HR practice is on a path of rapid innovation driven by prominent thought leaders. This summer, our industry research team at Engagedly decided to put together a list of the 100 most influential people in the field of Human Resources for 2017.
HR practice is on a path of rapid innovation driven by prominent thought leaders. This summer, our industry research team at Engagedly decided to put together a list of the 100 most influential people in the field of Human Resources for 2017.
Understanding how crucial human resources is to the business world, we felt it was time to honor the hard work, perseverance, and talent in the field.
Seeing that HR is very broad field, this list aims to encompass all facets of the industry. From CHRO’s of Fortune 500 companies to influential bloggers, we at Engagedly thank you for your dedication and contributions to the field of HR. In addition to creating a diverse list that mimics the HR industry, candidates were selected based on a few other criteria. We looked at the impact they had on their organization, the HR industry, and their communities. Also, we considered research and publications, ingenuity, and past experience.
Learn more about the Top 100 HR Influencers of 2017 by hovering over their pictures and exploring their Linkedin, Twitter, and personal and/or company websites.
Lou Adler is the Founder and CEO of the Adler Group, a consulting firm focused on helping clients implement performance based hiring systems. Some of their clients include LinkedIn, Disney, McKinsey, and more.
Prior to his work with the Adler Group, Adler was the VP at The Allen Group and Director of Business Operations at Rockwell International. He is also the author of the Amazon Top 10 Bestsellers Hire with Your Head and The Essential Guide for Hiring and Getting Hired.
Marc Allen is a professor, consultant, author, researcher and so much more. He is a faculty member in the Department of Organizations and Management at Pepperdine University’s Graziadio School of Business and Management. As an award winning professor, he teaches classes on Leadership, Management, and more. Furthermore, he is a senior associate with the Kiely Group, a firm focused on organizational effectiveness, and a Senior Faculty member at the Human Capital Institute.
He is also a successful consultant, having worked with companies such as Boeing, the L.A.P.D., AT&T, etc. Additionally, Allen is a talented author and has written many articles and books including Aha Moments in Talent Management.
David Almeda is the Chief People Officer at Kronos, a workforce management company. Almeda is tasked with overseeing all of Kronos’ human resource operations worldwide. More specifically, some of his responsibilities include talent acquisition and development, employee engagement, maintaining the company culture, and compensation.
Prior to joining Kronos, Almeda was the VP of Global Human Resources at Staples. In addition to his work for Kronos, he is on the board of Directors of the New England Human Resources Association and is an advisory board member of the University of Pennsylvania’s (Wharton) Executive Program in Work Based Learning Leadership.
David Anderson is aiming to improve human resource practices to fit the modern world. In an attempt to modernize HR, he is using more analytical and digital tools as well as creating a system of treating employees of varying generations differently in order to improve engagement.
He is currently the Chief People Officer at Tribune Media, an 8500-person television and digital media company. He is trying to modernize and simplify their HR practices as well as utilize an outcome focused benefit program to boost employee performance.
David Ayre has over 20 years of experience in human resources and consulting. He is currently the Executive VP of Global Human Resources at NIKE, Inc. His work with Nike is centered mainly around talent management, development, and retention.
Prior to joining Nike, Ayre was a part of PepsiCo, where he headed the Talents and Rewards functions. His work involved being responsible for the compensation and benefits policy setting, plan design and administration for 160,000 employees worldwide.
Josh Bersin spent the beginning of his career working on product management, marketing, sales, and writing before beginning to focus on human resources.
He then founded Bersin and Associates which was later acquired by Deloitte and renamed Bersin by Deloitte. Bersin by Deloitte is a research based advisory segment of Deloitte Consulting LLP which offers clients an accumulation of research on leadership development, training procedures, talent management and more. One of Bersin’s most famous research findings is The Five Elements of a “Simply Irresistible” Organization, a list of 5 suggestions for a company to be successful and appeal to talent.
Tony Bingham is the current President and CEO of the Association for Talent Development (ATD), a network of over 39,000 talent development professionals.
He helped the organization through a major transitional period a few years ago, moving from the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD) to Association for Talent Development (ATD) in order to have a stronger global presence and engage with a worldwide network of HR professionals. Now, under his leadership, ATD is more successful than ever with over 120 chapters and 20 international partners.
Meghan Biro is a talent manager, HR technology brand strategist, analyst, and author from Massachusetts. She is the co-founder and CEO of TalentCulture Consulting Group and has helped companies such as Microsoft, IBM, and Google with talent recruitment.
She also hosts the weekly podcast #WorkTrends. TalentCulture’s twitter account, which hosts #WorkTrends, has over 80K followers. She was included in the Huffington Posts Top 100 on Twitter Business, Leadership, and Technology and HR Examiner’s Top 25 HR Trendsetter list.
William Blase is the Senior Executive Vice President of Human Resources at AT&T. He works to satisfy AT&T’s global workforce as well as develop and execute HR strategy. Previously, he was the VP of Labor Relations for AT&T. This year, many AT&T workers went on a strike; however, Blase was able to successfully lessen the tension and ensure that business was back to normal as soon as possible.
In addition to his work at AT&T, he is a member of the board of trustees at St. Louis University and a board member of the Cox School of Business at the Southern Methodist University.
Laszlo Bock has a lot of experience working in human resources. In 2017, he cofounded Humu, a startup aiming to help improve people’s work by using machine learning and science.
Prior to starting Humu, Bock was the Senior VP of People Operations at Google for over 10 years. Additionally, he is the author of the book Work Rules! Insights from Inside Google to Transform How You Live and Lead. This book was named one of the Top 15 Business books of 2015 by Business Insider.
Steve Boese has a lot of experience implementing technology in Human Resources. He is currently Co-Chair of the HR Technology Conference and Tech Editor at LRP Publications. He is also well known in HR for his blog, speaking, and podcasts.
