2024 Speakers

Angela Duckworth is the Co-Founder, Chief Scientist, and Board Member of Character Lab, a nonprofit whose mission is to advance scientific insights that help children thrive. She is also the Rosa Lee and Egbert Chang Professor at the University of Pennsylvania, faculty co-director of the Penn-Wharton Behavior Change For Good Initiative, and faculty co-director of Wharton People Analytics. A 2013 MacArthur Fellow, Duckworth has advised the World Bank, NBA and NFL teams, and Fortune 500 CEOs. Prior to her career in research, Duckworth founded a summer school for underserved children that was profiled as a Harvard Kennedy School case study. She has also been a McKinsey management consultant and a math and science teacher in the public schools of New York City, San Francisco, and Philadelphia. 

Duckworth completed her undergraduate degree in Advanced Studies Neurobiology at Harvard, graduating magna cum laude. With the support of a Marshall Scholarship, she completed an MSc with Distinction in Neuroscience from Oxford University. She completed her PhD in Psychology as a National Science Foundation Graduate Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania. Duckworth’s TED talk is among the most-viewed of all time. Her first book, Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance, is a #1 New York Times best seller. She is also co-host, with Stephen Dubner, of the podcast No Stupid Questions. 

Emmy-nominated writer, producer, New York Times best-selling author, director, actor, and Tony award winner, Mindy Kaling has been named one of the brightest voices of her generation. At 24, Kaling joined the eight person writing staff at NBC’s The Office. During her eight seasons at the show, she wrote twenty-three episodes (far more than any other writer) and was nominated for an Emmy—the first for a woman of color in any writing category.

Next Kaling created the The Mindy Project for Universal Television, a show that she starred in and executive produced from 2012 to 2017. Kaling wrote 24 episodes of the 117 episodes created for the six-season series.

This year, Mindy received the Producers Guild of America’s Norman Lear Achievement Award in Television, as well as a National Medal of the Arts. The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) medals are the highest awards given to artists and arts patrons by the federal government. In 2022, Kaling International was named one of Time’s 100 Most Influential Companies. In 2012, Kaling was named to the Time 100 Most Influential People in the World List. She was honored with the 2014 Glamour Women of the Year Award and was a 2019 ELLE Women In Hollywood honoree.

In 2020, Kaling released the critically acclaimed series, Never Have I Ever for Netflix, which recently wrapped its fourth and final season. Season 1 reached 40 million homes in its first four weeks of release.

Kaling is also the co-creator and Executive Producer of The Sex Lives of College Girls, which in 2021 had the biggest premiere of any comedy on HBOMax. It was renewed for a third season in December 2022, after the success of the show’s season two premiere.

In between all her ventures, Kaling has released two New York Times bestselling comedic memoirs: Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) and Why Not Me?, and in Oct 2020 she released a new collection of essays in partnership with Amazon called Nothing Like I Imagined. Most recently, Kaling launched her imprint Mindy's Book Studio for Amazon Publishing, with the mission of publishing titles from new and emerging diverse voices.

In 1987, John O’Leary was a curious nine-year-old boy. Playing with fire and gasoline, John created a massive explosion in his home and was burned on 100% of his body. He was given less than a 1% chance to live.

This epic story of survival was first showcased in his parents’ book, Overwhelming Odds, in 2006. It was this book that first invited John to embrace his miraculous recovery and share it with the world.

Today, John inspires tens of thousands of people at more than 100 live and virtual events each year. He partners with companies and organizations across industries, such as: sales, healthcare, safety, marketing, finance, faith, education and insurance.

Consistently described as “the best speaker we’ve ever had,” John’s tireless schedule is a testament to the power of his message. His emotional storytelling, unexpected humor and authenticity make each presentation unforgettable.

John is a two-time #1 National Bestselling author. His first book ON FIRE: The 7 Choices to Ignite a Radically Inspired Life has sold 250,000+ copies and been translated into 12 languages. IN AWE: Rediscover Your Childlike Wonder to Unleash Inspiration, Meaning and Joy was published in May 2020 and was a crucial message during an unprecedented time.

His comprehensive Live Inspired Coaching program provides long-term engagement and a genuine, collaborative approach that takes his message from inspirational to transformational inside organizations. 

John’s award-winning Live Inspired Podcast has more than 5 million downloads and enjoys world-class guests like Brené Brown, Mitch Albom, Jackie Joyner-Kersee and Shawn Achor. 

Regardless the professional accomplishments, John considers his greatest success to be his marriage to his wife Beth, their four children and his relationships with friends and family.

