Mike Beer is Cahners-Rabb Professor of Business Administration, Emeritus, at the Harvard Business School, founder and Director, TruePoint, a management consultancy and Chairman, Center for Higher Ambition Leadership, a not-for profit whose member companies purpose is to create economic and social value. Mike’s research and practice are in the fields of organization effectiveness, organization change, and human resource management. He has authored or co-authored many articles and ten books. His most recent books are Higher Ambition: How Great Leaders Create Economic and Social Value, published in 2011, and High Commitment, High Performance: How to Build Resilient Orgnaizations for Sustainable Value, published in 2009.  Mike has received numerous awards from several professional associations. He has been a consultant to senior management in numerous companies and teaches and speaks in a variety of forums. Mike began his career at Corning Inc. where he founded and led its Organization Research and Development Department.

Ian Ziskin is President of EXec EXcel Group LLC, a human capital coaching and consulting firm he founded in 2010 following a highly successful 28-year career as a corporate business executive. EXec EXcel Group builds individual and organizational credibility through human capital strategy, leadership & talent development, and organizational transformation. He also serves as CEO of CLEAR™ Institute, a strategic partnership focused on coaching and leadership effectiveness solutions.

Ian delivers services to clients as a board advisor, coach, consultant, teacher, speaker, and author. His client base and corporate work span the aerospace and defense, automotive, chemical, consumer products, education, electronic components, energy, entertainment, financial services, health care, information technology, professional services, and telecommunications industries, among others. Ian serves on the Board of Directors of Axion Health (Denver, CO) and Humantelligence (Miami, FL). He is on the Advisory Board of RiseSmart (San Jose, CA) and is an Executive in Residence with the Center for Effective Organizations (CEO) at USC’s Marshall School of Business (Los Angeles, CA) and Executive Networks, Inc. (San Francisco, CA). Ian also is an Executive Advisor to Allegis Partners (New York, NY) and Chairperson of their Advisory Group of senior HR executives.

Ian’s global leadership experience includes serving in Chief Human Resources Officer and other senior leadership roles with three Fortune 100 corporations – Northrop Grumman, Qwest Communications, and TRW.

He has written two books, THREE: The Human Resources Emerging Executive (2015) and WillBe: 13 Reasons WillBe’s are Luckier than WannaBe’s (2011), and he is a contributing author to The Rise of HR: Wisdom From 73 Thought Leaders edited by Dave Ulrich, et. al. (2015) and The Chief HR Officer: Defining the New Role of Human Resource Leaders, edited by Pat Wright, et.al. (2011). He has written articles and book chapters on the future of HR and effective organizations with John Boudreau, coaching, and HR’s role with the Board of Directors, among other topics.

Ian is a current and past Board member of multiple Boards and Executive Committees, including Chairman, USC Marshall School of Business Corporate Advisory Board; Vice Chairman, HR Policy Association; Center for Advanced Human Resource Studies (CAHRS) at Cornell University; Personnel Round Table; and Human Resources People & Strategy. He was a founding member of the HR50 and the CHRO/Board Academy.

Ian has a Master of Industrial and Labor Relations degree from Cornell University, where he held a research and teaching assistantship based on scholastic achievement; and a Bachelor of Science degree in Management from Binghamton University, where he graduated magna cum laude. In 1988, Human Resource Executive magazine named Ian one of twelve “Up and Comers in HR.” In 2007, he was elected a Fellow of the National Academy of Human Resources, considered to be the highest honor in the HR profession.

Edward E. Lawler III is Distinguished Professor of Business and Director of the Center for Effective Organizations in the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California. He has been honored as a top contributor to the fields of organizational development, human resources management, organizational behavior and compensation.  He is the author of over 400 articles and 48 books.  His books include Built to Change (2006), The New American Workplace (2006), America at Work (2006), Talent:  Making People Your Competitive Advantage (2008), Achieving Excellence in HR Management:  An Assessment of Human Resource Organizations (2009), Useful Research: Advancing Theory and Practice (2011), Management Reset: Organizing for Sustainable Effectiveness (2011), Effective Human Resource Management: A Global Analysis (2012), and The Agility Factor (2014).  For more information, visit http://www.edwardlawler.com and http://ceo.usc.edu.