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.

Ellyn Shook is Accenture’s chief leadership & human resources officer, responsible for helping the 743,000 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.

Laura Fuentes was appointed as Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer in 2020. She joined Hilton in 2013, and has led teams across Human Resources functions including Recruiting, Diversity & Inclusion, Learning & Leadership Development, Total Rewards, People Analytics & Strategy and HR Consulting. Most recently, she served as Chief Talent Officer. Prior to joining Hilton, Laura spent 6 years at Capital One Financial in various corporate strategy and Human Resources roles: leading workforce analytics, recruitment, and compensation functions for the organization.

Prior to Capital One, she worked at McKinsey & Company in their Madrid, New York, and Washington D.C offices, where she served clients across financial services and non-profit sectors. Laura serves on the boards of directors of Chipotle Mexican Grill, Make-a-Wish Mid-Atlantic and Arlington Free Clinic. Originally from Spain, she holds a B.S. from the University of Virginia, a M.S. in Structural Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin and an M.B.A. from Columbia University. She lives in Arlington, VA with her husband Will Meyer and two children, Alex and Nico.

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.

Ty Breland is the Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer of Marriott International, Inc. the world’s largest hotel company with over 700,000 associates across nearly 8,600 properties and corporate offices. As the company’s senior human resources executive, Mr. Breland is responsible for creating a unique, world-class employment experience for Marriott while ensuring the company attracts and develops best-in-class talent to serve Marriott Bonvoy^® members and guests around the world.

In his role, Mr. Breland leads the company’s global HR function, inclusive of talent acquisition, learning and development, compensation and benefits, organizational capability, and HR operations across 139 countries and territories. He brings a particular focus on diversity and inclusion and employee engagement and well-being, while cultivating an innovative hospitality workforce of the future. Marriott is proud to be recognized as a Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For, the first hotel company to be ranked #1 on DiversityInc’s Top 50 Companies for Diversity and to be a member of its Hall of Fame.

Mr. Breland began his Marriott career in 2004 and has held a number of senior roles within the company. Most recently, Mr. Breland was Global HR Officer for Talent Development & Organizational Capability, where he oversaw learning and development, organizational capability, and change management, and was the senior HR business partner to the Global Development, Global Operations, and Global Design organizations. He played a prominent role in Marriott’s acquisition of Starwood Hotels & Resorts, serving as the company’s Global HR Integration Officer and pioneered the development and launch of Marriott’s Digital Learning Zone, which provided innovative global learning access to associates during and post-integration.

Prior to these roles, Mr. Breland served as Regional Vice President of Human Resources for the Eastern Region of the U.S. and held multiple HR leadership roles supporting global disciplines, including Sales, Marketing, and Revenue Management. During that time, Mr. Breland helped launch the company’s Emerging Leaders Program, a signature initiative aimed at accelerating diversity and inclusion efforts for executive and general manager ranks. He was also responsible for initiating the company’s Workforce Innovation efforts, which provided a blueprint for reshaping front-line roles at the company’s portfolio of properties worldwide.

Prior to Marriott, Mr. Breland was a research consultant for the Human Resources Research Organization (HumRRO). He is a graduate of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University where he earned his Bachelor of Science, Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy degrees, with a specialization in Industrial/Organizational Psychology. Mr. Breland sits on the Board at Virginia Tech’s Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management. He is also a member of World 50, a private community for CEOs and C-level executives at globally respected organizations that work to make a lasting impact. Mr. Breland resides in the Washington, D.C. area with his wife and two daughters.

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.

Michael C. Bush is CEO 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 Workplaces for Women list, and dozens of other distinguished workplace rankings around the world. Driven by a love of business and an unwavering commitment to fair and equitable treatment, Michael joined Great Place To Work as CEO in 2015, bringing 30 years of experience leading and growing organizations. This includes serving as CEO of Tetra Tech Communications, which he grew from $40 million to $300 million in revenue. Michael is a former member of President Obama’s White House Business Council and a founding board member of the private equity seed-fund, Fund Good Jobs, which invests in small inner-city businesses. Michael was a member of the Board of Directors at Workday, Inc. until September 2021 when Great Place To Work was acquired by UKG, Inc.

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. 

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.

As Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer, Gloria Goins is responsible for Cisco’s DEI strategy, Inclusive Communities, and fairness work. Her team is focused on removing barriers to inclusion and belonging and making sure that Cisco’s internal culture reflects its values.

