Virtual LeaderCon 2023 - Speakers

Kevin Eikenberry

Chief Potential Officer - The Kevin Eikenberry Group

Host - Virtual LeaderCon

Kevin Eikenberry is a world expert on leadership development and learning. He is the Chief Potential Officer of The Kevin Eikenberry Group, & co-founder of The Remote Leadership Institute. He has helped organizations across North America, and leaders from 43 countries on leadership, teamwork, communication and more.

He has twice been named by Inc.com as one of the top 100 Leadership and Management Experts in the World and been included in other similar lists. He is the author, co-author or a contributing author to nearly 20 books, including best-sellers Remarkable Leadership and From Bud to Boss – Secrets of the Successful Transition to Remarkable Leadership (with Guy Harris), The Long-Distance Leader: Rules for Remarkable Remote Leadership (with Wayne Turmel). In January 2021, The Long-Distance Teammate: Stay Engaged and Connected While Working Anywhere will be released. His blog is ranked among the world’s best, most read and most shared on leadership, has been visited over 4 million times.

Marsha Acker

Founder & CEO - TeamCatapult

Marsha is the founder and CEO of TeamCatapult, a respected and sought-after leadership development firm that equips leaders, at all levels, to facilitate and lead sustainable behavioral change. She partners with leaders and leadership teams to clarify their desired change, develop communicative competence and think together - accessing their collective intelligence to bring about change.

TeamCatapult is a partner to mid-size start-ups and global fortune 500 companies across sectors like entertainment, game development, banking, insurance, healthcare, communications, government, information technology, consumer goods, and retail. Clients have included Microsoft, Riot

Games, Epic Games, Capital One, Blizzard Entertainment, Starbucks, Liberty Mutual, Fidelity, and Chef.

Marsha Acker is an executive & leadership team coach, author, speaker, facilitator, and the host of Defining Moments of Leadership Podcast. Marsha’s unparalleled at helping leaders identify and break through stuck patterns of communication that get in their way of high performance. She is known internationally as a facilitator of meaningful conversations, a host of dialogue and a passionate agilest. She is the author of The Art and Science of Facilitation: How to Lead Effective Collaboration with Agile Teams and Build Your Model for Leading Change: A guided workbook to catalyze clarity and confidence in leading yourself and others.

Dr. Wayne Baker

Professor of Business Adminstration - University of Michigan Ross School of Business

Wayne Baker is Robert P. Thome ("TOE-May") Professor of Business Administration and Professor of Management & Organizations at the Ross School of Business, and Faculty Co-Director of the Center for Positive Organizations. He is also Professor of Sociology at the University of Michigan and Faculty Associate at the Institute for Social Research. His work focuses on social networks, generosity, values, and positive organizational scholarship.

His latest book is All You Have To Do Is Ask: How To Master the Most Important Skill For Success (Currency/Penguin Random House, January 2020). Prior to joining the Ross faculty, he was on the faculty at the University of Chicago School of Business. He earned his Ph.D. in sociology from Northwestern University and was a post-doctoral research fellow at Harvard Business School.

Gary Bolles

Author & Speaker

Gary A. Bolles writes and lectures around the world on the future of work, learning, and the organization. He is the author of “The Next Rules of Work: The mindset, skillset, and toolset to lead your organization through uncertainty,” your guide to the brave new world of work fueled by AI and other exponential technologies. He has over 1.3 million learners on LinkedIn Learning, with courses such as “Learning Mindset,” “Learning Agility,” “Leading Change,” and his brand-new course, “Skills for Leading the Future of Work.”

As adjunct Chair for the Future of Work for Singularity University, he helps decision-makers in business, government, education, and civil society to understand the impact and leverage the opportunities of exponential change. As a partner in the consulting agency Charrette LLC (“Initiatives With Impact”), he helps individuals, organizations, communities and countries develop strategies for “what’s next.” And as co-founder of eParachute.com, he helps job-hunters & career changers with programs inspired by “What Color Is Your Parachute?”, the world’s enduring career manual.

Bolles is a former Silicon Valley executive, a serial entrepreneur, the former editorial director for six technology publications, and is a co-founder of SoCap, the world’s largest gathering of impact entrepreneurs and investors, as well as a number of other catalytic events. Read “Gary Bolles’ Next Newsletter” on LinkedIn.

