure Verizon has the current and future capabilities to win. By helping to sustain a differentiating and inclusive culture, Christina's team works to enable a V Team who continue to exceed the expectations of Verizon's customers, shareholders, employees and society for today and tomorrow.

Prior to her current role, Christina was the Head of HR for Global Corporate Functions at The Estee Lauder Companies. She also served in multiple global executive roles in the talent, DEI and HRBP space at Prudential and American Express. Early in her career she worked in federal government intelligence and management consulting.

Samuel Gilkeson

Sam Gilkeson is Vice President of Human Resources at VHC Health™. In this role, he advises stakeholders across the health system on employment-related matters, HR policies and benefits. He is a licensed attorney and healthcare compliance professional who also leads strategic planning for the Human Resources function.

Prior to taking on the role of Vice President in 2023, Mr. Gilkeson served as the Human Resources Director at VHC Health where he oversaw the HR and Benefits teams. He also served as a Compliance Specialist, advising stakeholders regarding compliance with Federal and State laws and regulations, auditing existing practices, and conducting compliance training to staff across the health system.

Before joining VHC Health, Mr. Gilkeson worked for Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP, an international law firm headquartered in Los Angeles, California, with more than 950 attorneys. The firm includes industry-focused teams including Healthcare and Privacy & Security. As a member of the firm’s Healthcare practice, Mr. Gilkeson focused on mergers and acquisitions and regulatory compliance across the healthcare industry. He also assisted clients with formation of Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) and participation in the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP).

Mr. Gilkeson holds a BA in Political Science West Virginia University. He received his JD from Pepperdine University Caruso School of Law and was admitted to the State Bar of California in 2017. He is a member of the American Bar Association and the Society for Human Resource Management.

Kelly Tullier

Kelly Mahon Tullier is vice chair, chief people and administrative officer of Visa. Ms. Mahon Tullier serves as corporate secretary, and leads Visa’s people, communications and corporate services functions, including real estate, aviation, security and global events.

Previously in her tenure at Visa, Ms. Mahon Tullier served as General Counsel, leading the Legal and Compliance function for the Company. In that role, she was a key negotiator of Visa’s $23 billion acquisition of Visa Europe and has led the Company through a variety of complex legal, regulatory and compliance matters globally. In 2021, Ms. Mahon Tullier took on the additional responsibilities of stewarding the communications, corporate services and people organizations. In her current role, Kelly is responsible for driving an exemplary 360-degree experience to attract and retain top talent, while creating a safe and engaging physical environment that enables all Visa employees to thrive and grow.

Prior to joining Visa, Ms. Mahon Tullier worked at PepsiCo, Inc. as senior vice president and deputy general counsel. She also served as senior vice president and general counsel for PepsiCo's Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa division, based in Dubai.

Previously, Ms. Mahon Tullier was vice president and general counsel for Frito-Lay, Inc. Earlier in her career, she was an associate at BakerBotts LLP and also served as a law clerk for the Honorable Sidney A. Fitzwater, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Texas.

Marvin Davenport

Marvin Davenport joined VSP in 2020 as the company’s first Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer, and is responsible for accelerating the company’s diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) strategy. He oversees all DE&I programs and initiatives, leading a team of subject matter experts within VSP’s dedicated Diversity Office. His work focuses on developing solutions that foster a more engaged workforce, enhance responses to diverse stakeholder needs, and position teams to better leverage diverse perspectives, ultimately promoting a culture of inclusiveness and high performance. Before coming to VSP, Marvin had over a two decades of experience in information technology, business management and DE&I leadership roles, where he designed and led cross-functional programs, business processes, systems, and scorecards across various industries, including retail, cloud computing, and defense and aerospace. His global experience includes leadership roles at Amazon Web Services, Raytheon, and Walmart. Outside VSP, Marvin serves on several external councils and advisory boards.

Donna Morris

Donna Morris is executive vice president and chief people officer for Walmart Inc. A member of the executive committee, Donna is responsible for attracting, retaining and developing talent for one of the world’s largest private employers.

Donna has nearly 20 years of leadership experience in delivering innovative people solutions, developing and managing teams that operate in an agile way, and helping to build a high-performance culture that promotes diversity and inclusion. Donna joined Walmart from Adobe, where she served as chief human resources officer and executive vice president of employee experience.

A native of Ottawa, Canada, Donna joined Adobe in 2002 and most recently led all aspects of the company’s human resources, real estate and security operations. She led a number of workplace-friendly initiatives at Adobe, including expanding its family leave policy and simplifying standard HR processes.

Donna has a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from Carleton University. Donna holds the Society for Human Resource Management – Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP), Senior HR Professional (SHRP) and Canadian Certified Human Resources Professional (CHRP) designations. In 2022, Donna joined the Board of Trustees at Fordham University in New York.

Donna and her husband, Wayne, live in Northwest Arkansas. They have one son, Kyle, who lives in New York.

Danielle McMahan

Danielle leads our People and Business Operations teams, overseeing data-driven and outcomes-focused strategies to ensure that we are fostering both customer and colleague satisfaction. Knowing that people are the heart of Wiley, she is committed to helping colleagues succeed at work and win at life.

Danielle joined Wiley with over 20 years of experience in human resources and an impressive track record implementing strategies that foster a culture of innovation, empowerment and success. She joins us from the private insurance provider York Risk, where she served as Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer. While supporting the company’s global workforce, she led a culture and technology transformation, designed and implemented a multi-year benefits strategy, and deployed a new employee-centric human resource delivery model. During her tenure, York was ranked among Forbes America’s Best Midsize Employers in 2018 and 2019.

