General Session

Eric H. Holder Jr. was born in New York City and attended public schools there, graduating from Stuyvesant High School, before earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in American History from Columbia College in 1973 and a Juris Doctor degree from Columbia Law School in 1976. Upon his graduation from law school, Holder joined the Department of Justice through the Attorney General’s Honors Program. He was assigned to the newly formed Public Integrity Section, where he investigated and prosecuted corruption involving officials in local, state and federal government. In 1988, President Ronald Reagan appointed Holder to serve as an associate judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, where he presided over hundreds of criminal and civil trials during his five years on the bench. In 1993, President Bill Clinton appointed Holder to serve as the United States attorney for the District of Columbia. In 1997, President Clinton appointed Holder to serve as Deputy Attorney General of the United States, a position that he held until the end of the Clinton Administration. He was the first African-American to serve as Deputy Attorney General and United States Attorney for the District of Columbia. At the request of President George W. Bush, Holder served as Acting Attorney General in 2001 pending the confirmation of Attorney General John Ashcroft. In July 2001, Holder joined the Washington, D.C., law firm of Covington & Burling as a partner in the firm’s litigation practice group, where he represented clients in complex civil and criminal cases as well as internal corporate investigations. President Barack Obama nominated Holder to be Attorney General and the United States Senate confirmed his nomination on February 2, 2009. Holder began his service as the 82nd Attorney General of the United States the following day. He was the first African- American to serve in that position. He remained in office until April 27, 2015, becoming the third-longest-serving Attorney General in the nation’s history. While Attorney General, Holder oversaw the government’s efforts to address many critically important issues arising at the intersection of law and public policy, including national security investigations and prosecutions; landmark antitrust, environmental, fraud and tax cases; the defense of voting rights and marriage equality; and reform of the federal criminal justice system. In 2014, TIME magazine named Holder to its list of “100 Most Influential People,” stating that he “worked tirelessly to ensure equal justice.” After his departure from the Department of Justice, Holder returned to Covington & Burling and is resident in their Washington office. He focuses on complex litigation and investigatory matters that are international in scope and raise significant enforcement issues and substantial reputational concerns. Holder’s many civic commitments have included service on the boards of Columbia University, the National Center for Victims of Crime, the Meyer Foundation and the Save the Children Foundation, among many others. He also served on the U.S. Sentencing Commission Ad Hoc Advisory Group. Holder has received numerous awards and honorary degrees in recognition of his professional and civic contributions, including the NAACP “Chairman’s Award,” the Department of Justice’s “John F. Keeney Award,” the District of Columbia Bar Association’s “Beatrice Rosenberg Award,” George Washington University’s “Martin Luther King, Jr. Medal for Outstanding Service in Human Rights,” and the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights’ “Robert F. Kennedy Justice Prize.” The District of Columbia Bar Association has recognized Holder as its “Lawyer of the Year,” and in 2008, the Legal Times named him as one of the “Greatest Washington Lawyers of the Past 30 Years".

Tucker Carlson is the anchor of Fox and Friends Weekend and the editor-in-chief of The Daily Caller, one of the largest and fastest growing news sites in the country. Carlson joined FOX from MSNBC, where he hosted several nightly programs. Previously, he was the co-host of Crossfire on CNN, as well the host of a weekly public affairs program on PBS.

A longtime newspaper and magazine writer, Carlson has reported from around the world, including dispatches from Iraq, Pakistan, Lebanon and Vietnam. He has been a columnist for New York magazine and Reader's Digest. Carlson began his journalism career at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette newspaper in Little Rock. His most recent book is entitled, Politicians, Partisans and Parasites: My Adventures in Cable News. He appeared on the third season of ABC’s Dancing with the Stars.

Mike Aitken has worked at SHRM since 2003 and currently serves as the Senior Vice President of Government Affairs. Prior to joining SHRM, he served for 14 years as associate director for Governmental and External Relations at the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources (CUPA-HR). Previously, Aitken worked on state public policy issues at Bonner & Associates, a public affairs firm in Washington, DC. Currently, he is based in Alexandria, VA.

 

Kat Cole’s twitter handle reads “Connected-Creative-Conscious-Community building Capitalist, Biz Advisor, MBA, Coffee-loving Chronic Learner”—this not only describes her as a person, it describes the philosophies she applies to business, brands and life. As a leader who is unusually connected to communities through social media, is very active in advising and investing in start-ups, and is an avid humanitarian in some of the poorest areas of the world, Cole sticks out like a sore thumb in the crowd of her foodservice and franchise industry peers. She is a YGL (Young Global Leader) of the World Economic Forum, is starting a foundation to fund creative, sustainable approaches to education and self-sufficiency, and is one of only two foodservice company leaders listed on CNBC’s Next 25 List Innovators, Leaders and Disruptors—2014, which is dominated by tech start-ups and a few financial groups and Fortune 50 companies. She is passionate about creating and highlighting opportunities, innovation and community building that come out of the foodservice industry.

