Speakers

Heather E. McGowan is a future-of-work strategist, keynote speaker, and two-time bestselling author recognised by Forbes as one of the world’s top futurists. She helps leaders and organisations navigate relentless change by activating their people—teaching them to ask better questions, adapt faster, and turn empathy and curiosity into strategic advantage.

Drawing on a career that spans industrial design, socially responsive investing, and award-winning academic innovation, Heather brings data-driven insight, powerful visual frameworks, and practical optimism to audiences at organisations like Google, JPMorgan Chase, Accenture, Mastercard, FedEx, AT&T, and Kaiser Permanente. Her books The Adaptation Advantage and The Empathy Advantage have been widely acclaimed, with the latter named a Top 10 Business Book of 2023. Her mission: help leaders Solve Tomorrow’s Problems™ by rethinking how we work, learn, and lead.

Vernice “FlyGirl” Armour is a leadership speaker, author, and business consultant whose story has made her one of the most distinctive voices in modern leadership. She is widely recognised as America’s first Black female combat pilot, and before stepping onto global stages she built an extraordinary path that included service as a police officer, soldier, and United States Marine.

Known simply as “FlyGirl,” Vernice turns high-stakes lessons from service and combat into practical leadership principles for organisations navigating pressure, change, and growth. Her message centres on making gutsy moves, meeting challenges head-on, and helping teams rally around one mission, one goal, one team.

After leaving the military in 2007, she built her own company and translated her experiences into a breakthrough-focused methodology that now powers her speaking, consulting, and coaching work. Through that work, she helps leaders own the room, lead with courage, and move their people with mission-driven clarity.

Vernice is also the author of Zero to Breakthrough: The 7-Step, Battle-Tested Method for Accomplishing Goals that Matter, a book inspired by her own journey from beat cop to combat pilot and built around the belief that breakthroughs are created through preparation, strategy, courage, and action. Her perspective is bold, energetic, and deeply actionable—making her a compelling fit for audiences looking for leadership that is memorable, human, and immediately useful.

Kelly Satterfield is a Rewards and Recognition Executive within Awardco’s Centre of Excellence, with over 15 years’ experience leading HR strategy, people analytics and employee experience initiatives across global organisations. She specialises in turning data into actionable insights that drive engagement, performance and culture, helping organisations build high-performing, people-first workplaces.

Henna Pryor, CSP, is a dynamic Workplace Performance Expert who speaks and writes about performance mindset, interpersonal dynamics, high-impact communication, and embracing the bumps in a world that keeps optimising for smoothness.

She is a regular expert columnist for Inc. Magazine, the 18-time award-winning author of Good Awkward, and an in-demand global keynote speaker. Her playful personality and insightful talks blend two decades of working with corporate leaders and teams with a fresh, science-based approach to taking more strategic risks and boosting social and mental fitness for success at work. Her clients call her their “secret weapon for impossible change”, an honour she wears proudly.

In addition to speaking for TEDx and SXSW, and being frequently tapped by media outlets such as Business.com, FastCompany, INSIDER, HuffPost, NBC, FOX and more, she is a SUCCESS Magazine Woman of Influence, a LinkedIn Learning Instructor and a Glassdoor WorkLife Pro. Her book was also named a Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year.

Sabina Carlheim-Gyllenskiold is Global Director of Solution Engineering at Awardco, where she leads enterprise solution engineering efforts and supports EMEA opportunities across demos, technical discovery, RFPs, integrations, and proof-of-concept strategy. Based in London and originally from Sweden, she is known for translating complex product and technical concepts into clear, compelling customer experiences.

Katie Bell is a Principal Solutions Engineer at Awardco who partners with account executives to map business requirements to technical capabilities and deliver compelling customer experiences through demos, solution design, and proof-of-concept strategy. Based in Fort Worth, Texas, she brings a background across HR leadership, HR technology, and solutions engineering, with deep experience helping organisations evaluate employee experience and recognition solutions.

Shane Stanley is a Senior Solutions Engineer at Awardco who helps prospects evaluate recognition and engagement solutions through live demos, consultative solution design, and practical platform guidance. Having progressed from Account Executive to Senior Solutions Engineer at Awardco, he brings a strong mix of sales insight, product expertise, and customer-facing strategy to every opportunity.

