General Session

Brian Niccol is Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer for Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE: CMG). He assumed the role of Chairman in March 2020, and under his leadership as Chief Executive Officer, a role he’s held since March 2018, Chipotle has seen accelerated comparable sales growth. Driving the brand’s purpose to Cultivate a Better World, Mr. Niccol has focused on increasing visibility, expanding access, fostering innovation, and encouraging engagement with employees and consumers.

A leader in the food industry, Chipotle has received global recognition and honors during Mr. Niccol’s tenure including Fortune magazine’s Most Admired Companies (2021, 2020), Forbes magazine Best Employers for Diversity (2019-2021), Newsweek magazine’s America’s Most Responsible Companies (2020), one of Comparably’s Best Companies for Culture, Diversity and for Women (2019, 2020) Best Companies for Perks & Benefits, Happiness and Best Professional Development (2020).

Mr. Niccol has been placed on notable lists including Fortune’s ‘Businessperson of the Year’ (2019), Bloomberg’s ‘People who Defined 2019’ (The Bloomberg 50), Comparably’s ‘Best CEO’s (2019), Best CEOs for Women and Diversity (2020) Orange County Business Journal’s ‘Business People of the Year’ (2020), as well as named ‘Leader of the Year’ by Restaurant Business magazine (2020), Nation’s Restaurant News’ The Power List (2021) and a ‘Distinguished Alumni’ by University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business (2020).

Prior to his current role, Mr. Niccol served as Chief Executive Officer of Taco Bell, a division of Yum! Brands. During his tenure at Taco Bell, Mr. Niccol was Chief Marketing and Innovation Officer and President. Mr. Niccol also held several executive positions at Pizza Hut, another division of Yum! Brands, including General Manager and Chief Marketing Officer. Before joining Yum! Brands, Mr. Niccol spent 10 years at Procter & Gamble, serving in various brand management positions.

Mr. Niccol currently serves on the board of Harley-Davidson in addition to the board of directors of The Chipotle Cultivate Foundation, Chipotle’s nonprofit organization. Mr. Niccol holds an undergraduate degree from Miami University and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Zoe Lofgren has been a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives since 1995. She represents the 19th District of California, based in the “Capital of Silicon Valley,” San Jose, and the Santa Clara Valley. A lifelong Bay Area resident and the daughter of a truck driver and a cafeteria cook, Zoe attended public schools and attended Stanford University on a California State Scholarship, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in political science in 1970. Prior to attending Stanford, Lofgren worked the night shift at the Eastman Kodak plant in Palo Alto to save money for non-tuition college expenses not covered by her scholarship. After graduating from Stanford, she attended, with the help of a scholarship, Santa Clara University School of Law, graduating cum laude in 1975. She served as a member of Congressman Don Edwards’ staff for eight years in both his San Jose and Washington DC offices. While practicing and teaching immigration law, she was first elected to the San Jose Evergreen Community College Board in 1979.  In 1980, she was elected to the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors where she served for 14 years. Following Congressman Don Edwards’ retirement in 1994 after 32 years in Congress, Zoe was elected to the House of Representatives. She currently serves on the House Judiciary Committee, the House Science, Space and Technology Committee, and the Committee on House Administration.

As the Chair of the Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship, and a former immigration attorney and immigration law professor, Zoe is recognized as an established champion of top-to-bottom immigration reform and a national leader in immigration policy. During the 113th Congress she played a key role in negotiating a comprehensive reform bill in the House Representatives as part of an eight-person bipartisan working group.

In 2010, in part due to her work on the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act, then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi presented Zoe with the gavel used to preside over the passage of the bill in the House of Representatives. Zoe is known for her work on patent reform, copyright issues, digital rights, and net neutrality.  She successfully fought to initiate the “e-rate” that provides affordable internet access for schools, libraries, and rural health centers, and she is the author of legislation that would allow the unlocking of cellular phones and other digital devices to give owners more control over their devices. She led a bipartisan effort in the House to decontrol encryption technology.

A staunch advocate for digital rights, Zoe was the lead early opponent of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and led a successful fight to stop bill in the House Judiciary Committee. Her Online Communications and Geolocation Protection Act would require law enforcement to obtain a warrant before retrieving communications and documents stored remotely or geolocation information about an individual.