Ryan Gottfredson

Leadership Development Author, Researcher, & Consultant

Ryan Gottfredson, Ph.D. is a cutting-edge leadership development author, researcher, and consultant. He helps organizations vertically develop their leaders primarily through a focus on mindsets. Ryan is the Wall Street Journal and USA Today best-selling author of Success Mindsets: The Key to Unlocking Greater Success in Your Life, Work, & Leadership and The Elevated Leader: Leveling Up Your Leadership Through Vertical Development.

He is also a leadership professor at the College of Business and Economics at California State University-Fullerton. He holds a Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior and Human Resources from Indiana University, and a B.A. from Brigham Young University. As a consultant, he works with organizations to develop their leaders and improve their culture (collective mindsets).

He has worked with top leadership teams at CVS Health (top 130 leaders), Deutsche Telekom (500+ of their top 2,000 leaders), Experian, and dozens of other organizations. As a respected authority and researcher on topics related to leadership, management, and organizational behavior, Ryan has published over 19 articles across a variety of journals including: Leadership Quarterly, Journal of Management, Journal of Organizational Behavior, Business Horizons, Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies, and Journal of Leadership Studies. His research has been cited over 3,575 times since 2018.

Bobby Herrera

Co-Founder & CEO - Populus Group

Bobby Herrera believes that everyone deserves an opportunity to succeed and is an unwavering champion for the Underdog. He’s cofounder and CEO of Populus Group. With annual revenue over $600 million, it is one of the fastest-growing HR Services companies in the United States.

Bobby is the author of the bestselling leadership book “The Gift of Struggle”. He grew up in the outskirts of a small town in New Mexico. As one of 13 children in a migrant farm working family, he learned the value of hard work, rising early and putting in long hours in the fields. After high school, boot camp became his ticket of opportunity. He is a proud Army Veteran.

Bobby’s a passionate storyteller who is a regular speaker at corporations and service groups and serves on national community organization boards serving Kids and Veterans. He believes a good story should Give something that makes your story better. Bobby’s story has been featured in The Storytellers Secret by Carmine Gallo & Master Mentor’s Volume 2 release by Scott Jeffrey Miller of FranklinCovey. Bobby was listed as a Top 10 Most Trusted CEO in America by Stephen MR Covey in Trust Magazine in 2016, and is a regular guest on top Leadership Podcasts. He is often referred to by the pioneer of organizational health thought leader, Patrick Lencioni, as; “The Best CEO you’ve never heard of.”

Above all, Bobby is an All Pro Dad and lives in Portland, Oregon.

Jim Huling

Professional Speaker & Authority on Stopping Workplace Drama

Jim Huling is the global managing consultant for The 4 Disciplines of Execution® practice. In this role, Jim is responsible for the 4 Disciplines methodology, teaching methods, and the quality of delivery worldwide. Jim also regularly leads largescale 4DX engagements, as well as serving as an executive coach to a number of senior executives.

Jim’s career spans over four decades of corporate leadership, from FORTUNE 500 organizations to privately held companies, including serving as CEO of a company recognized four times as one of the “25 Best Companies to Work for in America.” Jim’s teams have won national awards for customer-service excellence, business ethics, and an outstanding culture, as well as numerous local and regional awards as a workplace of choice. Jim’s personal awards also include being selected for the Turknett Leadership Character Award recognizing CEO’s who demonstrate the highest standards of ethics and integrity.

Jim holds degrees from the University of Alabama and Birmingham-Southern College, and serves on the boards of several local organizations, as well as the Siegel Institute for Leadership, Ethics, and Character.

Jim is most proud of his wonderful marriage of over forty years to his sweetheart, Donna; being Dad to two phenomenal adults, Scott and Sarah; and “Papa” to his three grandkids. He holds a third-degree black belt in Taekwondo and is an avid CrossFit athlete.

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Kat Koppett

Found - Koppett

Kat Koppett is the Eponymous Founder of Koppett, a consultancy specializing in the use of improv and storytelling techniques to enhance individual and group performance. She is the author of Training to Imagine: Practical Improvisational Theatre Techniques to Enhance Creativity, Teamwork, Leadership and Learning, and a contributor to The Applied Improvisation Mindset ed. Theresa Robbins Dudeck and Caitlin McClure. She has worked with diverse clients including Meta, Apple, Prezi, PwC, Massachusetts General Hospital NASA, SUNY, CDPHP, GE and the U.N.

In 2019, Kat was the winner of the North American Simulation and Gaming Association (NASAGA)’s Ifill-Raynolds Lifetime Achievement Award. She is the co-director and a performing member of the Mopco Improv Theatre (www.mopco.org.), a founding member and the current vice-president of the Applied Improvisation Network, and the cohost of the podcast, Performance Shift: The Art of Successfully Navigating Change.

