About the 2009 Speakers

Jay Zimmerman, chairman of Bingham, has led the firm during a period of significant growth that has placed it in the top echelon of U.S. law firms. In building Bingham's national and international platforms, Jay has successfully adapted many of the value-creation and merger and acquisition strategies of traditional corporations to law-firm management, combining strategic discipline with a decisive approach to emerging opportunities...

Dennis Berger is senior vice president of coworker services and executive committee member for CDW, a FORTUNE 500 company and a leading provider of technology products and services for business, government and education...

Gary Ross is general manager, corporate communications, at CDW Corporation, a leading provider of technology products and services for business, government and education.  In this role, Mr. Ross oversees internal communications, public relations and community relations for the company... 

Dixon Schwabl has been listed as one of the Best Small Companies to Work for for four years, appearing as #1 on the 2008 list.

Milton Moskowitz has coauthored the Fortune "100 Best Companies to Work for" list with Robert Levering since 1998. A longtime journalist, Moskowitz has been writing about corporate social responsibility since 1968...

Marcus Erb is a consultant with the Great Place to Work^® Institute, based at the San Francisco headquarters. Marcus brings a broad base of knowledge and experience to the Institute, employing a consulting philosophy to enable and equip organizations to make positive change in their workplace...

Best known as co-author of FORTUNE's annual 100 Best Companies to Work For® list, Robert Levering has been fascinated with the phenomenon of great workplaces for more than 20 years. Along with co-author Milton Moskowitz, Robert wrote the best-selling first book on this subject in 1984, The 100 Best Companies to Work for in America...

Amy Lyman, Ph.D. is a co-founder, and currently the Director of Corporate Research for the Great Place to Work^® Institute.   In addition to overseeing Research and Analysis for the Institute, Amy Lyman works with leaders and managers on the interpretation of results and the design of action plans, serving as an advisor to leaders as they seek to transform their organizations into great workplaces...

Lindsay Nelson is an associate consultant for the Great Place to Work^® Institute, based in San Francisco. Lindsay joined the Institute in 2004 and is currently responsible for developing and facilitating learning networks that connect leaders from the FORTUNE 100 Best Companies to Work for® as well as leaders from companies seeking to transform their workplaces...

Holly N. Petroff is a Consultant at Great Place to Work^® Institute, Inc., which each year evaluates and selects the companies to be recognized in the FORTUNE 100 Best Companies to Work For list.  Holly works with leaders to create and sustain great workplaces with a particular focus on workplace assessment and analysis...

Jennifer Robin is a Consultant in our San Francisco office. She holds a Ph.D. in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from the University of Tennessee and undergraduate degrees in both Human Resource Management and Psychology from the University of Northern Iowa...

Laurel D. Smylie is an Associate Consultant with the Great Place to Work Institute®, based at the San Francisco headquarters.  In her role as Associate Consultant, she partners with clients, guiding them through Trust Index© survey process, ensuring they receive meaningful and actionable data...

Suzanne M. Johnson Vickberg, PhD, is a Senior Consultant and the Assessment Practice Lead at the Great Place to Work® Institute, Inc., which each year evaluates and selects the companies to be recognized on Fortune Magazine’s list of the 100 Best Companies to Work For. Suzanne works with leaders to create and sustain great workplaces — in organizations that have already reached greatness in this regard, and in those that aspire to do so...

Kim Bentley is assistant vice president of Corporate Communications for JM Family Enterprises, Inc., a $12.2 billion diversified automotive company headquartered in Deerfield Beach, Florida.  In this position, she is responsible for the company's internal and external communications, corporate giving, company wide events and creative services...

Carmen Johnson is vice president of Human Resources (HR) and Total Rewards for JM Family Enterprises, Inc. (JM Family), a diversified automotive company headquartered in Deerfield Beach, Fla.  In this position, she leads an HR team of four vice presidents, nine directors and their staffs, for over 4,700 associates...

Sandra Porceng is vice president of Total Rewards for JM Family Enterprises, Inc. (JM Family), a $12.2 billion diversified automotive company headquartered in Deerfield Beach, Fla.  In this position, Sandra is responsible for Compensation, Retirement Services, Benefits, Worker's Compensation, Relocation and Human Resources Data Management for more than 4,700 associates in each of the company's seven business units...

Ken Yerves is president of JM Service Center LLC (JMSC) and executive vice president, chief administrative officer and chief information officer of parent company JM Family Enterprises, Inc. (JM Family), a $12.2 billion diversified automotive company. 

As president of JMSC, Yerves is responsible for the company's internal shared services center...

Sergio Nacach is currently Vice President Andean Region and KCP Latin American Operations at Kimberly-Clark.  He supervises Country Managers of Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela, being responsible for a 4,800 people team and managing a region generating one billion dollars in revenue.

Sylvia Brandes has over 25 years experience in managing strategic total compensation, performance management and benefits functions across several different industries. Sylvia is currently National Director Compensation at KPMG responsible for the strategic design, development and administration of the firm's employee total compensation programs...

By way of background, Joe has over 20 years of experience in the HR profession. Joe has been associated with three organizations throughout his professional career: Macy's New York, Coopers & Lybrand and KPMG...

Dave Morante is an accomplished HR professional, having held a variety of Human Resources positions spanning 3 different industries over the last 15 years.  He has spent the past 6 years in the Real Estate sector...

Louise Foreman has been the Executive Vice President, Human Resources, for the last 13 years of her 31-year career with Navy Federal Credit Union.  Navy Federal offers the full spectrum of financial services to a membership that includes Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, National Guard, and DoD civilian personnel and their families...

Vic Buzachero is currently a Corporate Senior Vice President with Scripps Health in San Diego.  Since joining Scripps in 2001, Scripps has been recognized by AARP and Working Mother Magazine as a top employer as well as being ranked #56 by Fortune Magazine's Top 100 Employers in 2008...

Scripps Healthcare was named to the "100 Best" list for the first time in 2008.

Anthony "Tony" J. Parella is President and Chief Executive Officer of Shared Technologies. He joined the company in June 2002. Prior to his service with Shared Technologies, Parella was a co-founder of Allegiance Telecom in 1997 and served in a variety of executive management positions...

Ultimate Software has been named to the "Best Small & Medium Companies to Work for" list four times, and was named the #1 Medium-Sized Company to Work for in 2008.

Ray Davis, President and CEO of Umpqua Holdings Corporation, is successfully pioneering a new approach to financial services that emphasizes cutting edge product delivery and technology, in addition to ground-breaking store designs that engage and excite customers.  In addition to innovation, Davis has built Umpqua on the belief that a strong culture is a critical part of building a great company, one able to survive and thrive in even the toughest economic environments...