Sara’s background is in industrial psychology with a focus on organizational transformation and optimizing business performance. With over 10 years’ experience in the UAE working for local, multinational and government organizations, she uses her depth of experience and cultural awareness to position HR as a strategic business partner. Having lived in over 4 countries and 8 cities, she attributes her success to her strong cultural awareness and her ability to connect with all levels of employees within the organization.

Jon Clifton serves as the CEO of Gallup, the global analytics and advisory firm. His mission is to connect one billion individuals with their unique strengths, assist organizations in fostering thriving workplaces, and help eight billion of the world’s citizens be heard through the Gallup World Poll, a century-long project spanning over 150 countries. After joining Gallup in 2008, Clifton rose to the position of Global Managing Partner in the firm’s consulting division, leveraging behavioral economics to advise leaders.

His 2022 book, “Blind Spot: The Global Rise of Unhappiness,” achieved Wall Street Journal bestseller status. Clifton has also contributed to notable platforms like The Economist, BBC, and the Harvard Business Review. He holds a board position at Gallup and has formerly been a board member for Meridian International, Streetwise Partners, and Young Professionals in Foreign Policy.

Educationally, Clifton earned a bachelor’s degree in political science and history from the University of Michigan and a Juris Doctor specializing in international law from the University of Nebraska. He holds a senior fellowship at Baylor University for the Institute for the Studies of Religion and has been recognized with honorary doctorates from Midland University, the University of North Carolina-Pembroke, and Western New England University.

Johnny C. Taylor, Jr., SHRM-SCP, is President and Chief Executive Officer of SHRM, the Society for Human Resource Management.

With over 300,000 members in 165 countries, SHRM is the largest HR professional association in the world, impacting the lives of 115 million workers every day.

As a global leader on the future of employment, culture and leadership, Mr. Taylor is a sought-after voice on all matters affecting work, workers and the workplace. He is frequently asked to testify before Congress on critical workforce issues and authors a weekly column, “Ask HR,” in USA Today.

Mr. Taylor’s career spans over 20 years as a lawyer, human resources executive and CEO in both the not-for-profit and for-profit space. He has held senior and chief executive roles at IAC/Interactive Corp, Viacom’s Paramount Pictures and Blockbuster Entertainment Group, McGuireWoods LLC, and Compass Group USA. Most recently, Mr. Taylor was President and Chief Executive Officer of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund.

He is a member of the White House American Workforce Policy Advisory Board and was appointed by President Donald Trump as Chairman of the President’s Advisory Board on Historically Black Colleges and Universities. He serves on the boards of the University of Miami, Jobs for America’s Graduates and the American Red Cross and as an adviser to Safe Streets & Second Chances. He is licensed to practice law in Florida, Illinois and Washington, D.C.

Leena Nair is the first female, first Asian, youngest ever CHRO of Unilever and member of the Unilever Leadership Executive (ULE), which is responsible for delivering Unilever’s business & financial performance. Leena bears overall responsibility for the 160,000-strong human capital of Unilever, which operates across multiple regulatory and labour environments spread over 190 countries. She ensures the company has the right people, in the right roles, with the right capabilities and mindset to deliver high business performance. This is a key enabler for Unilever to meet its ambitious business goals with positive environmental and social impact. Throughout her career, Leena has gained a strong reputation for her leadership ability to ignite outstanding business growth. Through always-on learning and constant experimentation, together with an outside-in view of her customer, Leena ensures that her people and business stay ahead of the curve. Leena is also a Non-Executive Director of BT, BEIS (The Department of Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy for the UK) and a member of the board for the Leverhulme Trust. Her purpose is to “ignite the human spark for a better business and better world”.

Josh Bersin is an analyst, author, educator, and thought leader focusing on the global talent market and the challenges and trends impacting business workforces around the world. He studies the world of work, HR and leadership practices, and the broad talent technology market. He is often cited as one of the leading HR and workplace industry analysts in the world.

He founded Bersin & Associates in 2001 to provide research and advisory services focused on corporate learning. Over the next ten years, he expanded the company’s coverage to encompass HR, talent management, talent acquisition, and leadership and became a recognized expert in the talent market.  He sold the company to Deloitte in 2012, when it became known as Bersin™ by Deloitte.   He currently sits on the board of UC Berkeley Executive Education.

