General Session

Johnny C. Taylor, Jr., SHRM-SCP, is President and Chief Executive Officer of SHRM. With nearly 325,000 members in 165 countries, SHRM impacts the lives of more than 235 million workers and families globally.

As a global leader on the future of employment, culture, and leadership, Mr. Taylor is a sought-after voice on all matters affecting work, workers, and the workplace. Recently named one of the “Most Influential People Shaping Public Policy” in our nation’s Capital by Washingtonian Magazine, Mr. Taylor is frequently asked to testify before Congress on critical workforce issues and authors the weekly USA Today column, "Ask HR."

Mr. Taylor's career spans over 20 years as a lawyer, human resources executive, and CEO in both the not-for-profit and for-profit space. He has held senior and chief executive roles at IAC/Interactive Corp, Viacom's Paramount Pictures, Blockbuster Entertainment Group, the McGuireWoods law firm, and Compass Group USA. Most recently, Mr. Taylor was President and Chief Executive Officer of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund.

He is the author of the national bestseller, RESET: A Leader’s Guide to Work in an Age of Upheaval, which delivers a candid and forward-thinking vision for leaders to reimagine their company cultures in a time of global upheaval and presents data-driven strategies to make the necessary foundational reset of all things work. Immediately upon its release in September 2021, RESET was in the top three of the Wall Street Journal’s list of best-selling hardcover business books. All author proceeds benefit the SHRM Foundation, which is committed to empowering HR as a social force for change.

Mr. Taylor sits on several corporate boards, including as Lead Independent Director of XPO Logistics (NYSE: XPO) and as an Independent Director of Guild Education and Flores & Associates. In addition, he dedicates himself to non-profit organizations, serving as Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees of the University of Miami and as a Trustee of the United Way Worldwide. Mr. Taylor was appointed chairman of the President’s Advisory Board on Historically Black Colleges and Universities and as a member of the White House American Workforce Policy Advisory Board during the Trump Administration.

The Women Business Collaborative (WBC) named Mr. Taylor as one of its 2023 Trailblazers in Gender Equity and Diversity for his work to achieve equal positions, pay, and power for all women in business. In 2020, he received the Distinguished Executive of the Year Award from the Academy of Management, and he was named 2021 ALA Professional Society CEO of the Year by CEO Update.

He is a Fellow of the National Academy of Human Resources and is licensed to practice law in Florida, Illinois, and Washington, D.C.

Bruce Broussard, President and CEO, joined Humana in 2011. Under his leadership, Humana has created an integrated care delivery model centered on improving health outcomes, driving lower costs, enhancing quality, and providing a simple and personalized member experience. With its holistic, human care approach, Humana is dedicated to improving the health of the communities it serves by making it easier for people to achieve their best health.

Bruce brings to Humana a wide range of executive leadership experience in publicly traded and private organizations within a variety of healthcare sectors, including oncology, pharmaceuticals, assisted living/senior housing, home care, physician practice management, surgical centers and dental networks.

Prior to joining Humana, Bruce was Chief Executive Officer of McKesson Specialty/US Oncology, Inc. US Oncology was purchased by McKesson in December 2010. At US Oncology, Bruce served in a number of senior executive roles, including Chief Financial Officer, President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board.

Bruce plays a leadership role in key business advocacy organizations such as the Business Roundtable, the Business Council, and the American Heart Association CEO Roundtable. He is a member of the Board of Directors of HP Inc., and member and chair of America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP). Additionally, Bruce serves on the Board of the Trust for the National Mall, a nonprofit philanthropic partner of the National Park Service dedicated to restoring and preserving the National Mall.

Sharon Fast Gustafson is the immediate past General Counsel of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), where she enforced Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act.

Ms. Gustafson is currently Of Counsel to First Liberty Institute, a public interest law firm committed to defending religious liberty in the workplace and in all aspects of American life.

Ms. Gustafson graduated with honors from Georgetown Law Center in 1991 and has concentrated her practice in employment law. She worked for four years in the labor and employment law group at Jones, Day in Washington, D.C. For 16 years prior to her time at the EEOC, she had a broad-based solo practice advising and representing employers and employees in handling all aspects of the employment relationship, in compliance with federal and state workplace laws, and in designing and implementing sound employment policies and practices.

