Humanities & Social Sciences

Esteemed speakers contributing their insights into human culture, behavior, and societal development

Yaya Xia

Yaya Xia

Xiaoya Xia studies how open-source communities and infrastructure evolve around emerging AI workloads and agent infra. At Ant Group, she uses ecosystem data to connect project activity with changes in AI technology and adoption. Her recent work includes the Agentic AI Landscape and research based on OpenDigger. She is a co-chair of KubeCon China 2026 and served on the Program Committees for Open Source Summit North America and Open Source Summit Japan in 2025.

Xiaoya Xia studies how open-source communities and infrastructure evolve around emerging AI workloads and agent infra. At Ant Group, she uses ecosystem data to connect project activity with changes in AI technology and adoption. Her recent work inclu... Show more

Kevin Wilkie

Kevin Wilkie

Kevin has been wrangling data and dodging dirty reads for over 15 years — back when SQL Server 6.5 was considered "modern" and query tuning meant praying to the optimizer gods.

His journey began as an "Accidental DBA" — one misfired report and suddenly he was deep in sys.objects, pretending sp_who2 was an actual plan. Since then, he's played nearly every role in the SQL Server ecosystem: SQL Developer, BI Associate, Production DBA, and now a Data Architect with a mission.

These days, Kevin spends his time normalizing chaos, denormalizing silos, and preaching the gospel of clean, well-modeled data. He’s been known to pivot on the fly, avoid Cartesian relationships, and bring deadlocks back to life — all while gently reminding teams that SELECT * is a cry for help.

If it involves data, Kevin's in — tuning queries, architecting solutions, or just nerding out about why surrogate keys are misunderstood. He’s not just passionate about data — he’s got a clustered index on it.

Kevin has been wrangling data and dodging dirty reads for over 15 years — back when SQL Server 6.5 was considered "modern" and query tuning meant praying to the optimizer gods. His journey began as an "Accidental DBA" — one misfired report and sud... Show more

Jennifer Novak

Jennifer Novak

Jennifer Novak is a Senior Manager - AI Adoption & Change at Myriad360, where she supports large-scale Microsoft 365 and AI enablement initiatives. She has partnered with dozens of organizations to drive measurable adoption through readiness assessments, stakeholder engagement, training strategy, and practical change planning that aligns with technical delivery. Jennifer is based in Maryland.

Jennifer Novak is a Senior Manager - AI Adoption & Change at Myriad360, where she supports large-scale Microsoft 365 and AI enablement initiatives. She has partnered with dozens of organizations to drive measurable adoption through readiness assessme... Show more

Lianna Adams

Lianna Adams

Lianna Adams is a Human-Centered AI Strategist, Digital Dignity Advocate, and Cognitive Culture Builder recognised by ForbesWeb3, Animoca Brands, and Open Campus as a 2024 Social Impact & Ethics leader — and named one of the Top 10 Rising Women in Crypto 2023.

She has spoken at the WEF in Davos 2024, COP28, TEDx Youth, NFTNYC (four consecutive years), the World Web3.0 & AI Summit, EmpowHer AI, and Web3 Amsterdam, among others.

Her work centres on one urgent question: what do we preserve of ourselves as artificial intelligence transforms how we think, create, and relate? Through keynotes, workshops, and consulting, she helps organisations and communities build cultures where technology amplifies human capability — without eroding cognitive autonomy, creative identity, or dignity.

She is the creator of the Human-AI Cognitive Toolkit — nine science-backed tools for cognitive wellness in an AI-saturated world — and host of The Human Strata, a podcast and newsletter exploring the human layer in the age of AI. She hosts the Wirex Podcast and has convened 80,000+ community participants across digital events since 2021.

Lianna is also the founder of the Digital Dignity Initiative, leads the annual #16Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence campaign, and has served as a Non-Executive Director at Mental Health Spaces Collective.

She is available for keynotes, panels, moderation, fireside chats, and workshops.

Lianna Adams is a Human-Centered AI Strategist, Digital Dignity Advocate, and Cognitive Culture Builder recognised by ForbesWeb3, Animoca Brands, and Open Campus as a 2024 Social Impact & Ethics leader — and named one of the Top 10 Rising Women in Cr... Show more

Ewelina Kurasz

Ewelina Kurasz

Senior Business-Systems Analyst & Product Owner. Speaker at international conferences. I truly believe that communication matters.
When I'm not at work, you can find me at IT conferences, meetup’s, volunteering somewhere, or spot me when enjoying nature in the middle of mountains or forests.
I'm usually the one, who will challenge your idea to make it bulletproof!

