Chair:

Heather Barton, Human Resources Consultant,
Dulwich, London, United Kingdom

Heather Barton is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. After graduating from Oxford University, she worked in the Further Education sector, and was Vice Principal of South Thames College in London. She then qualified in Human Resources and has held HR Director-level posts in the Probation Service, Housing, and Cultural Exchange. Heather has experience of Human Resources policy development, recruitment & talent management, employee relations, organizational development, compensation & benefits, and health & safety. She is now a freelance Human Resources Consultant, working in London.

Committee:

Ali Riza Aksoy, HR Leader
Ford Otosan, İzmit, Kocaeli, Turkey

Srikanth Ambatipudi, IT Audit & Cybersecurity
Erie Insurance Company, Erie, Pennsylvania, United States

Şule Hatun Avşaroğlu, Head of Human Resources 
Kuveyt Türk Katılım Bankası A.Ş., Kocaeli, Istanbul, Turkey
Şule holds a Bachelor of Economics/International Relations (Double Major) from Istanbul Bilgi University and has over 17 years of experience in Human Resources with multiple awards from different international and local HR authorities. She has experience in Human Resources Management, Strategy, Compensation & Benefits, Employee Engagement, HR Analytics, and Internal Communication.

 

Mehmet Çelikpençe, Manager-Training and Career Management
Albaraka TURK Participation Bank, Umraniye, Istanbul, Turkey
Mehmet Çelikpençe has 15 years experience in human resources, career andperformance, training, and education technologies in management roles. He is specialized at E-learning,Training Systems and Internal Marketing. He has completed his doctoralthesis on Islamic Economy and International Finance. He shares his experiences regarding training and career management.

Maureen Clayton, Founder & President
Nest Egg Communications, Roswell, Georgia, United States
Maureen Clayton is the founder of Nest Egg Communications and President of Insight Strategic Communications.  She is a frequent speaker at national conferences on business communications, leadership, entrepreneurship, and employee engagement. She serves on the University of Georgia's Entrepreneurship Program Board of Advisors and co-chairs the Grady College Ad/PR Advisory Board.

Nicole Craveiro, Chief Human Resources Officer
CraveHRO, Ronkonkoma, New York, United States
Nicole Craveiro is an accomplished Human Resources professional pursuing her Ph.D. in Human Capital Management. She specializes in focusing on the Human Factor and creating a stronger workplace culture, ensuring employees are feeling recognized, appreciated, and valued for their contributions to their organization. She offers expert guidance on best practices to assist People Leaders in understanding workplace complexities and solving challenges. Her creative insight supports the mission of businesses through coaching in areas such as performance management, employee relations, compliance, policy, professional development, total rewards, and many other aspects of the employee experience.

Digdem Dokmeci, Learning Systems and Competency Development Vice President   
AKBANK, Beşiktaş, Istanbul, Turkey
Digdem has been working in the finance sector for 17 years. Digdem has been developing projects on training and development, educational technologies and measurement & evaluation under the Human Resources organizational structure. Digdem leads Social Academies, Educational Technologies, and Talent Management and Leadership Programs at Akbank.

Jennifer Duffourg, Director Global Corporate Communications
Bloom Energy Phoenix, Arizona, United States

Ceyla Durgun Akdağ, Co-Founder/Employee Experience Expert
Feedback & Beyond, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Ceyla is the co-founder of Feedback & Beyond, a leading employee experience consultancy company. She has solid experience in talent management and talent acquisition. For the last couple of years, she has been delivering training, working with HR departments and leaders to enhance people's experience in teams and organizations, and facilitating workshops on these topics.

Marilena EchoHawk, Co-Founder
The Marash Co, Westminster, Colorado, United States

Prof. Dr. Ghada El-Kot, Deputy President for Strategic Affairs/Professor of HR & OB
Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport, Alexandria, Egypt
Professor Ghada El-Kot is a university professor at AAST-MT and Deputy President for Strategic Affairs. She also has many years of experience as an effective international consultant, researcher, trainer, and reviewer in the HR and OB fields. She earned her PhD from the University of Plymouth, UK in 2001 on teamwork effectiveness in Egypt and she won the best PhD thesis. 

Karl Eshwer, Management Consultant
McKinsey & Company, New York City, New York, United States
Karl is a management consultant at McKinsey and Company based out of the New York office with a strong background in strategy, due diligence, M&A integration, private market investing and fundraising. He has developed an industry focus in TMT (technology, media, and telecom) and a niche expertise in semiconductors during his time at McKinsey.

Maan Fatani, Group CHRO
Mepco, Jeddah, Makkah, Saudi Arabia
Maan is an accomplished HR leader with extensive experience in leading and driving transformation from the top of the corporate ladder to the execution level on the front line. Hands-on experience with business performance, strategic planning, organization development, talent acquisition, compensation and benefits, employee relations, and a full range of HR responsibilities.

Vernessa W. Gates, Chief Compliance Officer and Mediator
V & W Compliance Group, Louisville, Kentucky, United States

Gunduz Guldamlasi, Culture, Learning and Employee Experience Manager
TurkNet İletişim, Hizmetleri, Istanbul, Turkey

Gülfem Güvendir, Internal Communication and Employer Branding Manager
SOCAR Turkey, Istanbul, Turkey
Gülfem Güvendir is an Internal Communications and Employer Branding Manager for SOCAR. She is an experienced communications professional with over 12 years of experience. Güvendir graduated in 2010 from Maltepe University's department of Public Relations and Publicity in Istanbul, and she also studied at Universitat De Vic in Barcelona through the Erasmus Program.