Dr. Daniel Wendler is a best-selling author, nationally recognized keynote speaker, and a proudly autistic advocate. He is the author of two books on personal development (Improve Your Social Skills and Level Up Your Social Life), a two-time TEDx speaker, and the co-author of the new Audible lecture series "Neurodiversity and the Myth of Normal." He's been invited to share his insights on neurodiversity with organizations including Google, AstraZeneca, Harvard University, and the American Psychological Association. In addition to his writing and speaking, Daniel works as a clinical psychologist specializing in autism, neurodiversity, and social relationships. Connect with him at DanielWendler.com.

Paul Daugherty is Accenture's Chief Technology and Innovation Officer (CTIO) and is a member of Accenture’s Global Management Committee. As a visionary in shaping the innovation of technology, Paul leads and executes Accenture’s technology strategy, leveraging the company’s leading-edge capabilities and research and development to reinvent the future of business.

As CTIO, Paul also leads Accenture’s Innovation strategy and organization, including Accenture Labs and The Dock in Dublin, Ireland. He directs Accenture’s global research and development into emerging technology areas such as generative AI, quantum computing, science tech and space technology. He leads a dedicated innovation group that not only designs and delivers transformational business and technology solutions, but also invests in, and partners with, pioneering companies to pilot and incubate new technologies. Paul also leads Accenture’s annual Technology Vision report, hosts its annual Innovation Forum event, and leads Accenture Ventures, which he founded to focus on strategic equity investments to accelerate growth.

Previously, Paul served as Accenture's Group Chief Executive – Technology, where he led all aspects of Accenture's Technology business. In this role, he led the formation of Accenture Cloud First to help clients across every industry accelerate their digital transformation and realize greater value at speed and scale by rapidly becoming “cloud first” businesses. He oversaw the launch of the Accenture Metaverse Continuum business group, which focuses market-leading capabilities in customer experience, digital commerce, extended reality, blockchain, digital twins, artificial intelligence and computer vision to help clients design, execute and accelerate their metaverse journeys. Most recently, he helped lay the groundwork for Accenture’s $3 billion investment in its Data & AI practice to help clients rapidly and responsibly advance and use AI, including Generative AI, to achieve greater growth, efficiency and resilience.

Paul is a passionate advocate for gender equality in the workplace and STEM-related inclusion and diversity initiatives. For more than six years, he has been a member of the board of directors of Girls Who Code, an organization that seeks to support and increase the number of women in computer science careers. Paul serves on the board of directors of Avanade, the leading provider of Microsoft technology services. He also serves on the boards of the Computer History Museum and the Computer Science and Engineering program at the University of Michigan.

In 2023, Paul received the prestigious St. Patrick’s Day Science Medal for Industry from Science Foundation Ireland as well as the Thinkers50 Digital Thinking award for Radically Human. He also accepted the FASPE Award for Ethical Leadership in 2019 for his work in applying ethical principles to the development and use of artificial intelligence technologies.

Paul is co-author of two highly acclaimed books: Human + Machine: Reimagining Work in the Age of AI (Harvard Business Review Press, 2018), a management playbook for the business of artificial intelligence; and Radically Human: How New Technology is Transforming Business and Shaping Our Future (Harvard Business Review Press, April 2022).

Paul joined Accenture in 1986. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in computer engineering from the University of Michigan.

Christopher Nassetta is President and CEO for Hilton. He joined the company in 2007.

Previously, Mr. Nassetta was President and CEO of Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc., a position he held since 2000. He joined Host in 1995 as Executive Vice President and was elected Chief Operating Officer in 1997.

Before joining Host, Mr. Nassetta co-founded Bailey Capital Corporation in 1991, where he was responsible for the operations of the real estate investment and advisory firm. Prior to founding Bailey Capital Corporation, he spent seven years at The Oliver Carr Company, ultimately serving as Chief Development Officer. In this role, he was responsible for all development and related activities for one of the largest commercial real estate companies in the mid-Atlantic region.

Mr. Nassetta graduated from the University of Virginia McIntire School of Commerce with a degree in finance. He currently serves on McIntire’s Advisory Board.

Ben Erwin was named CEO of Encore in August 2020. This leadership role follows him becoming President in October 2018. He is responsible for driving the strategic direction of the Company and overseeing the execution of its business plan.  

Erwin was hired as Encore’s Chief Financial Officer in February 2015 and was responsible for global accounting, treasury, financial planning and analysis, tax and product management. He has a proven track record of developing global corporate strategies, leading finance organizations, and building high-performance teams. 

Prior to joining Encore, Erwin served as Chief Financial Officer for TestAmerica Laboratories, where he led all accounting, finance, treasury, information technology and legal functions. Prior to 2011, he served as SVP Corporate Development for Cornell Companies, where he managed corporate strategy, financial planning and analysis, public market capital transactions, and investor relations. He has also held various positions at Enron Corporation and Trilogy Software. 

Erwin earned his bachelor’s degrees in economics and political science from Wake Forest University. He is a member of the U.S. Travel CEO Roundtable and a board member for the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA).  

