Managing Director & Global Head of Talent, Morgan Stanley

Susan Reid is Managing Director and Global Head of Talent at Morgan Stanley, where she leads talent acquisition, leadership development, and inclusion for a global workforce. She sits on the Firm's Management Committee and helped launch the Morgan Stanley Institute for Inclusion. She also serves on the boards of Safe Horizon and Coqual. Susan believes that talent is universal, but opportunity is not—and leaders have the power to create change.

Braunstein Family Professor and Chair of Organizational Behavior, Cornell University

Vanessa Bohns is the Braunstein Family Professor and Chair of Organizational Behavior at Cornell University's ILR School. A social psychologist, she is an expert on help-seeking, social influence, compliance, and consent—why it's so hard to ask for things and say no. Her research has been covered by the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and New Yorker. Her first book, You Have More Influence Than You Think, was a Financial Times Business Title of the Month.

Former Navy SEAL & Director of Safety and Health

John Collins is a former Navy SEAL and high-performance leader whose story redefines what it means to persevere. After failing and restarting SEAL training multiple times, he earned his Trident on his sixth attempt. From that experience, he developed MARCH, a framework built on Mentality, Adaptability, Resilience, Consistency, and Humility. Now a Director of Safety and Health, John brings these principles into the corporate world to help teams perform under pressure.

Associate Professor, University of Oregon | Director, Intelligent Futures Lab

Alex Murray studies the friction that technology is engineering out of our lives, and makes the case that in creative work, some of it is worth keeping. As an Associate Professor at the University of Oregon and director of the Intelligent Futures Lab, he researches how AI is reshaping the way we collaborate, organize, and govern ourselves. This work has been featured in Nature, the Financial Times, and Forbes. He serves as Senior Editor at Organization Science.

Co-Founder, Select Date Society | Luxury Matchmaker

Amber Lee is the Co-Founder of Select Date Society and a luxury matchmaker with 28 years of experience creating meaningful, lasting connections for discerning singles. A Certified Matchmaker and Certified Strategic Intervention Coach, she also leads Gottman's 7 Principles of Making Marriage Work program and sits on the board of the Global Love Institute. Her work has been featured in Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Post, and The New York Times.

Assistant Professor of Management, University at Albany, SUNY

C. Blaine Horton Jr. is an Assistant Professor of Management at the University at Albany, SUNY, where he studies creativity, innovation, and how people develop, evaluate, and communicate ideas. His research has been featured in The Economist, The Wall Street Journal, Fast Company, and Salon. Before research, Blaine worked as an actor in film and theater, a path that shapes his fascination with compelling ideas. His work now explores creativity and human–AI collaboration.

Assistant Professor of Management, University of Colorado-Denver

Genevieve Gregorich is a social scientist, educator, and entrepreneur working to build a more prosperous, connected society. She is an Assistant Professor of Management at the University of Colorado-Denver and holds a PhD from Columbia Business School, where her research explores how leaders navigate competing pressures and how beliefs shape social and economic behavior. Her previous TEDx talk drew audiences of over half a million views within a few months.

Educator, Systems Thinker & Author

Guillermo Martín is an educator, systems thinker, and author of The Cooperation Paradigm. With a background in environmental science and over a decade in education, his work explores what allows people, organizations, and societies to thrive. Drawing on systems thinking and game theory, he argues trust and cooperation enable freedom and long-term abundance. Originally from Spain and based in North Carolina, Guillermo brings clarity to questions about human flourishing.

Associate Professor of Public Administration and International Affairs, Maxwell School

Michael John Williams is Associate Professor of Public Administration and International Affairs at the Maxwell School, Senior Associate at CSIS, and editor-in-chief of International Politics. An expert on NATO, U.S. foreign policy, and international security, he has authored three books, most recently Science, Law and Liberalism in the American Way of War. He holds degrees from Delaware, Humboldt, and the London School of Economics.

Chief Executive Officer, 100 Women in Finance

Rehana Farrell became CEO of 100 Women in Finance in March 2025, joining from Youth INC, a nonprofit she spun out and led for a decade. She previously served as COO of Cain Hoy Enterprises, a private equity firm she helped found in 2014, and held senior roles at Merrill Lynch and Prudential Financial. Farrell holds an AB in Economics from Smith College and an MBA from Columbia Business School, and serves on the board of Andover National. She lives in Princeton, NJ.

Founder, Château George 7

Sally Evans is the founder of Château George 7, an award-winning boutique winery on the right bank of Bordeaux, France, which she built from scratch with no prior wine experience. After an international career at Accenture, she made a bold midlife decision to reinvent her life, transforming old vines and neglected buildings into a critically acclaimed estate. She published her bestseller, Make the Midlife Move: A Practical Guide to Flourish After 50, in 2024.

Keynote Speaker & CEO, Thought Leader Media

Sara Connell is a keynote speaker, five-time bestselling author, and CEO of Thought Leader Media, who helps leaders unlock the human intelligence that drives creativity, trust, and growth in the fast-moving age of AI. Her neuroscience-backed framework is trusted by Fortune 500 companies including GE, Johnson & Johnson, and Estée Lauder. Featured on Oprah, The New York Times, Forbes, and NBC, Sara is a leading voice on innovation and the future of leadership.

Poet Laureate of Glastonbury, CT

Victoria Nordlund is the Poet Laureate of Glastonbury, CT, and lead master teaching artist of the Nook Farm Writers Collaborative at The Mark Twain House & Museum. A 2016 semifinalist for CT Teacher of the Year, she also received the New England Association of Teachers of English Poet-of-the-Year Award. Her poetry collections Wine-Dark Sea and Binge Watching Winter on Mute are published by Main Street Rag, and she is a Best of the Net and Pushcart Prize nominee.