Relationship Management

Matt is the Director of Talent Acquisition at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta – one of the nation’s leading pediatric healthcare systems and consistently ranked as one of the “100 Best Companies to Work For” by Fortune magazine. With the support of a strong team, Matt is working to evolve and optimize the recruitment platform at Children’s.

Prior to working at Children's, Matt helped reshape talent acquisition at Ericsson, the world's leading provider of communications technology and services, operating in 180 countries and employing more than 100,000 people. In his five years with Ericsson, Matt lived in both Australia and Singapore. He drove innovation in the employer branding, sourcing and recruitment strategy for Ericsson regionally and globally.

He has past experience as a senior strategy consultant with a U.S. recruitment communications firm, helping leading organizations implement innovative employer branding and digital strategies to attract top talent. Matt is a graduate of The Florida State University in the USA. He is an author and featured industry speaker on best practices in Talent Management at international HR events.

Matt is the Director of Talent Acquisition at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta – one of the nation’s leading pediatric healthcare systems and consistently ranked as one of the “100 Best Companies to Work For” by Fortune magazine. With the support of a strong team, Matt is working to evolve and optimize the recruitment platform at Children’s.

Prior to working at Children's, Matt helped reshape talent acquisition at Ericsson, the world's leading provider of communications technology and services, operating in 180 countries and employing more than 100,000 people. In his five years with Ericsson, Matt lived in both Australia and Singapore. He drove innovation in the employer branding, sourcing and recruitment strategy for Ericsson regionally and globally.

He has past experience as a senior strategy consultant with a U.S. recruitment communications firm, helping leading organizations implement innovative employer branding and digital strategies to attract top talent. Matt is a graduate of The Florida State University in the USA. He is an author and featured industry speaker on best practices in Talent Management at international HR events.

Steve is a member of the Speaker Hall of Fame and was recognized in 2015 as one of the top 10 motivational speakers globally from over 9,000 candidates.

In addition to being one of the most sought-after speakers in North America, he has written 11 books and was named Author of the Year by Advantage/Forbes for his book Enjoy The Ride.

Steve built a multimillion-dollar company, which the Pittsburgh Business Times named one of the fastest-growing privately held companies in the region. Steve is one of SHRM’s top-rated speakers. This is his 18th consecutive year speaking at the SHRM Conference.

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.

As President of DFA, Dean Foster conducts cross-cultural training worldwide and consults on intercultural business issues with most Fortune 500 companies in the United States and around the globe. For over twenty-five years, Dean has played a major role in the development of the intercultural training field. Formerly, he was founder and Managing Director of Berlitz Cross-Cultural Worldwide, Vice President GMAC/Windham Intercultural, and founder of Cross-Cultural Consulting Associates, New York. Dean is a frequent guest on CNN, CNBC and other TV and radio shows, and keynotes at major international professional conferences.

Dean has written many articles, the four-part Global Etiquette Guide book series, as well as Bargaining Across Borders, which the American Library Association voted as one of the top ten business books of 1994.

He is a Contributing Editor for National Geographic Traveler, writing the CultureWise monthly column, and Senior Contributing Editor for the International webpage of Monster.com. Dean presents at many educational institutions such as Harvard and is on faculty at the Intercultural Management Institute at American University. Dean has a Master’s Degree in Sociology from the Graduate Faculty of the New School for Social Research in New York City.

Ryan Estis is the former Chief Strategy Officer for the $100 million People Marketing division of McCann-Erickson World Group Advertising and now serves at the Chief Experience Officer in a growing speaking and consulting practice. Recently recognized as one of the Top 100 keynote speakers in America alongside Tony Robbins, Bill Gates, Al Gore and Marcus Buckingham, Ryan is a leading expert on Leadership & Culture, Workforce Trends and Communication. He serves as the USA Sr. Associate with Employer Brand International, an advisory member on the SmartBrief Workforce Council, is a certified Human Capital Strategist and professional member of the National Speakers Association.

His consultancy develops strategy and communication design to help companies more effectively connect to their two most important audiences: employees and customers. He shares his thoughts on culture, engagement and leadership on his blog passiononpurposeblog.com.

David Lee, the founder of HumanNatureAtWork.com, helps employers improve employee engagement, customer service, and morale, though his work as a consultant, trainer, and executive coach. He is an internationally recognized authority on organizational and managerial practices that optimize employee performance.

David is the author of Managing Employee Stress and Safety, as well as over sixty articles and book chapters on employee and organizational performance that have been published in North America, Europe, India, Australia, and China.

Much of his work involves taking research into human nature from a wide range of scientific disciplines, and then translating these principles into practical strategies for optimizing individual and organizational performance.

Using the popular TV show The Dog Whisperer as an analogy for the difference understanding human nature makes, David’s work helps leaders and managers become “Employee Whisperers.”

Richard Schepp, chief administrative officer, oversees Kohl's human resources, legal, risk management and compliance, real estate and business development functions.

Schepp joined Kohl’s in 2000 as senior vice president, general counsel/secretary. He was promoted to executive vice president in 2001 and senior executive vice president in 2011. In 2013, he became senior executive vice president, human resources, general counsel/secretary. He was promoted to the principal officer position of chief administrative officer in 2015.

Prior to joining Kohl's, Schepp, a 23-year retail veteran, served as senior vice president, general counsel/secretary for Shopko. He began his career as an attorney for Quarles & Brady, LLP.

As vice president of human resources, David Almeda is responsible for overseeing the global human resources function at Kronos.  He serves as a strategic business partner to Kronos’ senior leadership team and drives the human capital management strategy, programs, and initiatives to support Kronos’ continued growth and profitability. Prior to his work at Kronos, Almeda spent 16 years in various human resources functions at Staples, most recently as vice president of global human resources.

Almeda holds a master’s degree in HR management, and a doctoral degree from The University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School/Graduate School of Education. He is an active member of SHRM; serves on the Board of Directors of the New England Human Resources Association; and is an advisory board member of the Executive Program in Work-based Learning Leadership at the University of Pennsylvania/Wharton. He is a sought-after speaker and expert on HR issues, and has presented at or been published by The Conference Board, Harvard Business School, and CMO Magazine.

 

Chris founded Discovery Learning in 1990. As the company’s head product designer, he manages the research and development processes and is always coming up with new ideas to ensure Discovery Learning’s products remain innovative and effective in a changing world. He also works with clients on program and training design to make sure Discovery Learning’s products fit their needs.

Chris served as a Kellogg Fellow (1987-1990) and has worked in organizational and leadership development for more than 30 years. He has developed numerous programs covering leadership development, creativity and innovation, change management and team building for some of the most well known and respected companies in the world. He has designed and delivered programs in North America, Europe, Asia, and Africa, including countries such as The Netherlands, Germany, India, China, Japan, Malaysia and Ethiopia. He has also helped create seven simulations and nine innovative assessment tools.