As the son of a travelling international business expert, Kevin O’Leary had the opportunity to live and be educated in Cambodia, Cyprus, Tunisia, Ethiopia, France and Switzerland.

After completing his MBA, O’Leary founded Special Event Television, an independent production company that produced original sports programming such as “The Original Six,” “Don Cherry’s ­Grapevine” and “Bobby Orr and the Hockey Legends.”

O’Leary founded SoftKey Software Products (later called The Learning Company) in 1986. SoftKey was the first software company to apply the principles of consumer goods marketing to the software industry. SoftKey grew quickly as the price of personal computers declined and millions of American families began to buy software for education and entertainment. SoftKey soon became a catalyst of consolidation in the software industry, raising over $1 billion in financing and completing a series of aggressive acquisitions, including WordStar International, Spinnaker Software, Compton’s New Media, The Learning Company, Creative Wonders, the Minnesota Educational Computer Company, Mindscape and Broderbund. By1998, O’Leary’s company was the undisputed world leader in educational, reference and home productivity software and the world’s second largest consumer software company, with annual sales over $800 million, 2,000 employees and offices in 15 countries. In 1999, Mattel acquired the company for $4.2 billion.

In 2003, O’Leary co-founded Storage Now, a leading developer of climate controlled storage facilities. Through a series of development projects and acquisitions, Storage Now soon had operations in 11 cities, serving such companies as Merck and Pfizer, and was acquired by In Storage REIT in March 2007 for $110 million.

In 2007, O’Leary became a founding investor and Director of Boston-based Stream Global Services Inc., focused on the growing outsourcing business services market.

Today, O’Leary is the Chairman of O’Shares Investments. He is also the founder and Chief Sommelier of O’Leary Fine Wines, an award-winning wine label, as well as a member of Boston’s 107-year old Hamilton Trust. In addition to Shark Tank, O’Leary is a regular contributor on ABC, CNBC and CTV, and a bestselling author of two books: Cold Hard Truth and Men, Women and Money, and Cold Hard Truth on Family, Kids and Money.

O’Leary holds a B.A. in environmental studies and psychology from the University of Waterloo and an MBA from the Richard Ivey School of Business, where he serves as a board member.

Graci Harkema is the owner of Graci LLC, multi-award winning, international diversity, equity & inclusion consulting firm. She specializes in implicit bias training and public speaking focused on inclusive leadership and belonging from the Fortune 500 to small businesses, within various industries throughout North America and Europe. Graci is recognized as a two-time ‘40 Under Forty Business Leader of West Michigan’, two-time ‘200 Most Powerful Business Leaders of West Michigan’ honoree and named one of the '50 Most Influential Women in West Michigan'. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Communications from Grand Valley State University. Graci is the author of her forthcoming memoir, 'Rising: From a Mud Hut to the Boardroom - Back Again'. For more information about Graci, visit graciharkema.com or follow her on Instagram @thegraciharkema. 

Keren Maldonado joined SHRM two years ago after an exciting career focused on international markets including Latin America, Europe, Middle East, and Africa.  Keren has lived stateside in Miami, and as a two-time expatriate, she has lived abroad in Antwerp, Belgium, and London. Throughout her career, she has led different regional teams in building compensation and benefits programs on a regional and global scale. She has also adapted frameworks for local regulations and culture and driven change to improve employee work experience. Now, Keren is leading the evolution of the SHRM employee rewards experience by remodeling SHRM’s programs for the diversified talent that strengthens the organization.

Brian McComak is a consultant, speaker, author, and facilitator with over 25 years of experience in DEI, HR, culture, change management, internal communications, and employee experience. He is an openly gay man and a person with a disability who shares his lived experiences in service of fostering workplaces where humans thrive.

​Before starting Hummingbird Humanity, he was the Global Head of Inclusion for Tapestry – the home of Coach, Kate Spade & Stuart Weitzman – where he designed and launched the company’s DEI strategy. He put Tapestry ‘on the map’ as a great place for inclusion, earning recognition from the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index, Women in the Workplace and Forbes’ Best Places to Work for Diversity.

​​Brian has also worked in leadership roles at leading global companies including The Walt Disney Company, L’Oreal, and Christie’s Auction House. His experience spans a diverse variety of industries including fashion/retail, hospitality, auction, entertainment/media and he has consulted with organizations in technology, financial services, media and non-profit.​

Brian is a frequent guest on podcasts where he shares his passion for creating human-centered workplace cultures. Recent appearances include Jennifer Brown’s The Will to Change, Surabhi Lal’s SIPS & Leadership and Nikki Lewallen’s Gut+Science.

​Brian holds a master’s degree in Human Resources and Change Management from the University of Central Florida and a bachelor’s degree from the University of South Florida in Management and Marketing. 

​Join Brian in working to create a world where we accept each other, celebrate our differences, and recognize that we truly are #bettertogether.

JD Valladares-Williams (he/they) is a DEI Consultant, Instructional Designer, and Activist who helps small to large companies unpack conversations around historically excluded identities and equips them with tools to become agents of change. Previous partnerships include the NYC Dept. of Education & It Gets Better Project focusing on LGBTQ+ history, activism, and inclusivity in schools. JD has also led workshops for Spain's Ministry of Culture in Madrid on cultural competency and increased awareness of social issues. JD enjoys cooking, traveling, and writing about their experiences as a Queer, Latine, Immigrant growing up in the American suburbs.