For the past four years, Cole has been president of Cinnabon, Inc. where she was accountable for leading, evolving and building the team and multi-channel brand. In her four years as president at Cinnabon, her team and franchisees have accomplished franchise unit growth (1200 in 55 countries), profitability, franchisee satisfaction, philanthropic partnerships, and comp sales performance that is the strongest the brand has seen in over a decade. In that same time, Cinnabon’s awareness, cult following, social media engagement, and multi-channel retail products (70 products in 70,000 points of distribution) and brand extensions have been in the top of its segment and the industry at large. In 2013, Cinnabon passed $1 billion in annual branded product sales globally through all retail channels and continued to grow beyond that in 2014.

As of January 2015, FOCUS Brands continues to grow in a new structure to leverage its scale and fuel continued global, multi-channel growth. Cole has been promoted to take on the role of Group President at FOCUS Brands Inc. (parent company to Cinnabon, Inc.) leading the innovative, high growth division building all brands at FOCUS in the US and internationally in consumer packaged goods, foodservice licensing, global licensed platforms and E-commerce. FOCUS has over 4,000 ice cream shops, bakeries, restaurants and cafés in the United States and 60 countries under the Moe’s, Schlotzsky’s, Auntie Anne’s, Carvel, McAllister’s Deli, Seattle’s Best Coffee and Cinnabon Brands. Prior to her role with Cinnabon and FOCUS Brands, Inc., Cole was vice president of training and development for Hooters of America, Inc., company which operates and franchises restaurants and manages the Hooters® brand entities.

Her story is often shared for inspiration as she moved up from working as a hostess at 17 years old in restaurants to server, bartender, traveling globally to help open new franchises learning every job in the restaurant business. Cole joined Hooters’ corporate office at 20, advanced to various management and leadership positions, becoming a vice president at Hooters at the age of 26, making her one of the youngest executives in chain restaurants. She was a member of the Hooters executive team that built the franchise to 400 units in 28 countries, eventually being sold to private equity in late 2010. She completed her Master of Business Administration degree at Georgia State University in her final two years as an executive at Hooters and while chair of the board of the Georgia Restaurant Association and Board member of the Women’s Foodservice Forum.

Cole is the co-founder of Changers of Commerce along with Amanda Hite, founder of Be The Change (BTC) Revolutions—a leading social movements agency. Changers of Commerce is a movement and group of leaders that identify with mixing money and meaning and making as much of a difference in the world as they make a profit. Being a Connected, Creative, and Conscious Capitalist not only produces return on investment, it connects with stakeholders, including current and emerging employees and consumers who will drive business and build brands for many years to come. Changers of Commerce is a group that believes the way forward in business and society is through thoughtful alliances and partnerships that build strong, profitable businesses that can be an engine for thriving communities.

Her personal story, business approach and perspectives on leadership have been the subject of feature articles in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Forbes, Fortune, Cosmopolitan and many other business, trade and interest publications. Cole is a sought-after speaker and consultant on leadership development, brand building, change management, and brand innovation and growth. She has been a featured guest on CBS, CNN, Bloomberg CNBC, MSNBC and more. Cole was awarded the “Distinguished Young Alumni Award” from Georgia State University J. Mack Robinson School of Business in 2011, was featured with Cinnabon on CBS' Undercover Boss in 2012, was named one of Fortune magazine’s “40 Under 40” in 2013 and CNBC’s “Next 25 List of Innovators, Leaders and Disruptors” 2014. In January 2015, she assumed the role as chair of the board of the Women’s Foodservice Forum.

She has made her mark in franchising, business leadership and brand building with a servant leader mindset, approachable style, penchant for business model innovation, and ability to build flexible, entrepreneurial-minded teams that love what they do and drive strong financial results. She is often quoted as saying “don’t forget where you came from, but don’t you dare let it solely define you”, a mantra she applies still today to encourage learning, constant improvement and helping teams and businesses embrace their roots while driving innovation and growth.

 

Jim Knight is not your average keynote speaker. As the former Senior Director of Training & Development at Hard Rock International, Knight brings his high energy, interactive and entertaining approach to deliver insights on organizational culture, customer service, employee branding, performance management, philanthropy, facilitation training, personal development, and leadership skills.

Knight has a degree in Vocal Performance & Education and taught in the Florida public school system for 6 years, before embarking on his hospitality training career.

The acclaimed author of Culture That Rocks, Jim Knight began his 30+-year career in hospitality training as a restaurant staff-level employee for Olive Garden and Hard Rock Cafe, before serving as the head of the School of Hard Rocks, running point on all global training and development functions for Hard Rock International. In this role, Knight managed and contributed to all facets of organizational training, including staff and management training materials and programs, the corporate university, management training locations, company e-Learning initiatives, leadership transitions, and on-site training and assessment.

During his time with the Hard Rock brand, his team won multiple Telly Awards, as well as a Gold Best in Class Award from Brandon Hall's Excellence in Learning. Knight was also recognized by Training Magazine, as representing one of the Top 125 training companies in the world, out of all industries and businesses. Since 2012, Jim Knight has been featured in Forbes Magazine, Inc. Magazine, Entrepreneur Magazine, Business News Daily and Fox Business News and was highlighted in 2015 as one of the “Top 5 Speakers to Watch.”  
 

