Ben Sommers is the Vice President, North America Business Development at Fitbit, a company that designs products and experiences to empower and inspire people to live healthier, more active lives.  Ben works primarily with employers and organizations of all sizes, including Fitbit’s wellness and health plan partners, to enable organizations to lead more engaging and effective wellness programs with world-class technologies and services.  Prior to Fitbit, Ben served as Regional Vice President, Western U.S., for Castlight Health, a healthcare IT company that built the first personalized platform to enable employers to understand and manage their healthcare investments while helping employees make the best possible healthcare decisions.  Before joining Castlight, Ben served as the Vice President of Sales & Marketing at Future Point Systems, a software company focused on business and government analytics.  Ben also managed a Western U.S. territory at IBM, working across all of IBM’s solution areas and focusing on healthcare IT and software clients.  Previous to IBM, Ben has held key finance and investment positions at Windspeed Ventures, a venture capital firm, and at Robertson Stephens, a technology-focused investment bank.  Ben earned his MBA from the University of California Berkeley, Haas School of Business, and received his BA in Economics from Harvard University.  

Tim is a leadership development professional committed to helping individuals and organizations reach their greatest potential. He is a frequent leadership speaker and the author of two books: “Peak Leadership Fitness: Elevating Your Leadership Game” and “Your Leadership Story: Use Your Story to Energize, Inspire, and Motivate”. Tim is currently Vice President of Franchisee Onboarding and Learning for Choice Hotels International. Previously, he was Vice President of Global Learning and Leadership Development at Marriott International. His work was recognized with multiple industry awards including the 2018 Chief Learning Officer Trailblazer Award, the 2017 Global CCU award for Outstanding Services to the Learning Industry, and the 2014 Chief Learning Officer Global Learning Award among others.

Sharlyn Lauby is an author, writer, speaker and consultant. She has been named a Top HR Digital Influencer and is best-known for her work on HR Bartender, a friendly place to talk about workplace issues. HR Bartender has been recognized as one of the Top 5 Blogs read by HR professionals by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and best business blog by the Stevie Awards.

Publications such as Reuters, The New York Times, ABC News, The Wall Street Journal, and Mashable have sought out her expertise on topics related to human resources and the workplace. Sharlyn is the author of “Essential Meeting Blueprints for Managers,” and ”Manager Onboarding: 5 Steps for Setting New Leaders Up for Success,” which are available in the SHRM Store.

Her personal goal in life is to find the best cheeseburger on the planet.

Margaret is CEO for The HR Edge, Inc., an international management consulting and training company. Her clients have included Lockheed Martin, Chevron, Time Warner, U.S. Secret Service, Sara Lee Foods, Home and Garden Television, Roche, Nationwide Insurance, NAPA Auto Parts, Homeland Security, New York Presbyterian Hospital (Cornell & Columbia Medical Centers), U.S. Marine Corps, Deloitte, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Vanderbilt University, Comcast, Intercontinental Hotel Group, National Institutes of Health, McKee Foods, Skanska, Fox Broadcasting, Schwarz BioSciences, Fifth Third Bank, Verizon, SAS (computer software), The Nashville Predators national hockey franchise, Northrop Grumman, Miami University, Wells Fargo, TECO Energy, AmSurg, Quorum Health Resources, the U.S. Naval Nuclear Submarine Group and various local and state governments. Previous to owning her own company, Margaret was Sr. Vice President, Human Resources Consulting for a national consulting firm out of Winston-Salem, North Carolina. She has a BS degree from the University of Alabama and a JD degree from the Vanderbilt University School of Law. She has worked as an attorney, specializing in employment law as well as been Vice President of Human Resources for three large companies and served on the Board of Directors for Aegis Sciences Corporation. She is often quoted as a business expert in newspapers and magazines across the country including Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Chicago Tribune, USA Today, CBS Money Watch and Entrepreneur and appears regularly on local ABC, CBS and Fox television affiliates. She is the author of the business books, “Management Courage – Having the Heart of a Lion” and “The Hidden Language of Business – Workplace Politics, Power & Influence.”