Outside of work, he is passionate about education and a board member for the YMCA Metro Chicago. He enjoys running, traveling, and following the Boston Red Sox. He lives in Chicago’s North Shore area with his wife and two daughters.

Anthony Capuano is President and CEO of Marriott International, Inc. In his role, Mr. Capuano presides over the world’s largest hospitality company and some of the most iconic brands in travel. The company now has nearly 8,600 properties across 139 countries and territories and over 30 brands. It also has the travel industry’s largest customer loyalty program, Marriott Bonvoy, which has more than 186 million members.

Before his appointment as CEO in February 2021, Mr. Capuano was Group President, Global Development, Design and Operations Services where he led the strategic unit growth of all of Marriott’s brands while overseeing the global design team as well as Marriott’s global operating standards and protocols for thousands of properties around the world. Mr. Capuano was also responsible for oversight of the EDITION Hotels, a unique concept in the luxury lifestyle hotel space conceived by hotelier Ian Schrager and Marriott International.

Mr. Capuano joined Marriott in 1995 and was instrumental in its steady growth over the years which included the acquisition of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide in 2016. Mr. Capuano began his Marriott career as part of the Market Planning and Feasibility team, where he helped the company assess the overall economic viability of new and existing hotels, balancing the company’s interests with the needs of hotel owners and developers, investors, lenders and operators.

That role prepared him to lead Marriott’s development efforts in the Western United States and Canada for its full-service hotel brands. Later, his responsibilities expanded to include North America, the Caribbean and Latin America. In 2009, Mr. Capuano assumed global development responsibility. He began overseeing global design in 2014 and global operations in January 2020.

Mr. Capuano earned a bachelor’s degree from Cornell University in Hotel Administration. He is an active member of the Cornell Hotel Society, The Cornell School of Hotel Administration Dean’s Advisory Board, as well as the Business Roundtable and the American Hotel and Lodging Association’s IREFAC Council. Additionally, Mr. Capuano serves on the Board of Directors for McDonald's Corporation and Save Venice, a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving the artistic heritage of Venice, Italy. He resides in Potomac, Maryland with his wife and daughter.

DJ Casto is Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer of Synchrony, one of the nation’s premier consumer financial services companies.

DJ is responsible for engaging employees in Synchrony’s strategic business imperatives and building people-led development programs that strengthen culture, drive business growth and nurture the company’s talent as a competitive advantage.

Previously, DJ led human resources for Synchrony’s global enterprise operations and served as HR client leader for the corporate governance functions, including credit, compliance, finance, internal audit, legal, regulatory and risk. In addition, DJ was a key leader driving the human resources and cultural aspects of Synchrony’s separation from GE in 2015.

He began his career at PepsiCo in human resources field operations, advancing to lead Labor and Employee Relations for the North American beverages business, where he managed union awareness strategies and programs. He was later responsible for global career development and succession planning as Senior Director of Global Organization Development.

DJ is passionate about helping every employee live Synchrony’s values and is committed to community service. He currently serves on the boards of Jobs for America’s Graduates (JAG) and buildOn, a nonprofit dedicated to empowering urban youth to transform their neighborhoods.

DJ earned a master’s degree in industrial relations and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from West Virginia University, where he serves on the Master of Science in Industrial Relations and Human Resources Executive Alumni Board.

He is married with three children.

Ellen McGirt is an author, podcaster, speaker, community builder, and award-winning business journalist. She is the editor-in-chief of Design Observer, an independent media company that has maintained the same clear vision for more than two decades: to expand the definition of design in service of a better world. In a previous life, Ellen established the inclusive leadership beat at Fortune in 2016 with raceAhead, an award-winning newsletter on race, culture, and business. In her nearly nine years at Fortune, she conducted in-depth interviews with more than 100 C-Suite leaders, offering real-time snapshots of how leaders were navigating the rapidly changing world. The Time, Money, and Fast Company alumna has published over twenty magazine cover stories throughout her twenty-year career, chronicling everything from the rise of social media to the new future of work. Ask her about fly fishing if you get the chance.

With more than 15 years of experience as an innovative operational leader and globally trusted advisor, Julian knows what it takes to inspire and lead high-performance teams. Working with top leaders from Fortune 100 companies, he helps connect the dots between superior business performance and a best-in-class employee experience. He earned an MA and MBA from the University of San Francisco.

A highly respected senior leader with global experience and expertise spanning three decades, Nellie Borrero is known for her unwavering passion for inclusion, diversity, and sharp focus on equality. Today, she continues to raise awareness, build inclusive cultures and belonging inside Accenture and with external partnerships and clients across industries.

