Senior Vice President, Global Talent Acquisition

PepsiCo

Blair Bennett is the Senior Vice President of Global Talent Acquisition at PepsiCo where she is responsible for the Global TA Centers of Expertise and overall success of campus, professional and executive hiring. She joined PepsiCo in 2019 and enjoys working with such a passionate TA team, dedicated to creating a candidate experience that embodies PepsiCo's mission to Create More Smiles. Prior to PepsiCo, Blair’s background was in political consulting and then Talent Acquisition at both Korn Ferry International and Walmart. Outside of work, Blair enjoys spending time with their two Wheaten Terriers and playing golf with her husband.

Vice President, Talent-centered Transformation

Eightfold AI

Jason Cerrato is the Vice President of Talent-centered Transformation for Eightfold, focused on the capabilities of our comprehensive Talent Intelligence Platform and the future of work. Prior to Eightfold, he was with Gartner as a Senior Research Director, focusing on HR technology and transformation.

With extensive experience in talent acquisition, Jason spent more than a decade with United Technologies Corporation (now RTX), where he was the Senior Director of Talent Acquisition, serving as the workstream owner for recruiting and onboarding for an enterprise-wide global HR transformation initiative. Jason has a master’s degree in human resource development and received the Global Fellow in Talent Management certification from the Talent Management Institute and the Wharton School of Business.

Jason has been recognized by HR Executive as a Top 100 HR Tech influencer and also co-hosts The New Talent Code podcast, which provides insights and open discussion with industry leaders on all things talent and HR tech.

Founder

Cristina Costa Coaching

Cristina is a Certified Career and Executive Leadership Coach, HR and Talent Consultant, Speaker and the Founder of Cristina Costa Coaching. She provides career and organizational leadership coaching services to diverse executives, professionals and small business owners. She supports her clients to navigate pivots and challenges in their careers, find alignment and purpose in their work, and develop a growth mindset for their personal and professional success. Cristina boasts over 15 + years of professional work experience in the education, higher education, non profit and technology sectors, having held various HR, Talent and Learning Development roles at companies such as Northeastern University, YearUp, PayPal, HubSpot, Google and Baruch College as well as taking on executive roles at various edtech startups. 

Cristina is a facilitator at HCI where she teaches Strategic Talent Acquisition, Diversity Equity and Inclusion, Steps to Better Coaching and Onboarding your Hybrid Workforce and she has taught 800+ HR professionals and leaders. Her impact extends beyond coaching and organizational training; she has successfully delivered coaching to 8,000+ professionals and designed and delivered professional development workshops for 10,000+ employees through her group coaching, professional development workshops, professional events and national conferences. Cristina is on a mission to equip leaders and organizations with the skills, resources and mindset to take control of their professional journeys and create psychologically safe and inclusive workplaces for all to thrive! 

Vice President, Talent Acquisition

Staples

Bertrand brings over two decades of senior HR and business leadership experience serving top tier brands and Fortune 200 public and PE-owned companies.  

He has closely partnered with multiple well-known CEOs and their leadership teams to leverage the art and science of hiring into a competitive advantage, and to help drive cultural, functional, and technological transformations.

Currently, Bertrand serves as the Head of Talent Acquisition for Staples, where he also looks after all AI workstreams across HR.

Prior to his current role, Bertrand served in corporate officer roles at Tenet Healthcare, XPO Logistics, Oracle, American Express, and UBS.

In addition to strong business acumen and an investor mindset, insatiable curiosity about people and technology have been hallmarks of Bertrand’s career.

Outside of work and spending time with family, Bertrand is an avid traveler (over 3,300 flights to 68 countries), five-time Ironman Triathlon finisher, and performance car enthusiast. 

Vice President, Advisory Services

Human Capital Institute (HCI)

Karen Guzicki is the founder and principal consultant for the Guzicki Group. As an Organizational Development and Talent Management consultant, Karen loves to draw on her past experiences, current research and love of problem solving to help companies achieve success through the power of their people. She has an extensive background working for and consulting with companies across a wide range of industries and geographies; In the last year alone, her work took her to 7 countries across 4 different continents. In addition to her consulting practice, Karen serves as a faculty member for the Human Capital Institute where she facilitates learning events and supports corporate clients.

CEO & Founder

Talvana Consulting

Jen is a globally recognized leader in HR Tech and AI and well regarded industry voice. With over 25 years of experience in HR, Jen advises global organizations on responsible, ethical AI adoption across the employee lifecycle—from sourcing to separation having worked deeply in each domain of the lifecycle. She is considered a trusted voice on HR Tech, Data, and AI governance. Prior to leading her own consulting firm, Talvana Consulting, she worked as an executive at IBM Consulting leading Data & AI for HR and served on the esteemed AI Ethics board. She is a board member of the Human Capital Institute (HCI), and other HR Tech startups, as well as advising on HR Tech ethics boards. She is at the intersection of Responsible AI, talent, and business strategy. She partners with CHROs and CIOs to deliver outcome-focused and responsible HR tech strategies that harness the power of responsible AI to drive measurable impact across the workforce.

