Speakers

• Jason Averbook
  CEO Knowledge Infusion
  
  

  Jason Averbook is CEO and co-founder of Knowledge Infusion. As CEO, he is responsible for the groundbreaking vision and strategy that has propelled the organization to the recognized leader in HR consulting. Drawing on more than 20 years of experience in the HR and technology industry, Averbook works closely with clients as the executive lead on strategic consulting engagements.

  Prior to co-founding Knowledge Infusion, Averbook held senior management positions at PeopleSoft and Ceridian where he built strong relationships with industry-leading companies, and strove to provide the best service to HR organizations around the world.

  Averbook is deeply involved in the global HR community having delivered more than 50 keynote addresses during 2009 as well as being a frequent contributor to leading publications, such as BusinessWeek, CIO, CFO, Talent Management, HR Executive and Workforce Management.

  A native of Minnesota, Averbook holds a B.A. and an M.B.A. from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul.

• Bill Coe
  National Director of Human Resources UniFirst Corporation
  
  

  As the senior human resources professional at UniFirst Corporation, Bill Coe provides the full scope of HR direction for a decentralized organization with 10,000+ employees in more than 210 separate locations across 46 states and Canada. Coe has brought the HR function to the next level by providing contemporary solutions, regulatory compliance and strong leadership for a company with $1B in annual revenues. He is competent in both change and process management and has provided a substantial culture shift in the organization during the company's dramatic growth.

  In addition, Coe defined the multi-year human resources strategy for the organization and regularly acts as an advisor to senior management ensuring that the HR function is a strategic and value-added business partner. Coe also champions the company's continued success as a non-union organization. Coe graduated from Eastern Nazarene College with a B.S. in Business Management.

• Mary Delaney
  President Personified, a CareerBuilder Company
  
  

  As President, Mary Delaney manages the day-to-day operations of Personified, a division of CareerBuilder. She has more than 20 years of expertise in sales and marketing leadership, business development and startups to drive strategy and revenue. Delaney is an employment expert who regularly appears on TV and radio to discuss hiring trends and workplace issues. She has appeared on CNN, Headline News, Larry King Live, FOX and CBS National Radio and in the Harvard Business Review.

  Prior to Personified, Delaney served as the Chief Sales Officer for CareerBuilder.com, leading the enterprise and recruiter business unit teams of the company's sales force and tripling revenue for those units in five years. Prior to joining CareerBuilder.com, Delaney managed the merger of Headhunter.net and CareerBuilder.com. Delaney earned her M.B.A. from Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management. She received the 2006 Stevie Award for 'Best Sales Executive' from the American Business Awards and was recognized as a 'Woman Worth Watching' in 2007 Profiles in Diversity Journal. She is a fellow at Leadership Greater Chicago and serves on the USEF board.

• Mike Dunford
  SVP, Human Resources Covidien plc
  
  

  Mike Dunford is responsible for Covidien's global HR strategies, practices and programs. Dunford has held a variety of HR leadership positions at Covidien (formerly Tyco Healthcare) since joining the company in 1999. Prior to joining Tyco Healthcare, he held several HR positions of increasing responsibility at Harvard Pilgrim Healthcare, a regional HMO based in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Dunford is a retired Marine Corps Reserve Officer, a certified compensation professional, and holds a Bachelor's degree from Boston College and a Master's degree in HR Management from Lesley University.

• Tom Kochan
  George M. Bunker Professor of Work & Employment Relations MIT Sloan School of Management
  
  

  Tom Kochan joined MIT in 1980 as a professor of Industrial Relations, and in 2009 was elected Chair of the MIT faculty. He has done research on a variety of work and employment topics. His 2005 book Restoring the American Dream: A Working Families’ Agenda for America lays out a progressive strategy for restoring dignity to work and updating national policies to meet the needs of today’s working families.

  Kochan is a Past President of both the International Industrial Relations Association and the Industrial Relations Research Association and in 2008 was named an Inaugural Fellow of the Labor and Employment Relations Association. He currently serves as a member of the Advisory Board of the Massachusetts Division of Labor Relations. The recipient of several awards throughout his career, Kochan was awarded Doctor Honoris Cause from the University de San Martin de Porres de Lima in 1999, and in 1996 received the 'Heneman Career Achievement Award' from the Human Resources Division of the Academy of Management. He was elected to the National Academy of Human Resources in 1997.