Gülçin Haktanır, Business HR Manager
AbbVie, Istanbul, Turkey
A Senior Human Resources Professional with 10+ years of experience in diverse HR roles and valuable expertise in various industries such as Technology, FinTech, Supply Chain & Logistics, Healthcare, and Pharmaceuticals. Gülçin has been acknowledged for critical competencies such as HR transformation and digitalization, change management, HR analytics, and HR project management.

Angelique Hamilton, CEO, Chief Coaching Officer
HR Chique Group, Jacksonville, Florida, United States
Angelique Hamilton, MBA, is a forward-thinking human resources leader, speaker, and leadership coach with over 20 years of experience in human resources, leadership, training, and coaching in the healthcare, nonprofit, and supply chain sectors.

Merve İpek Şenipek Alp, International Academy & Talent Management Senior Specialist
DeFacto, Küçükçekmece, Istanbul, Turkey
Merve İpek graduated from Istanbul Technical University as a chemist and has published about Phthalocyanine. She started work at DeFacto as a MT and pursued a career in the academy department. She has several projects in CIS, Turkey HQ. Merve İpek records podcasts.

Kimberly Khoury, Chief Commercial Officer and VP of Sustainability
Clintar Commercial Outdoor Services, Markham, Ontario, Canada

Gulcin Kiray Saban, L&D Strategy Vice President
Akbank T.A.S., Levent, Istanbul, Turkey

Ilknur Kizilirmak, Training and Development Group Manager
Migros, Ataşehir, Istanbul, Turkey
İlknur works as a group manager at Migros Retail Academy and has extensive experience in Training and Development. Leadership development, training design, and learning path design are among his areas of expertise.

 

Sandra Koroljević, Senior Corporate Communications Expert
E.ON Hrvatska, Zagreb, Croatia

Anna Krusteva, People Manager
Genius Sports Services, Sofia, Bulgaria

Mariham Magdy, Chief Executive Officer, HR
Revolution Middle East Magazine, Cairo, Giza, Egypt
Mariham Magdy is a passionate HR, Strategy & Management Consultant, Trainer, Business Journalist, and award-winning writer from the ROI Institute in the US for the Best ROI Article 2018.  She has worked in the oil & gas industry for more than 14 years, with extensive experience in HRM, starting from building an HR department from scratch to managing all functions of the HR department. Besides her training and consulting work, Mariham is an instructor at the AUC, RITI, The Aeronautical Engineering and Aviation Management Program – Cairo University, Arab Academy for Science, Technology, and Maritime Transport, The National Training Academy, Eslsca Executive Education, Leoron Institute, Al Mentor, and others.

Dr. Ing. Chris Micallef, Department Manager (People Management)   
Jobsplus, Hal Far, Malta
Chris is an engineer by profession and is the Department Manager (People Management) at Jobsplus. He studied engineering at the University of Malta and graduated in 1992. In 2000 he obtained his Masters degree in Business Administration from Henley Management College. In 2009 he obtained his doctorate degree in social sciences from the University of Leicester. Chris also holds a diploma in Art from the School of Art, Valletta.

Begum Nalci, Global Talent & Organizational Development Lead
pladis Global, Chelsea, London, United Kingdom
Begum Nalci is an award-winning Human Resources Director, working for more than 16 years with a demonstrated history in the FMCG industry, at companies such as Henkel, Danone, and pladis Global (Ülker, McVitie’s, Godiva) with a solid track record of successful HR implementations in her local, regional, and global leadership roles.

Bürra Pekak, Regional Human Resources Manager
MM Graphia Izmir Karton San. VE TIC. A.S., Izmir, Turkey

Tiffany Rafii, Chief Executive Officer
UpSpring PR, New York City, New York, United States
In 2009, Tiffany sought to create a niche communications agency that perfectly balanced creativity and strategy. After more than 13 years and with a personalized strategy for the architecture, design, real estate, and proptech communities, Tiffany, along with her public relations and digital teams, developed and executed programs exclusively for hospitality, residential, and commercial sectors.

Dr. Mona Taman, Vice President
Future Leaders International group, Alexandria, Al Iskandariyah, Egypt
Mona is the Vice Chairman of the Future leader International Academy, a Professor of educational technology and e-learning, the General Coordinator of the Sheikha Fadia Al-Sabah Innovations Competition in Egypt, a member of the national council of women, and Head of the International Education Sector of the African-Asian Union.

Serdar Tas, Engineering Manager
Nike Netherlands, Bakirkoy, Istanbul, Turkey

Asli Tas Kayabas, Psychologist, Trainer, Founding Partner
Kuzey Academy, Istanbul, Turkey
Asli is the founder of Kuzey Development Academy in Turkey, and an award-winning training provider on professional psychology and leadership skills. She designs and provides leadership and professional development content combining psychological scientific knowledge and business experience. Asli is also the founder of the first business awards agency in Turkey, providing award consultancy services for professionals and companies across Europe and the Middle East.

Neal Topf, President
Callzilla, Miramar, Florida, United States

Bengu Tuncludemir, Global Head of Talent and Organizational Development
Pladis, London, United Kingdom

Sue Waller, Director Consulting Solutions
PageGroup, London, United Kingdom

Lisa Whealon, Director of People and Culture
Deli Star Corporation, St Louis, Missouri, United States

May Zaki, Founder, Award-winner Founder & CEO, Best-selling Author
Reviving Corporates, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
May is an incredible pioneer in weight management, a certified naturopath, life coach, and Master NLP; Founder and President of two global brands. She is also a best-selling Author, Award-winner serial Entrepreneur, and keynote speaker.

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