Speakers

• Randall Abbott
  Senior Consultant & North American Leader for Health and Group Benefits Towers Watson
  
  

  Randall K. Abbott is a Senior Consultant and a North American Leader for Health and Group Benefits at Towers Watson. He has more than 35 years experience in the fields of employee benefits, health strategy and workforce health improvement.

  Abbott has held a variety of leadership positions within Towers Watson and its predecessor company, Watson Wyatt since 1997. Previously, he was a managing director and National Practice Leader at Alexander and Alexander Consulting Group. He has been consulting for more than 27 years.

  Recently, his work has concentrated on total benefits strategy, workforce health strategies and ‘next generation’ healthcare initiatives including care coordination, creating an organizational culture of health, value based health strategies and the development of onsite wellness centers.

  A summa cum laude graduate of Suffolk University, Boston, Abbott is the author of more than 160 published articles or monographs and has contributed to two benefits management textbooks. He is featured bi-monthly in The Journal of Compensation and Benefits on healthcare and related issues and appears frequently in Health and Productivity Management.

• Lynne Bartusek
  SVP, Corporate Human Resources. J.C. Penney Company, Inc.
  
  

  Lynne Bartusek is SVP, Corporate Human Resources, for JCPenney Company, Inc., one of America’s largest department store and e-commerce retailers. She is responsible for talent management, compensation and benefits, training, succession planning, HRIS, organizational development, leadership development and inclusion & diversity across all field and home-office functions covering the firm’s 155,000 employee workforce.

  Bartusek previously served as VP, Human Resources dedicated to home-office generalist activity and before that as VP, Director of Associate Recruiting, Inclusion & Diversity starting in 2005. Prior to joining JCPenney, she held positions of increasing responsibility at Yum! Brands, Inc., including Senior Director, People Development leading recruitment, internal communications, organization and leadership development across 50 countries. Prior to joining YUM, she served for two years as Senior Director of Organizational Development and Training for Vodafone, based in Prague, Czech Republic. For nine years preceding that assignment, she was the co-owner and joint venture operator of more than 100 KFC and Pizza Hut restaurants throughout Poland and the Czech Republic — one of the fastest growing retail operators in Eastern Europe — based in Poland.

  A graduate of University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Bartusek holds a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations/Political Science. She serves on the Board of Directors of the Hegi Family Career Services Center at Southern Methodist University and on the Board of Trustees of Girls Inc. of Metropolitan Dallas.

• Mike Buskey
  SVP, Human Resources GameStop Corporation
  
  

  Mike Buskey joined GameStop Corporation in 2010 as SVP of Human Resources. He has been focusing on building GameStop’s overall organizational capability. His senior leadership experience includes a unique blend of operations and HR, which has allowed him to create strategic alliances throughout the organization to achieve better business results.

  Prior to GameStop, Buskey was SVP of Human Resources, U.S. store operations for The Home Depot, responsible for leading the company’s HR activities for approximately 2,000 stores across the U.S. He also provided HR support to corporate departments including store operations, marketing, merchandising, home services, pro business and tool rental.

  A 32-year veteran in the retail industry, Buskey began his career at The Home Depot in 1998, eventually progressing to VP of Human Resources where he successfully managed the consolidation of four geographical areas and integrated more than 600 stores and 120,000 associates into the former Eastern Division.

  Before moving into HR at The Home Depot, Buskey had a distinguished career as an operator for Oshman Sporting Goods, Circuit City and Wherehouse Entertainment.

  He earned a Bachelor’s degree in English from the University of San Francisco. Prior to his retail career, Buskey spent eight years as a professional baseball player finishing his career with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1978.

• Cheryl Cerminara
  VP, Talent Management and Development Frito-Lay North America
  
  

  As the VP of Talent Management and Development, Cheryl Cerminara is responsible for leadership, professional skills, technical and functional training, as well as the people processes that help to develop people and improve engagement. She is also responsible for the diversity and inclusion initiatives and is the HR Generalist for HR.

  During her 10-year career at PepsiCo, Cerminara has performed multiple roles. She began with the Frito Lay division as Director of Organization Management and Development and Inclusion Capability. After spending three years in that role, she moved on to become the Director of Change Leadership for PepsiCo, managing large scale changes and certifying HR leaders in the PepsiCo change leadership methodology. Two years later, she became the VP, Talent Management and Development a role which she has held for five years.

  Prior to joining PepsiCo 10 years ago, Cerminara managed Organizational Development for Westinghouse Savannah River Co., and was a healthcare executive responsible for organizational transition.