Eric Roley is a Senior Solutions Engineer at Awardco who helps prospects evaluate recognition and engagement solutions through consultative demos, technical guidance, and solution-focused customer conversations. Having progressed from Implementation Specialist to Sales Engineer to Senior Solutions Engineer at Awardco, he brings a strong blend of product knowledge, implementation experience, and customer-facing strategy to every opportunity.

Kevin Mefford is a Senior Principal Solutions Engineer at Awardco who helps prospects evaluate recognition and engagement solutions through consultative demos, technical guidance, and strategic solution design. With a background in market research, customer experience, and employee experience platforms, he is known for translating complex product capabilities into practical, customer-focused conversations.

Gabriella Serrato is a dedicated Compensation & Recognition Programme Manager at Okta, where she focuses on enhancing the employee experience and engagement through meaningful rewards and recognition. She is passionate about creating impactful recognition programmes and compensation initiatives that foster a positive workplace culture and support professional development. She is committed to designing initiatives that not only recognise employee contributions, but also drive organisational success.

Throughout her career, Gabriella has been dedicated to building impactful programmes that nurture talent and promote a motivated workforce. Outside of her professional life, you’ll usually find her travelling, spending time with family, or cheering loudly from the sidelines at her daughters' cheerleading and football matches.

DeAndre believes that by unlocking the body and mind through a regular yoga practice, everything else in life becomes more aligned. Whether he is upside-down in a handstand or in seated meditation, he is simply striving to be present. Despite his extensive yoga experience, he still considers himself a lifelong student of the practice and is constantly discovering new physical, mental and spiritual dimensions.

With over 30 years at Accenture, Brian has held many roles, from transforming healthcare systems for hospitals and insurance providers to designing innovative learning solutions that equip Accenture’s global workforce to bring their best skills to their clients. Today, Brian leads Accenture’s global recognition programme within the Total Rewards team, where he empowers 770,000 employees worldwide to perform at their best — and ensures they’re recognised for it.

Based in Austin, Texas, Brian’s life outside the office is just as dynamic. Whether he's raising two teenage boys, carving turns on the water or snow, riding his motorcycle cross-country, or tinkering under the bonnet of his cars, Brian’s passion for adventure and hands-on projects never stops.

Matt Turner, MA. Matt is Intermountain Health’s Director of Caregiver Experience. In this role, he is responsible for caregiver experience strategy, including survey management, goal setting, improvement consulting, journey mapping, flexible working, recognition, and awards.

An industrial/organisational psychologist, Matt joined Intermountain in 2022 with 25 years of organisational development and consulting experience. Prior to joining Intermountain, Matt served as Vice President of Physician Solutions at Press Ganey, and Assistant Vice President of Leadership and Organisational Development at Atrium Health. His published articles, book chapters, national presentations, and consulting work have focused on building a best-in-class culture for caregivers and physicians in service of exceptional patient care.

Christina Brodzik is a principal at Deloitte Consulting LLP, where she leads the culture and leadership practice within human capital.

Tyler Coggins is Senior Director of Customer Success at Awardco, now in his 8th year with the company. He started as a CSM, partnering with enterprise customers like JPMorgan Chase and Texas Roadhouse, and has since grown into a leadership role overseeing the CSM and Support departments and leading Awardco's Customer Advisory Board. A South Carolina native and Brigham Young University graduate, Tyler brings the same focus and energy from his endurance pursuits, Ironman triathlons and ultramarathons, to building lasting, high-trust partnerships with every client he works with.

As a TAM, I work with enterprise customers to make complex programmes and integrations feel manageable. A lot of my work is connecting the dots between what customers need, what systems can do, and what it takes to make things run smoothly day to day. I enjoy solving problems, asking the right questions, and turning technical details into clear, practical next steps. I’m passionate about building strong partnerships and helping teams create recognition programmes that work well for everyone involved!

As a Technical Account Manager, I help clients get the most out of their Awardco programmes—from creating engaging recognition experiences to solving complex platform challenges. I enjoy partnering with administrators to simplify the details and tailor Awardco to each organisation’s unique strategy. I am passionate about recognition and believe in the positive impact it can have on morale, culture, and employee satisfaction.

Aubrey Vispisiano is an employee experience and talent brand professional with over 13 years’ experience building programmes that strengthen culture, connection and engagement. Her background spans employee experience, talent brand, recruitment marketing, internal communications and programme strategy.