Jen led pioneering projects with ADP and at IBM, as well as served as Executive Fellow for the World Economic Forum, where she led two first of a kind studies on generative AI, working with over 250+ organizations and their AI use cases which she presented at Davos 2024. Her collaborative approach brings together HR, IT, legal, and operations leaders to navigate the complexity of AI and data transformation—empowering organizations of all sizes to make smarter, future-ready talent decisions. Her recent publications include Augmenting Human Intelligence, Generative AI for CEOs, and AI in Change Management. She holds a business degree from Michigan State University and certifications through Johns Hopkins, in Data Science and Machine Learning, and Responsible AI certification programs. Jen also advises emerging HR tech companies and contributes to Human Capital Institute, HR Tech, SHRM, IAPP, and the Society of People Analytics.

VP of Global People Analytics, Culture, Strategy & Planning

The Coca-Cola Company

Sue is the VP of People Insights, Strategy & Culture at the Coca-Cola Company. Reporting to the CHRO, she is responsible for shaping the future of Coca-Cola’s workforce by developing and executing the company’s long-term people, analytics and engagement strategy. She is responsible for developing and leading global culture and change management efforts on the company’s journey to emerge stronger after significant organizational change. 

Prior to joining the company, Sue was the global head of organizational behavior and HR diagnostics for Shell, based in Houston, Texas. In her role, she managed a global center of excellence in HR strategy, learning and organizational effectiveness. Sue was responsible for the overall development and execution of the company’s assessment and analytics strategy to accelerate the change in the business with the goal of creating more and cleaner energy solutions.

Throughout her career, Sue has held additional roles with various organizations, including APQC, where she led HR and human capital management projects with a focus on best practices, benchmarking, organizational surveys, strategy formulation and development, and thought leadership. Sue has also held leadership roles with other organizations, including Psychology Beyond Borders and University of California at Irvine.

Sue received dual Bachelor of Arts degrees in Psychology and History from UCLA. She also received her Master’s in Social Ecology and a Ph.D. in Social and Personality Psychology from UCI. Sue holds SHRM-CP, PHR and various assessment certifications.

Sue was a first-generation high school, college and graduate student. In her spare time, Sue enjoys volunteering and mentoring, hiking, traveling, dancing and spending time with her husband, two dogs, friends and family. Sue is currently based in Atlanta and is a native of California.

Founder and CEO

Vemo Inc.

Peter Louch is the founder and CEO of Vemo, a leading supplier of cloud-based workforce planning and predictive analytics software and services. Mr. Louch has over twenty years of experience in the workforce planning and analytics space and has served as a subject matter expert for many of the world’s largest and most interesting organizations. Mr. Louch also has served as a guest lecturer on predictive analytics and workforce planning theory at Wharton and Claremont Graduate University. Prior to founding Vemo, Mr. Louch held leadership positions at Right Management Consultants and TMP Worldwide. Mr. Louch graduated with high honors from University of California at Berkeley with a degree in Astrophysics.

Chief People Officer

Cardinal Group Companies

Peter Lynch is the Chief People Officer and board member at Cardinal Group Companies. A noted Fortune 500 global executive bringing broad expertise across the entire employee lifecycle

Head of Tech Recruiting

Vanta

Ross is a Talent Acquisition leader with more than 15 years of experience leading recruiting and sourcing teams in the Silicon Valley, and beyond. Most recently, he was with Uber Technologies where he led a Sourcing team of up to 120 individuals, owning the full suite of technical hiring for the organization across North America. 

Vice President, Master Facilitator & Leadership Coach

Bluepoint Leadership

Joan is a highly skilled facilitator and coach with over 15 years of hands-on experience working with leaders at all levels and in many different industries. She is noted for her passion for what she does and for her energetic and interactive facilitation style. Her feedback typically includes the words: engaging, excellent, enthusiastic, informative and professional. She is equally adept at working with front line emerging leaders as she is with executive teams.

Joan is noted for her unique workshop design and delivers measurable results by inspiring participants to build on their strengths to improve their bottom-line results.

Her growing renown as a facilitator is equaled by her growing reputation as a Thought Leader and a respected authority on what it takes to deliver a learning experience that will last the test of time.

Her areas of expertise include helping organizations, teams and individuals, understand how to lift the performance of others, how to improve team execution by way of innovation and creativity, and how to create an aligned and engaged organization that is primed to deliver on its vision.

She has a BA in English and a Masters Degree in Organizational Science from Villanova University. She has also earned professional accreditations from DDI, Career Systems, Lominger LTD and Right Associates.

