Sue Oliver is the Senior Vice President of the Wal-Mart Stores, the world's #1 retailer, with about 6,775 stores, including some 1,075 discount stores, 2,250 combination discount and grocery stores. She formerly served as Senior Vice President – Human Resources for American Airlines, where she was responsible for all human resource functions for both corporate and field operations. She joined American in 1986 and held a number of progressively responsible management positions with the company, including Vice President of Employee Relations and Chief Negotiator. In her current position, Sue oversees all aspects of human resources including succession planning, retention, sourcing, learning and development and HR Strategies for all Wal-Mart Stores, Supercenters, and Neighborhood Markets in the United States. Sue will leverage her vast experience to discuss how WalMart are driving forward their business with HR at the centre stage.

Stephen Wing is the Head of Government Programs for CVS Caremark. Under Wing’s leadership CVS’ Government Programs division has taken an active role in Welfare to Work and Faith-based Initiatives. Wing recognizes CVS’s role with mature workers and has built relationships to more effectively employ these older workers. In 1992, less than 7% of the company’s workforce represented people over 50. Today that number has increased to 17% of workers ranging from 50 to over 90. The major change was precipitated by the recognition of impending labor shortages and a coordinated partnership with the National Council on the Aging, AARP, the Women’s Bureau and Experience Works in recruitment. As a result of this work through CVS, Wing received the Dorothy Bauer Award from Maturity Alliance for his leadership and commitment to the employment of mature workers. Stephen shares his insight and knowledge of the baby boomer market and evaluates CVS Caremark’s positive initiatives within this area.

Libby Sartain is the Chief People Officer at Yahoo! Inc, the leading online information portal, drawing more than 400 million people to its network of Web sites. Libby is responsible for leading Yahoo! Inc.'s global human resources efforts and managing and developing the human resources team focusing on attracting, retaining, and developing Yahoo!'s employees who promote and strengthen the company culture, as well as represent the powerful Yahoo! brand. Libby also served as chairman of the Society for Human Resource Management in 2001 and was named fellow of the National Academy of Human Resources in 1998. Libby has co-authored: HR from the Heart: Inspiring Stories and Strategies for Building the People Side of Great Business and Brand from the Inside: Eight Essentials to Connect Your Employees to Your Business. Through Libby’s vast industry knowledge she delivers an inspirational discussion on HR development throughout an organization.

Lew Walker is the Vice President of Human Resources – AT&T Mobility. In this role, Lew is responsible for Corporate and Field Human Resources for various client groups. At Cingular Wireless, Lew was Vice President of Human Resources, Operations and Labor. Before joining Cingular in 2000, Lew was Vice President of Human Resources for SBC Wireless from 1995. From 1992 to 1995 he was Director of Human Resources for Associated Communications. Lew received his bachelors degree from State University of New York at Plattsburgh. In addition, he has the designation of Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) from the Society of Human Resources. In this session Lew will leverage his knowledge and experience to discuss how HR can help drive the Merger & Acquisition process and develop value between the two companies.

Mark is Head of Diversity at Miller Brewing Company in Milwaukee, WI. In this capacity, Mark has responsibility for all facets of diversity strategy, planning, programs, leadership coaching, external partnerships and alliances and AAP/EEO programs.In 2001, Mark joined W.W. Grainger as Director, Diversity. He had Complete responsibility for all workforce diversity planning, strategy, programs, initiatives, measurements, diversity representation goals, leadership coaching, external partnerships and alliances, recruitment, AAP’s/EEO programs and all facets of diversity management. Accomplishments includes the development of two diversity councils, a three-year diversity improvement plan, corporate-wide diversity metrics plan, diversity mentor program, led the development of three venues for diversity awareness & education, established partnership/alliance with several minority organizations, positioned diversity as a business intangible that will help business evolve, aligned diversity objectives with leadership performance management and provided leadership for the re-alignment of the Supplier Diversity function at Grainger.