  She began her career as an instructor of Biology with the University of Kentucky system. She has a B.S. in Biology and an M.Ed from Lincoln Memorial University.

• Bill Conaty
  Former SVP HR General Electric Company
  
  

  Bill Conaty served as SVP for Human Resources at GE from 1993 — 2007 and has long been recognized as a world leader in his field. One of his most significant achievements was successfully managing the CEO succession and transition from the legendary Jack Welch to Jeff Immelt, the current Chairman and CEO of GE.

  In 2004, Human Resource Magazine named him ‘HR Executive of the Year.’ BusinessWeek declared that GE had, “the most talent-rich management bench in the world” and praised him for taking, “a department that’s often treated as a support function” and turning it, “into a high-level business partner.”

  Conaty served as a Trustee at Sacred Heart University for more than a decade, and received an Honorary Doctorate degree in 2010. He currently serves as a Trustee of the Board of his alma mater, Bryant University. In 1996, he was inducted as a Fellow to the National Academy of Human Resources and named Distinguished Fellow in 2007. Conaty is also a member of the HR Policy Association, where he served as Chairman from 2001 — 2007.

  In 2010, he co-authored a book with Ram Charan titled The Talent Masters: Why Smart Leaders Put People Before Numbers.

• Richard Fine
  Leader, Global Compensation and Executive Services Fluor Corporation
  
  

  Richard Fine has been the leader of the Global Compensation and Executive Services team at Fluor since 2009. In this capacity, he has primary responsibility for the relationship with the compensation committee of the board and overall strategy development and deployment of executive and non-executive compensation programs globally. He is also responsible for all executive recruitment and employment within the company.

  Fine has 25 years of experience in the HR arena primarily focusing on executive compensation, board governance and global compensation strategy and process. His prior experience includes senior consulting roles at Towers Perrin, Watson Wyatt and Hay Group. His corporate roles include global compensation leadership at Compaq Computer Corporation and compensation, benefits and HRIS leadership at Tenet Healthcare Corporation.

  Fine has a B.A. in Psychology from Stony Brook University and an M.B.A. in Finance from Washington University in St. Louis.

• Ross Fubini
  VP SuccessFactors
  
  

  Ross Fubini is a Vice President for SuccessFactors and is the Co-Founder of CubeTree, an enterprise social collaboration provider acquired by SuccessFactors in 2010. Fubini is responsible for developing community and partner relationships at CubeTree.

  He has a B.S. from Carnegie Mellon University and managed engineering teams at Symantec, BEA, PlumTree and TellMe Networks. Fubini co-founded CubeTree in 2008 when he and CubeTree CEO, Carlin Wiegner, saw a tremendous opportunity to change the way employees at large, geographically distributed companies interact and innovate to get work done.

• Jason Jeffay
  Global Segment Leader, Talent Management Mercer
  
  

  In his capacity as Global Segment Leader for Talent Management, Jason Jeffay consults in and manages Mercer’s consulting strategies around talent alignment and strategy, workforce architecture, leadership development and succession planning, performance management and employee value proposition and culture.

  Jeffay has more than 20 years of consulting experience working with senior leadership and HR executives to use talent management to improve their business results. His assignments have included reorganizing the corporate support functions of a large national retailer, redesigning the leadership structure and management processes for an integrated healthcare system, globalizing the HR function and people processes for a professional services firm, developing a succession planning process for a global manufacturing company and implementing a global talent development strategy and process for a Fortune 100 consumer products company. Jeffay is a frequent author and speaker and has sponsored or participated in cutting edge research within the field of HR.

  Jeffay has an undergraduate degree from Harvard and an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago. Prior to joining Mercer, he was the North American practice leader for talent and organization consulting for another global HR consulting firm.

• Michelle Kirby
  SVP & Chief Human Resources Officer Texas Health Resources
  
  

  Michelle Kirby is SVP and Chief Human Resources Officer for Texas Health Resources. Kirby joined Texas Health Resources in 1990 and during her tenure has fulfilled a wide range of business leadership assignments; including development of an integrated total health program with long-term ROI measures for health optimization, integrated disability management, total rewards programs, HR information systems and wellness programs.

  In addition to working for Texas Health Resources, Kirby is also on faculty with WorldatWork, the professional association for compensation, benefits and total rewards. With more than 20 years in the healthcare industry, she has directed all areas of human resources.