Senior Business-Systems Analyst & Product Owner. Speaker at international conferences. I truly believe that communication matters. When I'm not at work, you can find me at IT conferences, meetup’s, volunteering somewhere, or spot me when enjoying n... Show more

David Posner

David Posner

David Posner, MBA, doesn’t just talk about leadership—he’s lived it under pressure.

As the Founder of 3 Point Care Consulting, David is a nationally recognized speaker in healthcare with more than 20 years on the front lines of an industry that never stops moving. He helps leaders cut through noise, make better decisions, and lead with clarity during moments that actually matter.

What sets David apart?
He brings the mindset of a professional basketball referee to the boardroom. From officiating college, high school, and professional games, including Ice Cube’s Big3 League, David knows what it means to make fast, high-stakes decisions with no replays, no excuses, and all eyes on you. That experience fuels his powerful leadership framework built on accountability, communication, consistency, and trust.

David’s energy, authenticity, and real-world approach have landed him on the TEDx stage and made him a go-to voice for conferences, podcasts, and leadership events nationwide. His talks don’t inspire for a moment, they create action, momentum, and lasting change.

If your audience wants motivation and practical takeaways they can use Monday morning, David Posner delivers, every time.

David Posner, MBA, doesn’t just talk about leadership—he’s lived it under pressure. As the Founder of 3 Point Care Consulting, David is a nationally recognized speaker in healthcare with more than 20 years on the front lines of an industry that ne... Show more

Nicolas Guillot

Nicolas Guillot

Hi! I’m Nicolas, a developer with over 25 years of experience, now working as a freelance mobile app developer.

My journey has taken me from programming MS-DOS games to building electronic test systems for the oil industry, before transitioning to mobile development in 2017.

Everything changed during an eco-volunteering mission in French Polynesia, where I monitored sea turtles. This experience inspired *“We Spot Turtles!”*, a side project that has since become one of my main activities as a freelancer.

In 2022, an unexpected encounter with an Australian helped propel the project onto the international stage, eventually leading to it being featured by Google in a global campaign.

Today, I build this solution using Flutter, co-organize the Flutter Nantes meetup, and aim to expand the impact of this application dedicated to sea turtle conservation worldwide.

Hi! I’m Nicolas, a developer with over 25 years of experience, now working as a freelance mobile app developer. My journey has taken me from programming MS-DOS games to building electronic test systems for the oil industry, before transitioning to... Show more

Claire Hayek

Claire Hayek

Claire Hayek, Eng., MBA, is a NeuroLeadership expert, TEDx speaker, and creator of Pressure-Proof Leadership™, a neuroscience-based system that protects decision quality, execution stability, and culture performance under pressure.

For more than 30 years, she has operated in high pressure environments, from growing up in war-torn Lebanon to engineering and executive leadership. Her work addresses one of the most expensive problems in business: leaders who lose strategic judgment precisely when it matters most.

Her thought leadership has been featured in International Business Times. She is the host of ‘The NeuroLeadership Edge Podcast’, ranked in the top 5% of podcasts globally, and the author of her second book 'The Leadership Skill Nobody Taught You: Calm Under Fire in the Age of Disruption' launched in September 2026 (French edition: La compétence en leadership que personne ne vous a apprise : garder son calme sous le feu à l’ère de la disruption - Oct 2026).

Her work bridges human resilience and organizational performance, focusing on one central question: how do we master pressure without becoming driven by it?

Claire Hayek, Eng., MBA, is a NeuroLeadership expert, TEDx speaker, and creator of Pressure-Proof Leadership™, a neuroscience-based system that protects decision quality, execution stability, and culture performance under pressure. For more than 3... Show more

Skyler Holobach

Skyler Holobach

Skyler Holobach built the compliance and abuse function at Pardot, now Salesforce, from scratch and spent 7 years deciding which senders got to keep sending. Her team made it through multiple acquisitions and shakeups without losing a single person, and she ranked in the top 10% of leaders at the company the entire time. She led product at SocketLabs next, where she grew revenue 25% year over year and shipped products from 0 to 1.

Today she runs Threadsmith Group, which pulls email senders out of deliverability crises (think Spamhaus listings, or the Monday morning when nothing is landing in the inbox) and fixes the habits that put them there. She has spoken at M3AAWG and Dreamforce more than once, and she chairs the Anti-Harassment committee for the Women of Email board, which has more than 9,000 members across 50 countries.