Nellie joined Accenture in 1986 and created the first role for diversity efforts. A deeply committed advocate for change, Nellie believes strongly that Accenture's rich diversity makes the company stronger and more innovative and is focused on increasing the representation across all segments of diversity. In her current role as senior global inclusion & diversity managing director, Nellie sets the vision and strategy behind the company's diversity initiatives, working with its most senior leaders. Under her direction, the company launched several successful training programs around the world - including in Japan, India, South Africa, Brazil, U.K. and the U.S., among many others - spanning multiple segments of diversity. Her focus has included the creation of a global career development program for high performing women, global positioning of the company's LGBTQ+ and Persons with Disability agendas and the design and execution of ethnic diversity focused programs. Most recently, she has created and is leading the Global Inclusion & Diversity Market Offering practice, serving multiple clients across industries.

Nellie has authored, UNWAVERING: Rejecting Bias, Igniting Change, Celebrating Inclusion. Outside of Accenture, few are better poised to speak about equality, belonging, diversity, inclusion and bold leadership. Nellie has lent her voice to publications such as Forbes, The Chicago Tribune, Management Consulting Magazine, Diversity Inc., Diversity Careers in IT & Engineering, Black Enterprise Magazine, Hispanic Executive Magazine, Hispanic Engineering Magazine, and LatinaStyle, she has also been a featured guest on National Public Radio (NPR). She is a sought after global speaker for her inspirational impact, seeking to raise awareness of the development and advancement of women, ethnic minorities and all diversity segments represented in the workplace. Nellie has spoken at prestigious events including The Colloquium on Global Diversity, The Global Summit of Women in New York, SHRM Diversity Conference, Latina Style Top 50, Asian Business Roundtable Conference and multiple other events.

Nellie earned a BA in Management - Human Resources from Lehman College. She served as an Advisory Board Member of VisionSpring, LaGuardia Community College Foundation, Aspira of New York and Comprehensive Development, Inc. She currently serves on one board: HllEC. She has received a coaching certification from the Hudson Institute and the International Coaching Federation and ICF certified. Additionally, she is a member of the Women's Forum of New York and Latino Corporate Directors Association and Chief.

Nellie is married with two children - a daughter and son, and grandson. She enjoys her family life, reading, playing tennis and purposefully giving to the world.

Carolina is an Associate Director at Accenture and the North America Inclusion and Diversity Relationship Management Lead. In this role, she provides cross-functional leadership in the management of key relationships with external partners and client account teams in the North America market. Her deep expertise in Inclusion and Diversity (I&D) make her a trusted advisor to Accenture leadership, strategic partners, and its clients. 

For more than two decades she has advocated for people around the world for equality and equity in the workplace at Accenture, for its clients, in its communities and beyond. With her global experience and deep expertise in I&D, Carolina has helped a wide variety of business units and organizations in the development and execution of I&D leading practices in leadership and talent strategy. She co-founded Accenture’s Inclusion, Diversity and Equity Practice. Currently, co-chairs Accenture’s NA Hispanic American Leadership Steering Committee. 

Carolina has held a number of leadership positions across Accenture, including as Accenture’s South Region Lead where she was accountable to executing NA I&D strategy, Global I&D Learning and Development Lead and Global Women’s Lead where she specialized in designing and development of several global initiatives and training programs to advance gender and racial equality, and cultural acumen. She worked across Europe, South Africa, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and U.S. and led strategic priorities and 

initiatives to develop and advance women across management levels. 

As thought-leader, Carolina’s previous speaking engagements include Accenture IWD, NA African American and Hispanic American Leadership Summit, ALPFA (Association of Latino Professionals For America), Brandon Hall HCM Excellence Conference, Brandon Hall Women in Leadership Conference, HITEC (Hispanic IT Executive Council), FairyGodboss, University of Miami Inaugural I&D Conference, People En Español, LatinaStyle 50 Awards and Diversity Leaders Conference, L’Attitude, RILA, FemCity, SHPE FIU and University of Miami Graduate Business School. 

Carolina has been recognized as ALPFA Rising Star, and recently named as Latina to Watch. 

Outside of Accenture, Carolina is highly active within her community and serves in various Advisory Boards. Brandon Hall’s DEI Advisory Board, Ziff’s Professional Advisory Board for University of Miami Business School, Executive Committee for St. Jude Gala in Miami, and Our Lady of Lourdes Academy. She is the founder of a non-for-profit organization for High School girls, a volunteer at her church. 

Born in Chile, Carolina has an appreciation for cultural diversity and lives in Miami, Florida with husband and seven children. 

Tina Jones is the global head of Human Resources at Cadence Design Systems, a leading technology company with over 11,000 employees in 30 countries. Cadence has been recognized by Fortune as one of the 100 Best Companies to Work For ten years in a row. Jones has led the company’s talent and culture strategy for over 15 years, helping to fuel the company’s significant growth and success. Prior to leading HR, Jones was an attorney, both at Cadence and at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher.

As executive vice president, human resources, general counsel and chief compliance officer, Diane Cafritz oversees the company’s legal affairs, government relations, and compliance and ethics programs. She also leads the human resources and asset protection functions, as well as corporate social responsibility.