  Kirby has written several articles that have appeared in Employee Benefit News, Health Management Technology and Workspan magazines. She currently serves as an advisory committee member with the University of Texas at Arlington for their Master’s of Science in Human Resources Management Program. She has a Master’s degree in Human Resources from George Washington University and a Bachelor’s degree from Baylor University.

• Paul McIntyre
  Vice President Human Resources - BP America and Gulf Coast Restoration Organization BP America
  
  

  Paul McIntyre is Vice President of Human Resources for BP America. He and his team provide HR support to BP’s Gulf Coast Restoration Organization and BP America’s executive teams. He is also responsible for diversity and inclusion in the U.S.

  McIntyre joined BP more than five years ago and has served in executive-level HR roles in Exploration and Production’s Global Major Projects Organization, the North America Exploration and Production business and the Gulf of Mexico business unit. His career has provided him with a diversity of roles of increasing responsibility. Prior to BP, he has worked for BHP Billiton, Cemex USA and Shell. McIntyre’s work assignments have provided him with global experiences spanning the U.S., Australia, South Africa and the United Kingdom.

  McIntyre has served as BP’s Executive Sponsor and representative to the United Way of Gulf Coast Texas and has been one of BP’s executive representatives to the Human Rights Campaign.

  He received his Bachelor’s degree from Indiana University of Pennsylvania majoring in Public Administration. Subsequently, he graduated from Indiana’s M.A. Industrial and Labor Relations graduate program. He has completed advanced executive education programs with Cornell and MIT.

• Harvey Rosenblum
  Director of Research Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas
  
  

  Harvey Rosenblum is Executive Vice President and Director of Research at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas where he serves as the economic policy advisor to the bank’s president and as an associate economist for the Federal Open Market Committee. He joined the Dallas Fed as SVP and Director of Research in 1985 and was promoted to EVP in 2005.

  A visiting professor of finance at Southern Methodist University, Rosenblum teaches courses on monetary policy and financial institutions and markets and is currently researching monetary policy, infl ation and the growing impact of globalization on the U.S. economy and businesses. He has written articles for The Journal of Finance, New York Times, Southwest Economy and The Handbook of Banking Strategy.

  Rosenblum received a B.A. in Economics from the University of Connecticut and a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of California, Santa Barbara. He is also a member of several prestigious associations including being past-president of the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors of the National Association for Business Economics and Executive Director of the International Banking, Economics and Finance Association.

• Frank Rudolph
  EVP, Human Resources Devon Energy Corporation
  
  

  Frank Rudolph has served as Devon Energy’s Executive Vice President of Human Resources since 2007. In that time, Devon has been ranked four consecutive years on Fortune’s ‘100 Best Companies to Work For’ list. Recently, the company was named to Fortune’s list of the ‘World’s Most Admired Companies,’ ranking first in the area of people management among its industry peers.

  Prior to joining Devon, Rudolph was VP of HR for Banta Corporation, an international printing and supply chain management company. His career in HR began at R.R. Donnelly & Sons and spans more than 25 years. Rudolph holds a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Administration from Illinois State University and a Master’s degree in Industrial Relations and Management from Loyola University.

• Gail Salcido
  Senior Counsel - Employment Fluor Corporation
  
  

  Gail Salcido is an employment attorney working in Fluor’s corporate headquarters office. In this role, she is responsible for providing legal support to Fluor’s offices and project operations in Texas, the Midwest and South America. Salcido also provides legal support to Fluor subsidiaries regarding employment matters.

  She joined Fluor in 2009 and has more than 10 years of experience representing management in all aspects of labor and employment law. Prior to joining Fluor, Salcido worked at Jenkens & Gilchirst, P.C. and Bracewell, Giulliani, LLP where she focused her practice on management-side labor and employment litigation and counseling.

  Active in a number of professional and business organizations, Salcido is a member of the American Bar Association, Dallas Bar Association and the Association of Corporate Counsel. She is board certified in labor and employment law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. She received her B.A. in Psychology from St. Edward’s University and her J.D. from the University of Notre Dame Law School.

• Georgia Scaife
  EVP, Human Resources & Employee Admin. SuperMedia LLC
  
  

  Georgia Scaife is responsible for SuperMedia LLC’s human resources and employee administration services, including associate relations, compensation and benefits, payroll administration, training and development, staffing, diversity and business compliance.

  Previously, Scaife was Vice President - Human Resources for Verizon Information Services. Prior to that, she served as Vice President - Staffing Services for talent acquisition and staffing operations for Verizon and as Vice President — Human Resources for Puerto Rico Telephone Co. She has more than 20 years of experience in various HR fields, including labor and employee relations, compensation, benefits, strategy and planning, recruitment and staffing, succession planning, leadership development and equal employment opportunity and affirmative action.

