Category

VIDEO

PepsiCo’s Approach to a Thriving Workplace
HUMAN RESOURCES, VIDEO, HUMAN RESOURCES

PepsiCo’s Approach to a Thriving Workplace

Michael Tuller is currently the SVP, Global Talent for PepsiCo. In this role he is part of PepsiCo’s global HR Leadership team and responsible for setting the strategic agenda across all Talent Management practices including assessment, employee engagement, succession, people analytics and learning & development.

Most recently, Michael spent 9 years in PepsiCo in as an HRBP across four different roles. He most recently served as the VP HR, United Kingdom and Ireland where he was responsible to lead the HR agenda for the total business. He previously served in various HR Leadership roles in the PepsiCo Beverages North America. Before joining the Beverage organization, Michael was the Senior HR Director for several Global Functions leading HR efforts across several critical global transformations and helped build PepsiCo’s eCommerce business.

Michael began his PepsiCo career as part of the Enterprise Organizational Development group where he was responsible for leading several global leadership development and assessment programs.

Michael holds a B.A. in Psychology from Lafayette College as well as a Masters Degree and PhD in I/O Psychology from UConn.

Continue reading
HR Innovations to Empower People for a Thriving Workforce
HUMAN RESOURCES, VIDEO, HUMAN RESOURCES

HR Innovations to Empower People for a Thriving Workforce

As the senior vice president and chief people officer of The Kroger Co., Tim leads all areas of HR and Labor Relations including Total Rewards, Labor Relations, Diversity, Business Unit Human Resources, People Operations, Training and Development, Talent Hiring, Retention and Engagement, Corporate Affairs, Associate Communications, Shared Services and Aviation.

Tim joined Kroger in 2010 as vice president of Talent Development. He was promoted to group vice president of Human Resources and Labor Relations in 2014 and was appointed as Chief People Officer in 2015. He was promoted to Senior Vice President in 2018. Prior to joining the company, he served in several HR leadership positions over 21 years at Procter & Gamble. Tim has an extensive global HR generalist background in leadership development, performance management, strategy development and employee communications and engagement.

Continue reading
Strategies for Cultivating Wellness and Growth
HUMAN RESOURCES, VIDEO, HUMAN RESOURCES

Strategies for Cultivating Wellness and Growth

D Crum, Vice President, Total Rewards, AbbVie, is responsible for Executive Compensation, Compensation, Benefits, Well-Being, Talent Deployment and HR Operations for the company.

Previously, D was AbbVie’s Vice President, Business Human Resources (BHR) for Corporate Staff Functions, where he led HR for several functions, including Finance, Business Technology Solutions, Legal, Office of Ethics & Compliance, Corporate Responsibility Brand & Communications, Government Affairs and Health Economics & Outcomes Research.

Prior to joining AbbVie in 2017, D held several HR roles of increased responsibility and scope across manufacturing and corporate for Kraft Foods and Pepsi. He is passionate about delivering strategic and executional leadership in the areas of well-being, employee engagement, organization design, capability building, policy and process development, talent and performance management, and employee/labor relations.

D holds a bachelor’s degree in labor relations from Michigan State University.

Outside of work, D enjoys spending time with family, running, and watching/playing sports. He currently serves on the AbbVie Foundation Board of Directors, proudly supporting philanthropy, employee giving and volunteerism for the company.

Continue reading
Transforming into a Learning Organization
HUMAN RESOURCES, VIDEO, HUMAN RESOURCES

Transforming into a Learning Organization

As the Senior Vice President of Human Resources at Coca-Cola Consolidated, the largest Coca-Cola bottler in the US, I lead the HR strategy and operations for over 17,000 associates across 14 states. I have over 20 years of experience in the Coca-Cola system, spanning sales, operations, and HR roles.

My core competencies include people management and development. strategic thinking, price package architecture, sales and operations. I am passionate about developing and empowering talent, fostering a culture of excellence and diversity, and delivering value to our customers and stakeholders. Some of my achievements include leading the HR integration of multiple acquisitions, creating and implementing a new performance management system, and winning the Top Women in Grocery award in 2016.

Continue reading
Embedding Equity and Inclusion as a Core Competency: Moving from Values to Practice
HUMAN RESOURCES, VIDEO, HUMAN RESOURCES

Embedding Equity and Inclusion as a Core Competency: Moving from Values to Practice

With 25 years of experience in the petrochemical and refining industry, Kyle Pierce has built a distinguished career spanning engineering, strategy, consulting, and commercial leadership. Currently serving as the Chief Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) Officer at LyondellBasell (LYB), Kyle is responsible for shaping and executing a global DEI strategy that fosters a culture of belonging, trust, and business excellence.