She writes and ships her own software with Claude Code and was a panelist on "Deciphering the AI Overwhelm" in New York. Years of watching bad actors hunt for every loophole give her a much less starry-eyed take on AI than most panels get. Her portfolio, also built with Claude, lives at holobach.com.

She also speaks on burnout, which she knows from every chair in the room: she has been the manager who caught it in her team before it became a resignation letter, she burned out herself as a high performer, and then she got laid off anyway with the metrics to prove performance was never the problem. Her Unspam talk on the neuroscience of burnout is where those two worlds met.

Off the clock, she trains saber and longsword at Athens School of Arms, crochets, sews, cross stitches, weaves, and has probably picked up another hobby since writing this bio. She holds a BS in Psychology from UGA and lives in Athens, Georgia.

Skyler Holobach built the compliance and abuse function at Pardot, now Salesforce, from scratch and spent 7 years deciding which senders got to keep sending. Her team made it through multiple acquisitions and shakeups without losing a single person, ... Show more

James Lesly Christophe

James Lesly Christophe

James Lesly didn't find yoga in a studio. He found it stretching on a cell floor, copying poses out of library books before he knew what they were called.

Four years inside, 46 days in solitary, and a body that never got the memo when the danger was over. When he got out, he put a 200-hour yoga teacher training on an old credit card. Then came a 200-hour trauma-informed training through the Prison Yoga Project, where he's now an Ambassador.

Since then he's taught corporate teams (Innergy Corporate Yoga), YMCA Montreal members, Club Med guests, older adults with Parkinson's and post-stroke clients, and yoga teachers in Bella Prāna Collective's 300-hour Advanced Studies training.

He founded Not Your Average Yogi, a Black-led Montreal nonprofit bringing trauma-informed yoga and breathwork to Black men, men coming home from prison and at-risk youth, and built Black Man. Breathe., a 10-week peer-led breathwork program. His memoir, Not Your Average Yogi: From Violence to Service, came out in 2026.

Every session is part story, part live practice. People leave with breathing tools they can use in their next meeting, shift or hard conversation.

In person across Canada (based in Montreal) · Virtual worldwide.

James Lesly didn't find yoga in a studio. He found it stretching on a cell floor, copying poses out of library books before he knew what they were called. Four years inside, 46 days in solitary, and a body that never got the memo when the danger w... Show more

Débora Wolosky

Débora Wolosky

Débora Wolosky es speaker vivencial, Licenciada en Recursos Humanos y Relaciones Públicas, y fundadora y directora de TIK RRHH. Hace más de 20 años trabaja con organizaciones, líderes y equipos de Latinoamérica, diseñando experiencias de aprendizaje, cultura y transformación. Sus conferencias combinan historias y casos reales, participación, humor y herramientas aplicables. Es creadora de Jutzpá Organizacional, el Modelo Centauro —(IA + IH) × AC— y Aprendizaje en la era de la IA. Su eje es qué capacidades humanas y culturales necesitamos para aprender, conservar el criterio y hacer que las cosas sucedan.

Trabajó con organizaciones como Mercedes-Benz, Natura, EY, Cencosud, Swiss Medical, Santander, Ford y Scania. Es docente en UCEMA y Burō Business School, y ha participado como columnista e invitada en Infobae, Clarín, iProfesional, CNN Radio, Revista Fortuna y Santander Post.

Débora Wolosky es speaker vivencial, Licenciada en Recursos Humanos y Relaciones Públicas, y fundadora y directora de TIK RRHH. Hace más de 20 años trabaja con organizaciones, líderes y equipos de Latinoamérica, diseñando experiencias de aprendizaje,... Show more

Nizzar Ben Chekroune

Nizzar Ben Chekroune

Nizzar Ben Chekroune is a Brand Strategist and Founder of Quantum Branding, working across Brand × AI × Business. His work focuses on the decisions underneath brands, products, marketing and technology: what should change, what matters, and what deserves to exist. Through Quantum Branding, he works across brand and positioning, marketing, digital experiences, AI systems, intelligent tools and organizational adoption. His career has moved across brands, institutions, culture and emerging technology, including a deep Web3/blockchain chapter and speaking appearances at international technology and innovation events. In 2025, he worked with Africa Business School / UM6P on a strategic marketing and emerging-technology engagement involving practical AI applications and internal workshops across several operational teams. He is also the creator of BrandOS, a product built from the Quantum Branding practice.