Ms. Cafritz is responsible for creating an exceptional associate experience and ensuring a people-first culture by leading CarMax’s talent, human resources, and total rewards functions. She develops innovative people solutions to support CarMax’s award-winning culture and drive company transformation and growth. Passionate about cultivating an engaging and inclusive work environment where all associates feel valued and respected, Ms. Cafritz developed the company’s corporate social responsibility practice by creating a new team and vice president leadership role. As part of this effort, she also hired CarMax’s first chief diversity and inclusion officer to expand the company’s focus on diversity and inclusion.

In her capacity as general counsel and chief compliance officer, Ms. Cafritz oversees the legal and compliance needs for CarMax as well as Edmunds, which CarMax acquired in 2021. This includes corporate governance, labor and employment law, consumer finance law, automotive regulatory law, litigation, intellectual property, government affairs and the corporate ethics programs.

Ms. Cafritz joined the CarMax legal department in 2003 and during her time with the company has served in various legal roles of increased responsibility. She became company’s first chief human resources officer in 2017 before also becoming the general counsel and chief compliance officer in 2021. Prior to joining CarMax, Ms. Cafritz was a partner in the litigation department of McDermott, Will & Emery in Washington, D.C. Diane joined the firm in 1995 as an associate and was named partner in 2001.

Ms. Cafritz received her Bachelor of Arts in economics and international relations from Tufts University and her Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia School of Law. Ms. Cafritz was admitted to the Virginia State Bar in 1995 and the District of Columbia State Bar in 1996.

Meredith Wellard is the Vice President, Group Talent Acquisition, Learning and Growth for DHL Group. An innovative and tenacious senior HR professional with extensive global experience and a Master’s Degree in Organizational Development and Learning, Meredith has had a diverse career spanning 25 years in customer service, human resources and talent management across Australia, Europe and the Middle East.

Before joining the DHL Group, Meredith worked for Australia’s largest private health insurer as Customer Satisfaction Manager and then National Organizational Development Manager.

Meredith commenced working for DHL Express 15 years ago in in the Middle East and after moving to the Global Headquarters, now lives in Germany. Outside of transforming digital HR, skills and employee experiences, she enjoys travelling throughout Europe learning about the history and culture of each country.

Meredith’s expertise stems from having worked in customer and operations management and strategic HR and technology where she has learnt the true value to organizations of aligning technology, data, user experience, leadership and culture for the benefit of employees, the customer and the organization overall.

Rick Jackson is the Executive Vice President Engagement & Enablement and is part of the HR management team as a HR Board member. Rick works closely with all business units to engage, enable and empower employee across the globe. He focuses on

Building engagement and motivation through the Certified program
Embedding the Leadership Attributes framework
Driving First Choice – a continuous improvement program
Strengthening the Group’s approach to inclusion and diversity
Mastering ability to embrace change

During his eighteen years with Deutsche Post DHL Group, Rick has gained a wealth of experience and expertise in various parts of the business. Prior to his current appointment, he served as Senior Vice President Deutsche Post DHL Group Certified Initiative & Global Head of CIS for DHL Express. In this capacity, he managed the Certified initiative which was a key part of the Deutsche Post DHL Group Strategy 2020, including the Certified International Specialist program in DHL Express.

Rick also previously served as the Chief of Staff and European Business IT program manager for DHL Express Europe. In this context, he played a critical role in the creation of the European Business IT function.

His career in DHL Express commenced in the UK where he worked across the IT, HR & Customer Service organization. Rick has a Dual Hons Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science and Mathematics from the University of Sheffield.

Suzan McDaniel is Edward Jones' Chief Human Resources Officer, where she guides the firm’s people, capability and culture strategies and leads all aspects of the human resources agenda. Suzan serves on the Enterprise Leadership Team, which is responsible for providing advice and counsel to the managing partner in helping the firm grow its impact and create value for clients, colleagues and communities today and in the future. 

Suzan joined Edward Jones as principal and head of Human Resources Talent in March 2020 and took on responsibility for the Human Resources division in July 2021. She was named Chief Human Resources Officer in September 2022. Previously, Suzan spent more than eight years as a vice president in Human Resources and Business Transformation at BHP in Melbourne, Australia. 

Suzan has 20-plus years of experience leading complex change and organizational transformation through building leadership and organizational capability and embedding talent management, culture and human capital strategies in global companies, including Hewlett-Packard, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Ford Motor Company. She was also a consultant at Hogan Assessment Systems in Tulsa, Okla. 

Suzan earned doctorate and master’s degrees in industrial/organizational psychology and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Tulsa. 

Suzan currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Gateway Regional YMCA in St. Louis. While in Australia, Suzan was a member of the board of directors for Loreto Mandeville Hall Toorak, where she also chaired the Risk and Compliance Committee. She lives in St. Louis with her husband, Edward, and their daughters.

