MONDAY 8:30 - 9:30 AM KEYNOTE

Reputation and Employment Brand: Leading vs. Following for Business Success

The energy industry is at a tipping point, facing challenging public opinion driven by high prices, increased demand for supply, and misunderstandings about company profits and executive salaries. This situation requires enterprising executive leadership to bring balance to an energy company facing these challenges.

Shell Oil Company President John Hofmeister, formerly head of HR for Shell Global, will discuss how he has used organizational theories, including the Star Model and Requisite Organization Theory, to:

• Build understanding among staff
• Engage policymakers
• Establish industry partnerships
• Reach out to consumers

The Shell case study serves as an example of how to leverage a variety of resources to establish accountability, better understanding, and cooperation with different stakeholders.

John D. Hofmeister is President of Shell Oil Company. He joined Shell as Director of Human Resources, based in The Hague, The Netherlands, and London, UK, in 1997. Prior to Shell he served as Vice President, International Human Resources, for AlliedSignal Inc, based in Hong Kong. From 1988 to 1992, he was with Northern Telecom Inc., where he became Vice President of Human Resources. He is a Director of the Foreign Policy Association and a Fellow of the National Academy of Human Resources.

MONDAY 10:00 - 11:15 AM BREAKOUT

Globalization, Technology, India and the U.S.

This session will include video clips on Indian culture from TV shows hosted by the moderator.  Our distinguished panel will then talk about growth challenges and people issues for their business and their sector.

There will be frank discussion about the sensitivities, cultural factors and business practices in India. You will review scenarios for expanding or establishing a business presence in India

Highlight topics to be covered by the India panelists include:

• Talent - hiring, retention, compensation
• Moving up the value chain - R&D, design, technology
• Government - facilitation or inhibition
• Succession - CEO, great management pipeline issues
• Call center - realities, retention, re-framing
• Social customs - impact on business and personal balance

India has a definite edge in technology, human resources and capital and is in a position to be a genuine partner of the U.S. in its economic, social, and political philosophies.

Indian companies are trying to expand their businesses to the U.S. through investments, acquisition, expansion, and alliances. India is the second largest emerging consumer society in the world that can offer a balance/counterbalance against the massive trade deficit with China.

The time to collaborate is now.

Moderator:

Vibhuti Jha is Managing Director of Global Capital Services Group, and was host of the popular show "India This Week" on PBS TV. After a background in banking in India with the Reserve Bank of India and American Express Ltd., he was a senior banker with American Express International in the U.S. where he developed the successful "Doing Business with India" seminar series. His current business focuses on India related initiatives toward joint ventures, finding investment opportunities, and doing due diligence for U.S. clients wanting to explore India as an investment or business destination.

Panelists:

K.G. Karmakar is Managing Director, NABARD, The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development. He has held several key positions within NABARD and has served as team leader in official teams to Israel and Germany for hi-tech agriculture and cooperative banking reforms. As a researcher and author of several books and publications he has rendered a vital service to Indian agriculture finance and development, a key sector for India's growth and development.

G. Ravindran is Senior Vice President and Head of Global HR of Covansys. He is responsible for all of HR systems and processes, management and leadership development functions, and strategic OD initiatives. Prior to Covansys, he was CHRO with Airtel, India's leading Telecom service provider, and also worked with ICI and Pepsi. He has been recognized by the Management Association of India, and he is credited with jump-starting the use of "Outdoors" for management development.

Jagdish Capoor is Chairman of the Bombay Stock Exchange, Chairman of HDFC Bank, and former Deputy Governor of Reserve Bank of India.

MONDAY 10:00 - 11:15 AM BREAKOUT

The New American Workplace: Thirty-Five Years of Research on Work in America

Over thirty years ago, the landmark Work in America was published to national acclaim, including front-page coverage in The New York Times and Wall Street Journal. It sounded an alarm about worker dissatisfaction and the effects on the nation as a whole. In his 2006 book O'Toole sheds light on what has changed -- and what hasn't. He will illuminate the new critical issues -- from worker demands to the new ethical rules to the revolution in culture at work. He will share his view on how the U.S. is attempting to implement tomorrow's competitive strategies with yesterday's managerial ideas and public policy infrastructure.

In this breakout you will cover:

• The good and the bad news of the new types of work organizations: Low-Cost, Global-Competitor, and High-Involvement
• Changes in the forms of work and the impact on the satisfaction and commitment
• New worker opportunities and the shift of the burden of risk
• The winners and the losers in The New American Workplace are .

