Speakers

We look forward to hearing from a variety of distinguished speakers and guests throughout the Summit, including:

  • Condoleezza Rice is the Tad and Dianne Taube Director of the Hoover Institution and a Senior Fellow on Public Policy. She is the Denning Professor in Global Business and the Economy at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. In addition, she is a founding partner of Rice, Hadley, Gates & Manuel LLC, an international strategic consulting firm.

    Rice served as the 66th U.S. Secretary of State from 2005 to 2009, becoming the first Black woman and second woman to hold the post. Prior to that, she was National Security Advisor from 2001 to 2005, the first woman in that role. She also served as Stanford University’s provost from 1993 to 1999 and has been a faculty member in Political Science since 1981 and has won two of the university’s highest teaching honors..

    Her government career includes roles on the National Security Council under President George H.W. Bush and as Special Assistant to the Director of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. She has authored multiple books, including To Build a Better World (2019) and Democracy: Stories from the Long Road to Freedom (2017).

    Rice co-founded the Center for a New Generation in 1991, an after-school enrichment program for underserved students and remains an advocate for after-school education programs. Since 2009, she has worked with Rice, Hadley, Gates & Manuel, an international strategic consulting firm. The firm works with senior executives of major companies to implement strategic plans and expand in emerging markets.

    In 2022, Rice became a part-owner of the Denver Broncos as part of the Walton-Penner Family Ownership Group. She serves on several boards, including C3.ai and Makena Capital Management, and is Vice Chair of the Board of Governors of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. She holds over fifteen honorary doctorates and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

    Rice earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Denver, her master’s from the University of Notre Dame, and her Ph.D. in political science from the University of Denver.

  • Grant Ashley is an experienced board member and strategic executive with extensive operational, financial and leadership accomplishments in business and government. He is a champion for leadership and talent development with a proven track record of working across generations and diverse communities. Grant currently is the Principal of Evergold Consulting LLC, specializing in optimizing corporate security departments and operations.

    Grant served as the Vice President of Global Security and Aviation at Merck from 2008 to 2019. He was responsible for enterprise-wide security in over 134 countries, including intellectual property protection, anti-counterfeiting and supply chain security, physical –site, personnel and executive protection, workplace violence program and new country entry support. He implemented program and operating model changes to enhance capabilities and drive efficiencies.

    From 2006 to 2008, Grant was the Vice President of Global Security and Enterprise Risk Manager for Harrah’s Entertainment/Caesars Entertainment Inc. He oversaw enterprise-wide security and related functions, including personnel and facilities, investigations, executive protection and video surveillance systems in the United States, United Kingdom, South Africa, Europe, and other regions.

    Grant began his career in the Federal Bureau of Investigation in 1976 and retired in 2006 as the Executive Assistant Director. He served throughout the organization from entry level to leading, driving transformation, talent development and operations. Grant served as the number-three executive in the FBI, directing and coordinating strategic planning, operations, administration, and budget execution for 66 percent of the FBI.

    Grant has held a number of board positions and currently serves on the FBI/DHS Domestic Security Alliance Council (DSAC) Senior Advisory Group.  He previously served as a non-executive director for Datong, PLC, and on advisory committees for George Washington University, Trachtenberg School of Public Policy & Public Administration, International Security Managers Association Audit and Risk Committee, and as an ad hoc advisor to the California State University Northridge College of Business and Economics.

  • Nicholas Bloom is the William Eberle Professor of Economics at Stanford University and a professor, by courtesy, at the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University. He is also the co-director of the Productivity, Innovation and Entrepreneurship program at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), and a fellow of the Centre for Economic Performance and the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research.

    Professor Bloom received his undergraduate degree from Cambridge, his masters degree from Oxford University, and his PhD from University College London. While completing his PhD, he worked part-time at the Institute for Fiscal Studies, a London-based tax think tank. After completing his PhD, Bloom worked as a business tax policy advisor to the UK Treasury, and then joined McKinsey & Company as a management consultant. In 2003, he moved to the London School of Economics to focus on research, before joining Stanford University in 2005.

