Marina Vassilev drives performance, profitability, and growth as the senior executive leader of Total Rewards for global organizations. She translates business vision and goals into actionable Total Rewards strategies and innovative programs that attract talent, engage employees, and maximize retention. Delivering strategies that balance employee priorities with cost targets, Marina optimizes a company’s investment in its people. She is equally adept at architecting and operationalizing value-add solutions, and she leads cross-functional teams to create, implement, and drive awareness of the programs that comprise a strong employee value proposition to gain advantage in competitive markets and industries.

Lauren Duprey is the chief human resources officer of Takeda with responsibility for delivering an exceptional people experience across the globe. She joined Takeda in August 2019 as head of Human Resources (HR) for the U.S. Business Unit, Global Product & Launch Strategy and the U.S. People Advisory Group. Since joining Takeda, Lauren has implemented a global transformation of HR, including a new operating model, structure, capabilities and technology.

Prior to joining Takeda, Lauren served as head of HR, U.S. Organization & Worldwide Medical at Biogen where she developed and drove the talent and organization strategy and served as a trusted advisor for key business, talent and organizational decisions. She has held various HR roles at companies such as General Electric and began her career in management consulting at Clarion Healthcare focused on biopharma commercialization.

Lauren holds a bachelor’s degree in biology from Harvard University and an MBA from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Sloan School of Management.

Lauren is based in Boston where she lives with her husband and three children.

Erika Marder is Head of Global Human Resources for R&D at Takeda Pharmaceuticals. In her current role, she is responsible for developing and implementing the R&D people agenda with a focus on organizational evolution, change management, inclusion, diversity, employee and leadership development, and succession planning.

Erika has been with Takeda since November 2001, serving in a variety of human resources business partner roles within the commercial organization and across several corporate functions. Throughout her nearly 24-year tenure with Takeda, she has held roles with increasing responsibility. In 2009, as part of the Global Talent Planning team, she established comprehensive and scalable talent and performance management processes that have been implemented globally across all regions. In July 2013, Erika was appointed Director of Talent Planning and she and her family relocated to Tokyo, Japan. Shortly thereafter, she was named Head of Global Talent Management where she formalized Takeda’s executive succession planning process, developed an Accelerator program for promising early career talent and co-led the development of Takeda’s Leadership Behaviors. In June 2016, Erika joined the Research &Development organization leading the Global Human Resources function.

She is based in Takeda’s Cambridge, MA office and lives with her husband, 2 children and hairless dog, Sakura in Harvard, MA. Her hobbies include traveling with her family and reading.

Ankit Saxena is the Global Head of People Insights and HR Technology at PPG Industries. 

Zach Smith is the Chief Activation Officer + Co-Founder of Activate 180. He has been a trusted voice in mindset, career optimization, and leadership coaching for over 10 years. Zach has coached thousands of employees across mid-market and enterprise-level organizations, aligning their careers with true calling and passion to create total life fulfillment.

Before becoming an award-winning coach, Zach spent more than 10 years in senior marketing and client relationship management roles for well-known, international consumer beverage brands. Zach trained with the Erikson International Coaching, graduating from their highest-level course. He is a sought-after keynote speaker who regularly appears before audiences at industry conferences and events.

Zach currently resides in San Diego, California with his partner Rachel. He has a passion for an active lifestyle, photography, art, travel, and sports like rock climbing, snowboarding, and yoga. Zach received a bachelor’s degree in business marketing from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Brie Harvey is a talent management leader and digital strategist who writes and speaks about trends within Human Capital Management and the future of work.

Having served in a variety of leadership roles for HR Technology companies over the last decade, she brings expert level knowledge of Total Rewards, L&D, talent acquisition, and how to cultivate workplace cultures that transform employee engagement and the Employee Value Proposition.

Passionate about the intersection between behavioral science, managerial effectiveness and technology, Brie has partnered with some of the world’s largest, most complex organizations to build high performance cultures centered around authentic appreciation, trust and inclusion.

In her role as an Employee Engagement Evangelist, Brie works with the research arm of Achievers, the Workforce Institute, to share data-based insights about how to enhance employee engagement and recognition strategies for a pandemic-era workplace.

Heather Conklin is CEO of Torch and a recognized leader in building human-centered systems that unlock potential at scale. She believes the future of work isn’t about choosing between human capability and technology—it’s about designing the conditions where both can thrive together. At Salesforce, she led Trailhead from startup to a global learning ecosystem serving millions, proving that when you put people first, technology becomes a force multiplier for growth. Her pioneering work creating talent development programs has shaped how organizations think about building capability in an era of constant change. At Torch, she’s focused on making coaching the catalyst that helps leaders navigate complexity and drive real business outcomes.

