A master teacher and world-class speaker, Dr. Roch Parayre is a strategist who blends rigor with contagious enthusiasm. He urges leaders and organizations towards new ways of thinking: “My job is to energize people – both in the classroom and in the boardroom. If you aren’t passionate about your strategy, you’ll never get the buy-in you need to grow and transform your business.”

Roch has advised organizations on five continents and across a wide spectrum of industries. Clients such as Pepsi, Microsoft, GE, Disney, L’Oreal, Merrill Lynch, and Comcast rely on Roch for his expertise and motivational skills. His executive education seminars focus on decision-making, scenario planning, innovation, and strategy.

A Teaching Fellow at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, he is co-Academic Director of Wharton’s Full-Spectrum Innovation program. Roch also teaches at CEDEP and INSEAD in France, for Duke Corporate Education, and at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. He was previously a Senior Fellow in the Mack Center for Technological Innovation at the Wharton School, and was a faculty member at the Cox School of Business at SMU, where he won numerous MBA teaching awards.  Roch holds a B.S. in Applied Mathematics from the University of Ottawa, an M.S. in Engineering Economic Systems from Stanford University, and a Ph.D. in Business Strategy from the University of British Columbia. His work has been published in a variety of academic journals, industry reports, and trade publications. He also leads DSI’s Blue Ocean Strategy practice.

Deb Keller is President & Chief Compliance Officer of Victig Background Checks, a nationally accredited background screening firm. She’s a national authority on background screening, regulatory compliance, the FCRA, the use of criminal records in employment and the EEOC Guidance.

She’s spoken at six Annual SHRM Conferences, recently completing consecutive sessions at SHRM21, SHRM22 and now SHRM23 as well as 35+ State SHRM and Employment Law Conferences.  

Deb has been quoted in SHRM magazine and the 2020 Complete Guide to Human Resources & the Law. Deb holds the PBSA Advanced Certification, designating advanced expertise in the FCRA and background screening.

Derek has over 20 years of Manufacturing Human Resources experience, with 10 of those years being in union environments.  Derek began his HR career working as a Recruiter for Courtney Services a staffing agency in 1994.  Derek is currently the Human Resources Manager for Cooper Standard in New Lexington, OH, a unionized (UAW) tube plant that makes fuel and brake tubing for the automotive industry.

Derek graduated from Urbana University with a double major in Business Management and Human Resources then went on to obtain an MBA from Franklin University.   Derek has been a certified HR professional since 1997, he holds SPHR and SHRM-SCP certifications.  Derek has been a speaker at 3 prior SHRM conferences (1 Annual and 2 Talent Staffing), he trains and consults on performance development, leadership, and diversity.

Dozer sits on the Advisory Board for the Zanesville Salvation Army, served on the Adult Education Advisory Board at Mid-East Ohio Vocational School.  Dozer also volunteered on the board for the Human Resources Association of Central Ohio.  Derek is an elected official serving first as a Township Trustee for 8 years, and has just over 5 years currently as Fiscal Officer for Newton Township the second largest geographical Township in the State of Ohio, located in Muskingum County.

Derek and his family live on a farm settled by his great, great grandfather in 1863 near Roseville, Ohio where he raises Angus beef cattle, watermelons, and Boxer dogs.  Derek has 2 boys (18 and 16) and a daughter (who just turned 15).  Derek is a serious National Park junkie.  Derek is very serious about his vacation time.

Scott is the lead negotiator of The Frontier Project. Working predominantly within the Frontier Envoy unit of the firm, he discreetly investigates global market opportunities, moderates executive summit meetings, leads product development teams and provides negotiation support to key clients.

Prior to founding The Frontier Project, Scott worked as a British Diplomat and led business development for a global law firm. He holds an undergraduate degree in International Relations from the London School of Economics where he studied on a Barclays Scholarship, and a graduate degree in Security Studies from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University.

Scott resides in Virginia, where Frontier’s production studio is based, though is more often found operating out of Frontier’s New York locations. He keynotes regularly on the interplay of decision dynamics and innovation in global markets and the personal discipline of innovation.

As with his teammates at Frontier, Scott passionately believes that shareholders, society and the environment all mutually benefit when innovation and market influence strategies are deployed for sustainable returns.

Randy Anderson has a true passion for teaching the “how’s” and “why’s” of engaging, equipping, and empowering people in work and life. He teaches ideas and strategies that he learned from working for and managing in organizations ranging from 5 to 35,000 employees. Over the last 25 years, he has developed and taught these principles to tens of thousands of people in all sizes of organizations from front line to back office to upper management. Whether learning to improve your performance, or so you can train others to improve theirs, Randy will transform your thinking, your productivity, and your influence. 

Michelle Tillis Lederman is known for her energetic, engaging, and authentic presentations. An expert on workplace communications and relationships, Michelle’s mission is to help people communicate and lead with confidence, clarity, and connection. She is an accomplished speaker, trainer, coach, and author of two books including The 11 Laws of Likability and Heroes Get Hired and recently named by Forbes as one of the 25 Professional Networking Experts to Watch in 2015. She recently opened her signature live program, The Relationship Driven Leader, to the public. After a decade in finance, Michelle was frustrated by the lack of effective communication and support within organizations especially as she became a people manager. She founded Executive Essentials, a training company that provides communications and leadership programs, as well as executive coaching services, to enable others to succeed professionally where she struggled. A former NYU professor, financial executive, and recovering CPA, Michelle teaches from experience and shares what she learned during her extensive career.

Employee Development Strategies, Inc. President & Executive HR Consultant Suzanne Kirk, MS, SPHR has worked with clients across multiple industries on a variety of performance management and strategic human resources initiatives.

As Associate Director of Global Learning and Development for a Boston-based marketing and technology professional services firm, Suzanne was responsible for the learning and development strategies for a global workforce of over 1200 employees. She drove the implementation of an organization-wide competency model and redesigned the performance management process in support of the initiative.

As Director of HR Services at a level-one trauma center teaching hospital, Suzanne led the Organizational Development, HR Business Consultant and Recruiting teams with a customer-centric approach to healthcare HR.

Earlier in her career, Suzanne was a Performance Improvement Consultant in the utility business during the deregulation of Georgia’s natural gas industry.

Emma Geist, MSc., SHRM-SCP, GPHR, has been an Leader in the field of Human Resources for over 18 years, having lived and worked on all five continents and contributed to various industries.  Emma is an expert in fostering and delivering change for business alignment and operational efficiency across multiple countries and cultures for global organizations.

Over the past 10 years, she has focused mainly on Human Resources Management and Organizational Development for the extractive industry in Africa and South America, where one of the main challenges is to build efficient teams made of employees from various cultures and backgrounds while taking into consideration the local environment.

She holds a BA from University Stendhal (Grenoble – France) and a MSc. in International Human Resources management and Globalization from University of Leicester, UK.

Jennifer Lee is an experienced keynote speaker, engaging educator, and talented facilitator. Jennifer has over 15 years of learning and development experience with a robust background in luxury hospitality, human resources, and training. As the former Learning and Development Director at the AAA Five Diamond-rated Waldorf Astoria Chicago and the former Learning Manager at The Four Seasons Hotel in Chicago, Jennifer brings a rich perspective in leadership, management, service, hospitality and presentation skills training. When she’s not presenting, Jennifer can be found checking items off her bucket list, which still includes attending the Oscars at least once in her lifetime.