James O'Toole chaired the task force that wrote the original Work in America report. He is currently Research Professor in the Center for Effective Organizations at the University of Southern California. He has written fourteen books in the areas of leadership, philosophy, and corporate culture, including The New American Workplace (2006) with co-author Edward Lawler. A Rhodes Scholar, he served on the Board of Editors of the Encyclopaedia Britannica and was founding editor of New Management magazine.

MONDAY 10:00 - 11:15 AM BREAKOUT

Overcoming The Challenges of Trans-Atlantic Alignment

Explore the sources of Trans-Atlantic HR heat and friction, as well as models for resolution and prevention. When it comes to the issues, "there is very little difference either side of the Atlantic." When it comes to implementation, however, "different contexts demand different solutions."

Several European and U.S. human resource executives will tell their stories about the challenges of formulating and deploying strategy and policy across the "Great Atlantic Divide". Confirmed presenters to date are:

Mary-Sue Rogers, Global & EMEA Head of Human Capital, IBM Business Consulting Services
Alex Nieuwenhuizen, Global Head of HR , LaFarge

MONDAY10:00 - 11:15 AM BREAKOUT

Workforce Planning at a Turning Point: Incorporating Independents into the Workforce

Baby Boomers approaching retirement and leaving behind a smaller workforce . growing demand for knowledge workers . specialized, in-demand skill sets are nearly impossible to find . companies under increased pressure to do more with less.

The list of factors influencing today's job market is daunting.Traditional recruitment and retention strategies no longer work, as employment for life is a thing of the past. Competitive pay and job security often are not enough.

Smart companies understand that today's job market requires a flexible approach to attracting and retaining workers. One example of this is companies increasingly looking to independent professionals (IPros), a growing group of well educated, experienced workers, who prefer to move between projects and employers as interesting work becomes available. To get a better understanding of this group of workers, Hudson conducted a global study of IPros and full-time workers.The results of this revealing study are the basis for this session.

This presentation will cover:

• Results of the global study of workers, including the factors both independent and full-time professionals considered to be the most important
• How quickly the pool of IPros has grown over the last 10 years
• Considerations employers need to take when utilizing Ipros, including what type of professional is most appropriate for any given position, the associated costs, how to integrate IPro into a workforce, where to find IPros, and others
• MediaVest's approach to using IPros and the impact on the company

Robert Morgan is the Chief Operating Officer for Hudson's Talent Management Practice in North America.Prior to Hudson, Robert was president of the employment solutions division and the human capital consulting group of Spherion Corporation, where he was responsible for the organization's talent development, outplacement and assessment businesses. He also led the complete revision of the product offering of its human capital measurement subsidiary, the Saratoga Institute, developing it into the world's largest source of workforce-management data.Prior to joining Spherion, Robert was vice president of human resources for Office Depot's business services division.

M. Najeeb Ahmad is Senior Vice President, Director Human Resources at MediaVest, part of the Starcom MediaVest Group network of companies and a subsidiary of Publicis.He has served in a variety of human resources positions with multiple companies and industries for the past 15 years.Prior to joining MediaVest, Najeeb spent 5 years at Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, first as Director, Human Resources, Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Southern Africa, and then leading the Strategic Staffing & Development teams for the company's Pharmaceutical Research Institute and Sales, Marketing & Corporate Staff groups.

MONDAY10:00 - 11:15 AM BREAKOUT

Accelerating Senior Leadership Development: Building World Wide Internal Agility through Executive Coaching

The development of capable leaders is the top priority of global organizations. The HR challenge is to apply the right developmental accelerator at the right time for maximum impact. This session will use a four-stage model for differentiating development activities: Emerging, Core, Accelerating and Legacy and present examples of development activities for each stage. 

Recent research indicates that executive coaching is a key accelerator for leaders as they move into global roles.Using corporate case studies, you will look at two ways to leverage talent.In the first case, the organization created a strategic decision to design, brand, develop the internal capability of 200 HR professionals to provide standardized, sustainable executive coaching globally.  In the second, the organization addresses capability development by coaching managers to develop their employees by applying a common model and coaching techniques.