He is the president and founder of H3 HR Advisors, a company that consults with human capital management executives and sponsors his popular podcast, HR Happy Hour Radio Show. Furthermore, he previously worked as the Director of Talent Management and Product Strategy at Oracle.
Marcus Buckingham is an author, entrepreneur, coach, researcher and so much more. His company, The Marcus Buckingham Company, focuses on talent activation, leadership development, performance management, and more. As a writer, he has worked on New York Times’ Bestsellers such as First, Break all the Rules, Now Discover your Strengths, and Standout 2.0. He has also written countless articles for publications such as the Harvard Business Review discussing management styles and developing employee strengths.
As a motivator, Buckingham often gives keynote speeches to large corporations such as Facebook, Coca-Cola, Microsoft, and Disney and is often featured on television programs such as “The Today Show”.
With over 20 years of experience in human resources, Jason Buss is influential in tightening the HR community and spreading the latest research to the public. He currently works as the Vice President of Talent Acquisition for MongoDB, a database helping businesses connect to different applications and software.
Previously, he founded Recruiters.Network, an online community aimed at connecting recruiting and HR professionals. Buss is also the creator and editor of Talent HQ, an online resource that provides readers with a holistic view on talent management and recruiting as well as provides general HR advice. The site reached over 75,000 HR professionals and many other job seekers.
Heidi Capozzi joined Boeing in 2009 after the acquisition of Insitu. She now serves as Boeing’s Senior VP of Human Resources, leading their trainings, talent development, employee relations, compensation, and more.
Previously, Capozzi served as Boeing’s VP of Leadership, Talent Management, and Organization Effectiveness. Her main goal was to identify talent within the organization and develop future leaders for Boeing. In addition, Capozzi also serves as a member of Boeing’s Executive Council.
Matt Charney brings his background in marketing and communications to the HR space through his work on RecruitingDaily. He is the executive editor and head of content for the site, helping to provide companies and individuals with the latest content, analysis, and news in recruiting.
Charney has a passion for human resources, and through his work with RecruitingDaily, he is now able to share that passion with the world.
Allan Church is the face of human resources for PepsiCo. He began working for PepsiCo in December of 2000, and today he serves as their Vice President of Global Talent Assessment and Development. Through his focus on talent management, he has developed assessment and development tools for PepsiCo’s leaders.
Additionally, he has spent time doing HR analytics and teaching as an adjunct professor at Columbia University and other institutions. He also sits on editorial boards of various journals such as Industrial-Organizational Psychology: Practice and Research, the Consulting Psychology Journal, the Journal of Social Psychology etc.
James Citrin is the Senior Director of CEO succession practices at Spencer Stuart, a top management consulting firm focused on executive search, succession planning and more. Citrin has been with the company for over 20 years and has been elected to their board of directors for 18 of those years. He is also a successful author, having written 7 books including the best- seller: The Career Playbook: Essential Advice for Today’s Aspiring Young Professional, You’re in Charge — Now What?
He has been interviewed and referenced by many influential publications such as CNN, the Wall Street Journal, the Harvard Business Review, The New York Times, and more.
Christopher Collins is very influential in academia for his work in industrial organizational psychology and human resources. He is currently an Associate Professor of HR Management at Cornell University.
Additionally, he is also the director of the Center for Advanced Human Resource Studies (CAHRS) at Cornell. CAHRS is Cornell’s home for HR research, striving to connect students and faculty in academia to HR executives from leading companies. In addition to conducting research, teaching, and leading the CAHRS, Collins also serves on the editorial boards of various academic journals, including the Academy of Management Journal and the Journal of Applied Psychology.
Alan Colquitt is the Director of Global Assessment, Organizational Effectiveness, and Workforce Research at Eli Lilly and Company. His team focuses on many different areas of Eli Lilly’s human resources, such as employee assessments, life cycle surveys, research, and global performance management.
As a talent management expert, Colquitt frequently acts as an expert advisor to private and public companies, consulting organizations, professional organizations, and academic institutions as well.
Colquitt also founded Eli Lilly’s Workforce Research Group and Internal Organizational Effectiveness Consulting Group.
Kevin Cox is the Chief Human Resource Officer at American Express. His expertise lies in organizational effectiveness, talent management, and change. He is currently on the Board of Directors of the Corporate Executive Board (CEB) and The Kraft Heinz Co.
He is also the Vice Chairman of the HR Policy Association, a Fellow of the National Association of Human Resources, and on the Advisory Board of Cornell University’s Center for Advanced Human Resource Studies. Prior to joining American Express, he worked at PepsiCo for 16 years in both the HR and Business Development departments.
Tawni Cranz is the Chief Talent Officer at Netflix. She was drawn to Netflix due to their interesting company culture. Her work focuses on upholding this culture, hiring, and maintaining flexibility within the company.
Since joining Netflix in 2007, she has worked diligently to acquire the best possible talent in order to further develop Netflix’s company mission and culture. Prior to her work at Netflix, she was the Director of HR at Bausch & Lomb Holdings.
Dorothy Dalton strives to develop individuals to work across companies internationally. She works independently as a career coach, talent management strategist, and global talent search and researcher. She strives to connect potential workers and companies across the globe to make the recruiting process more successful and efficient.
As the CEO of 3Plus International, she is a key figure in the movement for workplace gender equality as she aims to maximize the potential of females in the workplace. She is also known for her blog posts on hiring bias and the importance of human resources.
Steve Degnan is the Chief Human Resource Officer of Nestlé Purina Pet Care North America. He oversees about 7000 associates across 22 locations in the US, Canada, and Latin America.
