Prof. Erik Brynjolfsson is a Professor at Stanford and the Director of the Stanford Digital Economy Lab at the Institute for Human-Centered AI (HAI). He is also a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) and holds appointments at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR), the Stanford Graduate School of Business and the Stanford Department of Economics. Prof. Brynjolfsson is one of most widely-cited researchers studying the digital economy and co-author of five books including The Second Machine Age.

Christopher J. Fernandez, Corporate Vice President of Microsoft’s HR Services and Digital Employee Experiences worldwide team, has been with Microsoft since 2005. He leads global HR teams in developing end-to-end digital strategies across all HR systems, including AI-enabled HR, and oversees HR service delivery worldwide. His responsibilities extend to compensation, benefits, talent acquisition, learning, onboarding, and more. Fernandez has also held HR leadership roles for a wide portfolio of Microsoft’s global businesses, including hardware, Windows, Office, Gaming, the Artificial Intelligence and Research Group, and others.

Before joining Microsoft, Fernandez was a human resource leader at General Motors Corporation’s European organization in Zurich, Switzerland. He holds a Master of Human Resources and Labor Relations from Michigan State University (MSU), a Bachelor of Arts in American Public Affairs from James Madison College at MSU and is a graduate of the Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Program. He is active in several civic organizations and is a member of various professional associations.

Ben Peterson is the global leader of Walmart’s People Product & Design organization, one of the teams bringing Walmart’s people-led, tech-powered vision to life. He is responsible for the vision, strategy, design, and growth of experiences that empower 2.1 million associates across Walmart Stores, Sam’s Club, Walmart International, Global Tech, and corporate functions. Under Ben’s leadership, People Product & Design led the strategy and launch of innovative new products such as Me@Campus, My Assistant, and Me@Sams. His team is focused on building world-class digital experiences that leverage AI, automation, and data-driven insights to drive engagement, operational efficiency, and productivity at scale.

Before joining Walmart, Ben spent nearly a decade at Deloitte Consulting, where he co-founded and led Deloitte Consulting’s Product Management practice, leading new product innovation and shaping the offering’s go-to-market approach, growth strategy, and talent management. Ben architected and led high-performing product organizations to drive product-led transformation across the retail, digital commerce, sports, and FinTech industries.

Ben holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Texas A&M University, and a master’s degree in business administration from Cornell University. Ben is passionate about the future of AI, building high-performing teams, and leading zero-to-one products and ventures. He enjoys spending time outdoors with his family playing tennis, pickleball, disc golf, golf, and backyard football.
 

Ben Peterson is the global leader of Walmart’s People Product organization, one of the teams bringing Walmart’s people-led, tech-powered vision to life. He is responsible for the product vision, strategy and delivery of world-class digital experiences for Walmart’s 2.1 million associates across Walmart US, Sam’s Club, Walmart International and Home Office. Under Ben’s leadership, People Product led the strategy and launch of innovative new products such as Me@Campus, My Assistant and Me@Sams. His team also launched and manages critical associate-centric Me@ features such as hiring, onboarding, learning, mobile clocking, attendance, direct deposit, profile information, manager transactions, ideas/concerns, pay information and financial wellbeing.

Before joining Walmart, Ben spent nearly a decade at Deloitte Consulting, where he co-founded and built Deloitte Consulting’s product management consulting practice and drove digital transformation, growth and innovation at leading Fortune 500 companies. As a consultant, Ben spent a number of years consulting with Walmart product organizations on high-visibility initiatives across Online Grocery, Delivery Unlimited (precursor to W+), InHome Delivery, Studio X, OneApp and Project Glass.

Born and raised in Dallas, Ben now lives in Frisco, Texas with his wife and four young children. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Texas A&M University, and a master’s degree in business administration from Cornell University. He enjoys spending time outdoors with his family playing tennis, pickleball, disc golf, golf, and backyard football.