Rick Maurer

Author & Speaker

Rick Maurer (Mah-wer) works with leaders who see big changes and projects as opportunities to engage people in the changes that affect them. These leaders know that change can actually boost morale and commitment to the organization and to the work. . . .Since publication of Beyond the Wall of Resistance in 1996, his opinion has been sought by The Wall Street Journal, CNBC, Fortune, NBC Nightly News, The Economist, and many trade publications. His clients range from aerospace to healthcare to IT to financial services. He has worked with organizations on four continents.

Katie McCleary

Leader, Entrepreneur, & Podcast Host

Katie McCleary is an entrepreneur and storyteller who trains leaders, creatives, and humanitarians to launch big ideas by leveraging their social and cultural capital. She is the founder of 916 Ink, a nonprofit that has transformed over 4,000 vulnerable youth into confident authors. She is the host of “The Drive” podcast on NPR’s CapRadio with the American Leadership Forum-MV in Sacramento.

Nate Regier

CEO & Founding Owner - Next Element Consulting

Nate Regier, PhD, is the CEO and founding owner of Next Element Consulting, a global leadership consulting and training firm helping build cultures of compassionate accountability. Dr. Regier is a former practicing psychologist and expert in social-emotional intelligence, interpersonal communication, conflict skills, and leadership. Recognized as a Top 100 keynote speaker, he is a Process Communication Model® Certifying Master Trainer.

Nate is the author of four books: Beyond Drama; Conflict without Casualties; Seeing People Through; and his newest book, Compassionate Accountability. He hosts a podcast called “On Compassion with Dr. Nate,” writes a weekly blog, contributes to multiple industry publications, and is a regular guest on podcasts.

Melissa Swift

U.S. & Canada Transformation Solutions Leader - Mercer

Melissa leads Transformation Solutions for Mercer US and Canada. In this role, Melissa is responsible for the firm’s efforts in the areas of workforce transformation, HR transformation, HR digitization, diversity equity and inclusion, and workforce analytics. She is located in New York City.

Her book on a more humanistic future of work, “Work Here Now: Think Like a Human, Build a Powerhouse Workplace” was published by Wiley in January 2023, and has been named one of HR Magazine’s “Best of HR Books.”

A recognized thought leader on the subject of the future of work post-COVID, she was named to the Thinkers50 Radar class for 2023 of 30 management and business thinkers to watch in the coming year. She has been quoted on workplace topics in The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, the Economist, the Washington Post, Axios, INC, and Daily Mail, and has appeared on NPR and Al-Jazeera English.

Melissa’s work leverages data analytics, a healthy dose of pragmatism, and a humanist view of the workplace to create extraordinary outcomes for organizations. She has pioneered techniques to reshape organizations for digital and workforce transformation, leading breakthrough projects across industries ranging from manufacturing to professional services to biotech to consumer goods. Earlier in her career, Melissa helped build businesses in the ESG transformation space, including launching the Sustainability Services and Cleantech practices at Deloitte, and conducting two landmark carbon credit derivatives trades at Deutsche Bank.

Melissa received her B.A. degree in English and American Language and Literature from Harvard University, and her MBA in Finance from Columbia Business School.

Wayne Turmel

Master Trainer, Author, Speaker, & Podcast Host

Wayne Turmel is a co-founder of the Remote Leadership Institute. He has spent the last twenty years or more obsessed by how people communicate at work. His work has helped organizations on four continents develop the communication skills needed to lead people, projects, and teams and to make the adjustment to remote working and virtual teams.

Besides The Long-Distance Leader: Rules for Remarkable Remote Leadership from Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Wayne is the author of nine books, including ASTD’s 10 Steps to Successful Virtual Presentations and Meet Like You Mean It: A Leader’s Guide to Painless and Productive Virtual Meetings. His newest book, The Long-Distance Teammate: Stay Engage and Connected While Working Anywhere, will be released in January 2021. He has also contributed to almost a dozen other books. His groundbreaking podcast, The Cranky Middle Manager Show, was one of the first leadership podcasts to be included in the list of 50 Top Influential HR Blogs by BNET. His clients include the American Red Cross, Schneider Electric, Dell, and several departments of the United States and Canadian governments.

Marshall Goldsmith has called Wayne “one of the truly unique voices in leadership.”