His team takes a business focused approach to human resources. Some of his responsibilities include leadership development, organizational design, strategy and HR analytics. He has worked for Nestlé for over 20 years now and loves the team he works with.
Hollie Delaney started her career in human resources in 1996 and is now the Head of People Operations at Zappos, an online retail website.
Within Zappos, she is known for implementing Holacracy, a management system based on distributing authority rather than having specific managers. As a result of the Holocracy management system, in addition to being the Head of People Operations, Delaney also has taken on many more roles within Zappos.
Prior to her work at Zappos, she worked at Wet n Wild, Marshall Retail Group, and Vegas.com.
John Doerr is the President of the RAIN group, a global sales, training, and consulting company. The RAIN group has trained over 500K people from over 62 countries. Doerr has worked with companies ranging from Johnson & Johnson to the London Business School to Lee Hecht Harrison among many others. He is also the co-author of the Wall Street Journal Bestseller Rainmaking Conversations: How to Influence, Persuade, and Sell in Any Situation and Insight Selling: Surprising Research on What Sales Winners Do Differently.
Furthermore, Doerr also serves as the Marketing Committee Chair and Board of Trustees member for the non- profit organization, Mary Ann Morse Healthcare Corporation.
Kris Dunn is influential in the HR field for his work in recruitment. He is currently the Chief Human Resource Officer at Kinetix. Kinetix is a recruitment outsourcing firm for companies that are growing quickly.
They aim to hire talented individuals, and do so quickly and efficiently. In addition to his work at Kinetix, he also writes two separate blogs to build a community around human resources. You can find his blogs at www.hrcapitalist.com and www.fistfuloftalent.com.
Ceree T. Eberly is the SVP and Chief People Officer at the Coca-Cola Company. She joined the Coca-Cola Company in 1990 and has held various leadership positions in her time there.
As CPO, Eberly looks over human resource practices for 150,000 employees across 200 countries and strives to make each employee as productive and high performing as possible. She also served as the Chair of the Board of Trustees for Oglethorpe University, on the AACSB International Business Practices Council and more. Eberly is also a huge advocate for women in the workplace as well as the executive sponsor of Coca-Cola’s Millennial Voices Organization.
Marc Effron has had a large influence in HR through his work as President of The Talent Strategy Group. The Talent Strategy Group helps companies improve the quality of their talent. He also co-founded the Talent Management Institute, an educational program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Effron founded and publishes the Talent Quarterly Magazine. He also co-authored the Harvard Business Review bestselling book One Page Talent Management, which has been very influential in shaping the talent management industry.
As of 2015, Michael Elliott is JetBlue’s Executive Vice President of People. Among his many responsibilities, a few include upholding company culture, talent development, maintaining corporate social responsibility, and more.
Within the company, Elliot is widely revered for his ability to develop talent through leadership that empowers.
He originally joined JetBlue in 2010 as the Vice President of Crew Relations and has been with the company ever since. Before 2010, Elliot worked for Airborne Express/DHL.
Joelle Emerson is influential in the field of Human Resources for striving to improve workplace inclusivity. She was previously part of Equal Rights Advocates, a philanthropic organization focusing on women’s rights, where she represented women in discrimination and sexual harassment cases, among others.
This work inspired her to found Paradigm Strategy Inc., a diversity and inclusion strategy firm. As CEO, she and her team create strategy and implementation plans, do assessments, and lead workshops for different companies so that they may improve their inclusivity policies and culture. Her goal is to make good companies even better by increasing diversity.
Julie Escanilla is the Vice President of Global Talent Acquisition Operations for one of the world’s leading hospitality companies, Marriott International. Her work mainly focuses on advising and consulting with executives and vendors of Marriott International on all matters related to hiring. She also leads a team focused on the acquisition and relocation of talent, globally. Due to the hard work of Escanilla and her team, Marriott was even named one of the Top 100 Companies to Work for by Fortune in 2016.
Craig Fisher works at the intersection of Marketing and Human Resources as an employer branding strategist. He has served as the head of marketing and employer branding at Allegis Global Solutions RPO and as the Director of Employer Brand, Talent Acquisition Marketing, and Hiring for CA Technologies.
His branding methods have been adopted by companies like LinkedIn, Zappos, and more. Additionally, he is a popular keynote speaker at human resources, sales, and social media conferences and the author of the book Inbound Recruiting.
Grant Freeland is a Senior Partner at the Boston Consulting Group. Currently, he is the Global Leader of People and Organizational Practices at BCG. His work focuses on areas such as organizational design and transformations, leadership and company culture.
He was recognized for his work when Consulting Magazine named him one of the Top 25 Consultants of 2017. Before joining BCG in 1989, Freeland was the marketing communications manager at Hewlett-Packard.
Janelle Gale is the Vice President of Human Resources for Facebook. The social media giant employs over 17,000 people across 30 countries. She is in charge of the HR Business Partners, Talent Management, Diversity, and Operation divisions of Facebook’s HR.
Gale is known for trying to maintain transparency and openness within Human Resources, especially when it comes to performance reviews and the overall company culture. In addition to her HR work, Gale also serves on the board of Sughar Foundation, a nonprofit organization teaching rural Pakistani women entrepreneurial and business skills.
Amelia Generalis has a diverse background in human resources, with experience in the software, automotive, and petroleum industries. She is currently working at Model N as the Senior Vice President of Human Resources. Model N is a software company helping life science, manufacturing and technology firms with revenue management.
Previously, she was the VP of Human Resources at Anaplan, a planning and performance management software company.
China Gorman has over 20 years of experience working in human capital management. Early in her career, she served as the CEO of A Great Place to Work Institute. More recently, she has served as the independent director of companies such as PeopleStrong, a leading HR firm based in India, and Motivis Learning, an education management company.
