Joan Cotkin is a litigator with more than 30 years of experience, specializing in insurance coverage and employment litigation matters. As a member of Nossaman's Employment, Insurance Coverage, and Litigation Practice Groups, Ms. Cotkin has extensive experience dealing with a variety of complex business litigation, general civil litigation, and commercial litigation matters. She has helped corporate and public sector clients recover hundreds of millions of dollars in insurance coverage by successfully litigating landmark cases, including appeals in state and circuit courts. Ms. Cotkin advises clients on insurance matters ranging from directors and officers coverage, property and liability insurance to intellectual property coverage, excess insurance coverage, and professional liability defense, and bad faith litigation matters. 

Ms. Cotkin regularly comments on legal developments, news, and events impacting insurance policyholders on Nossaman's California Insurance Law Observer blog.  The blog can be viewed by going to www.CaliforniaInsuranceLawObserver.com.

Steve is a member of the Speaker Hall of Fame and was recognized in 2015 as one of the top 10 motivational speakers globally from over 9,000 candidates.

In addition to being one of the most sought-after speakers in North America, he has written 11 books and was named Author of the Year by Advantage/Forbes for his book Enjoy The Ride.

Steve built a multimillion-dollar company, which the Pittsburgh Business Times named one of the fastest-growing privately held companies in the region. Steve is one of SHRM’s top-rated speakers. This is his 18th consecutive year speaking at the SHRM Conference.

Jennifer Rhoads, HR Director with The Principal Financial Group, is responsible for execution of HR strategy and leads a global team of HR professionals supporting leaders and employees across the world.  Her knowledge and experience in HR has developed through her work and educational opportunities over the past 20 years in the field.  She received her BA and MBA from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, and holds her Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and Global Professional in Human Resources (GPHR) certifications.

Lee Webster has been SHRM’s Director of HR standards since February 2008.  In this role, he is responsible for overseeing the development of organizational ANSI and ISO Human Resource standards. 

Over a 15-year period prior to joining SHRM, Lee held important HR positions at Exxon Mobil, PepsiAmericas, and other international Fortune 500 firms.  For several years, Lee has also been an adjunct professor in human resources and business strategy for Trinity, American, and Regent Universities.  Prior to his civilian career, Lee spent several years in the military as an Infantry officer.

Susan L. Harmansky, SPHR, is a management consultant and author focusing on workforce planning and strategy.  She has had a diverse career in human resource management most recently as Global Vice President Human Resources for SGS International, a design-to-print graphic services and marketing firm headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky.  Her previous experience includes HR leadership roles with LG&E and KU Energy, Farm Credit Bank, Papa John’s International and the Presbyterian Church USA national headquarters.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in cultural anthropology from the University of Louisville and an MBA from Bellarmine University.  She has served as president of the Louisville Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) chapter and as state director for Kentucky SHRM.  She also led the SHRM-sponsored task force that developed the first American National Standard for performance management and served on the first international committee developing ISO standards for HR.   

She served seven years on the board of the premier international certifying agency for human resources, the HR Certification Institute, including a year as Board Chair during which HRCI expanded its reach internationally to the European Union and China. 

She has been certified as a Senior Professional in Human Resources since 1990 and is a recipient of the Louisville SHRM Award for Professional Excellence.  

Tom Collimore is Head, Industry Relations, for CFA Institute, the global non-profit association of investment professionals. In this role, he is responsible for establishing and enhancing industry and employer partnerships with CFA Institute. Previously, Mr. Collimore managed the investor education group of CFA Institute.  

Before joining CFA Institute, he served as Managing Director, Investor Relations, for CIFG Holding, a group of bond insurance companies based in Paris and Bermuda.  In past positions, Mr. Collimore managed asset-backed investor marketing initiatives for Enhance Financial Services Group (now Radian Group) and private asset-backed sales for Société Générale.  
 
Earlier in his career, he managed portfolios of financial institution and real estate credits for several North American banks, including Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and predecessors of J.P. Morgan Chase.  Mr. Collimore previously served as adjunct professor of finance at the College of Insurance, now St. John's University School of Risk Management, Insurance and Actuarial Science.  He also worked as a high school teacher of mathematics.
 
Mr. Collimore holds a Master’s in Business Administration, with a finance concentration, from New York University’s Stern School of Business and a Bachelor’s in Foreign Service, with a concentration in international finance and commerce, from Georgetown University. He has held the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation since 1997.    
 

Karen Martin has been her bringing her unique perspective to designing, managing and improving operations for over 25 years. As Principal Consultant for Karen Martin & Associates, she's a recognized thought leader in applying Lean thinking and the psychology of change to non-manufacturing environments. Her diverse client list includes Fortune 100 and 500 companies as well as government agencies, nonprofits, and start‐ups. One of her clients won the Shingo Prize for Operational Excellence. She’s the author of The Outstanding Organization (May 2012, McGraw-Hill) and co‐author of The Kaizen Event Planner: Achieving Rapid Improvement in Office, Service, and Technical Environments.

Shane A. Yount is a nationally recognized thought leader, author, and President of Competitive Solutions, Inc. (CSI), an international Business Transformation consulting firm that pioneered the acclaimed organizational development system known as Process Based Leadership® - A business transformation methodology designed to create a sustainable culture of clarity, connectivity, and consistency through the use of Non-Negotiable Business Processes. Since 1991 he has led the offices of CSI in becoming one of the nation’s most recognized Business Transformation consulting firms,  personally working with such organizations as Michelin, Genentech, Pfizer, Lockheed Martin, the Department of Defense, and many others.

Adam Bosworth is a technology leader and innovator who was instrumental in building numerous technology products, including Google Health, Microsoft Access, Microsoft Internet Explorer and BEA WebLogic Integration and Workshop. Adam founded Keas in 2008 to help people improve their lives by helping them to be healthier, and to help employers have a healthier, happier and more productive workforce.

Adam received a bachelor’s degree in history from Harvard University.

Kevin Dooley is the Global Head of People Engagement & Marketing at Deutsche bank. His role is to ensure that the Employer Brand is effectively marketed outside of the Bank and is mirrored internally throughout Deutsche's people processes. Kevin has work experience in both consumer products and financial services industries. He is currently based in New York City and has previously lived in Hong Kong, London and Singapore.