ANN CUSHMAN

Learning Experience Design Lead, SAP

Ann Cushman is the Learning Experience Design Lead for the Global Catalyst program at SAP.

Ann brings over 25 years of Learning and Development capabilities to her role with deep experience in Instructional/Learning Experience Design, Leadership Development, and Curriculum Management.

As Learning Experience Design Lead, she provides strategy and direction and is accountable for the successful building of Catalyst Learning Journeys. The SAP Catalyst program targets approximately 5% of the SAP employee and leader population to develop them for their next role. This talent mobility program has a distinctive structure and delivers 29 unique Learning Journeys.

Ann was instrumental in leading the design and development of SAP Flagship Leadership programs for all leadership levels before her role on the Talent Development Team. In addition to having NPS scores significantly above external benchmarks, they’ve significantly increased employee engagement and leadership trust.

Ann strives for excellence and is someone who desires to drive ongoing improvements. She profoundly values differing opinions and loves to “spar” in a constructive manner to achieve impactful outcomes. Ann sincerely aspires to help people learn and grow as they contribute to the business. She is currently training as a coach to help others discover solutions and achieve their goals.

Ann has an MA from Marymount University in Human Resources Development and an MBA with an emphasis on Leadership and Managing Change at Pepperdine University.

MARITZA MCCLENDON

Olympic Medalist (Swimming), Director, Talent Development, Carters. Inc.

Maritza McClendon is a 2004 Olympic Silver Medalist and the first African American woman to make a US Olympic Swim team and medal. At the age of 7 she was diagnosed with severe scoliosis and her doctor recommended swimming as a medical remedy. Swimming under Olympic Coach Peter Banks, in Brandon, Florida she emerged as one of the top recruits in the country out of High School. Earning a full scholarship to the University of Georgia (BA in Sociology, 2005) under Olympic Coach Jack Bauerle, she ended her college career as a 27-time All American, 11 NCAA titles, the first African American female to break an individual American record (2002), and to break a World Record (2000) in swimming. By the time Maritza’s competitive swimming career ended, she had earned 12 international medals.

While no longer swimming competitively, Maritza still actively engages communities nationwide to inspire people to lead a healthy lifestyle through sports, especially swimming. Additionally, she is a passionate advocate for the importance of water safety among minorities of all ages and travels the country frequently to speak about this life saving skill. She candidly shares her life lessons without sparing any details in hopes to inspire others to overcome hesitation, fear, and disappointment. Her motto is “Turn any negative situation into something positive and never give up.”

Maritza is a wife and a mom of two young children living in Atlanta, GA and works at Carter’s Inc. as Director, Talent Development and Corporate Communications, HR.

BEN WHITTER

Author of Human Experience at Work & a Top Management Thinker by Thinkers50

Ben Whitter was named as one of the World’s top 30 management thinkers in 2021 by Thinkers50, one of the top 30 organizational culture speakers & professionals worldwide by Global Gurus, and one of the top 30 Most Influential HR Thinkers in 2021 by HR Magazine. Ben is independently recognized as the world’s leading authority on employee experience.

Ben is the author of the acclaimed and ground-breaking books, Employee Experience and Human Experience at Work, both of which made their debuts as the #1 new HR books and are international bestsellers. Ben’s original work has pioneered and popularized the concept of EX worldwide. He is the creator of the Holistic Employee Experience (HEX) model, which is being used and referenced by the World’s leading brands as a way to differentiate and deliver exceptional business, brand, human and societal outcomes.

Reaching over 18 million colleagues through his writing, research and speaking, Ben is frequently recognized as the leading figure in the EX movement. His work has been featured by The Economist, The Times, The Financial Times, Forbes, HR Director, People Management, Thomson Reuters and many HR publications worldwide. Ben is often invited to work with leading media companies and journalists to promote the field of employee experience.

Ben is a prolific international keynote speaker and has spoken in over 30 countries. Ben is frequently invited to speak at major industry events, major corporations, and delivers masterclasses on EX worldwide. Ben is an active HEX Practitioner & Executive Coach.

RUTH GOTIAN

Best-Selling Author, Thinkers50 #1 Emerging Management Thinker

Dr. Ruth Gotian is the Chief Learning Officer and Assistant Professor of Education in Anesthesiology and former founding Assistant Dean of Mentoring and Executive Director of the Mentoring Academy at Weill Cornell Medicine. She has been hailed by the journal Nature and Columbia University as an expert in mentorship and leadership development. In 2021, she was selected as one of 30 people worldwide to be named to the Thinkers50 Radar List, dubbed the Oscars of management thinking, and recently won the Thinkers50 Distinguished Achievement “Radar” Award ranking her the #1 emerging management thinker in the world to bridge theory and practice. She is also a semi-finalist for the Forbes 50 Over 50 list. In addition to publishing in academic journals, she is a contributor to Forbes and Psychology Today where she writes about ‘optimizing success’. Her research is about the mindset and skill set of peak performers, including Nobel laureates, astronauts, and Olympic champions, which she writes about in her book, The Success Factor.

JOHN WHILTSHIRE

Vice President of Talent Development, Leukemia & Lymphoma Society

John Wiltshire’s extensive experience in senior talent development roles spans a wide range of Fortune 250 companies in insurance/financial services, professional services and manufacturing industries. He brings his extensive knowledge of regulatory and functional area requirements and his history of leading global initiatives in compliance, leadership and employee development to his current role with The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS), where he is responsible for talent development design, strategy, evaluation, and implementation of tools, systems and processes. In his previous work with HSBC, MetLife, Ernst & Young and Citigroup, Mr. Wiltshire led global deployments throughout the U.S., India, China, Japan, Hong Kong, the U.K. and Latin America. John holds an MA and a BA from Long Island University with postgraduate studies at New York University.

