Andy Sieg is Head of Global Wealth & Retirement Solutions (GWRS) for Bank of America Merrill Lynch. GWRS provides a comprehensive set of investment products and services, as well as retirement solutions, to the company’s clients and financial advisors globally.

Andy first joined Merrill Lynch in 1992 as an analyst in the Global Wealth Management business, later serving in senior strategy and field leadership roles during the next 13 years. Before rejoining the company in 2009, Andy led the Emerging Affluent Client Segment within Citigroup Global Wealth Management from 2005 to 2009.

Prior to his career at Merrill Lynch, Andy served in The White House as an aide to the assistant to the President for Economic and Domestic Policy. Andy earned a Bachelor of Science in Economics from Penn State University. He also holds a Master in Public Policy (MPP) degree from the Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) and serves as a member of the HKS Dean’s Council.

Andy serves on the boards of ReadWorks.org, a non-profit dedicated to ensuring students in our nation’s neediest public schools have literacy skills to compete and succeed in life, and The Peter Westbrook Foundation, which helps inner-city children develop life skills through the sport of fencing, academic support and mentoring. Andy also represents Bank of America Merrill Lynch on the board of the Global Coalition on Aging, an organization of industry leaders committed to advocating for aging populations and to reshaping how society prepares for this profound demographic shift.

Penny Wofford is a South Carolina Supreme Court Certified Specialist in Employment and Labor Law. She concentrates her practice in the area of employment litigation and employee benefits. She advises and defends employers, employer sponsored plans, and plan fiduciaries against all types of claims under ERISA and employment discrimination laws. Penny not only provides proactive counseling and legal advice to employers and management regarding human resources issues but also assists employers with the design, drafting, and administration of welfare benefit plans. Penny is a frequent speaker on employee benefits and employee leave topics and regularly provides company and supervisor training on employment discrimination, documentation and confidentiality.

Bill Schiemann is founder and CEO of Metrus Group, specializing in performance measurement and organizational change. He has consulted extensively with corporations on the development and implementation of business and people strategies; HR measurement; strategic employee surveys and internal value assessments; and creating high performance cultures. He also founded the Metrus Institute, which supports research and publications, many in the human capital arena.  

Bill is a thought leader in the human resources field, having written scores of articles and six books in the human capital area, most recently the SHRM-published book, Hidden Drivers of Success:  Leveraging Employee Insights for Strategic Advantage (2013). 

He is the Past Chair of the SHRM Foundation Board of Directors and currently serves on the Board of Directors of the HR Certification Institute.  He has been named a Fellow and Scholar by the Society of Industrial and Organizational Psychology. 

Follow Bill on Twitter @wschiemann.

Agnes Vivaldi Blumberg, SPHR, CPP joined Coca-Cola Refreshments in 1997 as an Employee Relations Manager, where she provided HR Business Partner support to various Corporate functional groups. She then transitioned into a Field based role as a HR Director in the Northeast. In 2009, she transitioned into a Senior Manager, Field Employee Relations at the beginning of the centralized model where she assumed team leadership responsibilities, and currently has a focused alignment with the CCR Southeast. Prior to joining CCR, she held various HR Generalist roles for Hyatt Hotels and EG&G Services. Agnes earned her Bachelor’s in Business Administration from James Madison University and her Master’s in Human Resources Management from Marymount University.

Joseph Grenny is a New York Times bestselling author of eight books, including the communication classic, Crucial Conversations. His whose work has been used by nearly half of the Forbes Global 2000 and has helped millions of people achieve better relationships and results. He cofounded Crucial Learning, one of the world’s most respected learning and organization development firms, offering courses in communication, performance, and leadership.

George Fleming is the founder of InsightAction and is an executive coach, consultant and trainer to several Fortune 500 companies. George began his career with General Electric before moving into marketing with several Fortune 500 firms including Hewlett-Packard, Amazon, and Lucent Technologies. George combines the problem solving expertise of his Mechanical Engineering degree, his skills as an accredited corporate coach and organizational trainer and his understanding of human performance through his Masters in Psychology. George's expertise is in the areas of leadership, creating inspired workplaces, employee engagement and team performance. Using highly interactive, humorous, rich-content and relevant programs, George makes sure every event is a breakthrough for attendees! George is consistently one of the highest-rated speakers at both state and national SHRM events. George’s clients include Roche Pharmaceutical, RE/MAX, Genentech, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Penn State University, Square D and Volvo.

Brad is the Founder and CEO of JB Training Solutions. An accomplished public speaker and executive coach, Brad has been featured on CNN, CNBC, and Dr. Phil, and has been quoted in: The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Fortune, and USA Today. Brad is also the author of three business books including the critically acclaimed Manager 3.0: A Millennial’s Guide to Rewriting the Rules of Management, which you can read in Mandarin (assuming you can read Mandarin).

Prior to creating JB, Brad spent 15 years at advertising agency Leo Burnett in Chicago. Today, Brad presents for major organizations including Eli Lilly, Securitas, Top Tier Capital Partners, and Saint Laurent. When he’s not enjoying a robust buffet, you can find Brad playing racquetball or drafting the perfect fantasy football roster. Brad is left-handed.