Communication

Shawn Kent Hayashi is the founder and CEO of The Professional Development Group and a global expert in developing inspiring leaders and high performing teams. Growth, innovation, and elevated performance and profits are the results of Shawn’s work as an executive coach and consultant.  Shawn facilitates growth in leadership ability, emotional intelligence, communication skills, collaboration, and building trust and stronger relationships.  Her clients include entrepreneurial companies, Fortune 500, and associations around the globe. The author of six business communications books, Shawn has also been a feature expert in The New York Times, Forbes, and FastCompany.

Dave Edelman joined Aetna as Chief Marketing Officer in September 2016, where he heads a 400-person organization, overseeing marketing strategy, creative, operations, and technology, to drive business growth and help Aetna’s 22 million members realize the joy of achieving their health ambitions. 

Since Aetna was acquired by CVS Health in December 2018, Dave also partners closely with his peer CMOs who lead CVS Pharmacy/Retail and CVS Caremark, respectively.  In addition to his current role at Aetna, Dave sits on the Board of Directors for the The Ad Club of Boston and the Board of Trustees for The Walnut Hill School for the Arts in Natick, Massachusetts.

Before joining Aetna, Dave was a Partner at McKinsey and CMO of its Marketing and Sales practice. He built a global practice that helped clients through digital transformation, bringing hands-on expertise in analytics, technology, program development, and process redesign.

Prior to McKinsey, Dave spent nine years at Digitas where he served as Executive Vice President for the Strategy and Analysis practice. Prior to that, he was a Partner with the Boston Consulting Group, helping to build BCG’s “Segment-of-One Marketing” and “E-commerce” practices.

Named by Forbes as one of “The World’s Most Influential CMOs” in both 2017 and 2018, Dave is a recognized thought leader and LinkedIn Influencer, and has been published in the Harvard Business Review. He speaks and writes regularly about digital transformation, agile marketing, consumer experience, and localization of health care.

Dave received his bachelor’s degree in Economics from Harvard College and his MBA from Harvard Business School. He is an avid music fan, long-time saxophone musician, and is married with three children.

To learn more about Dave, follow him on Twitter @DavidEdelman and on LinkedIn.

Kevin Fudge is the Director of Consumer Advocacy at ASA.  He works with policy makers, states and non-profit organizations to improve college completion rates and successful student loan management through raising public awareness about the intricacies of the college financing process.  Kevin resolves complex loan situations for members of government and their constituents, and provides research and analysis of student loans to elected officials, secondary school administrators, higher education professionals and employees in the public and private sector.  Kevin is frequently quoted in various media formats on student debt, and he graduated from the University of Virginia and Harvard University.

Jennifer Lee is an experienced keynote speaker, engaging educator, and talented facilitator. Jennifer has over 15 years of learning and development experience with a robust background in luxury hospitality, human resources, and training. As the former Learning and Development Director at the AAA Five Diamond-rated Waldorf Astoria Chicago and the former Learning Manager at The Four Seasons Hotel in Chicago, Jennifer brings a rich perspective in leadership, management, service, hospitality and presentation skills training. When she’s not presenting, Jennifer can be found checking items off her bucket list, which still includes attending the Oscars at least once in her lifetime.