Julie Baskin Brooks is an accomplished Human Resources Executive with extensive experience in maximizing organizations’ Human Capital through Diversity Leadership, Organizational Development and Change Management. Human Resources career includes leadership roles in IT, Consumer Products, Financial and Consulting industries. Action and results oriented leader with established record of creative problem solving and building high performance teams. Julie has held various HR positions with IBM, Pearl Meyers & Partners, Xerox, Philip Morris (now Altria), GE Capital and Champion International. Julie has also formed and successfully ran her own HR Consulting company, The Human Element. In addition to Julie's corporate career, Julie is a wife, mother, active in her community and an Adjunct Professor at Fairfield University.
Pascal started his career as a Human Resources Professional in 1992 as Administration Officer with the Ghana Chamber of Mines, and later moved to the then Ashanti Goldfields Company Limited (now AngloGold Ashanti Limited) in 1998 as Senior Administration Officer – Industrial Relations at the Obuasi Mine. In March 2003, he was appointed Staff Manager for the Obuasi Mine, and later in June 2003 transferred to Iduapriem Mine in Tarkwa on appointment as Human Resources Manager. In January 2004, Pascal was appointed Senior Human Resources Manager until April 2007 when he was transferred to Accra on appointment as Human Resources Coordinator for Ghana. Following a re-organization of the company in November 2007, he was appointed Divisional Labour Relations Manager for West Africa (providing strategic direction and support in Labour Relations for Ghana, Guinea and Mali operations), a position he held until December 2009 when he got appointed to the position of Head of Human Resources for Ghana. He was later appointed Vice President: Human Resources for Ghana in February 2010, a position he currently holds.
Pascal Kanbonnabah is a holder of Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of Cape Coast, Ghana. He also holds an Executive Leadership (ELP) Certificate from the prestigious Graduate Business School of University of Cape Town in South Africa. And is a certified Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) from the HR Certification Institute. He has recently completed his MBA course work at the Graduate Business School of the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) in Accra, Ghana.
Pascal is the Chairman of the Human Resources Committee of the Ghana Chamber of Mines, as well as a member of the Council. He is also an honorary member of the Advisory Committee of the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration in Accra.
George C. Fraser is a highly sought after global speaker, bestselling author and successful entrepreneur. He is the CEO of FraserNet, Inc., a company he founded 25 years ago. He has held leadership positions at Procter & Gamble, United Way and Ford. Dr. Fraser has written numerous articles on “networking”, building effective relationships and economic development in minority communities. He has authored 3 critically acclaimed bestsellers, most recently; Click:10 Truths for Building Extraordinary Relationships (McGraw-Hill 2009). His views are solicited by media as diverse as CNN and the Wall Street Journal. The prestigious publication Vital Speeches of the Day has selected, reprinted and distributed five of Dr. Fraser’s speeches, a first for any professional speaker in America. He has been on the cover of 5 national magazines and was named one of the Top 50 Power Brokers in Black America. He has been married for 40 years and has two sons. He resides in Cleveland, Ohio.
Dr. Ningyu Tang is a professor of Antai College of Economics and Management, Shanghai Jiaotong University. Her current research focuses on culture’s influence on HRM, leadership and change and virtual team learning. She has published papers in organizational behavior and HRM areas and she is also the author of several books, including Human Resource Management and Personnel Assessment: Theories and Practices (in Chinese). She has taught courses such as Human Resource Management, Organizational Behavior and Compensation Management to students from both academic and professional programs. Dr. Tang has won several awards for her teaching and research in China. She has consulted with more than 10 state-owned companies, joint ventures and private companies in China.
Berry Van Veldhoven is a Shipboard Human Resource Manager in the cruise industry and speaker. Considered by many in the Cruise industry as a subject matter expert on shipboard human resources. Berry has spoken at numerous conferences including HRPA as well as for the Spanish tourism board on the subject of the Cruise industry and employment regulations on board cruise ship. He writes a blog on the topic of HR in the Hospitality industry and often consults for leading hospitality organizations on employment branding and HR and Organizational development.
Dr. David Rock coined the term 'Neuroleadership’ and is the CEO of the NeuroLeadership Institute, a global initiative bringing neuroscientists and leadership experts together to build a new science for leadership development. With operations in 24 countries, the Institute also helps large organizations operationalize brain research in order to develop better leaders and managers. David co-edits the NeuroLeadership Journal and heads up an annual global summit. He has written many of the central academic and discussion papers that have defined the Neuroleadership field.
Co-author of the book Carry A Chicken in Your Lap—Or Whatever it Takes to Globalize Your Business (NY: St Martins, 2009), Mr. Johnson has worked in the international arena since the 1970s, and has run his own businesses worldwide since 1985. He has helped employers and clients to tackle international problems effectively and affordably, from selecting optimal markets to best strategies for international growth. Some past clients include Hewlett-Packard, Deloitte & Touche, Rockwell International, Rand Merchant Bank, Rainbow Farms, Eli Lilly and Company, the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association, the Medical University of Southern Africa (MEDUNSA), Colgate-Palmolive, Sprint International, Ciena, Armstrong, British Airways, South African Airways, and Lockheed. A dual-degreed cum laude graduate of Claremont Men’s College, Mr. Johnson has taught in several countries as adjunct professor. He has travelled in 76 countries over his career, and has lived in Europe, Turkey, and Africa. He is fluent in German, Russian, Spanish, Afrikaans, and Turkish, and conversant in French, Bulgarian, and Swahili. Aside from having served part time in the White House in 1985-88, some of his former positions include Senior Fellow of the Hudson Institute (a leading world think tank); Vice President of Worldwide Affairs for Hill & Knowlton (the world's largest public relations firm); Director of Business Development for ITT Telecommunications; Director of International Marketing & Operations for Schlumberger’s data communications division Rixon (a leading French petro-technology firm); and Manager of International Marketing for RACAL (the British electronics and telecommunications conglomerate). His writings (1350 articles and reviews in five languages over the past 35 years) have appeared in more than 78 countries, including Readers Digest, The Freeman, Telecommunications, and the Wall Street Journal. He has been a guest and keynote speaker in more than 25 countries, and on several radio and television programs in North America, Europe, and South Africa, including NBC's Today show and South Africa’s Third Degree.
As Aetna’s Vice President of Public Affairs, Mohit M. Ghose works with business leaders to address legislative, public policy, regulatory and public relations challenges, including all aspects of health care reform and its implications across the enterprise and the health care sector. Mohit works with Aetna government relations, public policy, communications, thought leadership, clinical and business teams to enhance Aetna’s position as a leader committed to making quality, affordable health care coverage a reality for all Americans. Mohit serves as Aetna spokesman on public policy issues and leads internal efforts on employee political education and engagement through the Aetna Citizen Action Network- close to 11000 employees who volunteer their time and effort to educate lawmakers on issues of importance to Aetna's customers. Prior to joining Aetna, Mohit was senior vice president of public affairs for America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP).
Lobna “Luby” Ismail, founder and president of Connecting Cultures, LLC, www.connecting-cultures.net is a training specialist with over twenty years of experience in the areas of cross-cultural communication, cultural competence, Arab and American cultures, Islamic awareness and religious diversity in the workplace.
Luby helped develop two initiatives to breakdown barriers across cultures and faiths. www.20,000dialogues.org and www.groundzerodialogue.org, a nationwide campaign to stimulate discussion between people of different faiths through films. She also assisted in www.changethestory.net that offers an interactive experience can learn about Islam and Muslims.