Christine is Hilton’s Senior Vice President and Global Head of Talent where she is responsible for the execution of the talent strategy, including strategic planning, recruiting, employee experience, people analytics, recognition, learning and leadership development.

Christine is passionate about creating an inclusive workplace culture and environment where employees can bring their authentic selves to work, driving meaningful business results. She joined Hilton in 2012, leading the Financial Planning & Analysis team. While in this role, Christine supported Hilton’s Initial Public Offering in 2013 as well as the corporate restructuring to spin off Hilton’s owned assets to a Real Estate Investment Trust in 2017. Prior to joining Hilton, Christine held various roles at Lockheed Martin focused on financial reporting, program finance/operations, and international business development.

Christine serves on the Advisory Board of Make-a-Wish Mid-Atlantic and holds a B.S. in Finance from Georgetown University and an M.B.A. and M.S. in Accounting from the University of Maryland School of Business. She lives in Arlington, VA with her husband and three young children.

Elena Richards is a Principal and Chief Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Officer at KPMG LLP. She is an accomplished HR, talent management and diversity professional with deep knowledge of the professional services industry. Partnering with KPMG’s U.S. management committee and board of directors, she helps to advance the firm’s Accelerate 2025 strategy, a commitment for more underrepresented talent to choose KPMG as their employer of choice, experience thriving careers within an inclusive culture, and advance to partnership and leadership levels.

A certified executive coach, Elena earned her BA in criminal justice at the University at Albany, State University of New York.

Jessica Lee is SVP of Global Talent Development and has been with Marriott since 2012. Her role is critical to Marriott’s commitment to invest in developing our associates so that we can fuel both the performance of the business and that of our talent, enrich lives, and accelerate reinvention for the company. Jessica leads the organization’s global learning COE which delivers against learning and talent development needs for the 800,000 managed and franchised associates around the world who wear a Marriott badge. Her remit also includes Brand Talent which delivers service and culture solutions that help the individual brands in Marriott Bonvoy to each have unique brand identities and fulfill differentiated service propositions. Additionally, her accountabilities include The Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center which has helped thousands of clients to improve customer and employee engagement, innovate their culture, and differentiate themselves.

Jessica has more than 20 years of in-the-trenches HR experience that ranges from small companies to the public sector and now Marriott. She has touched nearly every HR function during her career making her a true generalist. Outside of her Marriott life, she continues to build her leadership capabilities serving as a Girl Scouts troop leader and cookie manager (those are real titles!). She is an alum of the University of Washington where she focused her studies on Political Science and Labor Studies.

Cherrie McCoy is PwC’s Managing Director for Leadership Development and Coaching. She leads the design, development and implementation of leadership skills and coaching learning strategies for the U.S., Mexico and Acceleration Centers in India, Shanghai, Buenos Aires, Manila and Kuala Lumpur. Cherrie addresses complex leadership development and business issues from strategy to execution, actively shaping and contributing to a strategic vision for leadership development that motivates leaders at all levels. She provides oversight of the development of firmwide, signature and personalized programming that accelerates the ability of leaders to apply the leadership development and coaching skills needed to inspire and empower self, teams and drive business outcomes. Cherrie works across countries, regions, and cultures with a balance of globalization and localization. She collaborates with global colleagues to develop learning solutions while integrating future of technology considerations, AI and ways of working.

Prior to being the PwC Managing Director for Leadership Development and Coaching, Cherrie served as the Strategy and Operations Leader for the PwC Office of Diversity where she led the DEI strategy for the Advisory, Assurance and Tax lines of business. She led innovative initiatives from strategy through execution for diverse and non-diverse PwC professionals and for government and commercial clients. She created and implemented data-driven strategies to shape an organizational culture of belonging and to drive business performance. Cherrie led the design and implementation of the national DEI strategy for 50k+ professionals to support the attraction, retention, advancement and development of diverse professionals and to advance the development of allyship within the firm and within local communities. She collaborated across geographies to develop innovative approaches and established inclusion and diversity measures of success and a global accountability framework. Cherrie also spearheaded the Client Diversity Dialogue strategy to share leading practices with external DEI thought leaders in the industry.

Cherrie earned a Masters and Bachelors of Science in Electrical Engineering from Howard University. She is the recipient of the Career Communications Technology Award, Outstanding Achievement in Science and Engineering Award and the Academy of Business and Finance Leadership Award. Cherrie is also an International Coaching Federation Professional Certified Coach, an ICF and Organization and Relationship Systems Coaching (ORSC) Certified Team Coach and a Coaching Supervision Academy International Coach Supervisor. Cherrie earned her Leadership Coaching certifications at Georgetown University Institute for Transformational Leadership.