Prior to joining York, she served in a wide range of human resources leadership roles at multinational organizations including American Express Global Business Travel, ADP, and Citibank. Danielle holds a Bachelor of Arts in psychology from Barnard College, and she earned a Master of Arts in organizational psychology from Columbia University. Danielle is originally from Somers, New York and is based at Wiley’s global headquarters in Hoboken, New Jersey.

Kim Stith

As Chief Human Resources Officer for WM, Kim Stith is responsible for leading WM’s overall human capital strategy and employee experience that positions WM to attract and retain top talent with a focus on building organizational health and capability, developing talent and strengthening employee relations. Kim previously served as Vice President and General Counsel at WM, leading the team that provides employment and benefits law guidance to the company’s corporate and field functions.
Before joining Waste Management in 2001, Kim was a partner in Littler Mendelson’s Houston office where she advised clients on and litigated cases involving all aspects of employment and labor law. Kim began her legal career at Bracewell LLP in its Labor & Employment section.
Kim received a Bachelor’s degree with honors from the University of Texas at Austin and her law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law.

KeyAnna Schmiedl

KeyAnna Schmiedl is Workhuman\'s Chief Human Experience Officer, responsible for guiding all of the organization’s human experience strategy, including talent, total rewards, learning and development, culture and employee experience, organizational design, corporate social responsibility, and DEI initiatives. Previously, KeyAnna was the VP of Social and Environmental Impact (SEI) at Mozilla, the global head of Culture & Inclusion at Wayfair, and worked with top organizations such as Harvard University, Santander Bank, and IBISConsulting.

KeyAnna has received the industry’s esteemed Diversity Leader Award granted by the Diversity Journal® due to her stand-out work in creating an open, equitable, and inclusive workplace culture. KeyAnna was also featured on Fortune’s 40 Under 40 list and was named a DEI Trailblazer by Business Insider in 2021.

Her superpowers include navigating complex structures to grow relationships and opportunities, connecting key stakeholders, assessing organizational readiness to allow for dialogue on DEI and people process topics at appropriate levels for all constituencies, and challenging/equipping leaders to move from careful to thoughtful conversations.

KeyAnna holds an Advanced Graduate Certificate in Organizational Learning & Development from Suffolk University, an MBA in Human Resource Management, and a Bachelor of Science in Human Services from Fitchburg State University. KeyAnna resides in the Greater Boston area with her husband, two boys, and a growing menagerie of pets.

Michelle Burroughs

Dr. Burroughs is an accomplished senior leader with over twenty years of experience building strategic frameworks and leading collaborative environments. She is a proven influencer of transparency and change, as she has a demonstrated ability to identify gaps and offer evidence-based recommendations. In 2006, Dr. Burroughs had the opportunity to assist with chartering the first Associate Resource Group at Bank of America in Delaware and traveled to multiple locations (e.g. Philadelphia, New Jersey, Maryland, and Washington D.C.) to assist with launching additional resource groups. She prides herself with leading the charge to establish success metrics, committees, and strategic frameworks that showcase the true benefit of productive resource groups. This has since become a common practice. She has since served in multiple senior leadership roles at organizations where she was responsible for building strategic frameworks that integrated risk management, community engagement, or diversity, equity, and inclusion into organizational culture.

​

Dr. Burroughs has spoken publicly about racial health disparities, including at the 2020 Voices of Hope program at the Philadelphia Children’s Museum in partnership with The Mann Center. She openly shares her personal experiences with health inequities as a black mother who suffered a preterm loss at five months pregnant and three sudden family deaths during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In response to the social unrest in 2020, Dr. Burroughs spearheaded the development of a virtual panel discussion geared toward addressing trauma and stress for children. Her initiative, “What Do We Say to Our Kids” had over 50,000 views over the course of three days, providing tools and resources to parents seeking assistance with conversations about quarantine, racial trauma, and other mental health concerns. She was also responsible for developing and executing a process to address COVID-19 vaccination rate gaps in New Castle County, Delaware. The results of her work produced vaccine rates in black and brown communities that were higher than the national average.

Advocating for diversity, equity, and inclusion for the improvement of opportunities, health, treatment, and quality of life is what drives the work of Dr. Burroughs. She prides herself in challenging others to “do human better".
Dr. Burroughs is a resident of Newtown, Pa. where she lives with her husband and two daughters. She is an active member of the community, serving as a member of the Bucks County chapter of the NAACP, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., and is a member of the Equity Leadership Team for the Pennsbury School District. Dr. Burroughs is also a member of the Forum for Executive Women and represents WSFS on the Pennsylvania Diversity Council Board of Directors. She currently serves on the boards of the United Way of Bucks County, Health Care Improvement Foundation, and Maternity Care Coalition and was recently appointed by the Governor of Pennsylvania to serve as a Commissioner for the Early Learning Investment Commission in 2022.

She received her doctorate in educational leadership from Delaware State University, her master’s in business administration from Pennsylvania State University, holds an international certification as a Professional Master Life Coach, and is also credentialed by Cornell University as a Cornell Certified Diversity Professional.

Susie McDaniel

Susie McDaniel is Senior Vice President, Human Resources for Wynn & Encore Las Vegas.

Carolyn Roach

Carolyn Roach brings over 20 years of senior experience to her leadership of XPO’s human resources organization, including executive roles with prominent companies in the industrial and financial services sectors. Prior to XPO, Ms. Roach lead global talent management and diversity and inclusion at JELD-WEN, Inc. and held earlier human resources leadership positions with Corning and Bank of America Merrill Lynch. She began her career with Arthur Andersen. Ms. Roach holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from University of Notre Dame and a master’s degree in strategic human resources and organizational design from Cornell University. She is also a graduate of the Harvard Business School executive education program.