    Professor Bloom has been researching remote work for almost 20 years, winning a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2022. He has been heavily involved with policy, including meeting President Obama, and speaking at the White House 2014 Working Families Summit. He has consulted with 100s of CEOs and managers, and has been covered extensively on remote and hybrid work by international media including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, CNN, BBC, Financial Times and the Economist. He was called the “Prophet of remote work” by Fortune Magazine and “America’s best work-from-home expert” by Business Insider.

    On the personal side he is English, living with his Scottish wife and American kids on Stanford campus, in a multi-accented English household.

  • Laszlo is a Senior Advisor at General Catalyst, the founder and Co-Director of the Berkeley Transformative CHRO Leadership Academy, and a member of the Board of the Stanford Center for the Advanced Study of the Behavioral Sciences. He founded, scaled, and sold two previous start-ups, most recently to Nvidia. Before that, he spent a decade as a member of the Executive Management Team at Google where he served as Senior Vice President of People Operations. His best-selling book, Work Rules!, has sold more than 750,000 copies with 100% of his book income donated to charity. He is an active investor and advisor in startups, with 55% of his portfolio companies going on to become unicorns and 80% having become unicorns or been acquired. Finally, he is also a documentary film and Broadway musical producer, with four Tony Award-nominated or -winning productions.

    Laszlo was the founder and Chairman of Gretel.ai, the leader in synthetic data for AI (acquired by Nvidia). He was also the founder, Chairman, and CEO of Humu, which used “nudges” to make people happier and more productive at work (acquired by Perceptyx). He has raised more than $150 million in venture capital funding.

    From 2006 to 2016, Laszlo was the Senior Vice President of People Operations of Google/Alphabet, and a member of the executive management team. He grew the company from 6,000 to 75,000 employees while ensuring the culture remained innovative and robust. Laszlo led the creation of the field of “People Analytics”, the application of academic-quality rigor and Google-paced innovation to people management. He also led the development of the Google Job Search API, the only element of Google’s search engine ever developed outside of Google’s engineering organization. During his tenure, Google was named the #1 Best Company to Work for in the United States seven times as well as recognized over 150 times around the world as an exceptional employer. He was named “HR Executive of the Year”, “HR Executive of the Decade”, and elected to the National Academy of Human Resources.

    His NYT-bestselling book, WORK RULES! Insights from Inside Google to Transform How You Live and Lead, has been published in 25 languages and sold 750,000 copies. He has donated 100% of his book income to charity.

    Prior to Google, Laszlo worked at McKinsey & Company, General Electric and as a professional actor. He has held two Guinness World Records and was (briefly) ranked #1 in the world in the video game Assassin’s Creed.

    He is a sought-after speaker on workforce topics, AI, leadership, and company-building. He has appeared on CNN, the Today Show, Good Morning America, NPR, and the BBC; testified before Congress; and been quoted in and/or written op ed articles in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Fortune, Businessweek, and other leading publications. He has worked with the Clinton, Biden, and Harris Presidential Transition Teams and has been called on by various Presidential Administrations to provide counsel on workforce-related topics.

    He serves on the Board of the Stanford Center for the Advanced Study of the Behavioral Sciences and the Advisory Board of the Tent Council for Refugees. He has previously served on the Board of Heidrick & Struggles (HSII) and as a Trustee of Pomona College. Laszlo earned a bachelor's degree in international relations from Pomona College, graduating in three years, and an MBA from the Yale School of Management.

  • Brian Cheng is the Head of People Analytics at Snowflake, where he leads the teams responsible for employee voice, data governance, data architecture, People consulting/research. Brian also spearheads AI initiatives for the People team, using Snowflake's latest capabilities to ensure proper governance for the foundations of agentic solutions, building HR chatbots and creating custom applications.

    Prior to Snowflake, Brian spent 10.5 years at LinkedIn. He began in Recruiting Operations & Analytics before moving to leading the people analytics data team, where he drove people decisions by overseeing data science, data architecture, governance, and go-to-market/adoption teams. His key initiatives included the migration and stabilization of data visualization tools like Tableau and PowerBI. To promote data literacy, Brian introduced a Talent Data Insights Program to upskill individuals across the organization to better leverage data for people decisions and democratize access across the organization.