Cherrie resides in the Washington Metropolitan area with her two daughters and serves as a Mentor and Coach for women and ethnically diverse youth in her community.

Divya Ghatak is the Chief People Officer of SentinelOne, leading the People, Talent, Foundation and Workplace functions. She has enabled the company’s hypergrowth and expansion plans while strengthening the amazing company culture.

Divya joined SentinelOne in 2019 to grow and scale the company when there were 350 Sentinels. After 585% growth, we have grown to 2,400+ globally through purposeful hiring, prioritizing culture fit for all candidates along with talent, experience and diversity.

Prior to SentinelOne, Divya was Global VP of People at Nevro. Before that, she was CPO at GoodData and held global HR leadership roles in a variety of tech companies, including Cisco and Tavant. Divya received her Master’s in Human Resources Management/Personnel Administration from Tata Institute of Social Science and her Bachelor of Arts in Economics with Honors from Delhi University.

Erin Kelly is a purpose-driven leader with 20+ years of experience in internal communications, storytelling and change management who strives to attract, retain and develop world-class talent while delivering an amazing employee experience. She is currently the Head of Internal Communications, Talent Brand and S Foundation at SentinelOne, a global leader in AI-powered cybersecurity.

Erin’s passion lies in showcasing what makes SentinelOne a great place to work – an award-winning culture built upon core values and an authentic employer value proposition. Her expertise in workplace inclusion, digital content strategy and video production allows her to leverage storytelling across a variety of channels and platforms.

Before joining SentinelOne, Erin held communication leadership roles at brand giants including Campbell Soup Company, Comcast and United Way and founded a CrossFit Community that is still thriving as the brand leader in Southern New Jersey. When she’s not creating content, Erin enjoys watching her four children play sports, doing any kind of exercise and walking her mini-golden doodle Rico.

Since 2014, George has been Senior Vice President and Chief Learning Officer for Synchrony Financial in Stamford CT. In this role, he is a responsible for the enterprise-wide professional learning and development strategy. As CLO of Synchrony, George leads leadership learning, organizational development, coaching and executive consulting. He also leads Synchrony’s Workforce Development and Reskilling initiatives for both internal employees and the external community.

George began his career at General Electric in 1992 at the Appliances business. He then moved to GE corporate, where he served as Director of Executive Education at GE’s Corporate University, Crotonville. In January 2010, George was named Chief Learning Officer for GE Capital, responsible for creating an integrating learning strategy across all global Capital businesses.

George holds a Master of Business Administration degree and a doctorate in Organizational Development.

Brian K. Reaves serves as chief belonging, equity, and impact officer of UKG. In his role, Reaves leads the company’s global belonging, equity, and impact program, expanding existing initiatives while working to strengthen a culture built on trust, fairness, and equality, so every U Krewer can thrive in every stage of their career. Prior to UKG, Reaves served as senior vice president and chief diversity and inclusion officer at Dell Technologies. Earlier in his career, Reaves was head of diversity and inclusion at SAP, and served as global head of products and innovation for the SAP d.Studio next-generation technology team. Reaves has held senior executive software development and management roles across industries and in tech sectors such as cloud computing, finance, healthcare, supply chain, utilities, and telecommunications. He began his career as a software developer at the Xerox Corporation.

Steve is Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President, Human Resources of The Wonderful Company. He joined Roll as the VP, Strategy in 2011. Steve leads several corporate functions, including: Treasury, Accounting, Finance, Tax, Human Resources, Benefits and Wellness, Talent Acquisition, Learning and Organizational Development, Operational Excellence, and Global Sourcing and Risk Management.

Before arriving at The Wonderful Company, Steve served as the Chief Executive Officer of Passenger Inc., an early stage company providing private online communities for world class brands.

Prior to joining Passenger, Steve served as Senior Vice President of EarthLink's Voice Business and managed the national rollout of EarthLink's voice products. He also ran Corporate Strategy for EarthLink from 2002 to 2004. In this role he guided overall EarthLink Strategy, ran strategic initiatives and made venture investments.

Steve started his career at McKinsey & Company, where he spent 7 years and was a leader in the North American Growth Practice and North American Service Operations Practice.

Steve received his BA Magna Cum Laude in History from Harvard College and an MA with Honors in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from Brasenose College, Oxford University. Steve lives in Brentwood with his wife Amy, three sons - Grant, Luke and Dylan. He is a Board Member and Treasurer of Los Angeles Team Mentoring, a charity focused on helping at risk middle school aged children.

As the head of human resources at Workiva, Emily Forrester is responsible for defining and executing the HR strategy that supports rapid global growth, as well as building innovative talent management practices that align people with business needs in order to deliver exceptional results. She is a progressive HR leader with a passion for creating the best-in-class talent experience.