Join these executives and you will cover:

• Internal development of HR practitioners that resulted in long term cost reduction
• A look at the real challenges and realities of coaching leaders in an organization
• The top ten coaching objectives and a four-stage model for aligning development activities to objectives
• The hopes, dreams and realities of measurable results
• Findings from Survey of over 200 senior executives at World Business Forum highlighting major accelerators for capability development
• A roadmap for developing capability through internal and external resources

Brenda Gumbs is Vice President, Human Resources, Perfetti Van Melle.A human resource practitioner for twenty-five years, her primary responsibilities included: building the capability of the corporation or division, participation in strategic planning, partnering with senior executives and line managers to identify human resource solutions to business problems.She has provided training in the areas of performance management, interview and selection, sexual harassment and managing work force diversity, for the last fifteen years.

Patrice Fisher is Associate Director, Human Resources, Global HR Capability and Talent Development, Procter and Gamble.She is the lead in establishing and maintaining the excellence of the HR Function within the Company.Here global responsibilities include:HR career path, functional training, and talent development process; HR Webcasts, leadership development, and competencies; HR communities of practices and skills assessment.Patrice is the leader of the Executive Coaching Certification Program, developing key HR leaders into internal coaches to provide the Company with the internal capability to coach at the highest levels of the organization and to strengthen the partnership between HR and business leaders.

MONDAY10:00 - 11:15 AM BREAKOUT

Winning Hearts and Minds: HR Leadership Helps Define a Major Acquisition

Between January and June 2006, SUPERVALU INC. completed one of the largest and most complex transactions in recent history when it acquired the key retail properties of Albertson's Inc. With this acquisition, the company became the third-largest company in the grocery channel with retail and supply chain operations from coast-to-coast and border-to-border. At the very beginning and throughout the process, the company's Human Resources leadership was intimately involved in every decision. From the inception of the acquisition, the company knew that the human element - winning the hearts and minds of nearly 200,000 associates across both organizations - was key to the success of the new enterprise.

The company reached - and went beyond - the tipping point, transforming its business model and mix through rapid growth and a new, retail-driven focus. The company's expanded scope and scale created enormous challenges for HR and their business partners. Immediate challenges included selecting, establishing and mobilizing a new leadership very quickly while simultaneously defining new culture values and performance expectations.

Hear how they did it and how the journey continues:

• Defining the acquisition process as "building a new enterprise" - not a corporate takeover
• Setting the table - the leadership role of Human Resources in acquisition analysis and enterprise building
• Selecting leadership - using powerful decision, benchmarking and assessment tools and processes to fairly and accurately determine who would lead the new enterprise now and into the future
• Focusing on people - the importance of associate feedback in creating a new company culture
• Best practice benchmarking from the start

Dave Pylipow is Executive Vice President, Human Resources, for SUPERVALU INC. He oversees all human resources functions, labor relations, and corporate communications.Dave joined SUPERVALU in 1998 as vice president, Human Resources, for the company's national Save-A-Lot banner. He was responsible for leading their human resource functions, including legal, labor relations and government affairs.Before joining SUPERVALU, he held a series of increasingly responsible positions at Hallmark Cards, Inc., where he worked for 18 years. He left the company as director, employee relations.

MONDAY 11:30 AM - 12:45 PM KEYNOTE PANEL

The Value of Sustainability - It's About the Economy, Environment and People

This global panel of senior business leaders, representing a wide range of industries, will provide insights on what and how sustainability and corporate social responsibility are impacting their companies and their stakeholder relationships. While not new to most European companies, sustainable business practices have gained momentum with U.S. companies over the past 10 years and are rapidly coming to the forefront in China.

Once viewed as simply corporate philanthropy or "nice to have" - sustainability has altered the way we do business with all our stakeholders - customers, shareholders, employees, governments and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

Find out how these changes effect not only a company's strategies and practices, but also stakeholders' decisions to align with and even work for such organizations.

This keynote panel will explore:

• How sustainability, corporate social responsibility and the "Triple Bottom Line" of economy, environment and people, have and are changing the way business is done
• What are the expectations of the organization's stakeholders and how they are impacting business decisions
• Best practices on improving or initiating corporate social responsibility and sustainable business practices
• What it means to be a leader and steward of sustainability

Panel Moderator:

Brian Nattrass, Ph.D., is the founder of Sustainability Partners, Inc., Vancouver, BC, Canada. A lawyer and corporate advisor on sustainability and corporate responsibility, he was CEO of a public manufacturing company and Chairman of Earth Day International. He is co-author of four books, including: Dancing With The Tiger - Learning Sustainability Step by Natural Step, The Natural Step for Business - Wealth, Ecology and the Evolutionary Corporation, and Community Sustainability Toolkit.