Nizzar Ben Chekroune is a Brand Strategist and Founder of Quantum Branding, working across Brand × AI × Business. His work focuses on the decisions underneath brands, products, marketing and technology: what should change, what matters, and what dese... Show more

Stephanie Weis

Stephanie Weis

Stephanie Weis, M.Ed. is a Product Manager at Carnegie Mellon University and an ADHD coach. She holds a Master of Education from Duquesne University and completed ICF-accredited coach training through the ADD Coach Academy (ADDCA). Diagnosed with ADHD as an adult, she draws on lived experience alongside her work at CMU's Central Computing Services, where she leads product strategy and continuous improvement for a 23-service IT portfolio across a decentralized, multi-campus organization, and was selected as 1 of 9 leaders from 300+ applicants for CMU's MOR Leaders program. She has taken the stage at NERCOMP (EDUCAUSE), the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Pittsburgh, the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, and Pennwriters, and was an adjunct faculty member teaching writing at the Community College of Allegheny County. Through her coaching practice, she works with individuals to move beyond one-size-fits-all strategies and find what actually works for the ADHD brain.

Stephanie Weis, M.Ed. is a Product Manager at Carnegie Mellon University and an ADHD coach. She holds a Master of Education from Duquesne University and completed ICF-accredited coach training through the ADD Coach Academy (ADDCA). Diagnosed with ADH... Show more

Chander Gupta

Chander Gupta

With a vivid experience of more than 21 years in the corporate and education sector. Holding a master’s in commerce and law and specializing in taxation, he has been working closely on accounting law ethics and their legal aspects. His interest in accounting and frauds lead him to learn more about Financial Crimes and as a result, is this book. He has presented and published his work in several conferences at national and international level, in Scopus. The author has four copyrights in his name and is currently working on Forensic Accounting and Financial Crimes, in his free time he is capturing nature or writing.
But one thing which keep me alive is I love to learn.

With a vivid experience of more than 21 years in the corporate and education sector. Holding a master’s in commerce and law and specializing in taxation, he has been working closely on accounting law ethics and their legal aspects. His interest in ac... Show more

Michael Allison

Michael Allison

Michael W. Allison works at the intersection of artificial intelligence, leadership, education, and organizational performance. He is the Founder and CEO of the Adversity Leadership Institute, an AI product builder, leadership strategist, educator, bestselling author, TEDx speaker, award-winning entrepreneur, and U.S. Marine Corps Purple Heart recipient.

His technology work includes creating AI-enabled SaaS platforms, intelligent agents, and conversational bots, with a focus on how people actually use, trust, and make decisions with emerging technology. He helps leaders move beyond the excitement surrounding AI and confront the harder questions: What problem are we solving? Who owns the decision? Where must human judgment remain? How will people adopt the technology, and how will results be measured?

Michael brings more than two decades of experience across combat leadership, government, higher education, entrepreneurship, business, and organizational development. He has led Marines in Iraq, managed multimillion-dollar government initiatives, directed higher education programs, and scaled an INC 5000 franchise through a successful exit. He holds a BA and MBA from Indiana Wesleyan University.

Through Adversity Leadership® and his Decision, Direction, and Destination framework, Michael brings technology strategy and human leadership together. His work helps organizations adopt innovation without losing clarity, accountability, sound judgment, or the people responsible for making it work.

Michael W. Allison works at the intersection of artificial intelligence, leadership, education, and organizational performance. He is the Founder and CEO of the Adversity Leadership Institute, an AI product builder, leadership strategist, educator, b... Show more

Marshmallow / Tyler

Marshmallow / Tyler

I'm a comic artist from Toronto who draws a lot of gay positive comics, and self publish my work! I'm also the suiter of MarshmallowMaw!

I'm a comic artist from Toronto who draws a lot of gay positive comics, and self publish my work! I'm also the suiter of MarshmallowMaw! Show more

Sahap Gizlen

Sahap Gizlen

Sahap Gizlen helps leaders decide where AI belongs in the business—and where it does not. Through Gizlen Global, he works at the intersection of AI adoption, operating design, communication, and execution.

His approach starts with the work itself: bottlenecks, unclear ownership, decision points, and the places where human judgment still matters. Rather than treating AI as a collection of tools, prompt tricks, or technology for its own sake, he focuses on practical ways to make work clearer, faster, and less dependent on constant intervention.

His background spans business operations, organizational leadership, education, communication, product development, and AI-enabled workflow design. This gives him a cross-functional perspective on how people, technology, and organizations actually work together.