For over 23 years, Gloria Goins has been tapped to launch new employee and business strategies to reach and acquire underserved customers at Fortune 50 companies. Most recently, Gloria was the Head of Inclusion, Diversity and Equity for the Sales, Marketing and Global Services for Amazon Web Services (AWS). Prior to her role at AWS, Gloria served as the Head of Health Equity and Business Development at Amazon Pharmacy, reporting to the CEO. In that role, Gloria was charged with growing revenue and building new business partnerships with a focus on underserved customers and wasrecognized by Becker’s Hospital Review as one of the top five Amazon health care executives to know. Prior to joining Amazon Pharmacy, Gloria was the Global Head of Diversity and Inclusion for Amazon’s worldwide Consumer division and supported nine business leaders in expanding the company’s brand, revenue and loyalty among diverse employees, customers, suppliers and communities.

Gloria uses her relentless ability to thrive in ambiguity to reach diverse customer markets. Notably, Gloria was recruited tobuild the Hispanic business strategy for The Home Depot, where she helped to launch the first paint color palette that reflects Hispanic culture (Colores Origenes), which became the highest selling paint brand at the company. While at Prudential, Gloria developed and managed the company’s largest affiliate marketing program that generated $100 million in revenue and expanded the company’s brand and market share in the African American community.

Gloria brings a national reputation as a disruptive big thinker and business builder, and as such, was invited by the CEO of The TJX Companies to serve on an external Advisory Board to position the company as the retailer of choice for diverse customers, communities and employees. As a highly sought-after public speaker and multicultural thought leader, Gloria frequently consults with senior executives and Boards of Directors on how to build an inclusive culture that attracts, engages and leverages a diverse workforce to drive growth, sales, and operational excellence.

Gloria began her career as an attorney in private practice in her hometown of Miami before becoming General Attorney for a division within BellSouth, which was one of her corporate clients. With the objective of improving customer service and growing customer acquisition for BellSouth, Gloria chose and implemented the technology that accounts for why all Americans must now dial ten digits to make a local call.

Gloria enjoys travelling, volunteering and reading books on real estate and finance. She resides in Parkland, Florida with her husband Prince, her daughter Grace, and her Yorkie Max.

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.

Alveda Williams is the Chief Inclusion Officer at Dow. In this role, she is responsible for institutionalizing inclusion, diversity, and equity as key drivers for the Company’s long-term growth and business success.

Prior to being named Chief Inclusion Officer, Williams served as Corporate Director of Inclusion and Senior HR Director for Talent Acquisition where she was responsible for driving and implementing Dow’s global ID&E strategy, ensuring fair and equitable end-to-end talent acquisition processes, and embedding inclusion into the overall employee experience for breakthrough results. This included maximizing employee resource group engagement, diversifying Dow’s talent pipeline and supplier network, and driving efforts that enable a culture of inclusion for our employees, customers and communities. Under Alveda’s leadership, Dow has delivered meaningful progress on key inclusion and diversity performance indicators, ascended to the #7 spot on the Fair360 Top 50 list, and was named for the first time to the Great Place to Work® and Fortune World’s Best Workplaces™ list.

Williams joined Dow in 2002 and has held a variety of leadership roles across Research and Development and Human Resources over her 20-year career. She is the creator of Dow’s Building Engineering & Science Talent at Dow (BEST) Symposium which introduces under-represented minority Ph.D. talent to careers in industrial research. She serves on the Board of Directors for the Open Chemistry Collaborative in Diversity Equity (OXIDE), American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) Corporate Council, and the Chief Diversity Officer Board for the Institute for Corporate Productivity (i4CP).

Williams earned a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry from Norfolk State University and a Ph.D. in materials chemistry from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She holds three patents and is the author of a number of internal and external publications, including a recent feature in Nature Chemistry magazine. She is the recipient of the NSBE Golden Torch Award for Corporate Diversity Leadership (2009), the prestigious Dow Transformation in Action Award (2012), the Council for Chemical Research Diversity Award (2013), Diversity Journal’s Women Worth Watching List (2014), and i4CP’s Board Member of the Year Award (2021).

Gretchen Stroud leads Hilton's HR Consulting, HR shared services, and Diversity Equity & Inclusion teams managing holistic and integrated HR strategies aligned with Hilton's values and mission, to drive business success.  Prior to her current role, she led Hilton’s Talent COE, overseeing HR strategy and implementation across recruiting, learning & development, talent management and diversity and inclusion for corporate and hotel operations globally.