    Brian also led the People Projects & Foundations teams, where he unified processes and strategies to deliver clear, reliable talent insights. He was the initiative owner for a company-wide Position Management launch that involved over 8 large cross-functional teams and more than 120 change champions, ensuring finance, sales, and people teams had clear visibility into their workforce.

    Prior to Snowflake and LinkedIn, Brian was a management consultant at Accenture, where he advised leading technology companies on their go-to-market strategies with an emphasis on sales organizations. He began his career in San Francisco at Ernst & Young, where he earned his CPA and graduated with his Master's in Taxation at the top of his class. This unique foundation in both finance and sales allows him to provide a holistic perspective on not just people but also business strategy.

  • Zack Kass is a global AI advisor, researcher, keynote speaker, and the former Head of Go-To-Market at OpenAI.

    At OpenAI, Zack led the teams responsible for sales, partnerships, and customer success, turning the company’s cutting-edge research into real-world business solutions. He has personally advised executives across dozens of industries on deploying AI at scale. As an executive business advisor, Zack now works with Fortune 1,000 boardrooms and leadership teams—including Coca-Cola, Morgan Stanley, and Amgen—to help leaders navigate the rapidly evolving AI landscape.

    Zack’s mission is to ensure individuals, businesses, and governments are active participants in the AI-powered future by making the technology both understandable and actionable. He is recognized as one of the foremost thinkers in applied AI, with his insights featured in Fortune, Newsweek, Entrepreneur, AdAge, and Business Insider. Beyond his advisory work, Zack also supports AI education and research at the University of Virginia. He holds a BA from the University of California, Berkeley, and currently resides in Santa Barbara, California.

  • Terah Lyons is a Managing Director at JPMorgan Chase, where she is Global Head of AI Policy. She drives firmwide strategy, positioning, and engagement on AI policy issues, working closely with corporate and business partners across the firm. Terah is based in New York City and sits on JPMC’s Global Government Relations and Chief Data & Analytics Office management teams.

    Terah joined JPMC in January 2024 and brings more than a decade of experience at the intersection of AI technology, business, and public policy. Most recently, she has been a Senior Advisor on AI and geopolitics for Albright Stonebridge Group and an Executive in Residence at Zetta Venture Partners. She serves as an Advisor to the Administrative Conference of the United States on the use of AI in public agencies and is an Affiliate Fellow at the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence, where she sits on the board of the Stanford AI Index.

    Terah was previously the Founding Executive Director and CEO of the Partnership on AI, a non-profit multistakeholder organization comprising industry, civil society, and academic institutions focused on developing research and voluntary standards for responsible AI development. She formerly served as Policy Advisor to the U.S. Chief Technology Officer for President Barack Obama, leading a portfolio focused on AI and emerging technology policy, during which period she directed the first country-level AI policy strategy for the U.S. Government.

    Terah holds a B.A. from Harvard University.

  • Donna Morris is executive vice president and chief people officer for Walmart, a people-led, tech-powered omnichannel retailer dedicated to helping people save money and live better. A member of the executive committee, Donna strives to make Walmart a great place to work for the more than 2 million associates around the world who contribute to the growth and success of the global business.

    Driving Walmart’s people-led focus, Donna’s teams are committed to providing opportunity for associates to grow and belong, building a workplace that empowers associates by prioritizing emotional, physical and financial well-being and unlocking their potential by implementing digital tools to improve the work experience. Under her leadership, Walmart and Sam’s Club in the U.S. (2023 and 2024), Walmart China (2022, 2023 and 2024) and Walmart Global Tech India (2024) have been certified as a "Great Place to Work.”

    Donna has significant leadership experience in delivering innovative people solutions, developing teams that operate in an agile way and building high-performance cultures that promote a sense of belonging. Prior to joining Walmart in 2020, Donna spent more than 17 years at Adobe, where she held a variety of leadership roles, most recently serving as chief human resources officer and executive vice president of employee experience.

    A native of Ottawa, Canada, Donna has a bachelor’s degree in political science from Carleton University. Donna holds the Society for Human Resource Management – Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP), Senior HR Professional (SHRP) and Canadian Certified Human Resources Professional (CHRP) designations and is a Fellow of the National Academy of Human Resources (NAHR).