She also serves as a board chair of Universum, a market research company focusing on talent expectations. In addition, she works as an independent human resources consultant for companies both big and small. With all of her experience, she has carved out a niche for herself in the human resources market, with her focus on career transitioning, leadership development, and efficient business models.
Adam Grant has been recognized as both “Wharton’s Top Rated Professor” and one of “The World’s 25 Most Influential Management Thinkers”. In addition to being a professor and businessman, he is also a New York Times Best Selling author with his books Originals and Give and Take. These books focus on helping leaders fight groupthink and the importance of helping others.
He also often gives keynote speeches or writes articles for publications like the New York Times, Harvard Business Review, and more. A few of his consulting clients include Pixar, the NBA, and Johnson & Johnson. Furthermore, he conducts a great deal of research. A few of his findings include the notions that constructive feedback and positive reinforcement should be separated and not sandwiched, that there is no one specific correct work culture, and that reciprocity between givers and takers is crucial to a successful business.
Kevin Grossman is a talent acquisition and human capital strategist with over 18 years of experience. He currently serves as the President of Global Programs for Talent Board HR, a non-profit that provides awards and feedback to organizations.
He has also had a large influence in human resources through his podcasts and talks. He is the producer and host of various “World of Work” clips such as Working Tech, the CandEs Shop Talk, and Reach West Radio. He also co-founded the World of Work community blog TalentCulture.com, which houses the successful weekly show #TChat.
With over 25 years of experience in Human Resources, Beth Anton Grous was a great addition to TripAdvisor’s leadership team. TripAdvisor is the world’s largest travel site, operating in over 45 countries. She now serves as their Chief People Officer, leading their global HR practices.
Her work there focuses on talent acquisition and development. Within TripAdvisor, she is known for her business and results-focused approach to HR strategy as well as her long record of success in the industry.
Russ Hagey is a partner, director and Worldwide Chief Talent Officer of Bain & Company. He leads the talent recruitment and development processes at Bain & Company and is in charge of training and HR for thousands of people across 50 office locations. In acknowledgment of his excellent work, Hagey was honored as one of the Top 10 Chief Human Resource Officers of 2015 by Forbes.
Outside of HR, Hagey is also an active philanthropist. He currently serves as the Co-Chair for the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation and sits on the board of directors for LA’s BEST among other charitable activities.
Hope A. Hardison is the Senior Executive Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) and Director of Human Resources at Wells Fargo. When she accepted the job in 2015, Wells Fargo decided to merge the titles of HR Director and CAO due to Hardison’s extensive HR experience. She has been working at Wells Fargo for over 20 years and uses this in depth knowledge of the company to succeed in her human resource role.
Her job now encompasses HR, Marketing, communications, community relations, brand management, compensation, talent management, and so much more.
Chris Havrilla is the Vice President of Global Human Resource Technology at ADP. She works to form ADP’s HR strategy and ensures that this strategy is executed throughout the company.
Previously, she served as ADP’s Senior Director of Talent Technology and Analytics. Her specialties lie in corporate recruiting, sourcing, human resources, and talent management, with a focus on the technology space.
Robert Hogan has made a large impact on human resources and industrial-organizational psychology through his work on personality. He was the first psychologist to demonstrate the connection between personality and organizational effectiveness and is now a leading expert in the field on personality assessments and leadership.
He has worked on a lot of material on the subject, such as his book Personality and the Fate of Organizations, the Handbook of Personality Psychology, the Hogan Personality Inventory, the Hogan Development Survey, and so much more. He is now the president of Hogan Assessments, an organization he founded in 1987. His firm takes a scientific approach to assessment and consulting work and they currently work with some of the largest companies worldwide.
Katelin Holloway is influential in human resources for her impact on company culture. She is currently the VP of People and Culture at Reddit. At Reddit, she strives to create a respectful, open, and fair culture.
She believes this culture helps her employees work to their full potential and bring more success to Reddit. Before Reddit she worked at various companies, such as Pixar Animated Studios and Klout. Her time at Pixar shaped her beliefs around culture; she now believes that maintaining a sense of inclusion and belonging at work leads to more creative, successful outcomes.
Linda Hyman is the Executive Vice President of Global Human Resources at Korn/Ferry International. She works in the Global Life Sciences, Consumer Markets, and Human Resources departments as well as serves on the Global Operating Committee for Korn Ferry.
Hyman’s leadership skills and consulting experience are key to her success at Korn Ferry; they allow her to successfully engage with both clients and coworkers alike.
Chuck Hill joined Pfizer’s Human Resource department in 1987 and is currently the Executive VP of Worldwide Human Resources. He focuses on developing and implementing Pfizer’s HR strategy and, more specifically, on moving forward with the company’s OWNIT! Culture. The OWNIT! Culture at Pfizer encourages employees to take ownership over their projects and work and be creative in their ideas. An Air Force veteran himself, Hill now serves as the executive sponsor of the Pfizer Colleague Council for veterans. Hill understands the positive impact both active military personnel and veterans can have on a company’s success and is striving to ensure they are supported at Pfizer.
Chuck Hill joined Pfizer’s Human Resource department in 1987 and is currently the Executive VP of Worldwide Human Resources. He focuses on developing and implementing Pfizer’s HR strategy and, more specifically, on moving forward with the company’s OWNIT! Culture. The OWNIT! Culture at Pfizer encourages employees to take ownership over their projects and work and be creative in their ideas. An Air Force veteran himself, Hill now serves as the executive sponsor of the Pfizer Colleague Council for veterans. Hill understands the positive impact both active military personnel and veterans can have on a company’s success and is striving to ensure they are supported at Pfizer.
Charlie Judy is influential in human resources for his focus on trying to create authentic career experiences and building workplace cultures. He spent over 20 years working as a human resource executive with various companies before founding WorkXO, an innovative culture management firm in Chicago, with Jamie Notter and Maddie Grant.