His talks explore practical AI adoption, leadership, communication, the future of work, and the question organizations increasingly need to answer: Are we using AI to improve the way we work—or simply adding AI to a system that was already broken?

Sahap Gizlen helps leaders decide where AI belongs in the business—and where it does not. Through Gizlen Global, he works at the intersection of AI adoption, operating design, communication, and execution. His approach starts with the work itself:... Show more

Wiebke Apitzsch

Wiebke Apitzsch

Wiebke Apitzsch is a German expert in artificial intelligence (AI), data-driven transformation, and strategic change in business and industry. She has extensive experience in designing and implementing AI initiatives at the intersection of business, technology, and organizational development, with deep experience in AI Ethics. As co-founder and CTO of the consulting firm AI.IMPACT, she supports organizations across industries in strategically embedding AI solutions and making them operationally effective.

Previously, she held leadership roles at Boston Consulting Group, TTE Strategy, and StatSoft, with a focus on data-driven decision-making models, change management, and translating analytical potential into sustainable business value. Wiebke Apitzsch is a certified Executive Coach (INSEAD), an MBA student in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at LMU Munich, and a sought-after speaker at conferences and podcasts. She is also committed to promoting diversity in the tech sector and advocates for greater visibility of women in technology-driven industries.

Wiebke Apitzsch is a German expert in artificial intelligence (AI), data-driven transformation, and strategic change in business and industry. She has extensive experience in designing and implementing AI initiatives at the intersection of business, ... Show more

Heather McDaniel

Heather McDaniel

Heather McDaniel is a speaker, writer, and organizational consultant based in Spain. She writes and speaks about how people work, lead, decide, learn, and create together.

Her perspective draws on a 28-year career spanning communication, operations, consulting, learning, and facilitation, including work with international and distributed teams across Europe and North America.

She works with leadership teams on organizational readiness, leadership alignment, decision-making, and how people work together through change. Her current work also includes using training and communication expertise to improve AI models for a leading AI lab, and she is Microsoft Certified as an AI Transformation Leader.

Heather also works in adult learning and Erasmus+ partnerships across Europe, designing and facilitating learning experiences for international and cross-cultural groups.

She writes Letters From the Joyful Rebellion, a personal column about the things she notices, the questions she keeps coming back to, and what they show us about the way we live.

Her speaking brings together practical organizational experience, systems thinking, curiosity, and a longstanding interest in power, language, culture, technology, and how people make sense of change.

She is based in Cullera, Valencia, Spain, and is available for talks, workshops, panels, and facilitated learning across Europe and North America, in person or virtually.

Heather McDaniel is a speaker, writer, and organizational consultant based in Spain. She writes and speaks about how people work, lead, decide, learn, and create together. Her perspective draws on a 28-year career spanning communication, operation... Show more

Tanya Hallett

Tanya Hallett

Tanya Hallett is the an award winning, trauma informed practice and diversity, equity and inclusion specialist. After teaching in some of WA's hardest to staff schools, she decided to take what she had learned outside of education and into the corporate and government world. She is the founder and CEO of TIPT. She specialises in building trauma informed workplaces, mental health and well being, and building team culture through psychological safety and mitigating psychosocial risk. She is a Mental Health First Aid Instructor, a Grief First Aid Instructor, and a LEGO Serious Play facilitator.

Tanya Hallett is the an award winning, trauma informed practice and diversity, equity and inclusion specialist. After teaching in some of WA's hardest to staff schools, she decided to take what she had learned outside of education and into the corpor... Show more

Dr. Saara Haapanen

Dr. Saara Haapanen

Dr. Saara Haapanen is a human performance and leadership strategist, speaker, and internationally published researcher whose PhD work focused on motivation and optimal performance.
For more than 25 years, she has coached and trained high performers across individual, team, and organizational settings, from elite athletes and executives to physicians and large workforces.
Through Performance is Haapanen, she helps organizations create the conditions for their humans to perform at their best. Her work integrates motivation science, psychobiosocial performance, neurodiversity, workplace well-being, and practical performance design.
Saara has been featured in Forbes Health, Shape, Reader’s Digest, and other national media and is known for energetic, highly interactive sessions that turn research into ideas leaders can immediately use.

Dr. Saara Haapanen is a human performance and leadership strategist, speaker, and internationally published researcher whose PhD work focused on motivation and optimal performance. For more than 25 years, she has coached and trained high performers... Show more

Rahul Kapoor

Rahul Kapoor

Rahul is a Speaker, Mindset Coach and Author who
lives with a vision and purpose to help people across
the world to ignite their inner potential and achieve
results that matter.