Most recently, Bersin launched the Josh Bersin Academy, the world’s first global development academy for HR and talent professionals at all levels and across all industries.  Serving as the Academy’s dean, Bersin guides its program offerings, interacts with members, and shares relevant research and insights to help HR and talent professionals stay current on the trends and practices needed to drive success in the modern world of work.

Bersin is frequently featured in talent and business publications such as Forbes, Harvard Business Review, HR Executive, FastCompany, The Wall Street Journal, and CLO Magazine.  He is a regular keynote speaker at industry events and a popular blogger with more than 800,000 followers on LinkedIn.

Prior to founding Bersin & Associates, Josh spent 25 years in product development, product management, marketing, and sales of database, e-learning and other enterprise technologies. His education includes a BS in engineering from Cornell University, an MS in engineering from Stanford University, and an MBA from the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley.  He is the author of two books, The Blended Learning Handbook and The Training Measurement Book, along with dozens of studies on corporate HR, learning, and talent technologies. He currently has a third book under contract with Harvard Business Publishing.

Josh’s eminence as an analyst and thought leader has been globally recognized. During his time at Deloitte, Josh was the principal author and architect of the Deloitte Human Capital Trends, the world’s largest global study of HR, talent, and workplace trends.  This report, which covers all major HR issues around the world, became one of Deloitte’s most widely read research studies and formed the basis for Deloitte’s global human capital consulting. His model for employee engagement, “Simply Irresistible,” was the most widely read research in the Deloitte Insights website.

His research on employee engagement, new models of performance management, and the ever-changing nature of HR and workplace technology is widely respected. He is often credited with the concepts of “high-impact corporate training,” “learning in the flow of work,” and hundreds of articles on the evolution of people analytics and the use of AI in the workplace.

Throughout his career in HR and HR technology, Josh has continued to focus on the needs of HR executives, HR teams, and the careers of HR professionals. He believes in the “craft” of human resources and is one of the profession’s most vocal advocates for the importance of HR in the ever-changing world of work.

Oshba Mubarak is the Head of Training & Development and People Performance Management at Abu Dhabi Housing Authority., In her capacity, she is responsible for leading Digital learning, Talent Development agenda and succession planning activities across the company.

her background experience 23+ years comes from different industries in UAE from Banking and finance, Real estate and Government sector.

Oshba started her career in 2001, as a Professional banker through her hard work and dedication in 2006, she became one of the first younger UAE Female Bank Manager leading the team more than 50 employees across the regional branches. In 2012, she has lifted her career concentrating in managing the Human Capital and worked closely with different strategic partners such as McKinsey, Deloitte, Korn ferry and Tower Watson in designing accelerate Talent programs for high potentials. Over her time, she played many key roles in developing and strengthening the company’s position as an employer of choice in the UAE with ENBD, NBAD (FAB), ALDAR properties the real estate sector in general. And continues to push ahead on its transformational growth journey.

Oshba is a graduate of Master degree – Business Administration from Canadian University focusing in Finance. and is a certified professional from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD). In addition, she has attended a number of other Executive education programs including Harvard, INSEAD and IMD have all welcomed her hungry mind . last of all, close to her heart she advocates for a greener and more conscious world which led her to became one of an active member of sustainability ambassador at Robert swan mission 2041.

Vivek Arora is the Director – Regional Sales & Business Operations for SHRM-MENA and is based out of Dubai office. In his 20 plus years of rich experience Vivek has spearheaded various people & HR related businesses across geographies in Asia Pacific, Middle East, Eastern Europe and South East Asia.  Vivek has been instrumental in building organizations from conceptualization to maturity stages and has a strong business acumen while ensuring employee well-being and their career progression. Vivek has managed organizations with over 35,000 employees across various diversities and cultures. In his previous assignment, Vivek was instrumental in getting his organization awarded as the Best place to work in Singapore. He is a MBA from GMU Italy and PGDBM from Cambridge International Qualifications and has been a recipient of various awards and accolades