Panel Members:
Tony Frost , CEO Worldwide Fund for Nature: South Africa
Leamon Abrams, Director, Civic and Community Affairs, Starbucks Coffee Company
Jeana Wirtenberg, Director, Fairleigh Dickinson University
Cindy Ortega, SVP, MGM MIRAGE

MONDAY 1:45 - 3:00 PM KEYNOTE

Driving Better Talent Decisions...That's Allstates Stand

Edward M. Liddy is Chairman of The Allstate Corporation and Allstate Insurance Company, the largest publicly held personal lines insurance company in the United States. Prior to becoming chairman, he served as President and Chief Operating Officer. Before joining Allstate, Liddy was employed by Sears, Roebuck and Company where he was named Chief Financial Officer in 1992. Liddy is a member of the Financial Services Forum, The Business Roundtable and Catalyst -- the leading non-profit organization working to advance women in business.

Joan M. Crockett is Senior Vice President of Human Resources for Allstate Insurance Company, and serves as a member of the Allstate senior management team.  Crockett was named HR Executive of the Year by Human Resource Executive magazine in 1997 and in 2005 was recognized as one of the Top 25 Women in Human Resources Leadership by the same publication. DiversityInc, Working Mother magazine, Hispanic magazine, and others have recognized Allstate's creative and effective Human  Resource practices. She is currently a Fellow of the National Academy of Human Resources.

MONDAY 3:30-4:45PM KEYNOTE 

Kenneth W. Freeman is Chairman and CEO of Masonite Canada and a Managing Director of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. KKR acquired Masonite for $2.5 billion in 2005. Ken Freeman was previously Chairman and CEO, Quest Diagnostics Inc., the nation's leading provider of diagnostic testing. He is also a member of the board of directors of Accellent, a leader in precision manufacturing and engineering services to the medical device industry, and was named Executive Chairman of Accellent in December 2006.

TUESDAY 8:30 - 9:30 AM KEYNOTE

The Health Reform Myth and How It Inhibits Progress

A potential ideological battle has been waged for decades on whether healthcare in the U.S. will be driven by consumers and markets or by government. Neither side wins the hearts and minds of the public. To date no compelling vision has been offered that fits the U.S. culture and neither market-based initiatives nor nationalized systems in other countries have produced stunning results.

Congress is likely to remain closely divided ideologically for years to come, with neither side having a mandate for change or a vision that a majority of voters will support. The opportunity for meaningful improvement in the health of Americans lies less in broad ideological change than in pragmatic improvements that optimize health, quality of care and productivity such as electronic infrastructure, evidenced-based care, and healthier lifestyles.

L. Ben Lytle is Chief Executive Officer of AXIA Health Management, LLC. In 2003 he retired as Chairman of the Board, after being CEO, of Anthem which was one of his biggest challenges and successes. Through mergers and acquisitions, internal growth, and upgrading the management and technical team, he formed Anthem, Inc. (now Wellpoint, Inc.), a Fortune 500 company. During this same time period, he built, took public, and sold Acordia, Inc., the world's 7th largest insurance broker. Mr. Lytle's innovative strategies were cited by Tom Peters in Liberation Management.

TUESDAY 10:00 - 11:15 AM BREAKOUT

Globalization: Using Leadership Development as a Strategic Lever to Achieve Alignment, Focus and Growth

Globalization is a challenge facing businesses large and small. Leadership can and must come from all corners of the world and all parts of the organization. Leveraging new and diverse expertise and talent to fit an overarching business goal is a threat and opportunity on the HR agenda. When the music keeps changing, partners must stay in step!

With new acquisitions, new countries, new lines of business and new regulations, the CEO's challenge of building One Firm with superior client focus and operational excellence was executed through clearly defined and well integrated elements of leadership development at UBS.

In this breakout you will look at:

• Getting a clear view of organization development for a multi-national firm
• Aligning individual executive participants to firm-wide vision and metrics as a "must have", not just "nice to have"
• Using one message to build one firm through leaders as ambassadors

Mark Mula is Managing Director, UBS Leadership Institute, and responsible for supporting the objective of building exceptional senior leadership talent in UBS. The Institute works closely with the Chairman, CEO and Group Executive Board to develop programs and processes targeted at strengthening senior leadership capability and alignment to achieve the UBS vision, values and strategy. In 2006, UBS received recognition by Hewitt Associates as the Top Company for Leaders in Europe. Prior to UBS, Mula held HR roles in Pitney Bowes, Readers Digest, Mercedes-Benz and Prudential.