He incorporates valuable content for business and
personal growth with practical and implementable
tools. Rahul is known as a 'live wire' in delivering
highly memorable, inspirational programs to
individuals, teams and organizations.
His customized content, which is a combination of
Psychology, Science and Spirituality, is delivered to
hundreds of prominent organizations, including many
Fortune 500 companies.

Over the last 25 years, Rahul Kapoor’s programs have
inspired over 5,00,000 people across 15 countries like
India, Australia, Canada, Malaysia, Singapore, USA and
the Middle East.
Participants have shown tremendous connect with
self, improved health, enhanced relationships and
reported significant rise in productivity.

Rahul is also a guest faculty at Indian Institute of
Management, Bangalore & JAIN Deemed to be University.
He was also the Official Host for Royal Challengers
Bangalore cricket team in DLF IPL 3, 4, and 5.

Author and Columnist
He has inspired many through his columns in leading dailies like The Times of India - Education Times,
Dainik Bhaskar and Feelings Magazine. He has authored two books:
WorkWise – Lessons in Excellence for Young Professionals
Dad and I – Inspiring Stories for Teen

Awards and Achievements
BRIEF PROFILE
Mindset Coach Speaker Author
Recognized as Motivational Speaker
of The Year 2025 by Times Group
Currently Ranked #47 among Top 100
Motivational Speakers Worldwide on
Feedspot
Honored with Suryadutta National
Award for Best Motivational Speaker

Rahul is a Speaker, Mindset Coach and Author who lives with a vision and purpose to help people across the world to ignite their inner potential and achieve results that matter. He incorporates valuable content for business and personal growth... Show more

Ivo van den Berk

Ivo van den Berk

Dr. Ivo van den Berk ist wissenschaftlicher Leiter Transfer und Teamleiter Wissenstransfer in der Stiftung Innovation in der Hochschullehre. Mit seinem Team hat er den Transferkiosk (die Projekt- und Maßnahmen- und Publikationsdatenbank der StIL) entwickelt. Zuvor war er u.a. Leiter hochschuldidaktischer Einrichtungen in Emden und Hamburg, an der Universität Hamburg zudem Studiendekan des Master of Higher Education sowie Vertretungsprofessor für Hochschuldidaktik. Er ist Initiator und Mitherausgeber der Online Zeitschriften die hochschullehre und patternpool. Er ist Fellow des Stifterverbands und Mitglied des Netzwerks Lehre-hoch-N. Seine Interessen und Arbeitsschwerpunkte liegen in der Weiterentwicklung von Lehre und Studium, insbesondere durch Verbesserung der Zugänglichkeit zu sowie der Systematisierung von hochschul- und wissenschaftsdidaktischem Wissen.

Dr. Ivo van den Berk ist wissenschaftlicher Leiter Transfer und Teamleiter Wissenstransfer in der Stiftung Innovation in der Hochschullehre. Mit seinem Team hat er den Transferkiosk (die Projekt- und Maßnahmen- und Publikationsdatenbank der StIL) ent... Show more

Stephanie Colores

Stephanie Colores

Stephanie Colores Bueno is a former Fortune 100 HR executive with over 23 years at Procter & Gamble, where she led global leadership development, culture transformation, and enterprise change initiatives. In her final years, she played a key role in shaping the growth and restructuring of the Information Technology function, supporting enterprise digital transformation and the adoption of AI. She is the Founder of Strategic Connexus, a boutique advisory firm focused on strategy, transformation, and leadership development, helping founders and mid-sized organizations connect strategy, people, and technology to drive adoption, transformation, and growth. She is currently completing the Chief Human Resources Officer Executive Program at Wharton, University of Pennsylvania.
Stephanie is a sought-after speaker, facilitator, and executive coach who equips leaders and teams to navigate complexity, lead through transformation, and build high-performing, human-centered cultures. Drawing from over two decades of global experience across three countries, she brings a practical, business-driven perspective grounded in real enterprise transformation. Her sessions combine leadership, change management, and storytelling to create engaging, actionable experiences that resonate from emerging leaders to C-suite executives. Known for translating strategy into people-centered execution, she helps organizations close the gap between vision and results in today’s fast-evolving digital environment. Her work focuses on enabling founders and leaders of growing, mid-sized organizations to lead at the pace of transformation—aligning strategy, people, and technology to accelerate adoption, strengthen execution, and deliver measurable business results.