As an Employee Experience Manager at CrowdStrike, Aubrey leads global programmes across employee recognition, culture and engagement, onboarding and company-wide experiences. Prior to CrowdStrike, she held leadership roles at late-stage, hypergrowth technology companies including Nomad Health and Procore Technologies, where she built and scaled talent brand strategies. Earlier in her career at Booz Allen Hamilton and iCIMS, she supported global talent initiatives across diverse markets and employee populations.

Aubrey is passionate about designing human-centred experiences that are globally consistent, locally relevant and built to scale, turning employee insights into meaningful programmes that strengthen culture and connection.

Elizabeth Okamura brings over 25 years of experience in corporate total rewards to her current role as Director of Executive Compensation at AT&T. She specialises in executive and management compensation design and strategy, incentive compensation, Board of Directors compensation committee support, proxy disclosures, total rewards, M&A, and awards and recognition. Elizabeth is particularly dedicated to effectively communicating compensation and total rewards.

She enjoys travelling with her three daughters, cheering for Duke basketball, and growing vegetables with varying degrees of success. She is a graduate of Texas A&M University and is a Certified Compensation Professional.

Kristin is a Principal within Deloitte’s Human Capital practice, specialising in HR & Talent technology and organisational transformation, with over 20 years of combined industry and consulting experience. She delivers large-scale, global solutions enabled by Cloud HCM and AI, focusing on employee experience and sustained organisational performance, with an emphasis on the Energy, Resources & Industrials sector.

James is the Senior Group Product Manager overseeing the vision and strategy for the Engage Product. Passionate about solutions that address the real problems HR leaders face every day, James advocates tirelessly for customers, ensuring their voice is heard in every decision his teams make. With over a decade of experience in product development, James has launched numerous innovative solutions across diverse industries—HR tech, direct-to-consumer goods, and library software—that have brought real change to users' lives. When he's not building the next generation of tech solutions, he's collecting Labubus, chasing his cats away from his plants, and taking his dog on their third walk of the day.

Jill heads up product marketing at Awardco and nothing gets her more excited than communicating product value to customers. She loves understanding the data behind ‘the why,’ and then working with our teams to translate it into assets and programmes that ultimately benefit our customers.

Her diverse background, spanning global business expansion to selling craft products on live TV, gives her a unique perspective on how we can best bring the Awardco platform story to life.

Outside of work, you can find her reading, planning her next holiday, or hanging out with her three-legged orange cat.

Rebecca brings a long-standing interest in the effective development of positive workplace habits to her role as Accenture's product owner for recognition in the Americas. As an academic, she explored the best ways to teach people to communicate effectively, and she earned a doctorate in English with a specialism in Language, Literacy, and Rhetoric based on her research into the pedagogy of argumentation—a focus that interleaves well with Accenture's recognition vision of reinforcing essential leadership behaviours, empowering shared success, and inspiring people to recognise the accomplishments, milestones, and unique traits of one another in the workplace.

At Accenture, she has led teams focused on creating durable, learner-focused learning experiences, advancing the design-thinking mindset, and cultivating a culture of recognition across a global organisation of 770,000+ employees

Tamika Shuler-Boyd is a Vice President in Employee Recognition & Engagement at JPMorganChase, where she leads strategic programmes that celebrate and support employees throughout their career journey. With more than 30 years of experience spanning financial operations, project management, product leadership, and employee experience, Tamika is recognised for driving innovative, employee-focused solutions that strengthen engagement, recognition, and workplace culture. She currently leads key programmes including Global Service Anniversary and U.S. Employee Discounts, helping deliver meaningful experiences and valuable benefits to employees across the firm.

Tamara Sheehan is the Director of Global People Operations at Rain, the AI financial health platform that has paid out over $6 billion in earned wages to 4 million employees across 1,800 employers. At Rain, Tamara owns the people operations function end-to-end — HR tech stack, compensation (both cash and equity), compliance, benefits, and people data — and has spent more than two decades building people operations that function as genuine business partners rather than back-office support, using workforce and engagement data to shape decisions on compensation strategy, benefits design, and organisational structure, and to make the case to executives for where and why to invest in their people. That data-driven, business-first approach has been tested across some of the most consequential moments a people leader faces: guiding two companies (SpaceIQ, acquired by WeWork, and ChooChee, acquired by Deutsche Telekom) through acquisition due diligence and post-close integration, and managing global compliance and people operations for a multi-country workforce today. Tamara also spent several years as an independent People Operations and Business Management consultant, advising startup leadership teams on how to use workforce data to close the gap between where their people programmes were and where their business needed them to be. She brings that same lens to conversations about proving the ROI of people programmes: engagement and workforce data aren't just reporting tools — they're how you build the business case that earns leadership's continued trust and investment.