    Donna is on the Board of Trustees at Fordham University in New York, a member of the board of directors of PhonePe – India’s leading digital payments and financial services platform – and the renowned Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.

    Donna’s leadership at Walmart has led her to being named to the inaugural Forbes Future of Work 50 list, Mass Market Retailer’s “Most Influential Women in Retailing” and a Top 100 HR Tech influencer by Human Resource Executive.

  • David Morse is the VP Enterprise at Cognition AI, where he is building out the company’s go-to-market organization and leading enterprise sales and delivery efforts. Dave has 8+ years of experience bringing AI into large enterprises. Dave built GTM and Operations teams at Scale AI and led the company's core business as VP / GM. Dave was CRO at Hebbia through their Series B.

    Prior to his work in AI, Dave led Dropbox's Enterprise Field Engineering and Customer Success team for 4 years through the company's IPO. Dave has extensive experience in strategy and technology consulting at Bain & Company and Accenture.

  • Tom Monahan is CEO of Heidrick & Struggles. His experience and insights, along with his passion for innovation and the science of leadership, help drive corporate performance - at Heidrick & Struggles and across the globe.

    Tom’s passion for the performance of people and organizations led to his work of finding, developing, and supporting high-impact leaders. He came to Heidrick & Struggles with a decades-long career of building and leading innovative technology, data, and services companies and as a long-time Heidrick & Struggles client.

    Most recently, Tom was president and CEO of DeVry University, where he led the university to digital innovation, sustained growth, outstanding student success metrics, and financial strength as a newly independent institution. He also froze tuition and increased grants and scholarships.

    Before joining DeVry, Tom was the executive chair of digital engineering pioneer ProKarma. Prior to that, he spent more than two decades as a leader, CEO, and chair of CEB, a C-suite advisory company that equips global organizations with insights, tools, and actionable solutions to transform enterprise performance. Under Tom’s leadership, CEB grew to serve more than 10,000 companies, including more than 90 percent of the Fortune 500.

    Tom is currently the executive vice chair of the DeVry University Board of Trustees. He is also a board member of TransUnion (NYSE: TRU), chair of its Audit Committee, and a member of its Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee.  In the past, he has served in board leadership positions at both public and private-equity-backed companies, including Convergys (NYSE: CVG), Workforce Logiq, and Winsight.

    Tom has lectured on leadership, data analytics, digital business, and service-based business models at Georgetown, Harvard, University of Maryland, Dartmouth, and DeVry and its Keller School of Management.

  • Ryan Bulkoski is a partner in Heidrick & Struggles’ San Francisco office and global head of the Artificial Intelligence, Data & Analytics Practice. His search practice spans the financial services, technology, healthcare, and consumer retail industries.

    Ryan has authored multiple thought leadership pieces on topics such as innovation, digital transformation, and talent in data and analytics, including an annual Europe and US Data, Analytics, and Artificial Intelligence Executive Organization and Compensation Survey, which examines both organizational structure and compensation for executive roles with artificial intelligence and/or data analytics responsibilities.

    His clients include Fortune 500, venture-backed, and private equity-owned companies. Functional search experience includes chief data officer, chief digital officer, chief analytics officer, data science, artificial intelligence, CEO, CTO, machine learning, and general management roles.

    Ryan frequently contributes to media outlets, including CNBC, CNET, the Wall Street Journal, and Forbes. He is also an avid ultrarunner, having completed more than 30 long-distance races.

  • Bonnie W. Gwin is a vice chairman in Heidrick & Struggles’ New York office and co-managing partner of the global CEO and Board of Directors Practice. She focuses on director and CEO-level searches across a wide range of industries. Previously, Bonnie was the president of the Americas and the corporate officer responsible for operations across North America and Latin America.

    Bonnie is widely recognized as an expert on leadership effectiveness at the CEO and board levels. She advises clients across industries, from pre-IPO to some of the largest global cap companies. She partners with high-profile organizations that are leaders in social impact.

    Bonnie is the recipient of the Association of Executive Search and Leadership Consultants (AESC) Award of Excellence and a multi-time recipient of the NACD Directorship 100 Awards. She is recognized with the John E. Struggles Award, named in honor of the company’s founder. The firm’s highest distinction, this award is presented periodically to the partner who best exemplifies the company’s values of integrity, client focus, and commitment to partnership.