Kyle’s tenure at LYB has included pivotal roles in finance and strategy, where he served as a business consultant before advancing to Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) Manager. In this role, he led transformative acquisitions and divestitures, including the acquisition of LYB’s India compounding businesses and the divestiture of key assets in France and Argentina—transactions that collectively generated over $500 million in value. He later transitioned to the refining sector, first as a Commercial Manager for feedstocks and then as Head of Crude Trading, where he played a strategic role in optimizing global supply chains.

As a business leader with a deep commitment to DEI, Kyle has been instrumental in integrating diversity and inclusion into core business strategies. Collaborating with global executives, People & Culture teams, and key stakeholders, he has successfully embedded DEI programs that drive workforce diversity, equitable opportunities, and inclusive leadership. His efforts in advancing DEI as a business imperative earned him the Outstanding Head of Diversity award from the Houston Business Journal in 2023.

Kyle holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering, a Master of Business Administration, and a DEI certification, equipping him with the technical acumen, strategic insight, and leadership expertise to drive meaningful change.

Continue reading
The AI Amplifier: How Work Tech Can Directly Drive Business Impact
HUMAN RESOURCES, VIDEO, HUMAN RESOURCES

The AI Amplifier: How Work Tech Can Directly Drive Business Impact

Ben Blackman is a Strategic Account Executive at Paradox with over a decade of experience in the HR/TA technology and advertising industries. After working for CareerBuilder and SmashFly, Ben joined Paradox in 2022 with a focus on helping organizations transform their candidate experience and back-end workflows through automation and conversational AI. In his current role, Ben helps prospective clients to evaluate Paradox’s suite of solutions, develops business cases, and addresses challenges related to the hiring process.

Continue reading
The Future of Total Rewards: Refocusing on the Strategies that Matter Most
HUMAN RESOURCES, VIDEO, HUMAN RESOURCES

The Future of Total Rewards: Refocusing on the Strategies that Matter Most

Organizations everywhere have used Total Rewards programs to attract and retain talent by offering a buffet of benefits to demonstrate the investment they make in their people. Yet despite these efforts, research shows that employees feel these programs often fail to address their most important needs.

Join Ariane Hibo Ezeh, as she shares the latest research from the 2025 Global Culture Report, revealing how a strategic focus on people enables organizations to redefine their Total Rewards programs and provide the right mix of offerings to better communicate authentic care.

Session insights include:

The value of placing employee-centered care at the core of Total Rewards offerings and creating environments where employees thrive
The significance of recognition in fostering organizational practices that support employee mental health

Continue reading
Fireside Chat: Rethinking Retention: Modern Solutions to Everyday Workforce Challenges
HUMAN RESOURCES, VIDEO

Fireside Chat: Rethinking Retention: Modern Solutions to Everyday Workforce Challenges

Gone are the days where a steady paycheck and dependable healthcare coverage guarantee a loyal, lifelong employee.

Modern employees have a more robust set of expectations and are happy to change employers until their needs are met.

To address retention and build a sustainable workforce, it’s crucial to implement innovative solutions that position you as an employer of choice for top talent.

In this session, you’ll learn:

Emerging Trends: Gain insights into the latest data on essential benefits that today’s workforce values most
High-Impact Investments: Learn about strategic investments you can make right now to lay the groundwork for a resilient and committed workforce
Enhanced Loyalty: Explore how care and education solutions can significantly boost employee loyalty and drive long-term retention

Continue reading
The Ripple Effect: How C-Level Leadership Behavior Shapes Organizational Culture — A Conversation with Barbara Hess of CCS Medical
HUMAN RESOURCES, VIDEO, HUMAN RESOURCES, PODCAST

The Ripple Effect: How C-Level Leadership Behavior Shapes Organizational Culture — A Conversation with Barbara Hess of CCS Medical

At the 2025 edition of the North American HR Executive Summit series we sat down with Barbara Hess of CCS Medical to talk about the power and responsibility HR professionals have to help the C-Suite executives of their organization set a tone and reflect the values they want to see in their company culture. While leading by example is always important and valuable, there are all kinds of tangible dividends that pay out when a workforce sees what its leadership care about and put their energies towards. From productivity to safety to retention to cultural transformations that build positive outcomes in all sorts of ways, big and small, a lot a of great things can come from HR working with senior leadership to build culture. For all this and more, give this episode a listen!

