Dr. Karen Stephenson, hailed in Business 2.0 as “The Organization Woman”, is a corporate anthropologist and lauded as a pioneer and "leader in the growing field of social-network business consultants." In 2007, she was awarded the Star Award by the International Interior Design Association (IIDA) for her contributions to the workplace. She was also one of only four females recognized from a distinguished short list of 55 in Random House’s 2007 Guide to the Management Gurus. In 2006, she was awarded the first Houghton Hepburn Fellow at Bryn Mawr College for her groundbreaking contributions to civic engagement. In 2001, her consulting firm Netform was recognized as one of the top 100 leading innovation companies by CIO. Her prominence catapulted in 2000 when she was featured in a New Yorker article by Malcolm Gladwell, regarding the social dynamics of office spaces. Even before these accolades, Stephenson had earned praises for innovatively solving a variety of complex problems which have been featured in The Economist, Forbes, The Guardian, The Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, Fast Company and Wired. Drawing upon her prolific experience and 400 member database, Dr. Stephenson consistently delivers that “aha’ moment to her clients and audiences.

• Informal networks are not what you think they are.

• Knowledge networks are more powerful at any one point in time than your hierarchy

• Networks are key to building trust and sustaining collaboration over time

• Networks enable a group of organizations to act as one yet retain their uniqueness

• Netform analysis (the tool) can help you regarding

o Succession planning

o Leadership development

o Retention and Retraining strategies

A global nomad, she has been sighted at the Rotterdam School of Management at Erasmus University where she currently lectures. This was preceded by 5 years at the Harvard School of Design and 10 years at the UCLA Anderson Graduate School of Management.

She received her Ph.D. in Anthropology at Harvard University, an M.A. in Anthropology at the University of Utah, and B.A. in Art & Chemistry at Austin College, TX. You can read about her at

www.drkaren.us and her company at www.netform.com.

Will joined Credit Suisse in early 2011 to head strategy and innovation for the global Talent Branding and Communication (TB&C) function.  In this role he is building a new work force analytics group and spearheading several high profile efforts across the bank to transform people practices.   He also serves as head of HR for the TB&C function.

Prior to joining Credit Suisse Will served clients and led research on leadership, talent, organizational performance and strategy as a partner in the  Washington, DC office of McKinsey & Company.   In twelve years with McKinsey he led more than 50 client engagements on talent, people analytics, and HR effectiveness in the U.S., South America, and Asia.  His worked spanned a dozen sectors including, media, pharmaceuticals, utilities, petroleum, mining, banking, aerospace, defense, high tech, education, and government.   Between 2009 and 2011 he co-led McKinsey’s talent management client service line in the Americas. 

He has led several significant research and development efforts for McKinsey, working with colleagues and external experts across the world to create McKinsey’s Organization Health Index - - a diagnostic survey introduced in more than 500 client situations globally, and McKinsey’s pioneering talent and leadership system assessment tool and suite of 25 diagnostic standardized analyses

Prior to McKinsey, Will held a variety of roles including four years as a commercial fisherman, assistant to the Chief Financial Officer of Midway Airlines and Chief Operating Officer of the National Journal Group, a media enterprise with eleven print and on-line titles including National Journal and Government Executive magazines.

He received his B.A. from Dartmouth College and an M.B.A. with Beta Gamma Sigma distinction as the Richard Jenrette Fellow at the University of North Carolina.  He lives with his wife, Allison, and their four children, in Alexandria, VA.

Tapscott is an internationally renowned authority on the strategic impact of information technology on innovation, marketing and talent. He consistently identifies and explains the next business imperatives and defines the business models and strategies required for success. Tapscott has authored or co-authored 14 widely read books on technology, business and the Net Generation, including his newest book, Macrowikinomics: Rebooting Business and the World.