A portion of Knight’s book and speaking proceeds goes to No Kid Hungry, a campaign to eliminate childhood hunger in the U.S.

With thought-provoking content and a refreshing, edgy delivery style, Jim Knight shares his unique, seasoned outlook on company culture, guest service, building teams, employee engagement, training and philanthropy to help organizations achieve rock star status.

Susan Ershler tours the world speaking about her life journey and sharing with others her secrets for success, determination, and achieving seemingly impossible goals. Ershler’s record would be remarkable enough if it only detailed her business achievements. During her 23-year corporate career, she has held a series of increasingly responsible executive positions in the sales divisions of Fortune 500 companies. She led teams to sales records, beating quotas from $1 million to $600 million. Ending as a vice president of sales for a multi-national telecommunications corporation, she was responsible for their fast-growing Internet division. She also worked at US WEST, United Technologies, FedEx Kinko's and GTE (Verizon). During her business career, she earned 11 annual President's Club sales awards—the top honors awarded to the sales people in these companies. But as she was marking these achievements, she and her husband Phil, a professional mountain guide, were climbing the Seven Summits—the highest mountain on each of the world's seven continents.
“A go-getter by nature, Ershler knew big success meant dreaming big.” —Selling Power Magazine

That remarkable journey culminated at the top of Mount Everest on May 16, 2002. With that climb, she and Phil became the first couple in history to climb the Seven Summits together. They've written a book on their adventure, Together on Top of the World: A True Story of Love and Courage, published by Warner Books. That feat earned them world-wide media attention, including Good Morning America, CNN, The New York Times and many others. As Alex Ward of the The New York Times put it, "Surmounting Everest's 29,035 feet remains one of the great mythic achievements, an undisputable display of skill and courage against ice and rock, bottomless chasms, bodynumbing temperatures and tent-shredding winds, all in an oxygen-deprived danger zone. Ms. Ershler worked hard to get there."

”Susan Ershler had climbed to the top of her sales profession before she ever strapped on crampons. She approaches climbing goals and sales goals the same way: setting them high and keeping them constantly in mind.” —Seattle Woman Magazine

Accomplishments:
• Honored with eleven annual President's Club sales awards including the exclusive national award: "Regional Sales Manager of the Year"
• Climbed to the summit of Mt. Everest on May 16, 2002 with her husband Phil becoming, "The first couple to climb the Seven Summits together" (the highest peak on each of the world's seven continents.)
• Ershler became the 12th American woman to climb Mt. Everest and the fourth American woman to complete the Seven Summits.

Not a professional mountain climber, Ershler trained by climbing the 35 stories in her high-rise office building on her lunch hour for a year—with a 40-pound pack on her back. Ershler tells her electrifying story to audiences with clarity and passion. She lifts her audience's ambitions by showing them how hard work, dedication, perseverance and a total commitment to excellence can pay off in reaching seemingly impossible goals. Her leadership message begins with visualizing a goal, no matter how difficult or out of reach. She continues with techniques to improve focus and discipline and shows how essential teamwork is to achievement. And she concludes with a passionate affirmation of the value of life and the thrill of celebrating your success from the top of the world.

Ershler’s message stands apart for its credibility and power. Having climbed the mountain—in work, and in the world, Ershler is the real deal.

A charismatic and versatile actor, Blair Underwood has found success acting in television, on stage and on the big screen. His success has been driven by the underlying belief that, in order to achieve longevity in the acting business, you must diversify yourself and become as flexible as possible.

A gifted and sought-after film actor, Underwood can most recently be seen lighting up the big screen in starring roles in Madea’s Family Reunion, the smash sequel to Tyler Perry’s hit Diary of a Mad Black Woman, and Something New, a romantic comedy co-starring Sanaa Lathan. He has also co-starred in Malibu’s Most Wanted; opposite Julia Roberts in Full Frontal; and as a Marine Captain in Rules of Engagement, for which he won the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Film. That same year he won the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series for his starring role in Steven Bochco’s City of Angels. Underwood's other film credits include his portrayals of a space shuttle flight navigator in the hit Deep Impact; a death row inmate in Just Cause; a geneticist in Gattaca; a sheriff in Posse; and a corporate banker in Set It Off, for which he received yet another NAACP Image Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture.

Underwood has received 12 industry nods from the Golden Globes and the NAACP Image Awards, with five wins from the NAACP Image Awards, for his roles in film and television on City of Angels, Rules of Engagement, L.A. Law, Mama Flora’s Family, and Murder in Mississippi. In 2000, People magazine named him one of its "50 Most Beautiful People," and in 2004 named him one of the "Sexiest Men Alive."

Involved in numerous charitable organizations, Underwood’s dedicated support of the Muscular Dystrophy Association won him the 1993 Humanitarian Award. He is also co-founder of Artists for a New South Africa (ANSA, ansafrica.org). Founded in 1989 with Alfre Woodard, Danny Glover, Mary Steenburgen and other friends in the arts and entertainment community, ANSA supports a democratic South Africa with equal rights and opportunities for all citizens.