WorkXO analyzes workplace culture through their proprietary assessment tool, the Workplace Genome. Through the analysis of this assessment, WorkXO strives to improve company culture and bring a human touch back to the workplace.
Kenneth Kahn is the President of LRP Publications, a professional publication company focusing on human resources, employment law, and education. LRP Publications created the magazine HR Executive Online, one of the leading HR magazines in the country.
Kahn is also a very influential figure in the field of HR publications and business. In fact, he was awarded the Economic Development Leadership Award by the Business Development Board of Palm Beach County. He also serves on many boards, including the Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations Board.
Francine Katsoudas has been working at Cisco for over 20 years. She began her career with them as a businesswoman but soon moved to the HR department where she flourished. She is now the Senior VP and Chief People Officer at Cisco and is in charge of over 70,000 employees across 170 countries.
At Cisco, her job description entails many aspects of managing people and human resources such as talent recruitment, building the company culture, corporate social responsibility, and more. As Cisco attempts to modernize and transform their human resources practices, they believe Katsoudas is the key.
‘Sommer Kehrli is the Executive Director at the Centre for Organizational Effectiveness. The Centre for Organizational Effectiveness is a public sector organization in California which provides consulting, educational, and coaching services.
Kehrli’s background is in coaching, change management, training, and creating feedback assessments. Before she joined the Centre for Organizational Effectiveness, Kehrli worked as the Director of Performance Improvement for Kaiser Permanente.
Robin Kranich is the Senior VP of Human Resources at Gartner, the leading IT research and advisory firm. Since joining Gartner in 1994, Kranich has worked in various departments including sales, management and business development roles. Now, as the SVP of HR, she focuses on strategy, recruitment, diversity, compensation, and development.
She is using her unique background to transform Gartner’s human resources. She believes her experience has prepared her to understand individuals’ capabilities and tailor them to Gartner’s collaborative needs. Prior to joining Gartner, Kranich worked in the technology group at Marriott International.
George LaRocque specializes in Human Resource Technology and Human Capital Management. He is the Founder and Principal of LAROCQUE and #HRWINS. He works as a consultant, advisor, and analyst for firms working in the HR Technology industry.
Through #HRWINS, LaRocque reports on trends and new innovations in HR technology. Furthermore, he is a Software as a Service (SaaS) expert and has built many businesses that provide services through SaaS. This expertise allows him to advise other SaaS products.
Sharlyn Lauby is an HR leader from South Florida. She is currently the President of ITM, a management training and HR consulting firm. ITM was recently named one of the Top 100 South Florida Small Businesses. Lauby is also the leading author and publisher of the blog, HRBartender.
This serves as a medium to provide recent HR information to ITM’s clients as well as the general population. HRBartender was recently named one of the Top 10 Business Blogs Worth the Read by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM).
As the founder and president of the Center for Effective Organizations (CEO) at University of Southern California, Edward Lawler has made a huge influence in Human Resources. His organization, CEO has produced huge amounts of research on human resources, management, organizational design, and more.
He is also a distinguished business professor at USC Marshall School of Business. He has written over 50 books and 400 articles. Furthermore, Lawler has been recognized around the world for his excellent work and was even named by Businessweek as one of the Top 6 Management Gurus.
Within the HR industry, Crystal Miller Lay specializes in branding, recruitment, and social media. She currently is working as the CEO of Branded Strategies, a consulting company focused on talent recruitment and branding strategies.
Additionally, she writes for many publications such as Forbes, Recruiting Daily, HR Capitalist and more. She also often speaks at conferences across North America and Europe as well.
Alec Levenson is a senior research scientist for the Center for Effective Organizations at the University of Southern California. With a background in economics, he mainly focuses on doing research and consulting work today. His research is mostly focused on the economics of human resources and organizational design, analytics, and talent strategy. His research has been featured in many publications, such as the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, The Economist, National Public Radio, and more. He also serves on the editorial boards of Human Resource Management and Small Business Economics. As a consultant, he has worked with impressive companies such as Capital One, American Express, Microsoft, Boeing, and more.
Dr. Manuel London is impactful in human resources for his work in academia. He is currently the Dean of the College of Business and Director of the Center for Human Resource Management at Stony Brook University. He has been on the faculty at Stony Brook since 1989. He is also a recognized researcher and author. In fact, he received the Book Award from the Society for Human Resource Management for his book Change Agents: New Roles and Innovation Strategies for Human Resource Professionals. Prior to his work at SUNY-Stony Brook, Dr. London was at the University of Illinois at Champaign/Urbana as well as a part of AT&T’s human resources department.
Aaron McEwan has over twenty years of experience in the talent management and human resources consulting fields. He currently serves as the advisory leader for CEB’s human resource practices.
In addition to advising CEB, McEwan lectures on Coaching for Innovation and Change at Sydney Business School. Prior to joining CEB, he had leadership and consulting roles at firms like Hudson Global Resources, Lee Hecht Harrison, and Opic Group.
Dianne Mills’ career is unique in that she has 15+ years of real business experience in banking and marketing in addition to years of HR experience. Currently, she is serving as the Senior Vice President of People at Walmart Global eCommerce.
She works in recruiting, strategy, designing compensation, and more, in order to make Walmart’s Global eCommerce business as successful as it can be. Prior to joining Walmart, Mills was the VP of Human Resources at Paypal.
Chris Mason is the Head of Talent Management, L&D, Compensation, and Workforce Analytics at Patagonia. He is influential in human resources for his attempts to modernize talent management processes.
Specifically, he is working to shift talent management to be more data driven and more dynamic. In addition to talent management, his work centers around organizational effectiveness and learning and development. His overarching goal is to invest more in people and improving the quality of work-life.
