2024 CONFERENCE KEYNOTES

Jim Link
CHRO, SHRM

Opening Keynote
Wednesday, October 23, 2024

Jim Link is the Chief Human Resources Officer for SHRM. With more than 340,000 members around the world, SHRM is the largest HR professional association in the world and the leading voice for matters related to workers and the workplace. Prior to joining SHRM, Link’s career included roles of increasing responsibility across a variety of industries and companies including General Electric, the Pillsbury Company, Porsche Cars, and Randstad. While at Randstad North America, he led a global team of 150 HR professionals who were instrumental in transforming the company into an award-winning, inclusive, and sustainable global leader. Link consistently demonstrates dynamic and visionary thought leadership with a variety of presentations focusing on the interconnection between effective human capital management and business results. Using a data-driven, story-telling approach with his audiences, Link’s presentations weave together insights gleaned from a variety of sources to address the rapid and necessary changes required for tomorrow’s leaders to succeed. Typical topics Link addresses include the future of HR, global workforce dynamics, workplace evolution, emerging leadership trends, tech readiness, culture, employee and organization wellbeing, as well as entrepreneurship and innovation. Link has graced stages across diverse geographical landscapes, sharing his expertise with audiences in North America, India, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. As a sought-after speaker on the international stage, his insightful presentations delve into critical aspects of the contemporary workplace, including but not limited to inclusion, employee experience and engagement, organizational culture, benefits strategies, and mental health advocacy. His compelling discussions not only showcase his depth of knowledge but also reflect his commitment to driving positive change in society and business through the lens of empathy and civility. His ability to translate complex ideas into manageable outcomes, coupled with his passion for fostering inclusive and thriving workplace environments, positions him as a thought leader who leaves a lasting impact on audiences across the globe.

Stephen M.R. Covey
CoveyLink and FranklinCovey Global Trust Practice

Closing Keynote
Friday, October 25, 2024

Stephen M. R. Covey is co-founder of CoveyLink and the FranklinCovey Global Trust Practice. A sought-after and compelling keynote speaker and advisor on trust, leadership, ethics, and collaboration, he speaks to audiences around the world. He is the New York Times and #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author of The Speed of Trust, a groundbreaking and paradigm-shifting book that challenges our age-old assumption that trust is merely a soft, social virtue and instead demonstrates that trust is a hard-edged, economic driver. The Speed of Trust has been translated into 22 languages and has sold over 2 million copies worldwide.

Stephen is also the author of the newly released Wall Street Journal bestseller, Trust & Inspire: How Truly Great Leaders Unleash Greatness in Others. While the world has changed, our style of leadership has not. Most leaders and organizations—faced with ever new and disrupting challenges—continue to operate from a base model of “Command & Control;” they’ve just become more advanced and sophisticated at it, what Stephen calls “Enlightened Command & Control.”

In contrast to Command & Control, Trust & Inspire is all about unleashing greatness in others. Leading in a way that both inspires and empowers people to become the best version of themselves—tapping into a sense of purpose, meaning, contribution and inclusion. The result is a level of belonging, collaboration, and ultimately innovation that Command & Control is simply not capable of producing.

Stephen asserts that trust has become the new currency of our world, and that having the ability to develop, extend, and restore trust with all stakeholders is the number one competency of leadership needed today. He passionately delivers this message and is dedicated to enabling individuals and organizations to reap the dividends of high trust throughout the world. Audiences and organizations alike resonate with his tangible, practical approach to trust.

Stephen is the former CEO of Covey Leadership Center, which, under his direction, became the largest leadership development company in the world. He personally led the strategy that propelled his father’s book, Dr. Stephen R. Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, to become one of the two most infl uential business books of the 20th Century, according to CEO Magazine. A Harvard MBA, Stephen joined Covey Leadership Center as a Client Developer, became National Sales Manager, and then President & CEO. Under Stephen’s leadership, the company achieved Inc. 500 status, nearly doubled revenues while increasing profi ts by 12 times, and expanded into over 40 countries. This greatly increased the value of the brand and company. Within three years of being named CEO, Stephen had increased shareholder value by 67 times in a merger with then FranklinQuest to form FranklinCovey.

Over the years, Stephen has gained considerable respect and infl uence with executives and leaders of Fortune 500 companies as well as with mid- and small-sized private sector and public sector organizations he’s consulted. Clients recognize his unique perspective on real-world organizational issues based on his practical experience as a former CEO.

Stephen serves on numerous boards, including the Government Leadership Advisory Council, and he has been recognized with the lifetime Achievement Award for “Top Thought Leaders in Trust” from the advocacy group, Trust Across America/Trust Around the World. Stephen resides with his wife and children in the shadows of the Rocky Mountains.