After joining Walker Sands in 2013, Allison spent seven years working on the services side of the business, first in public relations, then on some of the company’s first integrated accounts. Allison took over the Talent Department in 2020 and has worked to create a more inclusive and supportive work environment by focusing on attracting and recruiting top talent and maintaining a positive company culture.

Andy is a Human Resources executive with over 20 years of experience of progressive and cutting edge People leadership for start-up and high growth companies. Andy has experience in Private Equity, Venture Capital companies from pre-funded start-ups through self-funded and capitalized businesses.

Ayesha Ahmed is General Counsel and Vice President of Human Resources at Nexus
Pharmaceuticals. Ayesha leads both legal and HR teams to cultivate a work culture that strives to help employees grow their careers, prioritize continuous learning and feel valued by the organization.

Caroline Werner is the Chief People Officer at LogicGate, based in Chicago. She is responsible for the Company's people strategy including; total rewards, talent management, talent acquisition, career development & culture and DEIB.

Charlotte is VP of People Ops for EDITED, an AI-driven retail intelligence company. A qualified leadership coach, Charlotte brings a growth mindset and her core value of Care to everything she does. Nurturing talent, creating a culture of feedback and coaching, and fostering trust in the workplace are key drivers in her role. Her career has focused on helping scale ups overcome the challenges associated with rapid growth, with her background spanning both Professional Services and Luxury Fitness before entering the SAAS market at EDITED.

David Loiselle is a corporate HR executive who has worked with both large public companies and small to mid sized VC and PE funded high growth tech firms.

People executive and startup operator with over 15 years of experience in high growth venture backed organizations. Experience leading the People function in companies ranging from 15-250M in revenue and 18-800 employees. Has a passion for creating a method to the madness to create best in class human capital strategies for organizations. Supports founders and their teams in intentionally and strategically bringing clarity and simplification to both the strategic and executional level of the business.

Jennifer Turner is an experienced global people, culture, and human capital executive with over 20 years of progressive leadership experience. Jen has been a strategic business partner and advisor in organizations across several industries including market research, technology, advanced analytics, management consulting, financial services, and healthcare.

Jim Conti is a talent and HR professional with a decade of experience building teams in Chicago-based software startups. He was the first talent hire at Sprout Social, where he helped grow the team from 50 to over 400 employees. Most recently, he was the VP, People at dscout..

Kelli Koschmann is passionate about designing a culture where all Showpadders can thrive. She believes human-first organizations have a competitive advantage and leads with heart. She also leverages design thinking to co-create people programs that drive growth and impact.

Kristy has over 15 years of HR leadership and business transformation experience, helping companies develop HR and talent strategy roadmaps to elevate their workforce. Kristy specializes in coaching leaders on the nuances of talent strategy to set them on a path to meet their goals and scale their business effectively through talent.

Maureen has been the Chief People Officer at GoodVets since July 2019, and she has been instrumental in transforming the company’s approach to human resources and people management. With over 15 years of experience, Maureen has a strong focus on achieving tangible results while establishing effective processes. She has demonstrated her ability to drive outcomes while centering her approach around fostering strong relationships and cultivating a sense of community to ensure the best employee experience.

Peter loves working in a scale-up environment, where he can focus on developing talent and enabling people & teams to succeed. Leading a scale-up, strategic transformation is very important and while his team is customer-centred and results-driven, he takes great pride in creating a culture of enjoyment around the workplace. Ultimately, it’s the team and company culture that makes the difference.

Amy Dolan oversees Logiwa's People and Culture function, responsible for the recruitment and retention of top talent across the globe, organizational effectiveness and building the company’s engaging culture into an industry-leading and award-winning program.

Ashley Keller is an experienced Senior Vice President of People with a demonstrated history of working in the tech-enabled logistics and supply chain industry. She is skilled in Human Resources, Team Building, Succession Planning, Performance Management, College Recruiting, Sourcing, Manufacturing, and Management.

Bjorn Poelman, a seasoned VP People, thrives in dynamic environments where he can spearhead transformative journeys. With a rich consulting background, he excels in simplifying complexity and turning intricate business challenges into actionable solutions. Through his listening skills and innovative design thinking, he paves the way for organizations seeking a guide during times of change and growth.

Chad joined LanzaTech as Chief People Officer in October 2022 and is responsible for leading the people strategy, culture and diversity, equity and inclusion. He has 24 years of experience in HR with Chevron, where he led HR organizations of increasing complexity across the globe. His background includes in-depth experience in all areas of HR across the life cycle of a company: rapid growth, consolidation, maturity, decline and divestment. He has experience in the protocols of conducting business in Asia Pacific, Latin America, Europe, Africa and Middle Eastern cultures.

Thompson was born in the U.K. and grew up in Barbados. He holds an MA degree in organizational management from Fielding Institute in Santa Barbara, California.

Having spent more than 30 years in human resources, Chris has taken on a diverse set of roles for a variety of companies, including Motorola and Arthur Andersen. He also managed a Chicago based recruiting agency, which he ran for five years.

Dom is an HR-preneurial, enthusiastic, collaborative, and culture-focused People/ HR leader who has shaped high-performing cultures in fast-growing startups & well established mid-market organizations. Dom helps companies translate business vision into innovative HR initiatives that improve performance, profitability, growth, and employee engagement while developing executable strategies to attract, retain, and develop high-performing talent.

As Vice President of Human Resources, Gweneth is responsible for managing all aspects of Sterling Bay’s HR operations and ensuring compliance with local, state, and federal labor laws. She partners with leadership to develop and execute initiatives that align with the firm’s strategy and growth objectives. Gwen brings over a decade of experience in human resources and twenty years of professional services experience, in industries including finance, architecture, real estate, and property management.

Jen Raines-Loring is the COO at Postscript, a best-in-class provider of SMS marketing for ecommerce merchants. Jen combines a strong general management background with a true passion for the people function. Jen specializes in remote work, full cycle talent acquisition, and performance management.

Katherine Laggos is the VP, People & Culture for Chartbeat, Inc, a fully remote company delivering real time analytics for media companies. She is a collaborative, empathetic, hands-on, strategic HR professional with extensive experience building and growing the HR function in high-growth, privately-held organizations. She focuses on building strong relationships throughout all levels of an organization while nurturing a collaborative, kind, and transparent culture.

Kira Meinzer is charged with fostering a collaborative and innovative environment through strategic hiring, training and organizational development. Meinzer strongly believes in the philosophy that we are “people before employees” and we need to “humanize the workplace”.

Mattie prides herself on her empathetic and inclusive approach in all things people. Her background includes being a founding member of Seamless/Grubhub, Braintree, and Trunk Club. She has worked on numerous acquisitions, including the Braintree acquisition of Venmo, $800 million acquisition of Braintree by PayPal and the $350 million acquisition of Trunk Club by Nordstrom.

Michelle is an accomplished HR executive, recognized thought leader and trusted advisor to business leaders. She brings over 20 years of experience from start-up, high growth, and transformative environments, helping organizations to scale quickly. Michelle’s passion is developing the next generation of leaders, participating in the Illinois Technical Association’s Women Influence Chicago leadership development incubator. In her spare time, Michelle enjoys international travel, cooking, and playing with her new French bulldog puppy.

Shaunagh has worked in the Talent space for 20 years and has deep passion for leadership development, scaling teams, and cultivating supportive and effective work cultures. When she is not thinking about supporting great work experiences, you can find her traveling, rock climbing, or enjoying the lakefront with her pups, Oliver and Bailey.