Dani Kurtz is the Caregiver Experience Manager at Intermountain Health, a former nurse turned recognition strategist who believes appreciation is one of the most powerful drivers of engagement, culture, and performance. With 21 years at Intermountain—including a decade as a bedside labour and delivery nurse and ten years leading enterprise innovation and initiatives—she brings a unique perspective that spans patient care, operations, communications, HR, and caregiver experience.

Known for blending strategy with heart, Dani created and leads Intermountain Health's L.O.V.E. Awards programme and oversees enterprise recognition efforts that celebrate and elevate the contributions of more than 68,000 caregivers. She partners closely with leaders throughout the organisation to strengthen cultures of belonging through meaningful recognition, leadership development, and evidence-based practices that help people feel valued, connected, and inspired to do their best work.

Outside of work, you'll find Dani shopping with her daughter, cheering her son on at his basketball and football matches, cooking dinner with her husband, or planning the family's next adventure.

Tabi Charlet is an Organisational Development Manager at Insight, based in Phoenix, Arizona. She has been part of Insight’s Culture and Engagement team since 2018, where she helps shape the teammate experience and performance management through key global initiatives. Tabi’s work spans programmes such as recognition, global feedback cycle, the talent review process, performance management and goal setting. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in History, with a minor in Family and Health Studies, from the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater. Tabi also earned her Human Resources Specialist Certificate, Professional in Human Resources (PHR) certification and Brain-based Coaching certification from the NeuroLeadership Institute. Originally from Illinois, Tabi relocated to Arizona in 2018 and quickly embraced the desert lifestyle—hot summers included. Outside of work, she enjoys watching movies, reading fantasy and sci-fi novels, and spending time with her husband and their two cats.

Melissa is a Talent and Organizational Development leader with nearly two decades of experience designing learning strategies that strengthen leadership, elevate performance, and build engaged, resilient teams. A DDI® and DiSC® certified facilitator and founding partner of the Hispanic Corporate Council of Atlanta, she brings deep expertise in organizational culture, workforce engagement, and associate development at all levels of the organization. Outside of work, she enjoys spending as much time outdoors as possible, staying active and enjoying time with her family and friends.

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Kasi Steinheimer is the Senior Manager of Broad-based Compensation, overseeing Enterprise Rewards and Recognition Programmes for broad-based (non-executive) employees at Lockheed Martin. Kasi is a seasoned HR professional with over 15 years of experience, specialising in Total Rewards. Her expertise and dedication play a pivotal role in managing and enhancing the company's recognition systems, ensuring employees are rewarded and recognised in meaningful ways, which contributes to a positive work environment. Kasi holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Colorado. She lives in Golden, Colorado, with her husband and two daughters. Kasi enjoys hiking the trails behind her home, a tidy house and a good audiobook.

Tiffany Pegues is the Director of Enterprise Broad-Based Compensation, Recognition & Incentives at Lockheed Martin, where she leads enterprise compensation strategy supporting more than 100,000 employees worldwide. With over 20 years of experience in Total Rewards, Tiffany has led enterprise initiatives spanning compensation architecture, job taxonomy modernisation, HR technology transformation, recognition strategy, and workforce transformation.

Known for translating complex business challenges into practical people solutions, Tiffany is passionate about creating Total Rewards strategies that strengthen the employee experience while supporting business objectives. She believes meaningful recognition is one of the most powerful tools leaders have to build trust, reinforce culture, and inspire high performance.

Tiffany earned both her MBA and Bachelor's degree in Human Resources Management from the University of New Mexico. Outside of work, Tiffany enjoys spending time with her husband and two daughters, travelling, exploring wine country and cheering on her daughters at golf tournaments and cheerleading competitions.

With over three decades of dedicated service at Chick-fil-A, my journey began as a

team member in an Atlanta restaurant. During university, I transitioned to the Support

Centre as the front desk receptionist, which provided a wonderful opportunity to connect

with everyone at Chick-fil-A. My university education is in Office Administration from

Clayton State College & University.

Over the years, I have had the privilege of advancing through various roles within the

People function, including HR Interviewer, Senior Executive Assistant, and Project

Specialist. Currently, I lead Chick-fil-A’s Family Care Benefits and Accolades Staff

Recognition Programme.