  Scaife earned a Bachelor's of Arts degree in Sociology from the University of California.

• Dan Sessa
  EVP & CHRO Lennox International Inc.
  
  

  Dan Sessa was appointed EVP and CHRO of Lennox International Inc. (LII) in 2007. LII is a global leader in the heating, air-conditioning, and refrigeration markets.

  As the leader of LII’s Human Resources organization, Sessa is responsible for setting the strategic direction of LII’s global HR initiatives and executing HR programs and processes that accelerate business results. This includes driving integrated talent management processes to create a high performance organization, enhancing employee development and organizational effectiveness, developing diversity initiatives that strengthen LII’s culture and performance, and executing effective labor relations strategies. In the compensation and benefits arena, Sessa drives pay-for-performance compensation programs that align rewards with achievement of desired business results and competitive benefits programs that enable employees to maximize their health and build a financially secure retirement. In his role as the CHRO, he serves as the staff advisor to the Compensation and Human Resources committee of the LII Board of Directors. He works closely with the Committee on a broad range of executive compensation and benefits matters.

  Prior to joining LII, Sessa spent 11 years at United Technologies Corporation (UTC) in a variety of senior human resources and legal leadership roles. Most recently, he served as VP, Human Resources, Otis Elevator Company — Americas, where he led all aspects of HR. Previously, Sessa served as Director, Employee Benefits & Human Resources Systems for UTC, where he led the design and administration of UTC’s health and welfare and retirement benefits programs. He initially joined the Pratt & Whitney division of UTC, where he served as Director, Human Resources; Executive Assistant to the President; and Associate Counsel.

  Sessa began his career as a law clerk to The Honorable John M. Cannella, United States District Court, for the Southern District of New York. Following his clerkship, he worked as an associate at the law firm of Winthrop, Stimson, Putnam & Roberts (now Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman) in New York and subsequently at Wiggin & Dana in New Haven.

  Sessa is a member of the University of Texas at Dallas School of Management Advisory Council and the Southern Methodist University Cox School of Business Human Resources Roundtable Advisory Board. He holds a J.D. from Hofstra University School of Law, where he served as Managing Editor of the Hofstra Law Review, and a B.A. from the State University of New York at Binghamton.

• Paul Slavin
  Sr. Director Compensation & Benefits Tenet Healthcare Corporation
  
  

  Paul Slavin, Senior Director of Tenet’s Executive Compensation department, is responsible for the strategic planning and management of senior executive compensation and pension plan program. He was appointed to this role in 2008.

  In his role, Slavin works with the compensation committee to analyze and set the appropriate pay, equity and bonus levels for Tenet’s senior executives.

  He has worked in a variety of leadership positions at Tenet since 1995, including senior director of benefits, director of welfare and retirement plans, director of health and welfare plans, benefits manager and senior benefits analyst.

  Slavin is a member of the Dallas Business Group on Health, Society of Human Resource Management, Southwest Benefits Association and the Dallas Chapter of the Worldwide Employee Benefits Network. He received his Bachelor’s of Science degree in Personnel and Human Resource Management from the University of Texas at San Antonio.

• Larry Solomon
  EVP, Human Resources Dr Pepper Snapple Group
  
  

  Larry Solomon serves as Executive Vice President of Human Resources for Dr Pepper Snapple Group (DPS). He is responsible for approximately 20,000 colleagues in more than 250 facilities across North America and the Caribbean.

  Since assuming this position in 2003, Solomon has played a leading role in the company’s evolution into an independent, fully integrated beverage business. This includes the consolidation of four separate beverage companies, the acquisition and integration of Dr Pepper/Seven-Up Bottling Group and the establishment of DPS when it spun off from Cadbury Schweppes plc in 2008.

  Solomon has served DPS and Cadbury for more than 25 years, joining the company in 1985, serving on the board of management as director of HR for a wholly owned subsidiary. In 1999 he become SVP of HR for Dr Pepper/Seven Up Inc. after serving as director of organizational development for Cadbury’s Global HR leadership team.

  Solomon received a training and development diploma through the Institute of Personnel Management in South Africa and holds an M.B.A. from the University of Texas at Dallas.

• Francesca Spinelli
  Adjunct Faculty - Strategic Human Resources, Cox School of Management Southern Methodist University
  
  

  Francesca Spinelli, Ph.D., serves as adjunct faculty at SMU’s Cox School of Business, teaching in the area of strategic human resources, and is involved in the Cox executive education program. In addition, Spinelli coaches senior level executives and writes in the area of career development.

