Lisa Rowan
Lisa Rowan serves as IDC’s Program Director for HR, Learning and Talent Strategies research. In this role, she provides expert analysis focused on both the business services addressing HR and talent-related process issues, such as human resource consulting, processing services, and Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) services; and HR IT Services, such as systems integration and IT consulting.
For the ten years prior to joining IDC, Lisa held business development, product management and marketing positions in the human resource software and services markets. Lisa held director positions in both business development and marketing within Genesys -- a provider of human capital management software and services based in Methuen, Mass. Prior to Genesys, she held positions in both technical marketing and IT at Digital Equipment Corporation. As a result, she has gained a depth of experience with both core human resource and talent-related solutions, and understands firsthand the unique challenges her vendor clients face.
Lisa holds a Masters in Business with a specialization in marketing and product management from the University of Southern New Hampshire. She received a Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Arts from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst.
Josh Bersin
Josh Bersin has worked with hundreds of companies to deliver high impact employee learning, leadership development and talent management. In 2001, he founded Bersin & Associates to provide research and advisory services focused on corporate learning. Today, the firm is the "go to" source for learning and HR decision makers seeking product and market data, insight on trends and expert advice on enterprise learning and talent management.
Bersin is a frequent speaker at industry events including the HR Technology Conference, the ASTD International Conference, and the Learning Technologies Conference. In addition, he has been a columnist since 2007 for Chief Learning Officer magazine and is a frequent contributor to other leading training and HR publications. He has been quoted on talent management topics in BusinessWeek, Harvard Business Review, The Wall Street Journal, Investor’s Business Daily, on BBC Radio and National Public Radio.
In 2010, Bersin was named by HR Examiner magazine among the "Top 100 Influencers in HR" and the "Top 25 Online Influencers in Talent Management." Bersin also serves on the editorial advisory board for Workforce Solutions magazine and as a volunteer on the scholarship committee for the SHRM Foundation.
He is the author of The Training Measurement Book: Best Practices, Proven Methodologies, and Practical Approaches (April 2008, Pfeiffer) and The Blended Learning Book: Best Practices, Proven Methodologies, and Lessons Learned (October 2004, Wylie/Pfeiffer).
Earlier in his career, Bersin spent 25 years in product development, product management, marketing and sales of e-learning and other enterprise technologies at companies including DigitalThink (now Convergys), Arista Knowledge Systems, Sybase, and IBM.
Elaine Orler
Elaine Orler has been implementing recruitment software for large organizations since 1993. Her introduction to recruitment technology started as an employee of Qualcomm. She implemented an early version of Resumix and became the head of the regional user group for Resumix customers. She then joined Gateway Computers to define and lead a vendor selection process. She started her consulting career in 1999 for Watson Wyatt Consulting and has been instrumental at building recruitment software consulting practices for Talent Market Group, The Newman Group, and Knowledge Infusion. Elaine has taken an active role in over 75 recruitment software implementations across 15 different vendor platforms.
In her 16 years in the industry she has worked with both practitioners and solution providers to shape the way Talent Acquisition solutions are delivered. A dyed-in-the-wool "early adopter," Elaine has guided her clients through the evolutionary shifts in the market including:
- The widespread adoption of enterprise-wide, client-server recruitment systems
- The dawn of Internet-based electronic recruiting (job boards)
- The emergence of SaaS recruitment solutions
- The move towards outsourced recruitment
- The proliferation of global recruitment implementations
- The emergence of the Talent Management paradigm
- The revolution of social media platforms
Elaine is respected as a recruitment functionality expert and she takes an active role in industry events and associations. Recent publications and presentations include:
- SHRM Special Expertise Panel – HR Technology, 2007 – 2010
- Publication of the ERE 2007 Buyers Guide (Project Manager)
- Article, "Industry Trends and Predictions for 2007″
- HR Technology Conference and Expo presentation, "Knowing When to Switch Your Vendor," 2006
- IHRIM Global SIG, presentation, "Delivering a Global Talent Acquisition Foundation to Recruit Locally at Yahoo!" 2006
- HCI (Human Capital Institute), Talent Management Technology panel member (third year), 2006
What Elaine says About Her Work: "I can’t help but share my passion for technology. I love building relationships with clients. I love contributing to a client’s vision so that the project will be a success. I am always grateful for what my clients teach me."
Elaine started her professional career as a teacher and she holds a B.S. from the University of Arizona. She is an avid baseball fan (San Diego Padres). She has two kids and is based in San Diego.
Brian Sommers
Brian is one of the application software industry’s most senior market watchers. His career began at Accenture where he ran the company’s global Software Intelligence unit for 10 years.
