As business team lead, Kelly Yamanouchi edits and write business stories. She started at the AJC in 2008, joining the paper from the Denver Post. She has a bachelor's degree from Harvard University and a master's degree in journalism from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.

Carrie Teegardin is a reporter and part of the investigative team at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. She is a graduate of Duke University and has won numerous national journalism awards. She was a lead reporter on the AJC's award-winning Unprotected series, which prompted Georgia to reform its requirements for senior care homes in 2020. She was a lead reporter on the AJC's Doctors & Sex Abuse national investigation, which was a Pulitzer finalist. She was a lead reporter on the AJC’s Borrower Beware series, which won a Gerald Loeb award in 2006. She has written extensively about health care, unfair business practices and the criminal justice system.

Robin Patton is the Head of Global Employee Relations at Toast, Inc., where she leads the Employee Relations Center of Excellence (COE). She is responsible for developing scalable solutions that support Toast’s diverse employee populations and evolving business needs across both US and Global functions. Robin has deep expertise in workplace investigations, complex performance management, conflict resolution, and management training for all levels. She is passionate about developing resilient leaders and establishing HR frameworks that promote a positive approach to workplace conflict.

Before joining Toast, Robin held progressive Employee Relations roles at The Coca-Cola Company, Emory University, and Nike. Prior to her career as an Employee Relations leader, Robin was a practicing employment attorney at Jones Day and Powell Goldstein in Atlanta, GA, and served as Senior Employment - Assistant General Counsel at Macy’s.

Robin earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Relations from Mills College and a Juris Doctor degree from Duke University School of Law. She also served as a judicial law clerk for the Honorable Richard C. Erwin, Chief Judge, M.D.N.C. Federal District Court in Winston-Salem, NC. A native New Yorker who now resides in Atlanta, GA, Robin is an avid reader who also enjoys knitting and gardening.

In this role, Melanie is responsible for driving innovative recruitment strategies to meet the talent needs of the Building Automation business through management of Global TA delivery team and RPO partners. She manages a highly complex, matrixed division by partnering with HRLT, business, and functional leaders to meet workforce demands.

In her previous role at Bayer, Melanie was responsible for collaborative strategy and projects across all Centers of Excellence supporting global HR initiatives within Bayer. Melanie was also responsible for managing global budgets, leading Fairness & Respect at Work initiatives, and strategy for the Sr. VP of HR Innovations. Melanie previously led the North America Talent Acquisition team at Monsanto and was responsible for attracting talent to the organization.

Over the years, she has held various roles of increasing responsibility in Human Resources, Talent Acquisition, and temporary labor fields. Melanie has her Master’s Degree from Webster University in Human Resource Management and Development, and a B.S. Degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia in Marketing Education.

Melanie is also very committed to her community. Prior to moving to Atlanta, she was Board Chair for Annie Malone Children & Family Services, Volunteer for United Way Allocations Committee, Co-President & Co-Founder of the Society of Multicultural Professionals in Human Resources, RBC YPN Steering Committee Member, and a part of Cohort 12 of the St. Louis Business Diversity Initiative and St. Louis American Young Leader.

Salvador is the Global Vice President, Human Resources at Newell Brands.

Karen is the Vice President of Benefits at the Waffle House.

James Furnell was appointed to the executive leadership team as Senior Vice President, Global People Experience in November 2025. Mr. Furnell joined Papa Johns in February 2023 as Head of People Experience for the International business, playing a key role in supporting the brand’s transformation and growth, prior to relocating to the Atlanta Headquarters in July 2024 serving as Vice President of Global People Experience. He brings extensive global HR experience and a strong track record in people strategy, organizational transformation, global talent and reward initiatives across complex, multinational organizations. Before joining Papa Johns, Mr. Furnell served as Vice President of Human Resources at MUFG Bank and held several senior and global HR leadership roles at Morgan Stanley and Thomson Reuters, supporting large-scale businesses across multiple regions.

Emily is the Vice President, Global Head of Talent & COO for Green Package and Analytics at BlackRock.

Yasmine Meneses is a Registered Dietitian and healthcare benefits expert with over a decade of experience helping organizations improve employee well-being. Before joining Nutrium, she worked with major firms like Brown & Brown, Aon, and Cigna, supporting employers in building smarter, more sustainable health programs. At Nutrium, Yasmine connects with consultants and HR leaders to bring nutrition-based solutions that drive real results for both employees and organizations.