  She served in Chief Human Resources Officer roles as SVP of People for PetSmart, Inc. and SVP of People for RadioShack Corporation. She also worked at Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. where she served as Vice President of Organizational Development and Vice President of Human Resources for McLane Company, a former division of Wal-Mart.

  Spinelli spent more than eight years on the Board of Advance Auto Parts, a Fortune 500 specialty retailer, where she chaired the Compensation Committee and served on the Nominating and Governance Committee.

  She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin, an M.A. from the University of Iowa and a B.S. from Northwestern University.

• Sandi Stevens
  Vice President Challenger, Gray & Christmas
  
  

  Sandi Stevens is an SVP at Challenger, Gray and Christmas and is responsible for the Southwest. Stevens brings extensive knowledge in all aspects of human resources, including mergers and acquisitions, HR strategy, organizational development, staffing, compensation, benefits, training, relocation and labor relations. Stevens has an impressive leadership background, becoming the top HR officer at a $7B company at the age of 33. She has held the top human resources executive positions in five companies in a wide range of industries, including healthcare, retail and manufacturing. Early in her career she gained valuable international experience in the energy industry and telecommunications.

  Stevens is known for her strategic ideas and ability as a true business partner to understand the requirements and deliver a solution. She has chaired the operations committee for several companies. Her dynamic leadership style and business approach was an integral part of a company where she was a senior officer that grew from $200M - $1B in three years.

  Her leadership and drive are also evident in professional associations and non-profits where she is currently President of the Board of the Family Place and past President of the Dallas HR organization and has served as Executive Director of the HR Southwest Conference. She is on the Board of Directors of the Dallas Children’s Theater and is a former Board and Executive Committee member for the Sci-Tech Discovery Center among others. Stevens has also been involved in the Dallas Military Ball Foundation, an organization that helps the families of our service men and women. She also volunteers at Career Care at St Andrew United Methodist Church in a ministry that helps those in job transition.

  Stevens is a frequent speaker and radio personality, where she speaks on many topics including: servant leadership, strategic human resource issues and the keys to successful career transition.

  She graduated first in her class with an M.B.A. from Southern Methodist University and earned her B.B.A. in Human Resources from the University of North Texas, graduating magna cum laude. She was awarded the coveted top student in the U.S. from the Society of Human Resource Management.

• Darla Whitaker
  SVP, Worldwide Human Resources Texas Instruments Incorporated
  
  

  Darla Whitaker is SVP responsible for worldwide human resources at Texas Instruments Incorporated, headquartered in Dallas. She is a member of the company’s Strategic Leadership Team. Prior to her current assignment, Whitaker was VP and Manager of compensation and human resource systems and services for the company.

  She has held various positions in HR for Texas Instruments including Director of Human Resources for the application-specific products group, Human Resources Manager for the ASIC Organization and Compensation Manager in Taipei and Singapore for the Asia region.

  After joining Texas Instruments in 1984 in the wafer fabrication plant in Sherman, TX, Whitaker served in a variety of manufacturing and engineering assignments prior to her experience in human resources.

  She serves on the board of Directors of the TI Foundation as well as TI’s Political Action Committee. She also serves on the Board of Directors of Camp John Marc and is an alumnus of Leadership Texas.

  Whitaker is a graduate of Southern Methodist University where she earned a Bachelor's of Science in Electrical Engineering in and she earned an M.B.A. from the University of Dallas.

• Bill Zimmerer
  VP, Compensation, Benefits & HRIS Lennox International Inc.
  
  

  Bill Zimmerer has served as VP, Compensation, Benefits and HR Systems at Lennox International Inc. since 2007. He joined Lennox International after seven years in the Dallas office of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP where he consulted with management and boards of directors on a broad range of executive compensation matters.

  Before joining PricewaterhouseCoopers, Zimmerer worked as a compensation consultant and benefits associate with Towers Perrin (now Towers Watson) for more than four years. Prior to joining Towers Perrin, he worked as a benefits analyst with Alexander Consulting Group (now AON Hewitt).

  Zimmerer received a Bachelor's of Science degree in Mathematics with honors from The University of Texas at Austin. Additionally, he received his M.B.A. from the Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University with a concentration in Finance.

  As a Certified Compensation Professional and member of WorldatWork, Zimmerer has earned his Executive Compensation & Salary Administration Certificates under the program.