Tracy Maylett has coaching and consulting experience with leadership teams in over 30 countries. He is currently the CEO of DecisionWise, a management consulting firm that focuses on assessment feedback and creating change.
He is also a part time faculty member at Brigham Young University, where he teaches classes on leadership, talent management, and organizational behavior. Maylett is also a best selling author, his latest book being The Employee Experience: How to Attract Talent, Retain Top Performers, and Drive Results.
Kathryn Minshew is the Founder and CEO of The Muse. The Muse is an online career resource that aims to help people at all stages of the work cycle. The site houses courses, career advice, coaching, professional development training, and recruitment help.
Minshew is also a contributor to the Wall Street Journal and Harvard Business Review. Most recently, Minshew wrote the book The New Rules of Work: The Modern Playbook for Navigating Your Career.
Teri Plummer McClure is the Chief Human Resources Officer and Senior Vice President of the United Parcel Service (UPS). Her background is in business and law, but she now works in human resources and employee communications as well as guides UPS with respect to ethical and legal initiatives worldwide. She also serves on the Board of Directors and Management Committee of UPS, helping them make good strategic decisions and remain profitable.
Furthermore, McClure works with UPS public affairs and government relations where she advocates for increased competition, global trade and overall economic growth around the world. Additionally, she sits on the board of trustees of the UPS foundation, a philanthropic effort to bolster communities around the world. In 2015, the foundation distributed over $54 million in charitable donations.
Marcelo Modica has had a large impact in human resources within the financial sector. He currently works as the Chief People Officer for Mercer. His goal is to develop Mercer’s talent strategy, which involves all aspects of human resources from compensation, to staffing, to development.
He is trying to ensure that their talent strategy that aligns with Mercer’s values and mission as a company. Previously, he worked at JP Morgan Chase in human resources.
J.T. O’Donnell helps both individuals and corporations as a career coach and recruiting specialist. She is the Founder and CEO of WorkItDaily.com (formerly CAREEREALISM.com), a website that provides courses, coaching, advice, and other services. The website offers everything from video tutorials to email coaching to resume and interview preparation to help individuals get hired and succeed in their careers.
The website has over 1 million monthly viewers and over 75K daily email subscribers. She is also a contributing author to Inc. Magazine and Fast Company. Her work has been cited by various publications, such as the Wall Street Journal, USA TODAY, the New York Times, and more.
Sharon Patterson is the Executive Vice President at Lee Hecht Harrison. Lee Hecht Harrison is a management consulting firm focused on simplifying organizational structures, talent development, and helping firms through transitional periods. Patterson is in charge of all global HR strategy.
Her expertise lies in branding, compensation, and employee relationships. Prior to her work with Lee Hecht Harrison, she was the Senior VP of Canada Tire.
Paul Pastrone is the Vice President of Global Talent Management at Lenovo. He has a lot of experience in international business and strategy, talent management and development, and leadership.
At Lenovo, Pastrone and his team work to define capability requirements for employees as well as define human capital processes that integrate smoothly with Lenovo’s business strategy. Prior to joining Lenovo, Pastrone was the VP of Learning and Organizational Development at Hewlett Packard.
Susan Peters originally joined GE in 1979 through their Human Resources Leadership Program. Today, she serves as their Senior VP of Human Resources. She is in charge of overseeing a workforce of around 300,000 employees across 175 countries.
Some of her main responsibilities include compensation, talent recruitment and development, and industrial relations. According to Peters, GE’s open minded and diverse workforce has helped the company grow and remain competitive since its inception over 100 years ago.
David Peterson is the President and CEO of O.C. Tanner, an internationally recognized firm focusing on recognizing and rewarding employees. Petersen has been with O.C. Tanner for over 30 years and has worked across many departments before becoming president.
In articles written about Petersen, his coworkers have described him as loyal, dedicated, and a good listener. In recognition of his work and O.C. Tanners influence on the industry, he was named Utah Business Magazine’s CEO Of the Year in 2016.
Jeffrey Pfeffer is a business theorist who is known for his writing and teaching on organizational behavior. Currently he is a Thomas D. Dee II Professor of Organizational Behavior at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business. He teaches classes on OB, HR management, company culture, and more. He has written or co-authored 14 books and over 150 articles as well as numerous blog posts, newspaper columns and more. His most recent book is Leadership B.S.: Fixing Workplaces and Careers One Truth at a Time. Through his writing and speaking, he spreads knowledge to the public and other professionals on topics related to organizational behavior and business.
Rob Phillips is currently the Director of Leadership and Professional Development at Point72 Asset Management. There, his work centers on revamping the performance management system, talent and executive development, and assessment.
Previously, Phillips was in charge of Talent Development as the Group VP of HR at Gartner. Prior to his work at Gartner, he was the VP of Global Organization and Leadership Development at G.E.
As of 2014, John Quattrone is the Senior Vice president of Global Human Resources of General Motors. Quattrone originally joined GM in 1975. Since then, he has held various positions throughout the company, but has mostly focused on workforce relations.
Prior to becoming VP of Global HR, Quattrone was the Executive Director of HR for Global Product Development, Purchasing, and Supply Chain. Outside of his work for GM, he has served on the board of directors of the American Society of Employers.
Liz Ryan is the CEO and founder of Human Workplace, a think tank, publishing firm, and consulting company. Their mission is to “Reinvent Work for People”. Additionally, she is also a prolific columnist and frequently writes for newspapers, Forbes and LinkedIn on topics such as leadership, job searching and recruiting processes.
As an author, she recently published the book, Reinvention Roadmap. This book focuses on how to get a job in today’s “new millennium workplace”. She believes that past job seeking techniques are no longer relevant, and in order to be successful, one must adjust to today’s job market.