In 2014, Zoe led a bipartisan effort to close backdoor loopholes on unwarranted government surveillance. The Massie-Lofgren amendment to the 2015 Department of Defense Appropriations Act to stop the NSA from searching Americans’ private communications collected without a warrant, and to prohibit the NSA from weakening security protections in devices and software for unwarranted surveillance purposes, passed the House by a resoundingly bipartisan vote of 293 to 123.In 2019, Zoe was appointed Chairperson of the Committee on House Administration by Speaker Nancy Pelosi and confirmed unanimously by the House Democratic Caucus. The Committee on House Administration (CHA) was established in 1947 as part of a larger effort to streamline the U.S. House of Representatives' committee system and to modernize its internal management and operations. After more than 70 years since the committee was established, CHA’s two principal functions include oversight of federal elections and day-to-day operations in the House. Historically, the committee has had a hand in shaping legislation that touches on any and all aspects of federal elections. Issues concerning corrupt practices, contested congressional elections, campaign finance disclosures, and credentials and qualifications of House Members also fall under its purview. Additionally, she is a member of the Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress, formed to make Congress more transparent, unifying and responsive to the needs and aspirations of the American people.

Zoe is also the Chair of the California Democratic Congressional Delegation. It is the most diverse delegation in the House and outnumbers all other state House delegations.

Zoe is married to John Marshall Collins and is the mother of two.

Martin J. Walsh was sworn in as the 29th Secretary of Labor on March 23, 2021. A lifelong champion of equity and fairness, and a proud product of the City of Boston, Secretary Walsh leads the U.S. Department of Labor with a strong connection to working people, and a commitment to creating an economy that works for all.

In 1997, he was elected to serve as a State Representative for one of the most diverse districts in Massachusetts. There, he focused on creating good jobs, protecting workers' rights, expanding mental health treatment, and investing in public transit.

Following his time as a State Representative, Secretary Walsh spent the last seven years as the Mayor of the City of Boston. While mayor, he led the creation of close to 140,000 jobs and helped secure a statewide $15/hour minimum wage, paid sick leave, and paid parental leave. He established Universal, high-quality Pre-Kindergarten for all children, and free community college for low-income students.

Secretary Walsh was a national leader in the response to COVID-19, getting PPE to first responders and nursing homes; funding emergency child care for healthcare and frontline workers; halting evictions and providing rental relief; and setting up multiple funds to help small businesses survive. His work early in the pandemic to pause construction and establish safety requirements has been lauded as a model by both unions and employers alike.

As Mayor of Boston, Secretary Walsh also made his mark as a labor leader. After following his father into Laborers Local 223 in Boston, he rose to head the Building and Construction Trades Council from 2011 to 2013. He worked with business and community leaders to promote high-quality development, and he created a program called Building Pathways that has become a model for increasing diversity in the workplace and providing good career opportunities for women and people of color.

Born and raised in the neighborhood of Dorchester by immigrant parents, Secretary Walsh is driven to ensure our nation's economy works for everyone. Secretary Walsh is a survivor of Burkitt lymphoma and is a proud member of the recovery community who has worked to expand addiction treatment throughout his career. While working full-time as a legislator, he returned to school to earn a degree in Political Science at Boston College.

United States Senator Maggie Hassan is committed to working with members of both parties to represent New Hampshire values and to solve problems in order to expand middle class opportunity, support small businesses, and keep America safe, secure, and free. She is the second woman in American history to be elected both Governor and United States Senator, along with fellow New Hampshire Senator Jeanne Shaheen. 

Elected to the U.S. Senate in 2016, Senator Hassan is working to combat the heroin, fentanyl, and opioid crisis; expand access to job training and make college more affordable for our students and families; help innovative businesses grow and create good jobs; and build a more inclusive economic future where all people who work hard to get ahead can stay ahead. 

She is also focused on strengthening national security; protecting Social Security and Medicare; ensuring that veterans get the services that they need and deserve; combating climate change and preserving our natural resources; and protecting a woman's right to make her own health care decisions. 

Senator Hassan’s committee assignments allow her to focus on these as well as other critical priorities facing New Hampshire’s families, small businesses, and economy. She is a member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs (HSGAC) Committee; the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee; the Finance Committee; and the Joint Economic Committee.