Ms. Gustafson is an experienced litigator in federal and state courts; before administrative agencies, including the EEOC, state and local civil rights offices, and the Department of Labor (DOL) Wage and Hour Division; and in mediation and arbitration. She is admitted to practice in state and federal courts in Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia, and in the United States Supreme Court.

Ms. Gustafson successfully litigated a pregnancy discrimination case, Young v. UPS, 575 U.S. 206 (2015), from EEOC intake to a successful outcome at the U.S. Supreme Court. In 2016, she received the Metropolitan Washington Employment Lawyers Association’s “Lawyer of the Year” award “in recognition of outstanding dedication to Civil Rights, Equality, and Justice.”

Kathleen Christensen, Ph.D., serves as Co-Director of Work Equity at Boston College’s Center for Social Innovation. Previously, she founded and led the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation’s cutting-edge research programs on working families; the aging workforce; and the impacts of outsourcing on the U.S. workforce, as well as spearheading, with SHRM, the first national campaign to advance workplace flexibility. Dr. Christensen worked closely with the White House on its 2010 Forum on Workplace Flexibility and its 2014 Summit on Working Families. Author/editor of seven books, Dr. Christensen was formerly Professor of Psychology at the Graduate Center, City University New York. She is widely quoted in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and other media.

Matt Sigelman is President of the Burning Glass Institute, Chairman of Emsi Burning Glass, and a Visiting Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Center for Social Policy. Matt has dedicated his career to unlocking new avenues for mobility, opportunity, and equity through skills. Situated at the intersection of work and learning, the Burning Glass Institute advances data-driven research and practice for the future of work and the future of workers. Previously, as CEO of KKR-backed Emsi Burning Glass, Matt and his team invented the field of real-time labor market data, a breakthrough innovation that transformed the way employers, education institutions, policy makers, and workers understand, plan for, and connect with the world of work. By mining billions of job openings and career histories, Matt led the company to become the global authority on the market for talent. Previously, Matt worked at McKinsey & Company and at Capital One. He writes widely on the job market and is consulted frequently by public officials and global media. Matt holds an AB from Princeton University, an MBA from Harvard, and is a Member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Senator Breaux led a long and distinguished career in the US Congress. He was elected to the House of Representatives in 1972 at the age of 28 – at the time of his election, he was the youngest member of Congress. He represented the 7th District of Louisiana for 14 years before being elected to the United States Senate in 1986. Senator Breaux was a widely recognized bipartisan leader in the Senate, and in 1993, was appointed by his Democratic colleagues to the post of Chief Deputy Whip, a position he held until his retirement. He also held a number of key Senate committee positions.

A senior member of the Finance Committee, Senator Breaux served as the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Social Security and Family Policy. He also held positions on two other Finance subcommittees, the Subcommittee on Health Care and the Subcommittee on Taxation and IRS Oversight. Senator Breaux also served on the Senate Commerce, Science and Technology Committee, where he was a leader on telecommunications and transportation issues, along with his work on fisheries and ocean policy.

Jack is a partner in the firm’s nationally ranked Government Investigations and White Collar Litigation practice, focusing his practice on civil litigation, regulatory enforcement, and congressional investigations for clients in the defense, technology, federal contracting, and other business sectors. As an accomplished trial lawyer and legal strategist, Jack has handled a range of complex litigation, investigations, and enforcement matters, including representing clients in congressional investigations. His extensive experience in litigation, investigations, and strategic counseling is particularly deep with respect to defense industry clients and other businesses operating in the federal sector, including emerging companies for which he provides support for continued growth.

One of Jack’s principal practice areas involves conducting internal investigations and providing counseling on matters pertaining to diversity, equity, and inclusion, assisting several companies to develop and implement initiatives in these areas. Jack was one of five civilian members who served on an independent review panel that investigated the command climate and culture at Fort Hood, as they related to sexual assault, harassment and crime. After releasing their report, Jack and his fellow panel members testified before the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Military Personnel.

Jack also provides particularly valuable counsel to companies through growth, particularly in the government contracting sector, guiding them through legal and regulatory compliance as they transition out of small business status and through graduation from the SBA’s 8(a) Business Development Program into viable competitive enterprises. He also assists companies with the seating and engagement of fiduciary and advisory boards. As a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Jack served five years on active duty in the U.S. Army and continued his service in the Army Reserve while earning his J.D. at Pepperdine University School of Law. He has also served as a law clerk for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito after first clerking for Alito at the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.