David Rock is influential in human resources for his attempts to connect neuroscience and leadership. As the Co-Founder and CEO of the NeuroLeadership Institute, Rock aims to do just that: couple neuroscience and leadership. The NeuroLeadership Institute hopes to apply their research to performance, diversity and inclusion, and learning and change. Furthermore, Rock co-edits the NeuroLeadership Journal and hosts and annual summit to share information on neuroscience and leadership. In addition to directing the NeuroLeadership institute, Rock also writes; some of his works include Your Brain at Work, Quiet Leadership and Coaching with the Brain in Mind.
Coretha Rushing is the CHRO and Senior VP at Equifax, a leading information solutions company. She leads human resource efforts globally for the organization, overseeing talent management, rewards and compensation, and various other HR divisions. She is also a trustee of the Equifax Foundation.
Prior to her work at Equifax, Rushing served in various HR roles at Coca-Cola and Pizza Hut. In addition, she has been certified by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) as a Senior Professional in HR and now serves as a Chair on their Board of Directors.
Tim Sackett has a lot of experience in human resources, with a specific focus on recruiting and selection. He is currently the President of HRU Technical Resources, an engineering and IT staffing firm.
Sackett is also a board member of the Association of Talent Acquisition. They serve to represent talent acquisition experts around the country and create a network where professionals can learn from one another. Furthermore, Sackett is a chief storyteller and blogger for the blog www.fistfuloftalent.com.
Greg Savage is a successful businessmen, global recruitment specialist, and speaker from Australia. He was named the Most Influential Recruiter in Australia in the Past 60 Years by an Australian recruitment industry leader and the Most Influential Australian Business Person on Twitter.
He has built four successful businesses in Recruitment Solutions, Firebrand Talent Search, Eloquent Staffing and People2People but currently focuses his time as the Principal of The Savage Truth. As an advisor, Savage is helping to staff and consult businesses around the world on how to be successful and profitable.
Ann Schulte is influential in human resources for her work in learning and development. For the past 5 years, she has worked as the Global Learning and Leadership Development Leader at Procter & Gamble.
With a focus on speed and quality, she works on employee and executive development. In her trainings, she follows P&G’s development goals of being transparent, focused and cohesive. Prior to joining P&G, Schulte was the CLO at Mastercard, focusing on talent development.
Ellyn Shook is a very involved member of the HR community. She is the Chief Leadership and Human Resource Officer at Accenture, a global management consulting company. Her team is working to bring leadership and talent policies into the digital age in order to secure skilled talent for the future of Accenture.
She is also a huge advocate of the diversity and inclusion programs at Accenture. Moreover, she also serves on the Board of Trustees at Harvey Mudd College, is on the Women’s Leadership Board of the Women and Public Policy program at Harvard’s Kennedy School, and is on the HR50 division of World50.
Evan Sinar is the Chief Scientist and Vice President of the Center for Analytics and Behavioral Research at Development Dimensions International (DDI). DDI is a global human resources company which focuses on working to develop individuals into better leaders.
Sinar mainly focuses on talent management, with a lot of his research focusing on analytic analysis of talent. He is also known for his work on the Global Leadership Forecast (GLF), a longitudinal research study surveying human resource professionals internationally.
Nancy Singer is the Executive Director of Global Leadership, Learning and Development at Merck & Co. With over 30 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, Singer is truly able to adapt HR concepts to fit with pharmaceutical practices.
At Merck, she was able to save the company an estimated $100mm annually by improving employee efficiency. Her action learning program has earned over $3 billion for Merck. For her original leadership programs, Singer has been recognized around the world by CLO Magazine, Bersin by Deloitte, and Brandon Hall.
Shally Steckerl is a leader in recruitment research and marketing. He is the current President of The Sourcing Institute, an organization dedicated to improving recruitment efficiency and adaptability.
They create Sustainable Talent Advantages™ for their clients by conducting unbiased assessments of the recruitment agencies. Furthermore, he is the founder of The Sourcing Institute Foundation which provides military veterans and disabled individuals with educational grants in order for them to become employed in the talent recruitment industry.
In addition to his work with The Sourcing Institute, Steckerl is also a professional speaker and is part of the National Speaker Association.
Frank Steinert is very influential for his work in transforming human resources at Penguin Random House. He is currently their Chief Human Resource Officer and was previously their Executive Vice President as well.
In his time working in HR, Steinert instituted Penguin Random House’s first consistent employee performance and development program as well as created the House Campus to boost development even further. He also served on the Bertelsmann HR committee along with many other HR executives to help set their human resource agenda.
Mark Stelzner is a HR influencer working to bring more profit and success to all of his clients. He is the founder of IA HR, a company focusing on HR transformation initiatives for public and private sector clients.
IA HR is an advisory firm striving to help clients build sustainable businesses, identify service providers, and manage projects.
Additionally, he is the founder of JobAngels.org (later known as Hiring for Hope), a movement working to providing job searchers with free career services. For his work in HR, he has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the New York Times, NPR, CNN, and more.
Bill Strickland’s career in human resources is a very interesting and noble one. He served in the Air Force for 26 years doing recruiting, personnel training and directing human resources research.
He channeled this experience towards his current work at HumRRO. Since 2008, Strickland has been the President and CEO of Human Resources Research Organization (HumRRO), a non-profit HR research group serving the local and federal governments. Strickland is also very involved in the Society for Military Psychology and the American Psychological Association.
Doniel Sutton is the SVP and Head of Human Resources of Paypal Inc. Excitingly, in 2016, Sutton was named one of the Top Influential Women in Corporate America by Savoy Magazine. At Paypal, she is leading the company towards “White Glove HR”, a more hands on approach to HR with a focus on personally getting to know employees.