For the first part of his career, Brian worked exclusively with software buyers. Now, he has now grown a successful business advising some of the world’s largest software and technology firms. Brian and his team at Vital Analysis are highly sought after experts by consultancies and software firms. While many of their projects involve market assessments, a growing number of them rely on Brian’s knowledge of software buyers, software markets and selling of software to craft winning strategies and messages.
Brian has a widely read blog on ZDNet. He covers the SaaS, ERP and professional services marketplace. He’s also a frequent speaker at vendor events, user conferences and university MBA programs.
He can be reached at: brian@vitalanalysis.com
Mark Schmitt
Mark J. Schmit, Ph.D., is the Director of Research for the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM). In this capacity he leads the association’s research activities, including four program areas: SHRM Survey Research, Human Capital Benchmarking Service, the Leading Indicator of National Employment (LINE), and SHRM Research Content Development. He provides strategy and thought leadership for SHRM’s extensive survey and related research programs. Prior to joining SHRM, Dr. Schmit served as an expert witness and consultant representing the field of HR/Industrial and Organizational Psychology in employment discrimination litigation. He has more than 25 years experience in the field of human resources and has also been an academic, applied researcher, HR generalist, and internal and external consultant to both public and private organizations. He has developed recruitment, selection, promotion, performance management, organizational effectiveness/development tools and systems for numerous organizations. Dr. Schmit earned a Ph.D. in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from Bowling Green State University in 1994. He has published more than 25 professional journal articles and book chapters and delivered more than 50 presentations at professional meetings on HR and Industrial/Organizational Psychology topics.
Kelly Cartwright
Vice President and General Manager,
The Newman Group, A Future step Company
Kelly Cartwright is Vice President and General Manager of The Newman Group, a Futurestep Company and leading provider of talent management consulting services to enterprise organizations. In this role, Ms. Cartwright oversees the strategic direction, development and growth of The Newman Group, Futurestep’s U.S. Consulting services business. Prior to her current role, she was Vice President of Marketing and Business Development Strategy for Futurestep, where she led the development and execution of marketing strategy and drove the evolution of key Futurestep business processes to address changing market needs.
Ms. Cartwright joined Futurestep as part of The Newman Group, which was acquired by Futurestep in 2007. As Vice President of Marketing and Business Development for The Newman Group, she was responsible for marketing strategy and management of customer relationships as well as communications and sales. With experience in key aspects of talent strategy and business leadership, she was an integral part of the company's growth and success as a provider of talent management consulting services.
Prior to joining The Newman Group, Ms. Cartwright was Vice President of TeamRewards, providers of an employee referral and applicant tracking solution. Prior to TeamRewards, she helped lead the development and implementation of an outsourced recruiting business model for recruiting and human capital management consulting firm Knowledge Workers, Inc. During her tenure, the company grew from a 15-employee start-up to a multimillion-dollar enterprise. Before joining Knowledge Workers, Ms. Cartwright held management positions with two of the nation's largest national staffing services firms.
Ms. Cartwright is a trustee on the Global Board of the Human Resources Outsourcing Association (HROA). She also serves on the board of the Northwest Recruiters Association, based in Seattle. Ms. Cartwright holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Maine.
Dr. Katherine Jones
Dr. Katherine Jones is the founder of Independent Consulting services (ICS) is an independent consultant, serving technology and service-providing organizations with marketing, strategy, and talent management consulting services. She is also an industry analyst with VitalAnalysis.
Jones is a veteran in enterprise applications, responsible for technical product marketing and strategic alliance management in Boston-area computer companies since 1984, working with data communications and network management products, Federal sales and training, and managing global strategic alliances with companies such as SAP AG and CA (Computer Associates). She was the Director of Marketing for NetSuite, Inc., a Bay Area company that provides integrated ERP solutions via cloud computing to middle market enterprises.
Jones was a research director at Aberdeen Group in Boston for eight years, focusing on research and consulting services in talent acquisition and workforce management, ERP, and mid-market companies. In charge of Aberdeen's Human Capital Management practice, Jones’ research covered talent acquisition, employee performance management, the hiring, retention and management of the hourly and contingent workforces, ERP in the Small and Mid-Sized Business, Human Resource Outsourcing (HRO), sales performance management, and issues of workforce hiring and management, workforce optimization, and employee retention and succession.
Jones is a member of the Human Capital Institute Research Board and a frequent contributor to many forums concerning workforce management and talent acquisition. She has written widely on many areas of talent management, technology and business practices.
Prior to a high technology career, Jones was a university dean, involved in academic administration, research, and teaching.
She founded Independent Consulting Services in Boston in 1994 to provide marketing and research services to high tech companies, and leads that company in San Mateo, CA today. Dr. Jones is a frequent speaker and is widely published in the U.S. and abroad. She has a master and doctorate degree from Cornell University.