Michelle Randall-Berry leads the global talent team at Teradyne, where she is responsible for creating and executing the company’s talent strategy. Her team focuses on attracting diverse talent, fostering a culture of inclusion, supporting employee development, and ensuring that teams perform at their best. Michelle’s goal is to help employees reach their full potential and support the long-term success of Teradyne’s global workforce.

With a data-informed leadership style, Michelle uses metrics to measure team performance, improve the hiring process, and ensure Teradyne stands out in the competitive talent market. She is passionate about finding new ways to attract, develop and retain top talent to meet the changing needs of the business.

Michelle joined Teradyne in 2022, bringing extensive experience from previous leadership roles, including Global Head of Talent Acquisition at IGT, a leading gaming and entertainment company. She also held key positions at Iron Mountain leading executive recruiting and Fidelity Investments, where she led talent acquisition program management for the Asset Management division.

Outside of work, Michelle is actively involved in mentoring and community initiatives. She serves on the Alumni Board at Anna Maria College, and coaches students through Braven, an organization that helps underrepresented young adults transition from college to career.

Michelle holds a bachelor’s in social work from Anna Maria College, a master’s in management from Lesley University, and completed the Fostering Diversity and Inclusion Program at Yale School of Management

Adi Ignatius is Editor at Large of the Harvard Business Review Group, where he oversees the editorial activities of HBR, hbr.org, and HBR’s book-publishing unit. Prior to joining HBR in 2009, Mr. Ignatius was the No. 2 editor at TIME.

He is the editor of two books: President Obama: The Path to the White House and Prisoner of the State: The Secret Diaries of Premier Zhao Ziyang. Both made the New York Times Bestseller List.

Mr. Ignatius lived and worked for nearly 20 years overseas. He was Editor of Time’s Asian edition and earlier served as Beijing Bureau Chief and Moscow Bureau Chief for the Wall Street Journal.

John Grossman, PT, DPT is a Clinical Specialist at Sword Health. 

Parker Pell, a Gen Z leader and co-founder of Abode, has quickly established himself as an authority on early talent engagement. With over four years of dedicated experience in campus recruiting and Gen Z research, he brings both professional expertise and lived generational insight to the conversation. Parker has presented widely on how employers can better attract, engage, and retain the newest generation of talent. His focus is on bridging the gap between emerging job seekers and the organizations eager to welcome them, while drawing on his expertise in candidate engagement, program design, and conversion best practices to help companies build programs that are both impactful and scalable.

Nick Taylor is a Clinical psychologist, CEO and Co-Founder of the workplace mental health platform, Unmind. 

Edward Zaval is the Chief Customer Officer at DailyPay.

Amy Bernstein is Editor in Chief of Harvard Business Review, where she leads HBR’s editorial teams across the magazine, HBR.org, and HBR Press. She was previously the Editor of HBR’s magazine, which received two National Magazine Award nominations for general excellence during her tenure. Since 2020, she has also led the editorial strategy and content development for HBP’s Corporate Learning and Higher Education businesses. She was also cohost of HBR’s Women at Work podcast. Prior to joining HBR in 2011, Bernstein was Vice President, Global Thought Leadership at ManpowerGroup, and before that, she served as Executive Editor at strategy+business. She also held senior editorial positions at Business 2.0, The Industry Standard, Brill’s Content, and U.S. News & World Report.

Casey (Cullinan) Schepers is the leader of the Norton LifeLock Benefit Solutions division at Gen, which is focused on delivering digital wellness solutions through benefit producers to employer’s benefit packages. To date, this division provides
identity protection, device security, and online privacy solutions to employees at over 10,000 employers. 
 
Casey has over 14 years of experience leading the growth of the identity protection category and oversees the sales, partner success & service, marketing, product design, enrollment, and financial operations for one of the fastest growing areas of Gen’s partner sales community.   Before her role at Gen, she previously worked in retirement, medical, non-medical, and worksite sales at Principal Financial Group, UnitedHealthcare, and a large national general agency.  Casey currently resides the greater Minneapolis, Minnesota area with her husband Dan.

Laura Welz, VP of Total Rewards, creates and executes total rewards strategies that support Sun Life’s business goals and strategic approach to purpose-driven work. Laura’s team is responsible for designing and delivering comprehensive rewards experiences for employees, with a focus on access to care, simplifying the benefits experiences, and employee engagement.

With more than 25 years of diverse experience in Human Resources, Laura is committed to a benefits and total rewards strategy that continuously evolves to meet employees where they are. At Sun Life,

Laura oversees the management and enhancement of existing benefits, including the company’s generous Paid Family and Medical Leave. She has also been instrumental in introducing innovative new offerings such as menopause and family building benefits, ensuring that Sun Life’s total rewards package remains responsive to emerging employee needs and benefit trends.