Ms. Stroud is enthusiastic about creating opportunities for the next generation of hospitality talent and has played a key role in building Hilton’s award-winning culture over the past ten years. She started her hospitality career at Marriott International, working across various functions including human resources, owner relations and international hotel operations. Before joining the hospitality industry, she served as a Teach for America Corps member in Washington, D.C.

Ms. Stroud currently serves as a member of the boards for American Hotel & Lodging Association’s ForWARD (Women Advancing Hospitality) and MAKERS. She is a dedicated mentor and advocate for young leaders within and outside the industry. Ms. Stroud is a graduate of American University in Washington, D.C. She lives in Northern Virginia with her husband and has a son at the US Military Academy at West Point.

DeShaun N. Wise Porter is the Global Head of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Recognition in the Travel & Tourism sector. She serves as a strategic thought leader and internal consultant responsible for developing and executing holistic and integrated strategies that are aligned with Hilton’s shared values and contribute to the building of a diverse, engaged, and high-performing organization. Prior to this appointment, she served as the VP, HR Consulting partnering with C-Suite leaders to drive and implement transformational talent initiatives focused on attracting, developing and retaining high potentials and top performers.

She is a passionate leader with extensive experience in driving culture change and creating opportunities that accelerate the growth of talent through differentiated talent models and scalable development programs. Her work has centered on leading global transformation initiatives, managing merger and acquisition processes, overseeing the implementation of core technologies, and developing teams across the globe. She served as an advisor on the integration of market-based compensation, implementation of an advanced HR Information Systems, as well, was a key architect in designing the high-performing learning organization at Kimberly-Clark, which included the first global learning management system and language-learning program. Her global business acumen paired with her cultural dexterity led her to complete short-term assignments in Seoul, South Korea; Istanbul, Turkey, and Medellin, Colombia.

DeShaun is a graduate of Florida State University, where she studied Multinational Business Operations and Finance. She holds a Professional in Human Resources (PHR) Certification from the HR Certificate Institute, a SHRM-Certified Professional (SHRM-CP) from the Society for Human Resource Management, and a Human Capital Strategist Certification from the Human Capital Institute. She is currently on the Board of Directors for FAIR Girls, Inc. and an active member of the Society for Human Resources Management, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, and The Links, Incorporated. She is active throughout her community and serves as a mentor and advocate for underserved youth.

DeShaun resides in Washington, D.C with her husband, Dr. Fernando A. Porter, sons Princeton Antonio and Braylon Alexander, as well as furbaby Marley. When she is not spending time with family and friends or participating in civic activities, she enjoys shopping, reading and embracing other cultures through travel. In June 2023, she published her first book co-authored by her father called, The Book of Daddy-isms: Words from the Wise. This collection of wisdom is designed to inspire, influence, encourage and unlock the greatness within through reminding readers of lessons passed down through generations.

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.

Greg is driven by a passion for building great leaders and creating positive change in organizations. With over 25 years of business experience, Greg has been designing and delivering learning programs for leaders and high-performing teams since 2005. Prior to that, he held various leadership positions in the insurance industry. Greg serves as a Leadership Coach in PwC's Learning and Development organization, specifically focusing on the US Leadership Coaching Center of Excellence (LC CoE). He is a Professional Certified Coach (PCC) and a board-certified Health and Wellness Coach. Greg's speciality lies in leadership development, whole leadership, performance improvement, and health and wellness. He holds a Bachelor's Degree in Economics from the University of Tennessee and a Masters of Arts in Teaching and Learning. Greg is dedicated to helping leaders at all levels discover and master their unique brand of leadership, aligning it with their overall life purpose and goals. He lives in Jacksonville, Florida with his wife Alice and dog Sadie.

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.

Claudine Hoverson is Senior Vice President and Chief Talent Officer of Synchrony, one of the nation’s premier consumer financial services companies that is recognized as one of the top 100 Best Workplaces. In this role, she is responsible for strategy development and execution for Talent/Performance Management, Succession Planning and Employee Engagement.  Recently, Claudine played an integral role in shaping the company’s return to office strategy, using and agile approach to pilot new ways of working that provide choice and flexibility for all employees.

Prior to her current role Claudine served at the SVP, Talent Acquisition for Synchrony and VP, Human Resources & Talent Recruitment.  In these roles Claudine helped to design & build the HR Organization and Talent Acquisition function after separation from GE.  As Organization & Talent Development Leader, Claudine developed the HR plan and talent recruitment plan required for separation.

