Membership Meeting
Presented by
Topic: Regional Workforce Development
This month's Williamson, Inc. Membership Luncheon, presented by Williamson Medical Center, hosts a panel of key influencers in Williamson County for hiring, retaining, and developing our local workforce. Our private sector panelists represent companies in different industries that have local employment between 400 and 1,000.
Panelists include: Cheryl Desantis, VP of People & Organization at Mars Petcare; Alex Hughes, VP of Talent Attraction and Retention for the Greater Nashville Chamber of Commerce; Armando Lopez, Executive Director of HR at Ramsey Solutions; and Robert Mills, Chief Information Officer at Tractor Supply Co.
Because workforce is not limited to county boundaries, the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce will provide a regional context for workforce trends. You will hear a comprehensive view of our existing and future workforce and the impact of our educational institutions on our labor in Middle Tennessee.
Join us Tuesday, Oct. 18 for an informative look at our regional workforce. Register online by noon on Friday, Oct. 14 to avoid the $5 late fee and receive a pre-meeting list of attendees. Registration is non-refundable and non-transferable.
Speakers:
Cheryl Desantis
VP of People and Organization
Mars Petcare
www.mars.com |
Cheryl DeSantis is vice president of P&O for Mars Petcare North America, headquartered in Franklin, Tenn. Cheryl leads the combined Broadly Distributed Brands (BDB) and Pet Specialty (SPT) P&O team and is accountable for North America regional P&O responsibilities including leading the “One Mars” Talent focus.
DeSantis was previously vice president of P&O for Nutro & Mars Specialty North America. DeSantis played a critical role in continuing to develop Nutro into a role model organization that is led by highly engaged and capable Associates, while building the next generation of leaders sought after within Mars and beyond. Prior to that role, she was at Mars Corporate in McLean where she was the vice president of P&O. While at Mars Corporate, DeSantis partnered with the senior functional vice presidents to ensure Mars had the right people strategies in each function; that Mars was developing, engaging and nurturing Associates throughout Corporate; and that there was the right environment to drive happiness, fulfillment and energy. She was also the global co-champion for the Make the Difference program.
DeSantis began her Mars career in 2005 as part of the North American Remuneration Team. In that role, she evolved the way Mars communicates pay and benefits at Mars by introducing Total Rewards and guiding Associates in the US through many benefit changes, including the launch of the US health and wellness program, HealthTracks. In October of 2008, she joined the global P&O team with a specific aim of aligning our P&O messages and helping to communicate and embed global strategy and priorities.
Prior to coming to Mars, DeSantis spent five years at Watson Wyatt Worldwide, a global human capital consulting firm, as a Practice Leader, where she led communications for all disciplines within HR. There, she helped guide major organizations (including Mars) through transformative change that dealt with global people strategies. Prior to her HR career, Cheryl spent five years in public relations and marketing.
DeSantis, her husband, Joe, and their three daughters, Marlie, Jessie and Ava reside in the Nashville area. Outside work, Cheryl coaches her daughters’ basketball teams and enjoys cooking and yoga.
Alex Hughes
VP of Talent Attraction and Retention
Greater Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce
www.nashvillechamber.com |
Alex Hughes is a native to Nashville and graduate of Belmont University, where she earned her Bachelor of Science degree with an emphasis in public relations and biology. Her areas of expertise include workforce retention, program development and management, public relations and digital media and event programming and planning.
In her current role as VP, talent attraction and retention for the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce, Hughes leads the expanded effort to ensure that the workforce meets the needs of the region’s expanding economy. She engages a broad cross section of partners to provide quality programs and services to the region’s existing businesses, relocating companies, HR professionals, young professionals, universities, Veterans and local organizations and to support workforce development.
Key programs and initiatives under her supervision include strategic planning for regional talent needs, workforce support for relocating and expanding companies, human resource and young professional programming; WorkIT Nashville, LiveIt Nashville, YP Nashville and the Nashville Emerging Leader Awards programs; NashvilleJobsLink.com, a community Web-based recruiting tool; and the Intern Nashville program.
Previously, Hughes served as the talent retention manager for the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce, where she was the primary contact for individuals looking to find a career or get involved within the Nashville region. She also held the position of member relations coordinator for the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce where she was responsible for the engagement and retention of first and second year members. She was also instrumental in planning, developing and implementing a multi-faceted organization-wide marketing and membership campaign.