Continue reading
The Employee Experience and Connecting the HR and Finance Functions — A Conversation with Mark Fordyce of Workvivo by Zoom
HUMAN RESOURCES, VIDEO, HUMAN RESOURCES, PODCAST

The Employee Experience and Connecting the HR and Finance Functions — A Conversation with Mark Fordyce of Workvivo by Zoom

At the 2025 edition of the North American HR Executive Summit series we sat down with Mark Fordyce of Workvivo by Zoom to talk about how a new generation of tools and technologies are changing the way leaders interact with and understand their people. How can HR professionals best leverage these new abilities to improve things like employee job satisfaction, retention rates, skills development, and productivity? We also discussed ways to build better connections between the HR and Finance functions —especially in large organizations— to coordinate and collaborate on impactful projects, demonstrate ROI on some of the soft skills involved in human resources, and make better decisions about how resources are committed to drive positive outcomes. For all this and more, give this episode a listen!

Continue reading
Pioneering Low Carbon Solutions
Sustainability, VIDEO, SUSTAINABILITY

Pioneering Low Carbon Solutions

Matt Kolesar is the Chief Environmental Scientist at ExxonMobil. In that role, he leads global advocacy and strategy development of climate related and energy transition issues, as well as managing corporate sustainability focus areas for water, biodiversity, and waste.

As Chief, he provides advanced expert technical leadership consultation and advice to senior leaders on sustainability topics central to business decisions and priorities.

Throughout his 30-year career, Matt has held a variety of leadership positions at ExxonMobil in the Upstream, Downstream and Chemicals businesses.

Matt has B.S. in Chemical Engineering from The University of Akron, Ohio, and is an avid runner.

Continue reading
How AI and Accelerated Computing Are Driving Energy Efficiency
Sustainability, VIDEO, SUSTAINABILITY

How AI and Accelerated Computing Are Driving Energy Efficiency

Josh Parker joined NVIDIA in 2023 to lead the company’s corporate sustainability program. Josh studied electrical engineering and spent several years practicing IP law at a large law firm and later for the computer storage company Western Digital. While at Western Digital, he was asked to lead the company’s ethics and compliance program in Asia and later to build a new corporate sustainability program for the company.

At NVIDIA, Josh is pursuing a data-driven approach to sustainability, believing that accurate and credible data is a prerequisite for effectively managing impacts. Josh is also deeply persuaded that technology—especially AI—can play a critical and dramatic role in solving world-scale sustainability challenges.

Continue reading
A Boldly Pragmatic Approach to Sustainability
Sustainability, VIDEO, SUSTAINABILITY

A Boldly Pragmatic Approach to Sustainability

Over the past 30 years, Paulette has held various positions in the fields of Environment, Health and Safety (EHS) and Sustainability that has taken her from the field to the boardroom. She joined Johnson & Johnson in 1997 and previously served as Vice President, Global Environmental Health, Safety & Sustainability. She is committed to supporting diverse talent and is proud to serve as the Executive Sponsor of the youth pillar of her company’s Women in STEM²D (WiSTEM²D) initiative as well as the Executive Sponsor of our Global Operations Leadership Development (GOLD) program. She also serves as an Advisory Board member (and previous co-chair) for the Center for Business and Environment at Yale (CBEY). Paulette was honored to be selected to Entrepreneur Magazine’s 100 Women of Impact in 2021 and to be named a Top 100 Woman in Sustainability by Sustainability Magazine in 2022 and 2023.

Continue reading
The Next Billion Sustainable Choices: How Payments Can Power the Circular Economy
Sustainability, VIDEO, SUSTAINABILITY

The Next Billion Sustainable Choices: How Payments Can Power the Circular Economy

Ellen Jackowski is Chief Sustainability Officer at Mastercard, where she is spearheading the integration of the company’s Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) strategy into the organization and throughout its value chain.

As part of this work, she is driving climate leadership for Mastercard-wide programs and commitments, such as reaching net-zero emissions by 2040, accelerating the company’s impact in driving sustainable choices across the value chain, and advancing inclusive climate action. Mastercard’s ESG efforts, established more than a decade ago, are rooted in a belief of doing well by doing good in order to have true impact and enable both people and the planet to thrive.

Previously, Ellen served as Chief Impact Officer and Head of Sustainable Impact at HP. Her global team developed and delivered a wide range of programs focused on climate action, human rights and digital equity. Earlier in her career, she served in several management and consulting roles.

Ellen is part of the advisory board of the Ocean Plastics Leadership Network, is a deputy advisor on the World Economic Forum’s Champions for Nature community and has served as a faculty member of The Prince of Wales’s Business & Sustainability Programme at the University of Cambridge.