Jack Phillips is a world-renowned expert on accountability, measurement, and evaluation. Phillips provides consulting services for Fortune 500 companies and major global organizations. The author or editor of more than fifty books, SHRM has presented him an award for his books and honored a Phillips ROI study with its highest award for creativity. The American Society for Training and Development awarded Distinguished Contribution to Workplace Learning and Development for his work on ROI. His expertise in measurement and evaluation is based on more than 27 years of corporate experience in the aerospace, textile, metals, construction materials, and banking industries. Dr. Phillips has served as training and development manager at two Fortune 500 firms, as senior human resource officer at two firms, as president of a regional bank, and as management professor at a major state university. This background led Dr. Phillips to develop the ROI Methodology which will be presented here a revolutionary process that provides bottom-line figures and accountability for all types of learning, performance improvement, human resource, technology, and public policy programs.

Brian Schipper is the SVP of HR for Cisco Systems, a highly respected Human Resources (HR) senior executive with over twenty-five years of wide ranging HR experience he leads the HR function for Cisco. Skip and his Cisco HR team provide the people and organization strategy to support the growth of the company in its existing and emerging products and markets. Cisco’s workforce of over 70,000 employees support the development of products and support to customers in over 200 countries worldwide. Prior to joining Cisco, Schipper led the HR function for the Platforms and Services Division (PSD) of Microsoft. The PSD HR team provided Human Resource support to an organization of 20,000 employees worldwide. Previously at Microsoft, Schipper led the Compensation & Benefits, Systems & Solutions, and Employee Relations teams at Microsoft. Skip will be leveraging his vast knowledge through working with leaders at Cisco, Microsoft, Double Click and PepsiCo to discuss leadership development strategies and what they can bring to an organization.

Deborah began her career with General Motors Australia where she assumed a variety of roles over her 6 years. After generalist roles in the Engine Operations facility, she assumed the position of Organisational Effectiveness Consultant, charged with establishing General Motors University in the Pacific region, and setting up assessment and development centres for recruitment and hi potential development. Deborah joined Dow in 2000 as the HR Manager for Australia / New Zealand based in Altona, Melbourne. During her time in the Pacific, she led Compensation initiatives in the Pacific region and led a number of projects across Human Resources Development (HRD) and Workforce Planning. In 2003, Deborah relocated to Horgen, Switzerland to take on the role of HR Business Service Leader for a number of businesses in the Basic Plastics & Chemicals, Performance Plastics & Chemicals (PP&C), and Hydrocarbons & Energy portfolios. In October 2006, she relocated to Midland, Michigan to assume the role of Workforce Planning Leader for North and Latin America, managing the recruiting activity for these two regions. Deborah was appointed to her most recent role of Global HR Director, Marketing and Sales in January 2008.

In response to what they saw as the failed “one size fits all” business plan prevalent among staffing firms, Debra Horowitz and Regina McGuire originated the concept of “super-niche” staffing for the Human Resources industry. Their firm places only HR professionals – and only in temporary assignments – at Fortune and emerging-growth companies across the United States. As such, they are expert commentators on the Contract HR labor market from both the contractor and client perspective and regularly speak regarding the relevant trends and issues. Prior to forming Continuiti, Debra Horowitz was a commercial banker and Wall Street retained search consultant and Regina McGuire was a commercial litigator and legal search consultant. Together they possess over 20 years of experience within the professional Contract HR industry.

Max Brown is a trainer for 'The Carrot Culture Group' by O.C. Tanner. He’s taken clients rappelling off the Great Wall of China, facilitated at the Parliament of World Religions Conference in Spain, and spoken to a cheering crowd in the Netherlands. Prior to joining OC Tanner, Max lived in Shanghai, China for five years running programs for multi-national corporations and setting up a small retail business in 21 locations. With his experience in leadership training, speaking, and facilitating around the world, Max brings a global perspective to the challenge of motivating people. Max laces his presentations with stories and examples that inspire people to act. Audiences at companies such as GE, DELL, Harrah’s Entertainment , DHL, Coca-Cola,e-Bay China, and Pepsi Americas have raved about his interactive, engaging style. As a result, he travels nearly 200,000 miles per year to deliver over 100 presentations to dozens of clients around the globe! Max is also a member of the National Speaker’s Association and the American Society for Training & Development.