Stephanie Colores Bueno is a former Fortune 100 HR executive with over 23 years at Procter & Gamble, where she led global leadership development, culture transformation, and enterprise change initiatives. In her final years, she played a key role in ... Show more

Jonathan Ward

Jonathan Ward

Ex-CEO turned author, consultant, and educator, I have spent thirty years of international leadership experience at the intersection of AI, Business Agility, and DevOps. I'm the author of The Supercharged Enterprise: Strategic Adaptation for Growth and Resilience (Business Expert Press) and Developing Agile Coaches, and I've distilled that experience into the Blueprint for Enterprise Agility — a framework built on eight Leadership Behaviours and eight Operational Processes that I teach and apply directly in client transformations.

My current work focuses on where AI meets governance and portfolio management: I've developed and deliver a course treating Lean Portfolio Management combined with AI as a control system, with AI as the sensing and optimisation layer — alongside advisory work helping financial services and other regulated organisations govern AI responsibly. I believe, and have proven repeatedly, that Enterprise Agility done well produces measurable growth and profit, not just cultural change for its own sake.

I've operated at every level from board to project team, across Financial Services, Banking, Payments, Insurance, FMCG, TV, and Retail — leading large-scale agile transformations and applying AI directly in software development and testing environments. That range across people, process, technology, and now AI governance lets me craft change initiatives that hold up under real organisational pressure, not just in the deck.

Ex-CEO turned author, consultant, and educator, I have spent thirty years of international leadership experience at the intersection of AI, Business Agility, and DevOps. I'm the author of The Supercharged Enterprise: Strategic Adaptation for Growth a... Show more

Cade Bradford Knudson

Cade Bradford Knudson

Cade Bradford Knudson is a financial professional with tremendous experience managing multi-million dollar portfolios for various clients across the broader financial industry. While working for hedge funds, he has learned various skills, including quantitative analysis, relative valuations, and macroeconomic analysis. He spends a significant amount of time analyzing financial trends, valuing different companies, and looking for investment opportunities on behalf of his clients. He also keeps his eyes open, learning from some of the top professionals in the industry, and applying everything he knows to his own career. This steady approach helps him focus on process, risk control, and clear communication.

Cade Knudson of Denver set his sights on the business world early. He noticed how people around him made decisions and looked for small ways to practice those habits. He graduated toward the top of his class in high school and went on to one of the top colleges in the country. In college, he took numerous business courses, held part-time jobs that taught accountability, and followed through on internships he used to network. Because the business world is incredibly competitive, particularly for those who want to work in equities, he aimed to build simple routines he could repeat—read carefully, test assumptions, and explain conclusions plainly.

After he finished college, he spent several years working. He wanted to apply what he learned, refine judgment, and earn trust with results. The hours were long, but the lessons were practical. By learning how to take lessons from the school and apply them in real life, he built many essential skills that he continues to use. He also got to work with various business clients, continuously generating positive returns on their behalf. That record helped him gain admission to one of the top graduate programs in the country and confirmed the value of preparation and steady execution.

He decided to go back to graduate school and attend DU. There, he distinguished himself from a lot of his peers, graduating magna cum laude from the program. The recognition opened doors, but the habits behind it mattered more: careful research, clear writing, and attention to risk. He immediately garnered the attention of some of the top firms in the industry, which allowed him to land an exceptional job. In his current role, he moves projects from planning to delivery, aiming for straightforward memos and measured position sizing.

Working with different teams has been an essential part of his development. He has shown an ability to work with people from diverse backgrounds, which helps him consistently meet deadlines and requirements for client deliverables. He tries to listen first, ask specific questions, and keep meetings centered on next steps. When results arrive, he reviews what worked, notes what did not, and adjusts his process.

Service is part of his week. Cade Knudson of Denver regularly donates to a safe house for domestic violence victims in Denver. He also supports a food bank in the Rocky Mountains. Many people in the area do not have access to a steady supply of fresh food, and he helps the organization maintain resources so neighbors can count on a nutritious meal. These efforts are practical and local, focused on steady help rather than headlines.

Outside of work, he spends time outdoors. Denver offers easy access to mountains, and he takes advantage of that. During the winter, he often skis at nearby resorts. As seasons change, he turns to fishing and fly fishing for quiet and patience. He also spends time with family and friends exploring some of the Rocky Mountains’ most beautiful hiking and biking trails.

