Ric Edelman, a top-ranked advisor for nine years in a row and three times named the #1 independent financial advisor in the country,1 is Chairman and CEO of Edelman Financial Services LLC. He is also CEO, President and a Director of The Edelman Financial Group. Ric is the best-selling author of seven books, including Rescue Your Money, the award-winning The Lies About Money and the personal finance classic, The Truth About Money, now in its fourth edition. “The Truth About Money with Ric Edelman” can be heard on radio stations and seen on public television throughout the country. Edelman Financial manages $7.9 billion for more than 17,0002 clients. He is also an Investment Advisor Representative who offers advisory services through EFS and a registered Principal of (and offering securities through) Sanders Morris Harris Inc., an affiliated broker/dealer, member FINRA/SIPC.Visit Ric online at RicEdelman.com.

Sherrin Ross Ingram, CEO of the International Center for Strategic Planning, is a Master Strategic Planning Facilitator and an Independent Corporate Board Director for companies in need of fresh strategies, an updated strategic plan, improved strategy execution, or restructuring to increase competitive advantage. She is a frequent speaker on strategy development, execution and leadership topics at business meetings and conferences around the world.

Karl Ahlrichs specializes in helping professionals make order from chaos. He is a national speaker, author, and consultant, presenting on the people issues in all industries, and is often quoted in the local and national media. 

Karl’s experience is ideally suited to times of organizational change as he pulls on risk management and organizational development theories to replace “best practices” with “next practices”. He owes much of his communications mastery to working as a writer and editor in daily media, to on-the-job writing experience and to the process of becoming a published author.

He joined Gregory & Appel in 2010 after serving as a founding partner of ExactHire, bringing his HR, operations, diversity & belonging, and learning & development skills with him. Karl’s affinity for design, composition and learning started at a very young age, by taking and examining thousands of boring pictures with the goal of improving his craft. He loves deploying that practice-to-improve approach with all manner of hobbies including writing haiku, mastering cutting-edge technology and learning Spanish.

In 2003, he was named the SHRM Human Resource Professional of the Year for the State of Indiana. He is on the Boards of several organizations, including the Maryland CPA Society.  He has lived in Scotland and Spain and lives to explore new experiences with his wife and family.

 

Jennifer Millman specializes in driving organizational performance to new heights through talent and performance management and development strategies. She has been applauded for her uncanny ability to quickly and accurately assess talent and makes courageous recommendations on the most effective structure of existing talent as well as finding rare A+ external talent to fill the gaps and upgrade the overall talent bench of an organization.

With more than 15 years’ experience leading strategic HR teams, mostly in the technology industry, from global Fortune 500 corporations to entrepreneurial firms, as well as Consulting engagements across all industries, Jennifer is well-positioned to assist HR professionals strategically align with business leaders to effect real, immediate impact through increasing existing performance and significantly affecting the bottom line through creating and maintaining a workforce of A+ players.

Jennifer currently leads the Talent Acquisition function at Vology, an Inc. 500 Company and a Fast 50 Technology company.  Jennifer is also a writer, speaker, consultant, foodie, and mother of a 5-year-old superhero son.

Areas of Expertise:
Strategic Planning, Talent Management, Change Management, Succession Planning, Performance Management, Topgrading, Organizational Development, Executive Searches, Creative Recruiting Programs, Social Media.

Follow Jennifer on Twitter on @Jenny_Millman.

Brad is the Founder and CEO of JB Training Solutions. An accomplished public speaker and executive coach, Brad has been featured on CNN, CNBC, and Dr. Phil, and has been quoted in: The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Fortune, and USA Today. Brad is also the author of three business books including the critically acclaimed Manager 3.0: A Millennial’s Guide to Rewriting the Rules of Management, which you can read in Mandarin (assuming you can read Mandarin).

Prior to creating JB, Brad spent 15 years at advertising agency Leo Burnett in Chicago. Today, Brad presents for major organizations including Eli Lilly, Securitas, Top Tier Capital Partners, and Saint Laurent. When he’s not enjoying a robust buffet, you can find Brad playing racquetball or drafting the perfect fantasy football roster. Brad is left-handed.

Randy Pennington helps leaders deliver positive results in a world of accelerating uncertainty and change. His clients include many of world’s best-managed companies, associations, government agencies, and universities. Additionally, Randy serves as an adjunct instructor in the Cox Business Leadership Center at Southern Methodist University.

Randy is author of three books: Make Change Work, Results Rule!; and On My Honor, I Will . His ideas have been featured in leading media outlets including CNN, PBS, Fox News, ABC Radio Network, the BBC, Fast Company, and The New York Times. He is a contributor to CIO.com and the Huffington Post.

Mike Aitken has worked at SHRM since 2003 and currently serves as the Senior Vice President of Government Affairs. Prior to joining SHRM, he served for 14 years as associate director for Governmental and External Relations at the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources (CUPA-HR). Previously, Aitken worked on state public policy issues at Bonner & Associates, a public affairs firm in Washington, DC. Currently, he is based in Alexandria, VA.

 

For over 20 years, Allison West has used her employment law background in delivering customized workplace training, conducting investigations, coaching executives/managers, serving as an expert witness, and specializing in conflict resolution and facilitated discussions to create more collaborative work environments. 

Allison is a top-rated speaker at the SHRM Annual Conference as well as other HR/diversity conferences, and is a national expert on harassment, discrimination and investigations. She has appeared on PBS, CBS This Morning and in O Magazine discussing workplace harassment issues. 

She is a member of the State Bar of California and holds her SHRM-SCP certification and AWI-CH (investigation) certificate.

 

 

Robert A. Boonin is a member of the national law firm of Dykema Gossett and is based in its Ann Arbor office. Rob is an honors graduate from The University of Michigan Law School, holds a Masters in Labor and Industrial Relations from Michigan State University, and a BS in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.  Practicing law for nearly 40 years, Rob has litigated employment law matters before federal and state courts across the nation, handles all forms of union matters for employers, and regularly counsels clients on such issues as discrimination, FMLA compliance, and wage and hour law. 

Rob is a recognized leader in his field.  For instance, he is: on the Chambers USA list of top employment law attorneys; listed as a Best Lawyer in Employment Law; repeatedly recognized as one of Michigan’s “Super Lawyers”; a Fellow and a Past-President of the Litigation Counsel of America; a Past Chair of  the national Wage and Hour Defense Institute; a Past Chair of the Michigan Bar Association’s Labor and Employment Law Section; and a Fellow of the distinguished American College of Labor and Employment Lawyers.  Rob also in an immediate past-chair of the American Bar Association’s Federal Labor Standards Legislation Committee (which covers FLSA matters), and serves as an Editor of the most recognized authority on the FLSA, the Bloomberg BNA legal treatise – The Fair Labor Standards Act.