Claudine acts as HR for the Women’s Network+ and is a member of the People with Disabilities+ Network. She also sits on the HR Committee for Ability Beyond, a non for profit dedicated to breaking barriers and creating paths for people with disabilities.

Claudine lives in Greenfield, WI with her husband Bjorn, daughters Sonja, Greta and her golden retriever Luna.

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.

Pat Wadors serves as chief people officer (CPO) 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!

Samantha Ros, SPHR, is the director of team member engagement for Wellstar Health System – a Georgia based, nonprofit community healthcare system that is nationally recognized for its high-quality care, inclusive culture, and exceptional caregivers and team members. In her role, she is responsible for creating a culture of trust for more than 31,000 team members. Under her leadership, Wellstar has been named one of Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For, three of the last four years, and has the highest Great Place to Work survey participation rate out of any certified company, achieving 87% in 2023. Samantha holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of South Florida and an MBA from Palm Beach Atlantic University.  When she is not striving to create the best workplace culture in America, she enjoys spending time with her husband, 18-month-old son, cooking, hiking, and exploring National Parks.

Annette Alexander is the Chief People Officer at WP Engine. She is responsible for the strategic vision for human resources as well as company culture. 

Annette is an accomplished human resources executive with over 15 years of experience in finding and cultivating talent for companies in the e-commerce, financial services, industrial engineering and technology industries. During her career, she has lived in 5 countries cultivating an impressive track record of successfully building and leading global HR teams.

Prior to WP Engine, Annette was Vice President of Human Resources at RetailMeNot in Austin where she led HR for the e-commerce company. Prior to RetailMeNot, she held senior leadership positions in Europe and the U.K. for global companies such as PayPal, eBay, Danaher, Barclays and Dell.

Annette holds a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Houston and a master’s degree in Human Resources from Purdue University.

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. 

With over 20 years of experience launching and leading successful businesses, Peters leads Global Recognition, Research and Strategic Partnerships for Great Place To Work and oversees creation of our U.S. Best Workplaces lists such as the Best Workplaces for Women, for Millennials, Diversity, Best Small & Medium Workplaces, the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For® list and the PEOPLE Companies That Care list and our national Best Workplaces lists around the world. Recognition on these lists is part of Great Place To Work’s Certification program, which offers companies of all sizes and industries the opportunity to get Great Place To Work Certified, recognized on Best Workplaces lists, and to measure, assess and build a high-trust workplace culture. She also leads the company’s Strategic Partnerships and its annual Great Place To Work For All Summit and For All Leadership Awards.

Under Peters’ leadership, Great Place To Work has dramatically scaled its ability to recognize organizations as great workplaces. Through the strategic partnerships with FORTUNE and PEOPLE Magazines, Peters created the Certification Program and many new Best Workplaces lists. As a result, many more companies now have the opportunity to gain the credit they deserve for building a Great Place To Work For All.

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.

Sarah Lewis-Kulin, Vice President of Global Recognition & Research at Great Place To Work, has been analyzing global employee experience and workplace trends and advising the best workplaces in the world on how to create better workplaces for over 20 years. She spearheaded the creation of Great Place To Work’s updated “For All” methodology, which assesses the degree to which companies create consistently positive experiences for all employees, regardless of who they are or what they do for the organization. She developed Great Place To Work’s definitive standard for certifying organizations as great workplaces and is a co-author, with CEO Michael C. Bush, of the book, A Great Place To Work For All. Sarah is responsible for leveraging 30 years of global employee experience data to evolve the analysis that determines Great Place To Work’s many Best Workplaces lists in the U.S. and globally, including the FORTUNE 100 Best Companies to Work for, the World’s Best Workplaces and over 100 Best Workplaces lists around the world – as well as for sharing the research and best in-class trends identified through these competitions. Since joining Great Place To Work in 2000, she worked with consulting clients, started the organization’s conference and networking programs, and now serves on its executive team.

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.

Roula Amire is senior content director of Great Place To Work®. Roula has 20 years of experience as a journalist, having written for newspapers, magazines, and digital publishers.  

She has written extensively about employee engagement, well-being, purpose, and other aspects of workplace culture, and has led roundtable discussions on these topics for leading HR and communications professionals.

Her expertise in storytelling, content strategy, writing and editing help elevate the mission of Great Place To Work.