My favourite aspect of Chick-fil-A is the organisation’s incredible generosity and genuine

care for its people, both personally and professionally. My favourite Chick-fil-A menu item

is Waffle Fries!

Outside of work, I enjoy spending time with my two amazing children and extended

family in Atlanta, especially when we can gather around the table for good food and

great conversation.

Kate Gilkey is an HR technology and employee experience leader with over 15 years of experience driving workforce transformation through people strategy, product management, and digital innovation. She specialises in designing scalable HR solutions that improve employee experiences while enabling organisations to operate more effectively and efficiently. As Senior HR Systems Manager at CrowdStrike, Kate develops employee lifecycle technology strategies and transformation initiatives across the HR ecosystem. Her recent work includes launching an enterprise skills programme, modernising onboarding experiences, implementing employee recognition technology, and advancing AI education and adoption across HR teams. Prior to CrowdStrike, Kate led employee experience initiatives at Bezos Academy and held HR leadership, product management, and programme management roles at Amazon, where she helped scale workforce technologies and automation solutions supporting employees globally. Kate is passionate about the intersection of AI, skills intelligence, and workforce transformation. Her work focuses on helping HR organisations leverage emerging technologies to create more personalised employee experiences, strengthen workforce capabilities, and prepare for the future of work.

Kristie Schutz is the Director of Employee Experience for UAB Medicine. With over 20 years of professional experience, she is passionate about helping people thrive through meaningful connection, employee engagement, and innovative solutions that support the healthcare workforce. Driven by the belief that exceptional patient care begins with a supported and engaged workforce, she is dedicated to championing a culture where people feel valued, connected, and empowered to do their best work—so they can continue making a lasting difference to the lives of the patients, families, and the communities they serve.

Brenda Betteridge is the Business Development Manager for Professional Education at Utah Valley University (UVU), where she helps organisations develop stronger leaders, build workforce capabilities, and navigate the future of work. With over 30 years of experience in business development, employee engagement, event leadership, and programme management, she is passionate about helping people and organisations grow.

Brenda also serves as UVU’s Employee Recognition Chair, helping oversee recognition initiatives for more than 6,500 faculty and staff members. Through programmes such as Wolverine Sightings and the Distinguished Employee Awards, she has seen firsthand how meaningful recognition strengthens culture, improves engagement, supports retention, and drives performance.

In her role at UVU, Brenda works closely with employers and professionals adapting to rapid workplace change. Much of her current work focuses on AI and workforce development, helping organisations leverage emerging technologies while maintaining the human connection that fuels innovation and success. Her unique combination of experience in AI education and employee recognition provides valuable insight into how leaders can balance technology, culture, and performance.

Known for her warmth, energy, and engaging presentation style, Brenda frequently speaks on leadership, recognition, workplace culture, AI, and change management, inspiring organisations to create environments where people feel valued, connected, and empowered to thrive.

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Joseph is the Senior Group Product Manager for Incentivise, Awardco's upcoming performance and incentive platform. Obsessed with helping customers succeed, he treats discovery as a mindset rather than a phase, working closely with design, engineering, and go-to-market partners to deliver solutions with measurable impact. A product leader with over 15 years of experience designing and scaling B2B platforms, from early-stage startups to public companies, he has led product across HealthTech, EdTech, and SaaS. Joseph holds an MBA in entrepreneurship and innovation from Babson College. Off the clock, he performs improv comedy at ComedyBox in Provo, where he's learned that the best product ideas, like the best scenes, come from listening closely and building together.

Michael is a Group Product Manager at Awardco, where he leads the Marketplace, the place employees around the world turn recognition into rewards they actually want. Driven by a belief that people do their best work when they feel valued, he builds products that make that feeling real. With over 8 years of experience building software products, four of them at Awardco, he works closely with design, engineering, and go-to-market partners to turn customer needs into measurable results. Michael holds an MBA from UVU. Outside of work, Michael is an avid board game enthusiast, and his collection somehow grows almost every week.

Stacey Preator is the Senior Director of Implementation at Awardco, where she leads the implementation team in streamlining operational processes and creating long-term success for clients. With a core passion for education and growth, Stacey began her career as an educator before spending 16 years in educational technology, supporting schools and districts across the country. Now in her second year at Awardco, she has significantly elevated the client onboarding experience by building high-value implementation resources and establishing scalable workflows that set every new customer up for lasting success. Outside of work, Stacey loves travelling, with New York City being a favourite destination, and is the proud grandma of three adorable boys.