Dedicated to creating the conscious workplace for tomorrow, Virginia “Ginny” Clarke is a seasoned executive recruiter who has advised at the highest levels of corporate America for decades. A proven expert in driving diverse leadership, she is the former director of executive recruiting at Google, where she led the company’s diversity, non-tech recruiting, and leadership internal mobility teams – finding and hiring senior leaders across the company. She also built a scaled internal mobility program for Google’s senior leaders and designed much of the infrastructure that supports their executive recruiting function today. In speeches, Clarke draws on her unparalleled experience assessing thousands of executives inside corporate C-Suites and boardrooms to bring a unique, holistic five-dimensional approach to true leadership that is essential now more than ever. She delivers “no-holds-barred” discussions on the root causes that lead to a lack of diversity in organizations, and provides the integrated solutions that anyone can use to affect change.

Conquering grave challenges to become a successful entrepreneur, Chris Gardner is an avid motivational and inspirational speaker, addressing the keys to overcoming obstacles and breaking cycles. He is great for groups looking for a speaker who has “walked the walk” and accomplished things that no one else thought they would be able to do. He is also a passionate philanthropist whose work has been recognized by many esteemed organizations and discusses commitment and fatherhood.

Ever since 2002, as chairman and CEO of Johnson Publishing Company — where she became the first African American woman CEO among the top five of the Black Enterprise 100s largest black-owned companies — Linda Johnson Rice has shone a ray of positivity on the black community with her strong and resilient leadership.

What makes Mark Bryan one of the world’s leading futurists is his proven mastery advising organizations on the trends and tech that will disrupt their industries, and his inventive approaches for adapting to an ever-evolving business environment. He is the senior foresight manager at the Future Today Institute, a leading foresight and strategy firm founded by world renowned futurist Amy Webb. In his role, he supports leaders and their organizations in developing and implementing customized, forward-looking strategies that position them years ahead of their competitors and expedite their journeys to their desired futures. Bryan’s expertise spans across industries — having worked alongside national retail brands, higher education institutions, nonprofits, multi-family developers, and large corporate clients to evolve them from market leaders to market innovators.  

James Gilmore is an expert on innovative thinking and the experience economy. As co-author of The Experience Economy, James Gilmore advises companies on how to turn their goods and services into a remarkable experience for the consumer. He discusses the concept of mass customization and helps businesses envision new possibilities for engaging customers and finding new sources of revenue.

Stephanie is Owner & CEO of Asutra, where we're passionate about helping people take care of themselves on purpose so they can get the most out of life – what we call active self-care. Asutra offers magnesium-powered remedies for pain relief, sleep and mood, so you can care for yourself well. At Asutra, we’re proud to provide good jobs with career pathways at a living wage with benefits. Asutra is women-owned and women-led; 60% of our team are people of color; and 100% of our staff would recommend Asutra as a great place to work. Stephanie is an enthusiastic board member of Hope Chicago, which sends students and their parents to college debt-free; Very Asian Foundation, which amplifies AANHPI stories; and Naturally Chicago, which creates an ecosystem for natural products companies to thrive. Stephanie was honored to be named to Inc.’s Female Founders 200 list in 2023 and Beacon Award Entrepreneur of the Year in 2021. In her spare time, she’s an avid urban gardener who grows everything from tomatoes to lilacs.

A creative mind dedicated to helping businesses develop new ways to deliver customer values, Joseph Pine is the co-author of numerous books including The Experience Economy. Pine is a marketing expert who illustrates the importance of creating unique interactions and experiences for consumers in order to drive revenue and growth. He consults with numerous Fortune 500 companies and start-ups around the world, helping them embrace the ideas and frameworks he writes about, develop concepts for creating more economic value, and see those concepts become reality. In his speaking and teaching activities, Pine has addressed both the World Economic Forum and TED and has been a Visiting Scholar with the MIT Design Lab and a Visiting Professor at the University of Amsterdam.

Rayid Ghani is a Distinguished Career Professor in the Machine Learning Department and the Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University. Rayid is a reformed computer scientist and wanna-be social scientist, but mostly just wants to increase the use of large-scale AI/Machine Learning/Data Science in solving large public policy and social challenges in a fair and equitable manner. Among other areas, Rayid works with governments and non-profits in policy areas such as health, criminal justice, education, public safety, economic development, and urban infrastructure. Rayid is also passionate about teaching practical data science and started the Data Science for Social Good Fellowship that trains computer scientists, statisticians, and social scientists from around the world to work on data science problems with social impact.

Alex Sheen is the Founder of because I said I would, the international social movement and nonprofit dedicated to the betterment of humanity through promises made and kept. Sparked by the loss of his father, Alex began sending promise cards to anyone who requested them at no cost. Since his father’s passing on September 4, 2012, because I said I would has sent over 8.4 million promises cards to over 150 countries.

Female Factor springs from the extensive research of CEO Bridget Brennan, a pioneer in marketing and selling to women. She is the author of the acclaimed book Why She Buys: The New Strategy for Reaching the World's Most Powerful Consumers (Crown Business, 2009), and one of the world’s most popular speakers on this subject. Her book was called “essential reading” by The Wall Street Journal, “required reading for anyone burdened with a Y chromosome” by Fortune Small Business, and named a "Top 10 Marketing Book of 2009" by MediaTrust. A recipient of numerous industry awards, Brennan was named U.S. Public Relations Agency Practitioner of the Year by PR NEWS for her work in applying gender psychology to communications.