In response to what they saw as the failed “one size fits all” business plan prevalent among staffing firms, Debra Horowitz and Regina McGuire originated the concept of “super-niche” staffing for the Human Resources industry. Their firm places only HR professionals – and only in temporary assignments – at Fortune and emerging-growth companies across the United States. As such, they are expert commentators on the Contract HR labor market from both the contractor and client perspective and regularly speak regarding the relevant trends and issues. Prior to forming Continuiti, Debra Horowitz was a commercial banker and Wall Street retained search consultant and Regina McGuire was a commercial litigator and legal search consultant. Together they possess over 20 years of experience within the professional Contract HR industry.

Erica Tickle, PHR developed and leads the Organizational Effectiveness function for Wegmans Food Markets, a high-end grocery retailer based out of Rochester, NY. Wegmans has been on the 100 Best Companies to Work For list for the past 10 years. Erica’s 12 years of experience with the company includes assignments in Store Operations, Human Resources, and Training and Development. Erica is a graduate of Cornell University and has her MBA from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Her passion is in helping groups improve performance through practical innovations in organizational design, change management and team effectiveness.

John Hollon is the editor of Workforce Management, a Crain Communications’ publication based in Irvine, California. John is an award-winning journalist who spent 20 years in newspapers as an editor for Hearst at the late Los Angeles Herald Examiner, for Freedom Communications at The Orange County Register, and as the top editor for Gannett at two statewide papers – the Great Falls Tribune in Montana, and The Honolulu Advertiser in Hawaii. Under John’s leadership, the staff of the Great Falls Tribune was honored as Gannett’s most improved newspaper, and John was named one of the company’s 10 best editors. While in Hawaii, John’s staff at The Honolulu Advertiser won the two top Best of Gannett Awards, including the Public Service award for an investigation into prisoner abuse at the Hawaii State Prison. John will be moderating the conference and using his vast knowledge in HR to put forward questions to the speaking faculty

Debra France leads a global team of learning and development associates at W.L. Gore & Associates. Gore is one of only five companies included in every selection of Fortune Magazine's "100 Best Companies to Work For" since the list began in 1984 and has also been cited among the "Best Places to Work" in Germany, Italy and Scotland. Fast Company Magazine once called Gore the most innovative company in America. Since it was founded in 1958, the company has operated in a non-hierarchical manner to optimize its ability to innovate. Prior to joining Gore, Ms. France was the Director of Training for Barnes & Noble in Manhattan and Senior Manager for Executive and Management Development for Dell Inc. in Austin. She will earn a doctorate from Columbia University in May 2008 after completing her doctoral study on creating supportive environments for innovators.

Karthik is responsible for the HR function for Infosys Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ: INFY) across North America, Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and Asia Pacific. The scope covers over 15 countries and 20000 employees. The role involves providing leadership in HR across various functions, through a multicultural and diverse team located in each country / geography. It also involves developing and driving policy formulation in each of these countries, thought leadership and strategy on people matters, capability building and talent acquisition and engagement globally to meet business objectives. Prior to playing this role, he was Global Head of Recruitment for Infosys from February 2001 till 2005. In January 2005, he transitioned into his current role leaving the recruitment function to be managed by the team he mentored. Karthik joined Infosys in September 1999.

Bob Riordan is the leader of the Labor and Employment Group at the Atlanta-based firm of Alston & Bird LLP. Mr. Riordan concentrates his practice on employment, business tort and other litigation, including class, individual, federal and state law based claims. Mr. Riordan has handled cases throughout the country and has represented employers in a great variety of industries, including hotel, restaurant, apparel, travel, heavy equipment, technology, insurance and parcel delivery. His practice regularly involves defending companies against claims of race, gender, age, disability and other prohibited discrimination, as well as claims brought under the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, contract theories, public accommodation laws and wrongful discharge law. Mr. Riordan also prosecutes and defends claims of unfair competition, tortious interference, breach of acquisition related agreements, theft of trade secrets and similar claims

John is currently Senior Advisor within Shell’s Global Diversity & Inclusiveness Consultancy Practice, where he serves as a catalyst for change by integrating D&I into Shell’s global business and people strategies. Over the course of his career, John has held various Human Resources generalist and managerial roles across most of Shell’s business segments. He has previously served as the membership chair of the Conference Board Diversity Council, was a charter member of the Business Women’s Network Diversity Best Practices Council, and currently serves on the Board of Directors for the National Hispanic Corporate Council.