Lida Citroën is an international reputation management and branding specialist who designs the identities of companies and professionals globally. As principal of LIDA360, Lida also an accomplished speaker and writer, often featured in MSNBC, Entrepreneur Magazine, Fortune Magazine, Forbes.com, Harvard Business Review, Inc. Magazine, and CBS Moneywatch.

Lida is passionate about helping our nation's veterans navigate the challenges and opportunities of the military-to-civilian career transition. A popular speaker at military installations and national events on veteran hiring, Lida writes for Military.com and Entrepreneur.com on the topic of military transition, sits on the Board of Director for the National Association of Veteran Serving Organizations (NAVSO), volunteers with ESGR, teaches in the TAP program at the US Air Force Academy, and works with Philadelphia-based Wall Street Warfighters Foundation (General Peter Pace’s program). In addition, Lida leverages her 20+ years in corporate branding to help America's employers learn how to recruit, on board and grow the veteran employee to support business and brand goals.

Lida's second book, Your Next Mission: A personal branding guide for the military-to-civilian transition, is a best selling resource for career and professional guidance for transitioning military members and veterans. She is also the author of Reputation 360: Creating power through personal branding, a valuable tool for gaining professionals seeking competitive advantage through reputation management.

Howard Ross is lifelong social justice advocate, and is considered one of the world’s seminal thought leaders on identifying and addressing unconscious bias.  Howard has delivered programs in 47 states and over 40 other countries to audiences including Fortune 500 companies, colleges and universities, and major institutions within healthcare, government, and non-profit sectors. He authored the Washington Post best seller, Everyday Bias:  Identifying and Navigating Unconscious Judgments in Our Daily Lives, ReInventing Diversity: Transforming Organizational Community to Strengthen People, Purpose and Performance. His latest  book, Our Search for Belonging: How the Need for Connection Is Tearing Our Culture Apart, published by Berrett-Koehler in 2018, received the Nautilus Gold Medal for Social Change and Social Justice. His next book, Building Belonging: 9 Pathways to Creating Inclusive and Joyful Organizational Communities, will be published in 2020.

Lisbeth Claus, Ph.D., SHRM-SCP, is a Professor of Global Human Resources at the Atkinson Graduate School of Management of Willamette University in Salem, Oregon (USA). Prior to joining Willamette University, she held faculty and administrative positions at the Monterey Institute of International Studies and managerial positions at Safeway Inc. and Maritz Inc.

Dr. Claus has published widely in academic and professional journals on subject matters related to international and global HR management issues, and is a frequent key-note speaker at national and international HR conferences. She is considered a leading expert on issues related to employee performance management for multinational companies and organizations.

She frequently delivers multi-day strategic HR seminars in Central and Eastern Europe, Eastern Africa, and Asia for country and regional HR managers. She was the 2003 President of SHRM Global, the international division of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). In 2004, SHRM commissioned her to design the GPHR (Global Professional Human Resources) Certification Preparation Course  She is also a Global HR Special Expertise Panel Member at SHRM. To advance the HR profession, she frequently volunteers her professional services for the establishment and development of country HR associations in emerging markets. 

Lisbeth Claus, Ph.D., SHRM-SCP, is a Professor of Global Human Resources at the Atkinson Graduate School of Management of Willamette University in Salem, Oregon (USA). Prior to joining Willamette University, she held faculty and administrative positions at the Monterey Institute of International Studies and managerial positions at Safeway Inc. and Maritz Inc.

Dr. Claus has published widely in academic and professional journals on subject matters related to international and global HR management issues, and is a frequent key-note speaker at national and international HR conferences. She is considered a leading expert on issues related to employee performance management for multinational companies and organizations.

She frequently delivers multi-day strategic HR seminars in Central and Eastern Europe, Eastern Africa, and Asia for country and regional HR managers. She was the 2003 President of SHRM Global, the international division of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). In 2004, SHRM commissioned her to design the GPHR (Global Professional Human Resources) Certification Preparation Course  She is also a Global HR Special Expertise Panel Member at SHRM. To advance the HR profession, she frequently volunteers her professional services for the establishment and development of country HR associations in emerging markets.