She has been an active member of the Nashville Zoo since 2009 and was the young leaders representative on the organization’s board of directors in 2013. Previously, she served as a judge for the Student of Integrity scholarship program through the Better Business Bureau. Hughes is a member of MT|SHRM, TACE and serves on the board for the Nashville Serving Veteran’s Community Board through the TN Dept. of Veteran Services. She is a graduate of Young Leaders Council and Nashville Junior Chamber Leadership Institute. Currently, she serves on the board of directors for Bridges for the Deaf and Special Olympics of Tennessee.
Armando Lopez
Executive Director of HR
Ramsey Solutions
www.daveramsey.com |
With over 20 years of experience in Human Resource functions and Recruiting, Armando Lopez is leading Ramsey Solutions in the task of creating an integrated HR system that foster a full-life cycle approach to team member development.
With the rapid growth of Ramsey Solutions, our HR team’s primary focus is to make sure they hire the right people, get them in the right seat on the bus, provide great benefits, and maintain a team culture that is all about providing hope and changing lives.
Robert Mills, SVP
Chief Information Officer
Tractor Supply Company
www.tractorsupply.com |
Rob Mills is a highly respected technology executive with a distinguished career spanning more than 20 years in strategic technology planning, digital channels, and operations leadership in customer-oriented environments. His expertise leveraging custom and package solutions —including SAP, ATG, JDA, Manhattan, SAS, IBM WebCommerce and open source technologies — enables Mr. Mills to outpace competitors and establish new industry standards by providing high-level direction to drive innovation and direct market-leading products and services. He offers a proven record of success in developing strong teams and organizational structures to build CRM applications, loyalty programs, finance, pricing analytics, and Web / mobile platforms and analytics solutions, as well as improving customer experience through design of leading-edge Web, mobile, and retail integration.
Mr. Mills joined Tractor Supply Company in 2014 as their SVP, Chief Information Officer, where he quickly made substantial impacts on IT performance, ecommerce platform stability, and merchandising analytics. Upon joining Tractor Supply Company, he initiated a major overhaul to IT and Engineering operations, including consolidating and streamlining roles, implementing an on- and off-shore model, and establishing career development paths to maximize his team’s potential. Mr. Mills also developed a comprehensive three-year technology plan to manage the rapid and aggressive expansion of both the retail and ecommerce business. Mr. Mills was recently named the 2015 CIO of the Year by The Nashville Business Journal for the Public Company category. He was one of 2 honorees.
Prior to joining Tractor Supply Company, Mr. Mills served as the Chief Information Officer at Ulta Beauty and at Sears Holdings Corporation. At Ulta, he supported the growth of over 400+ retail locations, accelerated their ecommerce growth, introduced mobility and CRM capabilities throughout the organization and modernized their ERP solution. In his final role at Sears as Chief Information Officer of the Online Business Unit, Mr. Mills was instrumental in positioning the Sears and Kmart brands as key players in retail and ecommerce sectors. By continually incorporating emerging technologies and strategies, including in-store mobility, integrated mobile applications, social media and analytics, and a centralized call center, Mr. Mills vastly improved relationships with existing and new customers. During this time, he also achieved dramatic improvements to IT operations and processes through implementation of Agile methodologies, improved team collaboration, creation of formal architecture and project governance boards, and recruitment of top talent within the United States and abroad. Mr. Mills was a member of the Sears and Kmart merger team; he was instrumental in managing the consolidated technical roadmap to ensure a seamless transition and integration.
Mr. Mills’ early career includes technology and customer-focused roles with Allstate Life Insurance, Rockwell International and Household Finance Corporation (HSBC North America).
Mr. Mills has two patents with the United States Patent Office — System and Method for Providing Self Service Checkout and Product Delivery Using a Mobile Device and Systems and Method for Managing Orders Made via a Computer Network.
Mr. Mills possesses as Master’s Degree from DePaul University and holds a Leadership Certification from Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management. He is an active member of several professional and industry organizations.
Tuesday Oct 18, 2016
11:30 AM - 1:00 PM CDT
Tuesday, October 18
11 a.m. - Registration & Networking
11:30 a.m. - 1 p.m. - Lunch & Program
Embassy Suites
820 Crescent Centre Drive
Franklin, TN 37067
Chamber Members: $35
Guests: $55
$5 Late fee added after noon on Monday, Oct. 17.
Abby Bass
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