TUESDAY 10:00 - 11:15 AM BREAKOUT

Alignment and Execution in Large Complex Organizations

In this case study session, VADM Phillip Balisle and Dr.George Weathersby will highlight the significant improvements in alignment to the desired organizational structure, increased ability to execute he organizations strategic initiatives, and improved job satisfaction and employee morale that were achieved at NAVSEA during a three-year period.NAVSEA accounts for one-fifth of the Navy's budget and employees over 50,000 people.

The U.S. Government remains the largest employer, and home to a large population of workers who enjoy many of the traditional benefits of employment that are increasingly disappearing in the private sector.  They face the same challenges as all organizations due to demographics and generational changes.  In addition, the Federal government has unique challenges related to their mission-driven goals, and their close reliance on the legislative and congressional budgeting processes.  Linda Springer will address how the Office of Personnel Management is balancing the increasing demands for greater accountability, cost reduction and performance-based talent practices, with its commitment to the promises it has made to its long-term employees.Alignment and execution are critical to success as well as morale.

Attend this session and learn how to:

• Improve organizational alignment, ability to execute and Employee morale - all at the same time
• Create, measure and reinforce desired organizational behavior
• Create a culture where employee attraction, retention and satisfaction are high and coexist with accountability, transparency of information and attainment of goals

Linda M. Springer, the eighth Director of the United States Office of PersonnelManagement, was nominated by President George W. Bush to be the Director of OPM on March 18, 2005. The principal advisor to the President of the United States on personnel management, she is responsible for OPM's products and services for nearly two million Federal Government employees worldwide. Prior to becoming OPM Director, she was Controller, White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and head of the Office of Federal Financial Management. Prior to government service, she was Senior Vice President and Controller of Provident Mutual.

Vice Admiral Phillip Balisle, USN (Ret.) joined the Naval Reserves as a Seaman Recruit and his extensive 36 year military career has consisted of numerous ship-board assignments highlighted by his command of the USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN Battle Group. During his naval career, Admiral Balisle served significant assignments ashore including: Director for Theater Air Warfare and Director for Surface Warfare on the Staff of the Chief of Naval Operations. His last assignment was as Commander for Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA). Upon retiring, Vice Admiral Balisle joined DRS Technologies as the Senior Vice President for Maritime Strategic Plans and Programs.

George B. Weathersby, Ph.D., Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Genesys, was formerly CEO of the American Management Association; Oxford Management Corporation, where he managed a $50 million pool of private capital; the Ontario Corporation, an aerospace manufacturing and service company, and the Curtis Publishing Company.  He is a published author of six books, more than fifty articles and served six years as Indiana Commissioner for Higher Education. He has extensive experience on the Boards of Directors of major companies including Ideal Basic Cement, Holcim (US), USA Group, Electronic Retailing Systems International, and IMED.

TUESDAY 10:00 - 11:15 AM BREAKOUT

Built to Change: Organization Designs and Capabilities that Sustain Innovation

Traditional organizations have been designed with the not so implicit assumptions that predictability, stability, and equilibrium are the keys to success. This is a very fragile house of cards when you assume the world is changing more and more rapidly.

In this session you will explore a different approach, what we call the Built to Change model. It assumes that organizations are changing all the time, and suggests that organizations need to manage dynamic relationships that account for both short and long-term effectiveness. Achieving "dynamic alignment" implies that organizations must develop the capability to orchestrate change and implement organization design features that adjust and flex constantly.

Attend this breakout and you will:

• Learn about and understand the Built to Change model
• Understand the components of a change capability
• Be able to describe organization design features that are flexible
• Have a better understanding of the role of human resources in sustaining agility

Edward E. Lawler, III, Ph.D., is Distinguished Professor of Business and Director of the Center for Effective Organizations in the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California. He has been honored as a top contributor to the fields of organizational development, human resources management, organizational behavior and compensation. Lawler is the author of over 300 articles and 38 books, including Achieving Strategic Excellence: An Assessment of Human Resource Organizations, Built to Change, The New American Workplace, and America at Work.