Chief Data Scientist

Vemo

Chris Reece, PhD, is Chief Data Scientist at Vemo, where he leads efforts to apply machine learning and generative AI to workforce analytics and strategic workforce planning. He specializes in predictive modeling and forecasting, with a focus on delivering decision-ready insights that move beyond conventional dashboards and KPIs. Chris earned an MS in Statistics from the Wharton School while completing his Doctorate in Sociology at the University of Pennsylvania and brings an interdisciplinary lens to every project. Prior to joining Vemo, he worked as an actuarial analyst, statistical consultant, and taught undergraduate courses in data and social science.

Vice President, Global Talent Acquisition Experience

Marriott International

Meghan Rhatigan is the Vice President of Talent Acquisition Experience at Marriott, where she leads high-volume hiring and innovative talent acquisition initiatives. Over her 15-year tenure at Marriott, she has held various roles, including leading the organizational change team responsible for the Starwood hotel integration, global HCM adoption, and Talent Acquisition Operations. Before joining Marriott, Meghan worked at Accenture, focusing on organizational change. She holds a BA in HR and Political Science from Marymount University and resides in Northern Virginia with her family.

Senior Manager, HR Data & Analytics

ADM

Sarah Sheffer is a seasoned leader in People Analytics and Workforce Planning with over 15 years of experience driving data-driven strategies that optimize talent management and business outcomes across diverse industries and geographies. A recognized expert in people analytics and strategic workforce planning, Sarah has a proven track record of leading initiatives that harness insights to proactively address both current and future talent needs.

Driven by a mission to promote evidence-based decision-making, continuous learning, and collaboration, Sarah is passionate about helping organizations anticipate workforce trends and implement innovative tools and best practices. She holds a Strategic Workforce Planner certification from the Human Capital Institute and a BA in Psychology from Albion College. Through her work, Sarah is dedicated to building a culture of data-driven decision-making that empowers organizations to thrive in an ever-evolving talent landscape.

Author and Senior Director, Workforce Strategy

Walmart

Ross M. Sparkman is an HR and workforce strategy executive with over 20 years of experience guiding large-scale talent and workforce transformations at Fortune 500 organizations. He currently serves as Senior Director of Workforce Strategy at Walmart where his remit is to lead enterprise-wide initiatives that include Gen AI deployment, advanced analytics, and modern HR technology solutions.

He is the author of Strategic Workforce Planning: Developing Optimized Talent Strategies for Future Growth, a widely referenced guide that helps HR leaders align talent strategies with business objectives by leveraging predictive analytics, scenario planning, and data-informed decision-making. Ross’s extensive background includes leadership roles at Nike, Meta (formerly Facebook), GE Aviation, and Deloitte Consulting, where he led analytics-driven initiatives and refined workforce strategies during periods of rapid organizational change. He began his career in the U.S. Navy, serving in workforce planning and logistics roles across international postings.

Ross holds an MSc in Predictive Analytics from Northwestern University, an MBA from Temple University, and an MA in Human Relations from the University of Oklahoma. In addition to his corporate leadership responsibilities, he is a sought-after speaker who has presented at numerous global conferences, sharing real-world insights on Workforce Strategy, People analytics, and the future of Work.

At the Global Digital Human Resource Transformation & Analytics 2025 conference, he will Discuss HR’s role in Gen AI Strategy and Adoption. His talk will draw on experiences from his published work and recent corporate projects, illustrating how to collaborate with specialized teams, prepare employees for next-generation tools, and position HR as a strategic partner in accelerating organizational growth.

Head of Talent Programs

GE HealthCare

As the Head of Talent Programs for GE Healthcare's USCAN Service, Tabitha Wright leads a team focused on ensuring the right talent is in the right place at the right time, equipped with the right training. Her innovative approach to onboarding and talent pipeline programs has significantly increased employee retention and generated substantial cost savings, even during periods of significant talent shortages.

With a robust background in strategic workforce planning, Tabitha has successfully developed multiple talent pipeline programs, including the DoD SkillBridge and Military Extern Programs, which have provided valuable opportunities for over 300 veterans and military personnel. She has hired over 1,200 Apprentices and overseen the onboarding of more than 3,500 employees. Her efforts in building partnerships and promoting diversity have been instrumental in creating inclusive and effective talent pipelines.

Tabitha holds an MBA in Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management from the Marriott School of Management at Brigham Young University, where she also earned a Bachelor of Science in Psychology. She is a certified Professional in Human Resources and is fluent in Tagalog (Filipino).

Currently residing in Oahu, Hawaii, Tabitha enjoys spending time with her husband, Darius. Together they are able to teach their four children about their Pacific Islander heritage and seize every opportunity to be in the ocean.

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