Continue reading
Advancing Healthcare Sustainably
Sustainability, VIDEO, SUSTAINABILITY

Advancing Healthcare Sustainably

Dr. Raman Venkatesh is the Chief Sustainability Officer at Medtronic PLC (NYSE: MDT) responsible for the $31 billion, 95,000+ employee company’s global sustainability portfolio and initiatives across various corporate functions and global businesses. Dr. Venkatesh’s global experience includes various functional and business leadership roles in sustainability-oriented domains (particularly, water, air, clean energy and allied materials). His experience includes serving as a strategic advisor to VC/PE funds, and to CEOs and boards of directors. Previously, he was the Chief Operating Officer of SAE International (SAEI), a world leader in engineering standards serving the global mobility industries. He was responsible for strategy and global operations of SAEI as well as providing leadership to SAEI’s international staff of 350 professionals. Prior to that, he was the CEO of a strategic business unit in Eureka Forbes Limited, a leading Asian consumer products company. He served on the boards of four companies, including as chairman of a technology joint venture. His career spans business management and technology leadership roles in various industries and geographies.

Dr. Venkatesh is the recipient of the prestigious American Hero award from American Chemical Society for an innovative technology implemented across the USA. He earned a B.E. (Hons.) in chemical engineering from BITS, Pilani (India) followed by M.S. and Ph.D. in chemical engineering from University of Pittsburgh (USA), where he won the Outstanding Graduate Student award. He also earned an Executive MBA degree from the Katz School of Business at University of Pittsburgh. He has advanced management diplomas on M&A and Strategic Alliances from Harvard Business School and the Wharton School (University of Pennsylvania). Dr. Venkatesh is a key inventor in over 10 patents and has authored more than 30 research articles with citations in peer-reviewed journals, international conferences, and reputed magazines. He was appointed by the Chancellor of the University of Pittsburgh to the Swanson School of Engineering’s Advisory Board.

Continue reading
Promoting Growth Through Collaboration and Strategic Partnerships
Sustainability, VIDEO, SUSTAINABILITY

Promoting Growth Through Collaboration and Strategic Partnerships

Dr. Gayle Schueller is 3M’s Senior Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer. Gayle started in 3M’s corporate laboratory as a product development engineer and has over 30 years of technical and business leadership experience. Her career spans a broad range of businesses from electronics to healthcare to consumer industries. She has led technical and business teams from around the world including Europe, Asia, Latin America and North America.

Gayle’s previous assignments include Vice President of New Platforms for Growth and Commercialization, Directora General for 3M Mexico, and Vice President of Research & Development and Design for 3M’s Consumer and Office Business.

She is passionate about making a positive impact in the world through science and technology.

Continue reading
Innovative Approaches to Resiliency and Circularity
Sustainability, VIDEO, SUSTAINABILITY

Innovative Approaches to Resiliency and Circularity

James Gowen is Sr. Vice President, Global Sourcing and Supply Chain, and Chief Sustainability Officer for Verizon. Since taking on the complementary roles of Supply Chain and Sustainability in 2009, his team has enlisted more than 65,000 Verizon employees in 50 countries around the globe in helping to reduce the company’s environmental footprint while increasing the efficiency of a growing enterprise.

Gowen is deeply involved in the advancement of innovative and sustainable technologies and spearheaded the launch of Verizon’s first ever green bond in 2019. Since then, Gowen has been instrumental in Verizon issuing five additional $1 billion green bonds with the net proceeds allocated toward renewable energy investments to accelerate the transition to greener electrical grids across the U.S. As one of the leading corporate buyers of U.S. renewable energy, Verizon has over 3.6 gigawatts of anticipated renewable energy capacity under contact and 37.6 megawatts of on-site green energy generation in operation at our facilities. Gowen oversees other green initiatives including setting Verizon’s approved science based emissions reduction targets, committing to operational net zero emissions, expanding recycling and waste reduction, and management of end-of-life-cycle material recovery.

In his supply chain and sourcing role, Gowen leads all inventory planning, logistics operations and sourcing globally. Gowen is responsible for the planning of over $35B of inventory and $70B of sourcing spend across all Verizon’s lines of business. Additionally, Gowen has responsibility for procurement, warehousing, transportation, quality, returns and end-of-life monetization.

In 2015, Gowen spearheaded the start-up of Verizon Services Ireland Limited in Dublin, Ireland. He was responsible for transitioning $15B in annual spend for strategic sourcing of Verizon’s Network and IT operations. Over 85 industry professionals were hired and a state-of-the-art center of excellence was built under Gowen’s leadership in less than 7 months.

Having held several positions of increasing levels of responsibility at Verizon, Gowen was the lead architect of the company’s supply chain strategy and led the strategic shift from a fixed to a variable inventory business model. While in corporate sourcing, he led the implementation of Verizon’s eProcurement effort, and the standardization of Verizon’s supply chain systems.

Gowen earned his master’s degree in business administration from Long Island University and his bachelor’s degree from Manhattanville College. He is a member of Penn State University’s Smeal Sustainability Advisory Board. He is also the current Chairman of GeSI (Global eSustainability based out of Brussels), and a board member of the MIT Climate and Sustainability Consortium. Gowen is located at Verizon Center in Basking Ridge, New Jersey.

Continue reading