Mr. John Sumser
Technology Columnist
HRO Today Magazine
John understands the inner workings of employment and recruiting. He is able to see and articulate how and why people work. This is partly because John has worked a lot of jobs—from selling doughnuts door-to door, digging ditches and building railroads to corporate executive, director, editor, and CEO. He knows that making the right hiring decision requires both breadth and precision, and that finding the right person for the right job is a process that must adapt to an ever-changing marketplace. The foundation of John’s interest in recruiting was how to use developing technology to find candidates that were inaccessible before. John was on the cutting edge of how the internet and technology affect work and recruiting. He became interested in the internet in its embryonic stages when it was known as the Well. His conversations with folks in the San Francisco Bay Area developed into a position as Executive Director of the Point Foundation and publisher of the Whole Earth Catalog, where he met and worked with many of the founders of Silicon Valley. In 1995, John started his own company, Interbiznet, where he wrote a daily column on using the internet and technology for employment recruiting as well as a survey of global employment news and trends. His ideas have been the catalyst for dozens of new companies and countless MBA student papers. In 2007, John sold Interbiznet. John regularly consults with recruiters and employers on how to find, hire and keep the best employees, how people work, how companies and systems affect employees and how changing economies and technology alter the nature of work itself. One of John’s current areas of interest is how the cultural differences between the generations are changing the workplace. He introduced this idea last year to the top 500 employers in Canada last year where Al Gore was the warm-up act (although Mr. Gore might call it the key-note speech). John continues to explore the importance of culture and communications through new technologies and forums like Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin and blogging, all of which allow us to meet and connect with people we might not have found in another era, and perhaps say things we would never say in person.
George LaRocque
Vice President of Consulting Operations at HRExaminer
George LaRocque has been in the Human Capital market for more than 20 years and is one of the few executives in the space who migrated a successful career in staffing to the vendor side. After leaving the US Air Force and his role as an F-15 crew chief in 1988, George worked in the staffing market where for 10 years he built teams and companies focused in Recruitment Process Outsourcing/InSourcing, Executive Search, Contract and Permanent Placement. In 1998 he joined HireSystems, which became BrassRing (now Kenexa). He led BrassRing’s revenue growth from zero to $50M in a five year period. He has also held executive positions for TalentTechnology (HireDesk), Bullhorn, and others.
George is currently the Vice President of Consulting Operations at HRExaminer. In this role he helps technology and services vendors in the Human Capital market assess the marketplace and themselves. He then guides them in strategy, process, and execution in Sales, Marketing, and Business Development. George’s market-tested approach in the human capital software and services segment has helped companies achieve rapid growth, secure funding, get acquired or increase profitability (and sometimes all four). He has launched several well-known human capital brands from relative obscurity to market leadership – and as a result, George’s name is synonymous with sales and marketing success. He has led initiatives in all major market segments, from recruiting software to talent management and has played a critical role in creating the fundamental business strategies and approach to market that have catapulted several brands.
Kevin Martin
Vice President, Principal Analyst, and Group Director
Kevin Martin manages Aberdeen Group’s research practices that focus on customer and employee-centric research. This group includes the following coverage areas: Human Capital Management (HCM), Service Management, Sales Effectiveness, and Marketing Strategy and Effectiveness. Kevin also serves as Aberdeen’s principal research analyst for HCM.
Kevin came to Aberdeen in March 2007 to build its Human Capital Management research practice. Since that time, Aberdeen’s HCM research team has benchmarked the workforce and talent management practices and performance of more than 15,000 organizations worldwide, and has published hundreds of research papers pertaining to industry best-practices. Kevin is a frequent speaker at key industry events and a contributor to several industry-leading publications.
Prior to Aberdeen, Kevin spent 18 years leading the sales and marketing efforts at several companies across multiple industries, predominately talent management. Most recently, he was the principal of his own consulting business that served the e-Learning and interactive education markets. For 10 years previous to that, Kevin served in executive-level sales and marketing positions at three software solution providers that focused on e-learning, assessments, and virtual product interaction (TechOnLine, Comet Learning, and ComputerPREP). Prior to that, he held sales and sales management positions in the direct marketing and sporting goods manufacturing industries.
Kevin currently serves as Board Chair for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Massachusetts / Metrowest (an organization he has been affiliated with since 1995). He also serves on the Human Resources committee for the national leadership council of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. Previously, he served on the boards of two information technology training associations in the northeast United States. Kevin earned a M.B.A. degree from Boston University and a B.S.B.A. degree from the University of Dayton. He resides in Massachusetts with his wife and their two children.