Emily has expertise in global talent management, DEI, and employee experience across several industries including technology, financial services and professional services. She’s a passionate believer in and supporter of creating workplaces where everyone can thrive and has been integral in establishing and maintaining Workiva’s many recognitions as Great Place to Work.

As Executive Vice President of Global Human Resources and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DE&I), Bob Ferrell is responsible for creating a workforce experience that empowers and inspires all of WWT's 10,000 employees across the globe.  

A retired U.S. Army Lieutenant General and former Army Chief Information Officer/G-6, Bob leads WWT's overall human resources strategy, global talent acquisition, leadership development, organizational design, employee development, DE&I programs, compensation and benefits, HR operations and technology, and employee relations.

His people-first leadership approach is instrumental to WWT's ability to sustain its award-winning culture. And he remains focused on implementing programs that promote a thriving diverse, equitable, ethical and inclusive culture that can support WWT as it grows across the world.  

Bob's extensive international experience — both in the military and in the corporate world — has given him a strategic understanding of how disparate teams can efficiently operate and more effectively collaborate.

Bob joined WWT in 2017 as vice president of federal strategy after a distinguished military career. He was the first African American to serve in the Pentagon as Army CIO/G-6, a position in which he oversaw the Army's $10 billion IT portfolio, managed enterprise IT architecture and directed delivery of operational C4IT capabilities to support warfighters and business users. 

Bob's military accolades include the Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal and Army Achievement Medal.

He holds a bachelor's degree in marketing from Hampton University, a master's degree in administration from Central Michigan University, and a master's degree in Strategy from the U.S. Army War College.  

Bob also serves as a board director for AFCEA International. He lives in northern Virginia with his wife Monique with whom he has two grown children. 

Great Place To Work is the global authority on workplace culture. Since 1992, we have surveyed more than 100 million employees around the world and used those deep insights to define what makes a great workplace: trust. Great Place To Work helps organizations quantify their culture with Emprising®, our SaaS culture management platform. We recognize Great Place To Work-Certified™ companies and the Best Workplaces in over 60 countries,, including the 100 Best Companies To Work For® and World’s Best Workplaces™ lists published annually in partnership with Fortune Media.

A true partner and strategic thinker, Holly is passionate about helping organizations leverage workplace culture as their greatest competitive advantage. She leads Great Place to Work’s Global Consulting practice, advising executives at the world’s most influential companies on how to create high-trust, high-performing teams where every person feels valued and motivated to do their best work.
Holly holds a degree in Industrial Psychology from Houghton College. When she’s not helping change the way the world works, you can find her working in her garden, making jam, or testing ideas for her future cookbook.

Tony Bond is the Executive Vice President and Chief Innovation Officer of Great Place to Work, the global research and analytics firm that produces the annual Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For list, the World’s Best Workplaces list, the 100 Best Workplace for Women list, the Best Workplaces for Diversity list, and dozens of other distinguished workplace rankings around the world. He serves a key role in shaping the organization’s culture transformation work A strategic thinker and innovator, Tony has served as a trusted advisor for executives at some of the most successful global organizations including the National Basketball Association, AT&T, Daimler, Coca-Cola, Indeed, Whole Foods, Dow Chemicals and American Express. He has helped companies navigate transformational change, people & culture change, mergers and acquisitions and other initiatives impacting culture and human capital. His consulting expertise is backed by over 20 years of diverse leadership experience with a Fortune 100 company and he is adept at providing strategic advice across industries.

Marcus loves using data to better understand the world and make it a better place. As he says himself, he’s been extremely fortunate to have been doing exactly that at Great Place to Work for 17 years and counting. In his current position, he leads GPTW’s Data Science & Innovation team, which focuses on turning data into actionable insights and tools for executives building high-performing workplaces. He is co-author of research papers in Great Place to Work’s Innovation Insights Series and its 2018 book, A Great Place to Work For All. Marcus received his BA in Psychology from Occidental College and an MS in Analytics from Villanova University. In his free time, you will likely find him enjoying the beautiful outdoors of the San Francisco Bay Area, rooting loudly for the Giants and Warriors, and trying to keep up with his two young daughters.

Claire Murphy is the EVP, Customer Success at Great Place to Work®. Skilled at making the complex simple, Claire helps clients leverage their data to solve for current business challenges and put them on the path to becoming great places to work for all.

Bendik Wilhelmsen serves as Director, Global Licensing at Great Place to Work® where he helps our global community deliver the best services possible to our clients all around the world.

Analytical and positive in his approach, Bendik is working with team members at Great Place to Work offices all around the world to enable the best client experiences and the biggest impact on our global mission. He is passionate about building workplaces with foundations of trust, sustainability and performance.

Bendik is experienced in working with global companies and is always looking for opportunities to help teams with varied backgrounds reach their full potential.

Living in Norway, Bendik loves hiking in nature together with his wife, dog and son, when he’s not trying to replicate American meals with Norwegian ingredients.