Larry Hofer is the Vice President for Cox Communications, one of the largest cable provider in the nation noted for its high-capacity, reliable broadband delivery network, superior customer care and “people-centric” culture. With more than 6 million total residential and commercial customer relationships, over 22,000 employees and a firm commitment to education, the Cox team is widely regarded as industry leaders, having earned multiple distinctions in customer satisfaction, diversity practices and company strategy by J.D. Power and Associates, PC Magazine, Cableworld, Diversity Inc, to name a few. As Vice President of People Services in Cox San Diego, Larry provides organizational and strategic direction for Human Resources, Learning and Organizational Development, Risk Management, Property and System Fleet Management for the organization. Larry will discuss Cox Communications perspective on disaster recovery and the strategies that they have had to implement to continue business operations and accomodate staff during disasters, such as the recent Californian Forest fires.

David Metzger is the Director of Management Development for Canon USA, a world leader in imaging technology and development of a wide range of cameras, office imaging products, computer peripherals, business information products, and optical products. In this role, David is responsible for all aspects of talent management including learning and development, high-potential identification and development, succession planning, and executive development. David joined Canon in 2005 and has led the strategy for leadership and professional development including the design of Canon’s new corporate university. In addition, David was responsible for the design of a corporate-wide competency framework that has become the foundation for Canon’s new competency based Human Resources system.

Ashleigh Smith, PHR is the Human Resource Manager for the Pharmacy, HBC and Cosmetics Corporate Offices at Wegmans Food Markets. Wegmans Food Markets has been a leader in the retail industry by making the Top 100 Best Companies list over the past 10 years. Ashleigh is a graduate of the Rochester Institute of Technology and holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Management and Human Resources. During her 15 years with the company, Ashleigh has worked within the Store Operations and Human Resource Departments. Her primary role is to partner strategically with management teams & HR professionals to deliver people solutions to meet key business objectives.

Dan Hanyzewski is the Global Staffing Director for Nike. He has been engaged in recruiting for over twenty five years and has participated as a member of the Corporate Staff, on a Retainer Agreement as well as an exclusive Contract Staffing Agreement for companies whose businesses range from Integration Services, Hardware Computer Manufacturing, Telecommunications providers, Internetworking organization; IT services Industry to most recently the number one Global Sports Company. Prior to Nike , Dan founded West Shore Partners / Redmitten.com a thriving full service Staffing Organization after retiring as Director of Worldwide Staffing for Lucent / INS and Director of North American Recruitment for iGate formerly known as Mastech. He has been integral in the staffing and organizational development of several firms including but not limited to, Data General, SHL, Ameritech Information Systems, Motorola and Cisco Systems. He has worked extensively with the Executive Branch of these and other organizations and has been regarded as an important resource. Dan has demonstrated a consistency and an acute awareness of what is required to add value to the services he is chartered with providing.

Martha Kinard is the Regional Director of the NLRB and has been working as an attorney for over 25 years. The National Labor Relations Board is an independent federal agency created by Congress in 1935 to administer the National Labor Relations Act, the primary law governing relations between unions and employers in the private sector. The statute guarantees the right of employees to organize and to bargain collectively with their employers, and to engage in other protected concerted activity with or without a union, or to refrain from all such activity. Martha will be sharing her legal expertise and discussing the issues that surround employers, employees and unions.

