Lee started his career as a sports coach, developing a specialism in peak performance coaching. Before reading Law at Christ’s College, Cambridge, Lee spent three years as a Metropolitan police officer.

Whilst at Christ’s, Lee founded two developmental charities looking at education and personal development.

In 1987 Lee co-founded a consultancy which specialises in helping organisations re-invent themselves. Lee works at the interface of strategic innovation, leadership development and ‘change management’. Bridge works in two main contexts, firstly, supporting some of the world’s top companies to change, including Tesco, Marks & Spencer, McKinsey & Co, BP and PepsiCo and secondly, in encouraging system-wide transformation in education in the UK and Australia.

Lee recently published his first book, “Why Work is Weird”, which explores the way in which organisational cultures impact on their effectiveness.

Since April 2008 Lee has worked directly with the CIPD, as Strategic Adviser, and has led the ‘Next Generation HR’ work.

Since 16 October 2009 Bridge has become part of the CIPD.

Jackie Orme has been CEO of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) since April 2008. Jackie has been an HR practitioner for more than 17 years. She has worked across a broad range of sectors and HR specialisms.

Her early years were spent in the Department of Employment and the Institute of Chartered Accountants before moving to work in the steel industry based in South Wales.

Prior to joining the CIPD Jackie Orme spent 12 years working for PepsiCo – including 7 years leading the UK and Ireland HR function and sitting on both the UK Executive Board of PepsiCo International and the global PepsiCo International HR Council.

Elizabeth Richards applies her mastery of the HR knowledge base as a dedicated SPHR and GPHR to her position as HR Business Partner for the Institute. Elizabeth holds a Master’s Degree in Human Resources and Industrial Relations and brings a hands-on, results-driven philosophy to her role at the Institute where she leads the HR function and is responsible for all initiatives that affect the 45+ employees at the growing organization. Elizabeth was previously with Thales USA Defense & Security, where she assisted with the development and implementation of HR programs, policies and procedure. She also managed the company’s recruitment process and worked with other functional areas to modernize the HR function and its programs and systems. Prior to Thales, Elizabeth began her HR career at GMAC ResCap in Minnesota. She earned her Master’s Degree from the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management and a Bachelor of Arts from DePauw University. 

Bob Kelleher is a best-selling author, keynote speaker, and consultant on employee engagement, leadership, and workforce trends. Bob is the author of the bestselling book, LOUDER THAN WORDS: 10 Practical Employee Engagement Steps That Drive Results, CREATIVESHIP, A Novel for Evolving Leaders, EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT for Dummies, and I-Engage, Your Personal Engagement Roadmap.   

Bob can be seen or heard on national media (most recently on CNBC, CBS, NBC News, Business Week, Forbes, and Fortune, and has presented to many of the world’s top companies

Bob is also the founder of The Employee Engagement Group, a global survey, products, assessment, consulting firm.  

Michael C. Herndon joined AARP as a Manager, Financial Security in August 2005 leading the Workforce and Consumer Issues team. Prior to joining AARP, Michael was Director, Public Affairs for Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards. Michael also served as Manager, Government Relations for the International Association for Financial Planning (IAFP). Michael earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from the University of Tennessee and a Master of Public Administration from Georgia State University where he received the Dan Sweat Scholarship for Academic Excellence.

Susan L. Harmansky, SPHR, is a management consultant and author focusing on workforce planning and strategy.  She has had a diverse career in human resource management most recently as Global Vice President Human Resources for SGS International, a design-to-print graphic services and marketing firm headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky.  Her previous experience includes HR leadership roles with LG&E and KU Energy, Farm Credit Bank, Papa John’s International and the Presbyterian Church USA national headquarters.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in cultural anthropology from the University of Louisville and an MBA from Bellarmine University.  She has served as president of the Louisville Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) chapter and as state director for Kentucky SHRM.  She also led the SHRM-sponsored task force that developed the first American National Standard for performance management and served on the first international committee developing ISO standards for HR.   

She served seven years on the board of the premier international certifying agency for human resources, the HR Certification Institute, including a year as Board Chair during which HRCI expanded its reach internationally to the European Union and China. 

She has been certified as a Senior Professional in Human Resources since 1990 and is a recipient of the Louisville SHRM Award for Professional Excellence.  

Effenus Henderson is Chief Diversity Officer for Weyerhaeuser Company, Federal Way, Washington where he advises the CEO and senior management team on diversity, inclusion and affirmative action related matters. He is an internationally recognized diversity thought leader and has been invited by numerous companies and organizations to share his expertise.  He recently led the development a company-wide “Inclusive Leadership Learning Series” for the top 1,500 leaders which is currently being implemented. Additionally he has provided advisory support on diversity to the Federal Government’s EPA office and Office of Personnel Management.