Lydia Dishman is Fast Company’s senior editor for growth and engagement. She has also written for CBS Moneywatch, Fortune, The Guardian, Popular Science, and the New York Times, among others.

Nicole Underwood is the VP, Human Resources Business Partners & Operations at Getty Images.

Gary is the head of executive recruiting at Humana, the fifth-largest health insurance company by membership in the U.S., offering coverage for more than 20 million Americans. The Louisville-based company ranks No. 40 on the Fortune 500, with revenues of more than $83 billion and 95,000 employees.

Gary has more than 20 years of recruiting experience across sectors such as financial services, high tech and industrial. Throughout his career, Gary has a reputation as a talent magnate, and this has enabled him to build exceptional teams and foster professional and personal development for his team members.

Before joining Humana this year, Gary was director of global talent sourcing and executive recruiting at WestRock Co. There he led the transition from an out-sourced RPO recruiting model to an in-house model. He also stood up the talent sourcing and exec-recruiting teams and delivered over $2.5 million in cost savings annually. Gary was also a key sponsor and driver in the implementation of new TA technology and processes.

Before joining WestRock, Gary held talent acquisition leadership roles at Verint Systems and Morgan Stanley. Gary has a passion for Diversity, Inclusion, Equity & Belonging and across his career he has evolved and operationalized strategies that addressed diversity gaps, pipelines and hires across the enterprise. He also has a knack for understanding business drivers and enterprise initiatives and how to translate these into recruiting strategies.

Gary has an MBA degree from Kaplan University.

As a native North Carolinian, Courtney was raised in an equitable ecosystem of urban and rural life; embracing a legacy of what it means to be Tarheel born and Tarheel bred.

As a global business leader, executive coach, consultant, speaker, and community advocate, finding his purpose in life was an incredible alarm clock; leading to his life quote “If your presence doesn’t make an impact, then your absence won’t make a difference.” Currently, he serves as the head of North America human resources and global diversity, equity, and inclusion for BASF Agricultural
Solutions.

Having worked with top-tier organizations, across multiple industries, for more than two decades, Courtney’s career has been focused on helping people and organizations unleash greater potential, innovation, and performance to deliver sustainable social and economic impact.

Aimée Meher-Homji is the SVP of Global Talent Acquisition at Nielsen. 

Sahana is the global head of HR for wealth technology and engineering & architechture for Citigroup. Founder of Unveiled: Bridging the Gap to Sponsorship, Sahana is a visionary global HR leader known for her dedication to driving commercial success and fostering impactful partnerships across sectors. With a wealth of experience, she has consistently exhibited bold leadership, leveraging innovative solutions and strategic data-driven decision-making to propel organizations forward. As a results-driven HR leader, Sahana has demonstrated success in leading talent strategies as organizations grew organically or through mergers and acquisitions. Her integrative approaches, centered around operationalizing vision and behaviors, have been instrumental in creating scalable and sustainable operating models.

With a Bachelor's degree in Applied Electronics and Instrumentation Engineering from India, a Masters in Human Resource Management from Rutgers University, and a SHRM SCP certification, Sahana combines technical expertise with a profound understanding of human capital dynamics. Her bold data driven leadership has earned her recognition as Crain’s NY 2022 Notable HR Leaders, invitation-based memberships on Forbes HR Council and Chief. Sahana is a sought-after speaker and has authored three articles in 2022, each highlighting bold approaches for operationalizing equitable and inclusive cultures within organizations. Her exceptional ability to navigate the ever-evolving technology landscape, particularly in times of significant disruption, positions her as a thought leader on topics such as "Managing the Whatifs: Adaptability, Agility, and Scenario Planning", "Advantage HR”, “Humanizing Technology”, “Balancing Tech vs Process”, and others showcasing her deep understanding of innovation and its transformative impact. Apart from contributions to her profession, Sahana volunteers for Imagine, a Center for Coping with Loss, and is an #IamRemarkable facilitator.

Isobel Lincoln is Senior Vice President of Human Resources at Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield  (URW) in the U.S where she supports the company’s high-performing teams throughout the  U.S. portfolio and Los Angeles headquarters. URW owns, develops and operates sustainable,  high-quality real estate assets in the most dynamic cities in Europe and the United States. 

Along with the U.S. leadership team, Isobel leverages internal talent and encourages and  fosters an inclusive, transparent and empowered culture. Her group is responsible for recruiting,  training, supporting and developing employees at all levels to support the company’s evolution  from legacy shopping malls to multi-faceted mixed-use lifestyle destinations.  

Driven by the opportunity to empower leaders and teams, Isobel and her colleagues have  innovated internal processes and systems to streamline decision making and focus energy on  our retail partners, customers, and flagship redevelopment projects. Isobel and her team  oversee URW Academy, a learning and development platform providing training while sharing  best practices to support the company’s objectives. This is a passion for Isobel, and she strives  to build a partnership with every employee throughout the life cycle of their career by providing  various touch points and development opportunities to help them reach their full potential. 