JULIA ALEXANDER

Co-founder and Chief Product Officer, ExecOnline

Julia Alexander is the co-founder and Chief Product Officer of ExecOnline where she is responsible for global course operations, data and analytics, and university partnerships.

Julia previously served as CEO of Dalberg Research, an emerging markets-focused global research firm and began her career at Goldman, Sachs & Co.

She brings her passion for data-driven decision making, innovative content delivery channels, and superior client service to ExecOnline’s programs.

Julia holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BA in International Relations from Stanford University.

STEPHEN BAILEY

CEO & Co-Founder
ExecOnline

Stephen brings a passion for helping executives and their companies solve their most pressing strategic challenges through innovative technology solutions. Before ExecOnline, Stephen served as the CEO of the Frontier Strategy Group (FSG), a venture-backed software and information services business serving Fortune 500 executives who have responsibility for emerging economies. Stephen grew the business from an early-stage start-up to a company that serves nearly half the Fortune 500 across a range of international markets and business functions.

MARCELO DE SANTIS

Chief Digital Officer, Thoughtworks

Marcelo de Santis is a digital leader, intrapreneur and angel investor with 20+ years of global experience in creating growth with new business models, innovative technology and disruptive go-to-market approaches. He is currently Chief Digital Officer at ThoughtWorks and works with C-suite executives to invent, launch, and scale digital business models that leverage and reinforce their company’s core capabilities. Previously he held the positions of Chief Digital Officer and Chief Information Officer at Kraft Foods, Mondelez and Pirelli.

Marcelo is co-founder of Angeles Investors, and currently serves on the Board of Directors of UNICEF and Hispanic IT Executive Council. He has been featured by HITEC as one of the top 100 most influential and notable Hispanic Professionals in the technology, twice in 2019 and 2020. In 2019 he was nominated by Crain’s as one of Top 50 CEOs, entrepreneurs and technologists.

Marcelo holds a Master of Business Administration from Northwestern Kellogg and a Bachelor in Computer Science from Universidad Argentina de la Empresa.

JEN FOX

Chief Human Capital Officer, Director of People & Culture, Justworks

In a field often dominated by theory, Jen Fox developed her leadership, coaching and facilitation style through an obsessive commitment to learning on the job, seizing every opportunity, trusting her intuition and pushing herself and others well beyond every comfort zone. She has been endorsed as, “One of the most practical, no-nonsense Learning & Development professionals on the planet.” A business owner at the age of 19, Jen went on to assume leadership roles at Nordstrom.com, Starbucks corporate and Getty Images. Embracing her entrepreneurial side and passion for empowering others, she established her own coaching and consulting practice prior to joining Justworks as Director of People & Culture in 2020. Jen is a children’s book author, mother of 3, a self-described personal-learning junkie and Starbucks addict.

MICHELLE JEWELL

Head of Learning Development & First Year Experience, Thoughtworks

Michelle Jewell spent 8 years as a consultant before joining the Talent Team at Thoughtworks where she is currently the Head of Learning & Development for North America. She enjoys the strategic and organizational challenge of putting programs, processes and resources in place so that at an organizational level, ThoughtWorks can better support career development with a special dedication to empowering new hires to be successful, and supporting leaders as they progress through their leadership journeys.

AARON MCKINNEY

Senior Manager of Learning Innovation, Cox Automotive

Aaron McKinney has 10+ years in the corporate Learning & Development industry as an Instructional Designer, Learning Technologist and Leader, developing training solutions to support USAF software, telecommunications customer support, sales enablement, leadership development, and the automotive industry. Aaron currently leads a small technology team responsible for the learning technology solutions used to design, develop, and deliver training to support 25K employees. Outside of work, Aaron enjoys woodworking, gardening, bee keeping, hiking, and cycling.

DR. RON RODRIGUEZ

Senior Director of Product Management/Head of Coaching Practice, ExecOnline

Dr. Ronald Rodriguez is the Senior Director of Product Management/Head of Coaching Practice for ExecOnline. He is a Certified Leadership and NeuroCoach specializing in business transformation and sustained behavior change. Prior to joining ExecOnline, Ron held several senior operational roles in the Engineering and Healthcare industry where he oversaw transformation and scalability initiatives, driving business and personnel results for the organization. Ron also served as a Senior Lecturer for the University of Memphis and is a frequent guest lecturer on Business Transformation and Change Agility for team performance. He holds a Ph.D. in Business Administration specializing in the Behavior Theory of Leadership from the University of Illinois and is Green Belt Six Sigma Certified.

DR. RON RODRIGUEZ

Senior Director of Product Management/Head of Coaching Practice, ExecOnline

Dr. Ronald Rodriguez is the Senior Director of Product Management/Head of Coaching Practice for ExecOnline. He is a Certified Leadership and NeuroCoach specializing in business transformation and sustained behavior change. Prior to joining ExecOnline, Ron held several senior operational roles in the Engineering and Healthcare industry where he oversaw transformation and scalability initiatives, driving business and personnel results for the organization. Ron also served as a Senior Lecturer for the University of Memphis and is a frequent guest lecturer on Business Transformation and Change Agility for team performance. He holds a Ph.D. in Business Administration specializing in the Behavior Theory of Leadership from the University of Illinois and is Green Belt Six Sigma Certified.