Even though his job is demanding, he tries to gather with loved ones during the holidays and check in during the year. He enjoys mentoring people interested in finance, sharing simple practices that helped him start. The goal is consistent: do the work carefully, keep learning, and humbly serve clients and the community. This path continues to guide Cade Bradford Knudson in the financial sector.

Cade Bradford Knudson is a financial professional with tremendous experience managing multi-million dollar portfolios for various clients across the broader financial industry. While working for hedge funds, he has learned various skills, including q... Show more

Ceri Newton-Sargunar

Ceri Newton-Sargunar

Ceri is an interactions specialist, chaologist and trainee neuroscientist, adept at helping people at all levels work together more effectively. With a background in teaching, she's poised to make evidence-based research accessible and useful to leaders who care about a more effective approach.

As a qualified coach, and a team dynamics & systemic interventions consultant with more than a decade of hands-on experience working with senior leadership teams in government, large multinational private and public organisations and fledgling start-ups, Ceri is at her best when she's helping you and your people find some calm in the chaos.

Tea in hand, Ceri works globally and is continually delighted to speak with audiences worldwide, mostly about the beautiful intermingling of behavioural science and hopeful future-focused transformation.

She also loves researching and talking about brains - because once a nerd, always a nerd...

Ceri is an interactions specialist, chaologist and trainee neuroscientist, adept at helping people at all levels work together more effectively. With a background in teaching, she's poised to make evidence-based research accessible and useful to lead... Show more

Simen Svenkerud

Simen Svenkerud

Simen Svenkerud is a Senior consultant at Webstep with extensive experience in data engineering , Data science and platform architecture. His career spans significant roles in major Nordic organizations, with particular expertise in regulated industries and complex data environments.
At Norwegian Air Shuttle, he is leading their data platform modernization initiative, implementing a group-wide data sharing solution and modernizing their data warehouse architecture.

Simen specializes in designing and implementing modern data platforms with a focus on security, scalability, and regulatory compliance.
His approach combines deep technical knowledge with practical business understanding, enabling him to deliver solutions that balance security requirements with operational efficiency. He works in transforming legacy systems and establishing robust data governance frameworks in enterprise environments. Simens started as Research methodologist and statistician. Moving though the roles working with data and moving down the stack. Having interacted with data and technology from multiple angles, provides him with several perspectives to draw upon in his talks.

Simen Svenkerud is a Senior consultant at Webstep with extensive experience in data engineering , Data science and platform architecture. His career spans significant roles in major Nordic organizations, with particular expertise in regulated industr... Show more

Christal Chatman

Christal Chatman

Dr. Christal L. Chatman is an author, speaker, Certified Professional Life Coach, and higher education leader who is passionate about helping people create healthier, more intentional lives. Drawing from her experience in leadership, coaching, relationships, and personal development, she brings practical insight, authenticity, and encouragement to every audience.

She is the creator of the "Girl, Rest" movement and "Connection" experiences, designed to help women and couples build stronger, healthier lives. Dr. Christal is also the author of "Girl, Rest: Taking Time for God and Yourself", "Man, Be Still", "Behind the Mask", and "Connection: A 12-Week Guided Journal for Couples".

With a Doctor of Business Administration, MBA, and bachelor's degree in Accounting, Dr. Christal combines more than three decades of higher education experience with her work as a coach, author, and speaker. Her speaking topics include rest and wellness, leadership, relationships, personal growth, boundaries, purpose, and creating sustainable balance in demanding environments.

Known for making meaningful topics relatable and actionable, Dr. Christal encourages audiences to slow down, reconnect with what matters, and make intentional choices that support both personal and professional growth.

Dr. Christal L. Chatman is an author, speaker, Certified Professional Life Coach, and higher education leader who is passionate about helping people create healthier, more intentional lives. Drawing from her experience in leadership, coaching, relati... Show more

Jessica Katz

Jessica Katz

Jessica Katz is passionate about the development of consent-filled environments, accelerating organizational growth, and enhancing effective leadership. She leverages her deep expertise in navigating complex, non-traditional relationships to revolutionize the world of work and champion diversity of thought. Specializing in establishing clear boundaries and effective communication, she provides strategic guidance to leaders tackling challenging workplace dynamics, ensuring mutual respect and maximizing productivity within their teams.

Jessica Katz is passionate about the development of consent-filled environments, accelerating organizational growth, and enhancing effective leadership. She leverages her deep expertise in navigating complex, non-traditional relationships to revoluti... Show more

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