    Prior to joining Heidrick & Struggles, Bonnie spent almost 13 years with IBM.

    She is a Diplomatic and Consular Officer, Retired, Fellow, and was a National Merit Scholar.

  • Claire Skinner is a partner in Heidrick & Struggles' London office and the global managing partner of Heidrick Consulting. She is a member of the firm’s CEO & Board of Directors, Industrial, and Private Equity practices.

    Claire has more than 20 years of experience building executive and non-executive teams for a wide range of clients involved in energy, utilities, clean technology, and sustainability. Additionally, she has substantial expertise within energy and environmental investment, building teams on behalf of leading venture and private equity companies, infrastructure and asset managers, global financial institutions, and professional services groups.

    Claire has significant experience in senior sustainability and climate change appointments within major corporations, government, philanthropy, and non-profit organizations.

    Prior to joining Heidrick & Struggles, Claire led the EMEA alternative energy & clean technology practice at a global executive search firm. Previously, she was the founding managing director of a boutique executive search firm dedicated to the power and sustainability markets.

  • Teraesa Vinson, Ph.D., is a partner in Heidrick & Struggles’ Chicago office and a member of the CEO & Board of Directors Practice. She collaborates with clients across industries, focusing on CEO assessment and succession planning, board assessment and review, CEO coaching, and CEO review.

    As a licensed psychologist with more than 25 years of clinical experience in assessment and intervention, Teraesa brings substantial psychological training and experience to her role. She is skilled at top talent assessment across industries for organizations ranging from large public companies to smaller, high-growth PE and VC-backed businesses.

    Teraesa has led and worked on many CEO successions across various industries, including technology, healthcare and life sciences, professional services, financial services, and consumer products. She works closely with boards to identify the ideal characteristics of their next leader and guide the process of accurately measuring internal and external talent on leadership style, cognitive approach, and organizational fit.

    Earlier in her career, Teraesa was a clinical professor at Teachers College, Columbia University, conducting graduate-level training in selecting, administering, and interpreting psychological assessment instruments. She previously held academic positions at the University of Florida and City University of New York.  

  • Brad Warga is a partner in Heidrick & Struggles’ San Francisco office and co-head of the global Human Resource Officers Practice. He specializes in senior-level leadership advisory assignments within private equity, venture capital, family offices, financial services, and global technology companies, placing HR officers.

    Brad advises boards, CEOs, and investors on acquiring world-class HR and customer success talent.

    Prior to joining Heidrick & Struggles, Brad was a senior vice president of customer success for four years and later was vice president of sales for Gild, an early-stage SaaS recruitment platform that was sold to Citadel LLC.

    Previously, Brad was a vice president of corporate recruiting at Salesforce for two years, responsible for scaling recruiting capacity from 300 to more than 1,000 hires per quarter and transforming the recruiting department into a data-driven social enterprise using the latest social and mobile technologies.

    Before that, Brad was a corporate vice president of talent and employee engagement at Caesars Entertainment based in Las Vegas. He has also held recruiting leadership roles for Price Waterhouse, Ernst & Young, and Sapient Corporation.

  • Jennifer Wilson is a partner in Heidrick & Struggles’ Dallas office and co-head of the global Human Resources Officers Practice. With more than 20 years of international experience in executive search and management consulting, she partners with public, private equity-backed, and family companies across sectors to drive performance by identifying and placing CHROs and other executives in strategic HR roles, including divisional HR leaders and senior business partners, talent acquisition, talent management, HR transformation, diversity and inclusion, and total rewards.

    Jennifer’s particular focus is on partnering with clients to identify and attract business-focused HR leaders who can support transformation, including global growth, operating model shifts, and M&A/integration.

    She previously worked in management consulting with Roland Berger, leading strategy and organizational design engagements for industrial and consumer goods companies. She lived and worked in Hong Kong for 10 years, advising senior leaders at American and European companies on growth in Greater China.

    Before her career in strategy consulting, Jennifer worked in executive education at NYU Stern School of Business and as a consultant at the American Productivity & Quality Center (APQC), where she focused on identifying and disseminating best practices in strategic HR at global companies.