Professional Development

Rubens Pessanha, GPHR, PMP, MBA, is global market researcher at the HR Certification Institute and a doctoral candidate in Human Resources Development at The George Washington University. Since 1998, he has been involved with internationalization of organizations; more specifically he has conducted the start-up of French organizations in Brazil. He has also participated in the start up of several internet companies in Brazil and of a new management journal for the South Asia Region. Rubens has almost 15 years of experience working with strategic planning, marketing research, business development, organizational development and change. He has been a speaker at the 2011 SHRM Annual Conference, 2010 ASTD International Conference, the 2009 Academy of Human Resource Development International Conference and the 2009 Academy of Management Annual Meeting. His areas of interest include internationalization of organizations, marketing research, cross-cultural communication, global mindsets, strategic thinking, self-directed-learning and action learning. Rubens has written several research articles on HR trends for SHRM and co-authored a paper on experiences that develop strategic thinking skills. An active volunteer, Rubens has held leadership positions at GWU student association, COPPEAD former Master students association and the Rio de Janeiro Chapter of the Brazilian HR Association. Rubens is currently a member of the Project Management Institute, SHRM, American Marketing Association and Marketing Research Association.

Stefanie began her career as an executive assistant for four years holding various roles at Viacom/MTV Networks/Nickelodeon, where she quickly learned how to be a "human resource", becoming known as her teams’ “go-to-person.”  After 4 years at Viacom and an exploratory vacation to Italy, in April of 2010 Stefanie saw at tweet for a Business Assistant position at Mashable and was hired at the time when the company was transitioning its 15 remote employees to its first-ever office.

Stefanie grew with the company and recognized the need for Human Resources, proposing that she be charged with creating the department.  In April 2011, Stefanie's wish was granted and she has been building Mashable's HR infrastructure ever since as head of HR. She works with Mashable’s leadership team to ensure that human resource programs and projects align with strategic business goals and operational objectives. To support Mashable’s unique and evolving company culture, she creates internal organizational strategy and policies, recruits and develops talent, cultivates employee engagement and manages company benefits.

 Stefanie earned a B.S. in Human Development from Cornell University. Find Stefanie on Twitter at @StefanieRennert or on Facebook at fb.com/stefanierennert or via email at stefanie@mashable.com

George Fleming is the founder of InsightAction and is an executive coach, consultant and trainer to several Fortune 500 companies. George began his career with General Electric before moving into marketing with several Fortune 500 firms including Hewlett-Packard, Amazon, and Lucent Technologies. George combines the problem solving expertise of his Mechanical Engineering degree, his skills as an accredited corporate coach and organizational trainer and his understanding of human performance through his Masters in Psychology. George's expertise is in the areas of leadership, creating inspired workplaces, employee engagement and team performance. Using highly interactive, humorous, rich-content and relevant programs, George makes sure every event is a breakthrough for attendees! George is consistently one of the highest-rated speakers at both state and national SHRM events. George’s clients include Roche Pharmaceutical, RE/MAX, Genentech, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Penn State University, Square D and Volvo.

Dr. Kimberly Alyn is a human behavior expert, a best-selling author, and an international professional speaker. She is the author of eleven books including "Building Better Teams," "How to Inspire People to Achieve More," "How to Give a Butt Kicking Presentation," and "Discover Your Inner Strength" (with contributors Stephen Covey, Ken Blanchard, and Brian Tracy). An advocate of life long learning, Dr. Alyn has her bachelors degree in business management, her masters degree in organizational management, and her doctorate degree in organizational management with a specialty in leadership. Dr. Alyn has over 20 years of experience with speaking, training, educating, and entertaining audiences.

Dr. Kimberly Alyn is a human behavior expert, a best-selling author, and an international professional speaker. She is the author of eleven books including "Building Better Teams," "How to Inspire People to Achieve More," "How to Give a Butt Kicking Presentation," and "Discover Your Inner Strength" (with contributors Stephen Covey, Ken Blanchard, and Brian Tracy). An advocate of life long learning, Dr. Alyn has her bachelors degree in business management, her masters degree in organizational management, and her doctorate degree in organizational management with a specialty in leadership. Dr. Alyn has over 20 years of experience with speaking, training, educating, and entertaining audiences.

Dr. David Rock coined the term 'Neuroleadership’ and is the CEO of the NeuroLeadership Institute, a global initiative bringing neuroscientists and leadership experts together to build a new science for leadership development. With operations in 24 countries, the Institute also helps large organizations operationalize brain research in order to develop better leaders and managers. David co-edits the NeuroLeadership Journal and heads up an annual global summit. He has written many of the central academic and discussion papers that have defined the Neuroleadership field.

Todd Hunt speaks to groups that want to add fun to their conferences and send members back to work smiling — with tips to improve communication and success. As an executive at Ogilvy & Mather, one of the world’s largest advertising agencies, he learned the inner workings of communication. Additional positions with an insurance administrator, direct marketing company and national retailer confirmed what he had suspected all along -- people miscommunicate every day! Now a business humorist, Todd’s communication lessons wrapped in laughter have inspired people from such organizations as Hallmark, Fujitsu, Prudential Financial, BlueCross BlueShield, Community Associations Institute, Meeting Professionals International…and now SHRM!

As a Business Strategist and Executive Coach, LaFern Batie leads The Batie Group, LLC, a business consulting and leadership development firm serving organizations around the globe. With extensive Fortune 500 corporate leadership experience and widely recognized expertise, she works with international organizations and leaders across diverse industries to maximize their collective and individual performance. Leaders value her high business acumen, ability to quickly connect with teams, thorough and efficient approach to identifying challenges and commitment to helping them achieve results that exceed their expectations. 

Follow LaFern on Twitter @LaFernBatie.