Michael Ward was the President of Integrated Performance Systems, Inc. (IPS), Chicago, Illinois. In August of 2006, IPS was acquired by Beeline (an MPS Group company). Mr. Ward has over 20 years of business experience in technology solutions. During his entire career, Mr. Ward has counseled organizations in gaining competitive advantages as they attempt to leverage technology to achieve business results. He has worked with clients in a wide variety of industries, including legal, insurance, medical, distribution, software, financial services, telecommunications, non-profit organizations, manufacturing and publishing. Mr. Ward began working with software applications in the late 1980’s when he worked in various sales, marketing, and training capacities within the manufacturing industry. As Director of Learning and Development, he leveraged new technology and sales automation to help increase productivity significantly in a $2 billion company. In 1994, he founded IPS as a means to leverage and integrate various business processes to optimize

Ronald C. Glover is IBM’s Vice President, Global Workforce Diversity, Human Resources, with worldwide responsibility for workforce diversity. Mr. Glover joined IBM in 2003 as Vice President, HR, Integrated Supply Chain, and subsequently became Vice President, HR, IBM Global Services-Americas. Prior to joining IBM, Mr. Glover was Vice President, HR, for i2 Technologies, a global software supplier. Before joining i2 Technologies, he was Vice President, HR, Global IT Outsourcing at Compaq Computer. Mr. Glover joined Digital Equipment Corporation in 1982 as a corporate legal counsel, HR, and later held a variety of HR management and executive positions of increasing responsibility.Mr. Glover is a member of the Society of Human Resource Managers and the New England Human Resource Association. He is a founding member of both the Conference Board’s Council on Workforce Diversity and the New England Labor Council. In this presentation Mr Glover will share his thoughts and ideas on developing IBM's global workforce and inparticular initiatives used within IBM to aid the transition of employees returning to the workplace

Michael R. Kannisto is Global Staffing Director at Bausch & Lomb. Mike joined B&L in July 2006, and is responsible for leading staffing policies and practices, the staffing team in the United States, and Global internship & co-op programs. Michael received a B.S. in chemistry from Hope College, a Ph.D. in chemistry from Texas A&M University, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the Materials Science and Engineering Department at the University of Michigan. Mike is a member of the American Chemical Society, the Society for Human Resource Management, and has earned certification as a Senior Professional in Human Resources from HRCI. He is also a certified Process Excellence Greenbelt, and is a member of the MBA Focus Advisory Board. Michael is a respected author, and his work can by found in publications ranging from Inorganic Chemistry and The Journal of the American Ceramic Society to The Journal of Corporate Recruiting Leadership. He contributes regularly to the ERE Daily electronic newsletter, and serves as an expert advisor for the Human Capital Institute’s Employer Branding learning track.

Sherry is a leader in strategic human resources through consulting and guiding organization through large growth and significant company transformations. Her work experiences have been both in an external consulting role and internally as an Officer in large companies. She has held these positions both within learning and development and the HR generalist function. During her tenure at American Airlines she helped the organization manage through several corporate changes post 9-11 including providing crisis services for the organization and helping the HR organization to transition from a traditional model to a shared services service model. At FedEx Kinko’s she has helped to build a talent management philosophy utilizing succession planning all the way to the store manager level to support the growth of 200- 300 new stores per year. Along with building strong talent within the organization, she has implemented mid-level and executive leadership programs which have significantly improved the retention of key leadership by 50%. Her department has won several awards and recognition for their outstanding training design.

Gary Schwartz is Vice President, Product Marketing at Confirmit. In his role at Confirmit, Gary is responsible for developing applications of Confirmit’s online survey, analysis and reporting platform with clients, as well as driving development of the Confirmit product. Gary, has a long background in CRM and its applications in Market Research: he run the UK business for Informative, an MR software vendor, and held Product Marketing roles at Microstrategy, a leading BI software vendor.

One of the country's leading hiring experts and a pioneer in assessment and development technology, Kevin has been a sought-after consultant for corporations around the world. Co-author of the best-selling business book, Hiring Great People, Kevin's reputation as a premier authority on human resource solutions has made him a national spokesperson for his industry and the global business community. Kevin co-founded Select International in 1993 and is considered among the industry's earliest innovators of web-based assessment technology. Before starting his own company, he headed the start-up and expansion services division for Development Dimensions International (DDI). He is a member of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology Inc (SIOP), the American Compensation Association (ACA) and the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). Kevin's areas of concentration include; Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO), Virtual Job Auditions (VJA) and organizational turnover.