In an interview on their HR Practices with Udemy for Business, Sutton said, “In the same way we seek to understand our various customer segments, we endeavor to do the same with our employees. Understanding what they value, what motivates them, what influences how they work, enables us to respond to their needs in a more direct way”. Sutton also volunteers with various groups fighting for women and minority rights. She brings this attention to Paypal as she is developing their Diversity and Inclusion program.
Mara Swan is very influential in human resources, and was even named the HR Executive of the Year in 2012 by Human Resource Executive Magazine. Currently she works as the Vice President of Global Strategies and Talent at the ManpowerGroup, an internationally successful human resource company.
Previously, she worked as the Chief People Officer at Coors Brewing Company. In addition, Swan serves on many committees, such as the Peer Roundtable for CHRO, the HR policy association committee, the National Academy of Human Resources, and more.
Within human resources, Jerome Ternynck focuses his energy on recruitment and technology. His goal is to make the labor market run as smoothly as possible by making talent acquisition easy.
Currently, he is the Founder and CEO of SmartRecruiters, a company looking to help other organizations hire talent with the highest potential for success. SmartRecruiters has worked with companies such as Visa, Equinox, and Skechers.
William Tincup works diligently at the intersection of technology and human. He is the president of RecruitingDaily.com, an online resource for the modern recruiting world. Tincup also serves as an advisor to many HR tech startup companies, focusing on helping companies attract users after developing their product.
As an author and speaker, he has presented at over 150 HR conferences and created over 1000 podcasts in addition to writing countless articles. He typically focuses on user adoption and the social media predicament.
Penelope Trunk is both a businesswoman and talented author. As an entrepreneur, she has founded 4 startups. All four have focused on building communities and employment skills. Her most recent venture is Quistic, a platform providing online courses to users to manage your career.
As an author, she currently runs a popular blog and has written books, such as Brazen Careerist: The New Rules for Success. Both focus on work life and providing career advice. You can view her blog at: http://blog.penelopetrunk.com.
Dave Ulrich has been recognized as the #1 management guru by BusinessWeek, a top 5 coach by Forbes, and one of the leading business thinkers by Thinkers50. Today, he works primarily as an author, professor, speaker and human resource expert. As a writer, he has helped work on 30 books and written more than 200 articles focused on organizational capabilities, leadership styles, company culture, and the future of HR.
As a speaker, he presents to a large variety of audiences all over the world. He is also the founder and president of The RBL Group, a management consulting and development agency based in Utah.
Michael VanDervort has over 25 years of experience working in the HR space. He is currently the executive director at CUE Inc. CUE Inc. is a non-profit organization that helps companies improve employee relations.
He also co-hosts the podcast DriveThru HR. In addition, he is also a volunteer leader with the Society of Human Resources Management.
Pat Wadors is the Senior Vice President of Global Talent Organization at LinkedIn. Her main focus is on acquiring and developing good talent to maintain the exceptional team at LinkedIn.
Wadors and her team also work on preserving the unique culture at LinkedIn to promote better employee engagement. She also spends a lot of her work time meeting with LinkedIn customers in order to learn from their challenges.
Jeff Waldman is working to bring social media and technology into human resources. He is interested in the intersection of HR, technology, recruiting, and marketing. He currently runs an experiential learning platform for HR and recruiting professionals called SocialHRCamp.
He has hosted camps in various cities, such as San Francisco, Chicago, Boston, and Austin. Furthermore, he is a blogger for many different publications, such as TalentCulture, HR Gazette, and HR Tech. In addition, he has a lot of speaking experience, specifically on topics like branding, social human resources, leadership, and diversity.
Kevin Walling is the Chief Human Resource Officer for The Hershey Company. His work focuses mainly on employee engagement, culture, and talent recruitment and development. Before coming to work for Hershey, Walling was the CHRO of Kennametal, Inc., a technology and manufacturing company.
Furthermore, Walling also serves on the State of Pennsylvania Workforce Invest Board. Overall, he has over 25 years of HR experience and is very influential in the industry.
Julie Weber is the Vice President of People at Southwest Airlines. She is in charge of all tasks HR related, including talent recruitment, development and compensation. While Southwest receives nearly one job application every 2 seconds, Weber does an excellent job of running the talent recruitment process and ensuring SWA attracts the best talent possible.
Before joining Southwest in 2006, Weber was the Vice President of Human Resources at MetaSolv Software, Inc.
Jacqueline Williams-Roll is the Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer for General Mills. She focuses on the company’s talent development and organizational strategy on a global scale.
She joined General Mills in 1995 and has served various leadership roles across the company before leading the human resources department. Williams-Roll is active in the HR community as well. She is a member of the HR Policy Association, the Twin Cities HR Executive Council, the Center on Executive Compensation, and more.
With over 20 years of recruiting experience, Stacy Donovan Zapar has had a large influence on human resources. Interestingly, she has been the most connected woman on LinkedIn since 2008. Her expertise ranges from speaking, consulting, and recruiting, but she focuses mainly on talent. In fact, in 2015, the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) named her as the Trendsetter of the Year in Talent Acquisition.
Additionally, she is the founder of The Talent Agency, a talent acquisition and placement company, and of Tenfold, a recruitment strategy, training and consulting firm. In consulting, she has worked with well known clients such as TripAdvisor, Netflix, Amazon, Virgin America, Walmart, and more.
David Zinger is the CEO of David Zinger and Associates, an organization focused uniquely on improving employee engagement. He defines engagement as “good work done well with others everyday”. In his focus on engaging new employees, he follows the ABCs: Achieve results, Build relationships, Cultivate well beings.
Additionally, he founded a network for employee engagement professionals which has over 7200 members. Zinger shares his knowledge of employee engagement through his speaking and writing and has written four books on the subject.
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