Christopher G. Worley, Ph.D., is Research Scientist in the Center for Effective Organizations, Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California, and an Associate Professor of Management, Pepperdine University . A respected author and in-demand presenter on strategic change and organization design, he is author of the books, Built to Change, Integrated Strategic Change, and four editions of Organization Development and Change, the leading textbook in the field. He is on the editorial board for the Journal of Strategic Management Education and the Journal of Applied Behavioral Science.

TUESDAY10:00 - 11:15 AM BREAKOUT

The Journey to Delightful HR Service Delivery: Defining User Expectations at the Crossroad of People, Process and Technology

HR departments strive to deliver quality services, but few excel at it.For an organization to define itself as "high performing" it must have a standard by which it is measured. What are your standards and how do they stack up in comparison to leading HR organizations? This session will examine emerging industry standards and provides highlights of a recent Fidelity survey of HR user expectations.

In this session you will:

• Discover your "next steps" in driving your HR programs based on your employees' definition of quality for HR services
• Learn about value drivers that begin to qualitatively benchmark quality
• See what measures and values leading HR departments are using to measure quality
• Find out what drives the quality of HR processes and how to recognize a "good" one
• Understand what drives technology quality
• Learn how to differentiate satisfactory service support people from outstanding ones

Patrick F. Goepel is an Executive Vice President of Fidelity Employer Services Company (FESCo) and is responsible for Human Resources Outsourcing and Global Operations servicing large market companies.FESCo currently provides retirement plan services, benefit and human resources administration, workforce effectiveness and payroll processing for over 20 million employees.Fidelity Investments is the largest mutual fund company in the United States, and provider of workplace retirement savings plans.Prior to his current role, Pat was the President and CEO of Advantec, and was also the Executive Vice President of Ceridian, a leading HR managed business solutions organization.Goepel has received many national awards and was recognized twice as an HRO Superstar by HRO Today.

Jean Rose, Executive Director, Employee Benefits & HR Operations, General Motors Corporation

TUESDAY10:00 - 11:15 AM BREAKOUT

Washington Mutual's aggressive HR strategy included improving the health of its employees and managing rising healthcare costs. In order to increase its strategic focus, HR decided to outsource some administrative functions while integrating employee education components. In ExcellerateHRO, WaMu found a partner that provided the right tools and resources, and also delivered flawless benefits administration. ExcellerateHRO's technical innovations and best-practice processes provided a significant return on investment. The results: a reduction of health-and-welfare expenses below the healthcare trend and a significant increase in employees' use of self-service and decision-making tools. But a relationship like this doesn't just happen. A shared vision for the future of WaMu's health-and-welfare strategy and an agreement to work as one team ensured the success this HR outsourcing partnership.

In this session, you will learn:

• How one of the nation's leading consumer and small business banks reduced healthcare costs while improving the health of its 47,000 employees by outsourcing its health and welfare administration
• Which technical innovations and best practices provided the best return on WaMu's outsourcing investment
• The strategies WaMu and ExcellerateHRO employed to ensure employees' adoption of self-service tools
• Why shared goals and a team approach are key to maximizing the results of an HR outsourcing partnership

Tracy Yunker is Manager for Washington Mutual Bank, where she is responsible for daily operations for the health and welfare programs supporting more than 47,000 benefits eligible employees nationwide. Tracy is part of an integrated management team that is focused on reducing health care costs by improving the health of the employee population.Her background includes more than 15 years of experience in the employee benefits field including managing flexible benefits programs, implementing and managing benefit call centers, benefit system implementations and conversions, annual enrollments and project management.

Melissa Biancardi is a client delivery executive for ExcellerateHRO, responsible for the Benefits Administration relationship with Washington Mutual. In this role, she directs strategy, and consults on processes, procedures and systems.  Melissa has more than thirteen years experience in Benefits Administration and implementation for Health & Welfare, Defined Benefits and Defined Contributions programs.  Previously, Melissa worked for Mellon HR Solutions.  Highlights of her work at Mellon include her roles as Health & Welfare Outsourcing Analyst, Service Delivery Manager, Annual Enrollment Manager for all clients, Service Center Implementation Leader and Director of Implementation Communications.  Melissa is a graduate of Trenton State College.