Senator Hassan was drawn to public service as an advocate fighting to ensure that children like her son Ben, who experiences severe disabilities, would be fully included in their communities and have the same opportunities that all parents want for their children.

In 1999, then-Governor Shaheen asked her to serve on the Advisory Committee to the Adequacy in Education and Finance Commission. Her experience as a business attorney and as a parent of a child who experiences disabilities enabled her to provide a unique perspective as the commission did its work.

Senator Hassan was first elected to the New Hampshire Senate in 2004, serving the people of the 23rd District, which included ten Seacoast towns. During her six years in office, she was selected by her colleagues to serve as President Pro Tempore and Majority Leader of the State Senate.

In 2013, she was sworn in as the 81st Governor of New Hampshire. Throughout her two terms as Governor, she responsibly balanced the state budget; created a business-friendly environment that encouraged innovation and saw New Hampshire’s unemployment rate drop to among the lowest in the nation; worked to implement a comprehensive, hands-on approach to the heroin, fentanyl and opioid crisis; and froze in-state tuition at state universities for the first time in 25 years while lowering tuition at community colleges. 

Maggie Hassan was born on February 27, 1958. She earned her B.A. from Brown University and her J.D. from the Northeastern School of Law. She and her husband, Tom, who serves as the President of School Year Abroad, live in Newfields and are the proud parents of two children, Ben (32) and Meg (28).

Charlotte A. Burrows was designated by President Biden as Chair of the EEOC on Jan. 20, 2021.  She was initially nominated to serve as a Commissioner of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in 2014.  The U.S. Senate later unanimously confirmed her to a second term ending in 2023.

Chair Burrows has advocated for strong civil rights protections and robust cooperation between the Commission, employers, and employees to advance equal opportunity in the workplace.  She seeks to enhance the Commission's enforcement of all laws within its jurisdiction, focusing in particular on initiatives to combat harassment, foster pay equity, and advance diversity and inclusion.  While at the Commission, she has worked to increase the agency's outreach to Native Americans, vulnerable immigrant and migrant communities, and other traditionally underserved populations.  In addition, Chair Burrows is particularly interested in the impact of technology and big data on civil rights and employee privacy.

Prior to her appointment to the EEOC, Chair Burrows served as Associate Deputy Attorney General at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), where she worked on a broad range of civil and criminal matters, including employment litigation, voting rights, combatting racial profiling, and implementing the Violence Against Women Act, among others.

Chair Burrows previously served as General Counsel for Civil and Constitutional Rights to Senator Edward M. Kennedy on the Senate Judiciary Committee and later on the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.  During her time on Capitol Hill, she worked on a variety of legislative initiatives, including the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 and the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008.

Chair Burrows also held several roles in the Civil Rights Division's Employment Litigation Section at DOJ, including Deputy Chief of the Section.  There, she represented the United States in all phases of civil litigation, including trial, to enforce Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Earlier in her career, she served as a judicial clerk on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and was an associate at Debevoise & Plimpton, LLP.

Chair Burrows received an A.B. from Princeton University and a J.D. from Yale Law School.

One of the most captivating American heroes of our time, Captain 'Sully' Sullenberger’s preparation and leadership enabled him to safely guide US Airways Flight 1549 to an emergency landing in New York City’s frigid Hudson River—an inspirational and iconic moment in modern history. His incredible personal story is captured in Sully, a major motion picture directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Tom Hanks as Captain Sullenberger. In his speeches, Captain Sullenberger shares timeless management principles—including his credo of “leadership by personal example”—and the lessons from his life which prepared him to handle the unprecedented crisis presented by the “Miracle on the Hudson.”

Marc helps the world's biggest brands and most successful companies elevate the quality and impact of their talent. He leads transformational projects globally in industries ranging from pharmaceuticals to consumer products to technology. As the founder and President of the Talent Strategy Group, he leads the firm’s global consulting, education, executive search and publishing businesses.

Marc co-authored the Harvard Business Review Publishing best-selling book One Page Talent Management, often called the “talent management bible.” Companies worldwide apply its discipline of science-based simplicity, accountability and transparency. His most recent book 8 Steps to High Performance (Harvard Business Review Publishing) is quickly reaching best-seller status with its powerful messages about how everyone can elevate their performance.

Marc co-founded the Talent Management Institute at the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School. It has become the world’s most popular executive education program on talent management with more than 3,000 graduates.