Nicole Ashe is a transformational Chief People Officer with over 25 years of experience aligning Human Resources strategy with business growth across private equity-backed, public, and family-owned enterprises. She has been recognized for building scalable People infrastructures, leading global workforce transformation, and executing complex M&A integrations with strategic discipline and organizational insight.
Nicole most recently served as Chief People Officer at AssuranceAmerica, a private insurance provider, where she led end-to-end HR strategy-spanning Talent Acquisition, Compensation, L&D, Organizational Design, and Internal Communications. Reporting to the CEO, she reduced turnover by 36%, increased engagement by 40%, and launched a performance-based compensation model tied directly to business KPIs. She also redesigned health and retirement offerings, increasing employee participation by 28%, while reducing overall plan costs.
Previously, Nicole served as a Chief HR Consultant for Lennar and held dual roles as EVP, Chief People Officer and Chief Communications Officer at Iconex, a global manufacturing and technology company with operations in 10 countries. She led the post-acquisition integration of three companies totaling over $200M in revenue and 800+ employees, deploying Workday globally and harmonizing workforce systems, leadership structures, and talent programs to drive scale and cohesion.
Earlier, Nicole progressed through multiple leadership roles at Cox Enterprises, beginning at Manheim and culminating as SVP of Human Resources at Cox Automotive, a $7B global leader in digital automotive services. There, she led five high-complexity M&A integrations, bringing together iconic brands such as Autotrader, Kelley Blue Book, Dealertrack, Dealer.com, and NextGear Capital. She unified 25,000 employees across 80+ global locations, developed an enterprise onboarding platform ("RoadTrip"), and implemented succession, leadership development, and workforce planning strategies aligned to new revenue growth.
Nicole's early foundation in HR and operations was built at NationsBank and Wachovia Bank, where she advanced from managing two high-performing branches to directing regional Human Resources during high-merger activity. At Radiant Systems, a global point-of-sale technology firm, she led international learning and development during a period of expansion and created the company's first revenue-generating client training model.
She has served as Board Co-Chair of Growing Leaders, and as a board member for Visiting Nurse Health and Hospice, Future HR Leaders of Atlanta, and GirlPower of the Southeast. Her work has earned recognition as a Woman of Excellence (Atlanta Tribune Magazine) and a Woman of Distinction (National Coalition of 100 Black Women). Nicole holds a B.S. in Business Administration and Management from South Carolina State University.

Yulia Denisova is VP, Talent and Development at Fanatics Commerce, the leading designer, manufacturer, and seller of licensed fan gear. She has nearly 25 years of HR leadership experience building, empowering, and managing global high-performing teams of varying scale, type, and autonomy.  Prior to joining Fanatics in August 2024, Yulia spent more than 11 years with The Coca-Cola Company where she held HR, talent, and development roles, and reengineered talent practices enterprise wide. Before that, Yulia was with BP (British Petroleum) supporting HR across Russia, Ukraine, Central Asia, and the UK.

A native of Russia, Yulia lived in Eurasia before relocating to Atlanta during her time with The Coca-Cola Company. Yulia received a diploma in Philology and Linguistics at the Institute of Foreign Languages in Moscow.  

Bert Hensley leads Morgan Samuels with a belief that finding exceptional leaders is a mission-critical responsibility—one that requires the same precision, discipline, and grit he developed as a U.S. Army aviator. Over his 25 years at the helm, he has transformed Morgan Samuels into one of the nation’s most respected executive search firms, recognized by Forbes, Hunt Scanlon, and multiple Business Journals for its quality, speed, and client satisfaction. Since acquiring a controlling interest in the firm in 1997, Bert has championed Lean and Six Sigma methodologies to build a world-class search infrastructure defined by operational excellence and a relentless focus on outcomes. His leadership philosophy combines analytical rigor with a deep empathy for people and their goals—an approach that continues to shape the firm’s culture and client relationships. Earlier in his career, Bert was a Vice President and Partner at Korn Ferry International and a General Partner at Meridian Strategies, a strategic consulting and venture management firm spun out of McKinsey & Company. He began his professional journey serving five years in the U.S. Army Aviation Branch, earning the Meritorious Service Medal for his contributions.A lifelong learner and self-described academic at heart, Bert holds a JD from Loyola Law School, an MS in Business Administration from Boston University, and a BS in Engineering from the United States Military Academy at West Point.Based in Nashville, Bert is a member of YPO and serves on the board of Heat Source Energy. Outside of work, he enjoys rebuilding houses, coaching youth sports, and mentoring young soldiers transitioning into civilian life.

Lori Goldberg, Ph.D., is the Global Vice President of Talent for AGCO Corporation. In this role, Lori is responsible for the strategy and execution of the full employee lifecycle for 25K employees across 26 countries globally. This includes the functions of employer brand, talent acquisition, early career talent, onboarding experience, learning and development, DE&I, performance management, talent and succession planning, strategic workforce planning, employee experience, organizational culture and listening.  Prior to her role at AGCO, she led the Enterprise Talent Solutions function for Cox Enterprises for 10 years, responsible for enterprise-wide talent strategies, processes and programs that support cross-divisional business needs as well as future growth objectives across the family of companies (approximately 55K employees).  Lori joined Cox from Boston Consulting Group where she supported the development of the firm’s intellectual property around talent management and leadership.  Prior to that, she was a Senior Consultant at Personnel Decisions International where she consulted with Fortune 500 companies on talent management, leadership development, executive coaching, workforce and succession planning, and executive assessment.   She holds a Bachelor’s in Psychology from the University of Florida, and a Master’s and Ph.D. in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from the Pennsylvania State University.