TUESDAY10:00 11:15 AM BREAKOUT

Realizing Results through People and the Brand at ING Americas

Can you imagine integrating 50+ acquisitions, transforming HR and becoming one of the top 100 brands in the world in just five years?After a Work Force Planning analysis revealed unwanted turnover among other talent issues, ING launched a comprehensive people strategy initiative to better understand their workforce challenges, build an

employee value proposition, and prioritize people programs to attract and retain the right talent. Following a six month planning phase, ING'S HR team is poised to truly shift gears from traditional HR partners to strategic business partners.  Come hear this remarkable story and the journey that continues.

TUESDAY 11:30 - 12:45 PM KEYNOTE

Generating Extraordinary Energy in Hot Spots

Over the last two years Lynda has been leading a major research initiative into productivity and innovation by studying over 50 workgroups in 18 major US and European companies. In this session she presents the headline findings. She describes these workgroups that are innovative as 'Hot Spots' and explains just what executives have to do now to ensure these highly collaborative and productive networks emerge.

In this session you will consider:

• Why the emergence of Hot Spots is so crucial to a company's wealth and well-being, and how we inadvertently destroy them
• Under what circumstances Hot Spots emerge, and the five key elements that shape their emergence
• What Hot Spots mean for social networks and relationships.
• The role HR strategy can play in the emergence of Hot Spots
• What you and other leaders have to do now in the signature processes you champion and the role models you establish

Lynda Gratton, Ph.D., is Professor of Management Practice at London Business School where she directs the school's executive program, "Human Resource Strategy in Transforming Organizations". Of her many books and award wining articles, Living Strategy: Putting People at the Heart of Corporate Purpose (FT/Prentice Hall) has been translated into ten languages and was voted one of the 20 most influential books by American CEOs. Her renowned research initiatives and work with leading multinational companies have put her in the spotlight as one of the world's most influential thinkers in HR Strategy.

WEDNESDAY 8:30 - 9:30 AM KEYNOTE

Redefining the Employment Deal

Over the last 30 years the employment contract has been changing. For many, the expectation of long-term employment, pensions and other forms of the "Company taking care of you" into retirement are a thing of the past. Or is it?

At Peoples Energy Corporation located in Chicago, many employees still expect lifetime employment. The last major hiring was nearly 26 years ago, and with a new set of competitive pressures and an impending merger it is time to re-think what the "deal" will be for the next generation of employees. For this 150-year-old urban gas distributor, re-defining the employment deal means working with an added layers of complexity including a union contract that expires in 2008.

Desiree Rogers, President of Peoples Energy's two gas utilities, will provide her insight on how she is working to redefine employee expectations.

Desiree Rogers is President of Peoples Energy Corporation's two utility subsidiaries, Peoples Gas and North Shore Gas. She also serves as a Senior Vice President of Peoples Energy Corporation, the diversified energy company with annual revenues totaling over $2 billion. Since joining Peoples Energy in 1997, Rogers has taken on increasing challenges with great success, including the restructuring of critical business functions to better meet customer needs while improving financial results. She joined Peoples Energy in 1997 as Vice President of Corporate Communications. Prior to Peoples Energy, she was the Director of the Illinois Lottery.

WEDNESDAY 9:35 - 10:45 AM KEYNOTE

The Essential Evolution: What Will Strategic Talent Look Like Beyond the Tipping Point?

The HR function is facing a unique dynamic. On one hand, talent issues are more critical than ever, and the range and sophistication of the resources available to HR professionals has increased significantly. At the same time, the organizations in which HR must function strategically and operationally are far more complex. Increased pressure for efficiency and advances in technology present new HR delivery options including off shoring and outsourcing. There is a guiding framework for navigating this complexity, just as other professions have done before.

In this closing capstone keynote, John Boudreau will team up with his research partner Pete Ramstad to identify the trends, clarify the challenges, and predict the solutions that HR must implement in the immediate future.

Highlights of this concluding keynote include:

• Innovative approaches to looking at the work and future of the HR function
• How the HR function should be structured and organized
• How the future will differ from the past for HR leaders
• How a "decision science" for HR underpins the next evolution

John W. Boudreau, Ph.D., is Professor of Management and Organization, and Research Director of the Center for Effective Organizations (CEO) at the Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California. He is recognized worldwide for breakthrough research on the bridge between superior human capital, talent and sustainable competitive advantage. A Fellow of the National Academy of Human Resources, he has published more than 50 research articles and books, translated into Chinese, Czech, and Spanish. His work has been featured in Harvard Busi ness Review,HR Planning Journal, The Wall Street Journal, Fortune, Fast Company and Business Week.