  Kochan has served as a third-party mediator, fact finder, arbitrator, and consultant to a variety of government and private sector organizations and labor-management groups, including serving as a member of the Clinton Administration's Commission on the Future of Worker/Management Relations, and as a consultant to the Secretary of Labor in the Department of Labor’s Office of Policy Evaluation and Research. Kochan received his Ph.D. in Industrial Relations from the University of Wisconsin.

• Ann Liotta
  Corporate VP, Human Resources & Organizational Development Nypro Inc.
  
  

  Ann Liotta joined Nypro Inc. in 2002 and has worked on standardizing HR policies and practices for all 44 Nypro locations in 15 countries. She was previously Director of Human Resources at Motorola and Data General, and VP of Human Resources at Eastman Software, Banyan Systems and Avid Technology. Liotta is a graduate of Boston College.

• Marie McCarthy
  Director of Talent, Human Resources L.L.Bean, Inc.
  
  

  Marie McCarthy is the HR Director of Talent at L.L.Bean, Inc. and is responsible for talent and development strategy planning, talent assessments, succession planning, leadership development efforts, professional hiring, corporate communications and HR business partnership. McCarthy has led L.L.Bean’s efforts to create a strategic and aligned talent and development approach, which involves facilitating a monthly gathering of company executives to align talent strategy, evaluate leadership potential and drive integrated development efforts.

• Toyin Ogun
  SVP, Human Resources & Customer Service L.L.Bean, Inc.
  
  

  Toyin Ogun is the Vice President of Human Resources at L.L.Bean, Inc., the outdoor specialty retailer based in Freeport, ME. He joined the company in 2009 and is responsible for leading the HR business and in particular, the effective execution of the talent life cycle. Additionally, he is currently leading organizational efforts around strategic goal alignment, human capital metrics and a transformational evolution of the corporate culture.

• Joe Petrowski
  CEO Cumberland Farms Gulf Oil Group
  
  

  Joe Petrowski is currently the CEO of the combined Cumberland Farms-Gulf Oil Group. The company is a $10B annual revenue enterprise employing more than 8,000 people in 13 states.

  Petrowski is a member of the Board of South Jersey Industries and a member of the audit and compensation committee. He was also the former Chairman of New England Power Pool Board of Review. In addition, Petrowski is a trustee of Boston College High School as well as a board member of the Financial Economic Institute of Claremont McKenna College and the Henry Kravis Institute. Petrowski is active in many industry trade associations including The Society of Independent Gasoline Marketers of America, of which he is a board member.

  Petrowski has written numerous articles on energy and public policy, regulation and market development, and is a frequent guest on MSNBC, CNBC, Fox Business News and Bloomberg radio. He has been a contributing editor to the Wall Street Journal and has testified before Congress and several regulatory agencies on energy and international trade issues. Petrowski graduated with honors from Harvard University with a degree in Economics and Government.

• Ed Ruggero
  Former U.S. Army Officer Author & Military Historian
  
  

  Ed Ruggero has been studying, practicing and teaching leadership for more than 25 years. His clients include the FBI, CIA, Forbes, SAS Institute, CitiFinancial and Time, among others. He has appeared on CNN, The History Channel, Discovery Channel, CNBC and Fox, and has spoken to audiences around the world.

  Ruggero is the author of 11 books, including Duty First: West Point and the Making of American Leaders and Combat Jump: The Young Men Who Led the Assault Into Fortress Europe, July 1943, which became a one-hour docudrama on The History Channel. He is the co-author of The Leader's Compass and his most recent book is The First Men In: U.S. Paratroopers and the Fight to Save D-Day.

  Following graduation from West Point, Ruggero was commissioned in the United States Army and served as an infantry officer in a variety of leadership positions, including a teaching assignment at West Point. Following his service, he pursued a career as an author, public speaker and trainer. He leads a Gettysburg and a Normandy Leadership Experience, where participants walk the ground of these epic struggles to learn battle-tested leadership lessons.

• Karen Weisz
  VP, Human Resources & Corporate Services The Standard
  
  

  Karen Weisz joined The Standard in 2008 as the VP of Human Resources and Corporate Services. Before joining The Standard, Weisz worked for Intel Corporation for more than 12 years where she held progressively senior management roles in HR and learning and organizational development, including overseeing Intel University. She serves on the board of directors of Special Olympics Oregon.

  Weisz is a graduate of University of California at Santa Cruz where she holds a B.S. in Psychology and Literature and holds an M.S. in Educational Policy & Administration from Portland State University.