Isobel started with URW in 2020 as Vice President of Human Resources and Talent  Development before being promoted to her current position. She has spent her career building  teams and implementing strategic and creative solutions for companies in tech, entertainment  and finance industries including Warner Bros., Netflix, The TCW Group, Universal Music Group  and 21st Century Fox. She most recently was the Senior Director of People for Tala where she  headed up Global Organization Effectiveness and People Business Partner Group for North and  South America. Isobel holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Southern California.

Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza is a freelance journalist and From Day One contributing editor who writes about work, the job market, and women’s experiences in the workplace. Her work has appeared in the BBC, The Washington Post, Quartz at Work, Fast Company, and Digiday’s Worklife.

Ben Sampson is the Chief Evangelist - Social Impact and Employee Engagement, at WizeHive. Ben is a serial entrepreneur, startup advisor, and product management expert. Over the past four years, he has worked with hundreds of Fortune 1000 companies on their CSR strategies with a specific focus on how to maximize employee engagement through high-impact, scalable, volunteer programming. Ben speaks frequently on industry webinars, podcasts, and conferences about the future of corporate volunteerism, how to scale high-impact experiences and the success stories of companies reaching a new level of social impact. Ben is a graduate of the Sustainable Business Strategy program at Harvard Business School and continues to write about new and interesting ways companies can maximize social change. 

Rosey Rhyne is a senior research manager on DDI’s Center for Analytics and Behavioral Research (CABER) team. With an exceptional background in the field of I/O psychology and a wealth of invaluable expertise gained through a dynamic career in HR, Rosey is passionate about uncovering insights and opportunities to better improve the leadership experience through research. Rosey recently co-authored the largest leadership study of its kind, DDI’s Global Leadership Forecast 2023 that focuses on top global trends and actionable insights to prepare organizations for leadership challenges ahead.

Kristy has 15 years of experience as a Strategic Human Resource Leader, Change Manager and Organizational Development Expert. She has served in senior leadership positions throughout her career – most notably with Pearson Education and Constant Contact. Kristy brings a big picture perspective and a hands-on, tactical approach to her leadership that she is now bringing to life with SkillCycle (where she is the CEO & Co- Founder). Kristy’s goal is to help and educate companies to meet their ultimate goals by empowering their employees to take ownership of their career.

Shashank Bhushan is the  Chief Talent Development Architect at BMC Software.

Rebecca Warren is the Director of Talent Centered Transformation, at Eightfold AI and has been in and around the TA space for 15+ years at a variety of organizations and industries in both full-time and consulting roles. She has been at Eightfold for just over a year in customer success and the president of the Arizona Recruiters Networking Community (part of the Recruiters Network) and is passionate about helping people succeed.

Emily Diaz (she/her) is the VP of Transform. Since joining the 15Five’s founding team in 2013, she has served as close advisor, facilitator, and coach for companies across a multitude of industries -- including Aptiv/Hyundai, Capital One, Moderna, and ThermoFisher. Her specialty is supporting people leaders inside rapid growth and volatile environments. She utilizes frameworks of change management and applied learning to help managers make the shift from ‘command and control’ to ‘collaborate and coach’. Emily is a diehard intrapreneur and lover of social science, having earned her BA in Sociology from Bard College, with a specialty in performing arts from NYU’s Tisch School.

Bryan Walsh is an editorial director at Vox overseeing the tech, climate, and world teams, as well as the editor of Vox’s Future Perfect section, which covers the policies, people, and forces that could make the future a better place for everyone. He is the author of the 2019 book End Times: A Brief Guide to the End of the World, which is about existential risks like AI, pandemics, and nuclear war, and isn’t really all that brief. Previously he worked at Axios as the Future Correspondent and worked at TIME magazine for 15 years as a foreign correspondent in Asia, a climate change writer, and as the international editor.

Josh Merrill is the founder and CEO of Confirm. Previously, Josh was Chief Product Officer at Carta, Founder of TapCanvas, and Co-founder of MogoTix. He is also an angel investor in a number of tech startups. He has been building web products since graduating from Carnegie Mellon in 2005.

Maria Gay is the Manager of Customer Stories and Engagement at Care for Business. She works with HR and Business leaders to identify gaps in their benefit strategies, while sharing the stories and outcomes of those who have found success in their program designs.

Jess Brown is the Vice President of Marketing at Cariloop, a comprehensive caregiving solution for employees. With a decade of experience in employer-sponsored caregiving benefits, Jess, has served on the front lines of advocating for working parents and senior caregivers during the most critical waves of change in this industry. Previously at LearnLux, and Care. Com, Jess has demonstrated experience in supporting employers and employees with solutions that both support working families and corporate strategies. 

Heather is a results-driven human resources executive with extensive experience in all facets of human resources, including diversity and inclusion, talent acquisition, leadership development, organizational design, change management, succession planning, learning and development, onboarding, employee relations, EEO/employment law, performance management, engagement, and recognition. Heather leverages practical experience with strong communication skills and business acumen, identifying areas for growth and leading cross-functional teams to implement operational improvements, leveraging LEAN/Six Sigma and Agile tools and techniques. She possesses a proven track record of developing and executing best-in-class global talent strategies, contributing to sustainable, long-term growth of any organization. She partners with leaders at all levels to design talent and risk mitigation strategies across the full life cycle of talent management. Heather is a best-in-class advisor, manager, leader, teacher, coach and mentor.