Prior to joining Sun Life in 2017, Laura held management roles at Dunkin’ Brands in HR and employee compensation. Her HR business partner experience spans a broad range of industries, including financial services, medical devices, and food service.

Laura holds a Master’s Degree in human resources management from Lesley University and a Bachelor’s Degree in business management from Plymouth State University.

Katie Johnston writes about work and income inequality for the Boston Globe. She also edits the Globe's annual Top Places to Work magazine. Katie has been at the Globe since 2002, where she has also worked as a copy editor, entertainment editor, music editor, and travel/workplace reporter. She previously worked at The Gazette in Colorado Springs and the Itemizer-Observer in Dallas, Ore., and has a bachelor's degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Diana is the VP, Talent Acquisition at DraftKings Inc.

Cheri Hurtubise is a passionate strategist dedicated to transforming how organizations attract, engage, and retain talent. With deep expertise in early-career recruitment, she views emerging talent as a critical strategic lever that fuels long-term business success and innovation. As a proud native New Englander turned world traveler, Cheri brings a blend of regional roots and global perspective to her work. She balances her energetic professional life with her role as a devoted dog mom, always reminding herself that curiosity, loyalty, and persistence are not just great in pets — they’re essential in people strategy. Cheri currently serves as the Head of University & Diversity Recruiting, Americas for Siemens Healthineers and previously held leadership roles in the early careers space for Atlassian, Chewy, and Liberty Mutual Insurance. She holds a BA from Wheaton College in Massachusetts, and a MS in Strategic Communications Management from Simmons University in Boston.

Janelle Nanos is a business enterprise reporter at The Boston Globe, where she writes features, investigations, and projects that aim to dive deep into the ideas and trends that drive Boston’s economy. She also serves as the assistant business editor for news innovation, where she works to expand the Globe's business coverage across platforms. She's the host of the Bold Types video series of interviews with Boston business leaders, and is co-author of the longstanding feature "On the Street" which explores the changing face of Greater Boston's neighborhoods.

In 2023, Janelle was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in feature reporting for her decade-long investigation into a woman's allegations of childhood sexual abuse. She was also the recipient of the Dart Award for Excellence in the Coverage of Trauma; the Society for Features Journalism's narrative storytelling award; the Society of Professional Journalists' Sigma Delta Chi Award for magazine investigative reporting; and the Online Journalism Award for Large Newsroom Feature reporting.

Janelle's reporting has also received honors from the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing, where she is currently a board member, and the North American Travel Journalists Association. She has worked previously at Boston Magazine, National Geographic Traveler, and New York Magazine. Originally from Long Island, New York, Janelle got her start in journalism as an undergraduate at Boston College, and received her masters in journalism from New York University. She has since returned to her alma mater and has been teaching journalism courses at Boston College for over a decade. She can be reached at janelle.nanos@globe.com.

Seth Macdonald is an Employee Gifting Specialist with Corporate Traditions, a gifting company that helps organizations celebrate and appreciate their people in meaningful ways. Known for his upbeat energy and genuine approach to connecting with others, Seth has helped countless HR teams turn their employee recognition programs into something people actually look forward to with more options and no fee, contracts or order minimums.

From providing better options than frozen turkeys for holidays or buying gift cards at the grocery store for work anniversaries, Seth believes great gifting should make people smile — and make HR’s job a whole lot easier.

When he’s not helping companies bring joy to their teams, you’ll find Seth at HR conferences, sharing laughs, swapping ideas, and handing out good vibes (and maybe a few extra $25 Gift Card+s).

Paris Alston is co-host of Morning Edition and The Wake Up podcast at GBH News. She previously was a host of the NPR podcast “Consider This,” produced in conjunction with GBH and WBUR.

Paris also served as the host of GBH’s digital series Keep it Social about social media trends targeted at millennial and Gen Z audiences. Prior to that, she broke into the industry as an intern at UNC-TV in North Carolina and NBC10-Philadelphia. She has also told stories from Southeast Asia, Morocco, Panama and Brazil.

A North Carolina native, Paris is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she studied media and journalism and global studies. She is currently pursuing a social impact MBA at Boston University. She is a member of the Boston and National Associations of Black Journalists and has worked extensively with print, digital, video, audio and social media.

Scott D. Anthony is a Clinical Professor at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College, where he focuses on the adaptive challenges of disruptive change. Scott’s latest book is Epic Disruptions: 11 Innovations That Shaped Our Modern World. Thinkers50 named him the world’s ninth most influential thinker in 2023 and the world’s leading innovation thinker in 2017.

Tyler Spendlove is a Sales Director at Perfect Feast.