Prior to forming The Talent Strategy Group, Marc served as VP, Talent Management for Avon Products and led Global Leadership Consulting Practice for Aon Hewitt. He was also SVP, Leadership Development for Bank of America and a Congressional Staff Assistant.

Marc has been published in or heard on Fast Company, Financial Times, BBC, Bloomberg Radio, Inc., Harvard Business Review, New York Post, Knowledge@Wharton radio and some of the world’s most popular podcasts. Marc publishes TalentQ magazine which he founded in 2013 to help executives make smarter decisions about how to manage talent.

Marc earned a M.B.A. from the Yale University School of Management and a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Washington.

Dasha Smith is the Executive Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer for the National Football League where she leads people operations and strategy, technology, diversity & inclusion, social responsibility, and league office administration.  Prior to joining the NFL, Dasha served in senior leadership roles at Sony Music Entertainment, GCM Grosvenor and Time Inc.  Early in her career Ms. Smith practiced as an M&A lawyer.  Ms. Smith holds a Bachelor of Science in Finance from Georgetown University and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Virginia School of Law.  Ms. Smith is an independent Director for Cohen & Steers, Inc., CAPTRUST, and Beautycounter.  She also serves as a trustee for several non-profit education and arts organizations including RFK Human Rights and National Museum of African American Music. 

Stephen M. R. Covey is the New York Times and #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author of The Speed of Trust: The One Thing that Changes Everything, which has been translated into over 20 languages worldwide. He is co-author of the #1 Amazon bestseller Smart Trust: The Defining Skill that Transforms Managers into Leaders. Stephen brings to his writings the perspective of a practitioner, as he is the former President & CEO of Covey Leadership Center, which under his direction became the largest leadership development company in the world. A Harvard MBA, Stephen co-founded and leads FranklinCovey’s Global Speed of Trust Practice. He is a highly sought after international speaker, who has taught trust and leadership in over 50 countries to leaders and organizations from across the globe.

Cathy McMorris Rodgers is Eastern Washington’s chief advocate in Congress and a rising star in American politics. Since first being elected to the House in 2004, she has earned the trust of her constituents and praise on Capitol Hill for her hard work, conservative principles, bipartisan outreach, and leadership to get results for Eastern Washington. As someone who grew up on an orchard and fruit stand in Kettle Falls, Washington, worked at her family’s small business, and later became a wife and working mom of three, Cathy has lived the American Dream, and she works every day to rebuild that Dream for our children and grandchildren.

Cathy served as Chair of the House Republican Conference from 2012 to 2018. Cathy was the 200th woman ever elected to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Since being elected to Congress in 2004, Cathy has focused on moving legislation based on the priorities she hears in conversations with the people of Eastern Washington. Her mission is to restore trust and confidence in representative government and the rule of law, and lead as a trust-builder, ability-advocate, and unifying force to get results for hardworking men and women in Eastern Washington.

Congresswoman Maria Elvira Salazar proudly represents Florida’s 27th Congressional District, passionately serving the people of South Florida. She currently serves on the House Committee on Foreign Affairs as well as the House Committee on Small Business. 

Congresswoman Salazar is committed to acting tirelessly in defense of individual rights and liberties, spearheading economic development & job training efforts, and promoting environmental resiliency in her community. She is well-known for her advocacy for Human Rights and democracy around the world, especially for the people of Cuba, Venezuela, Bolivia, and Nicaragua, as well as for her unabashed support of our global & regional partners such as Israel, Colombia, and Taiwan.

Congresswoman Salazar is a five-time Emmy Award-winning journalist— she has spent her career holding the corrupt and powerful accountable. Congresswoman Salazar has gone toe-to-toe with Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro, Chile’s Augusto Pinochet, and most notably Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, being the only US Spanish-language journalist to ever interview the tyrant one-on-one. Starting at the age of 22, she has worked for every major US Spanish-language broadcasting network: Telemundo, Univision, AmericaTeve, MegaTV, and CNN en Español. 

Salazar was born in Miami’s Little Havana neighborhood, the daughter of Cuban exiles. She studied at the Deerborne School of Coral Gables and graduated from Miami Dade College. Salazar holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from the University of Miami and a Master of Public Administration from Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government.

Congresswoman Salazar currently resides in Coral Gables with her two daughters, Nicoletta and Martina.