NOW of Work

Meet Will Sealy, Co-Founder & CEO, and Daniel Macklin, President of Summer!

Summer is a certified B Corporation combining innovative technology and policy expertise to serve student loan borrowers across the country. Built by borrowers, for borrowers, Summer provides an end-to-end workplace student loan solution that is proven to reduce employee turnover and guaranteed to save employees thousands by simplifying student loans for everyone.

Summer partners with employers to deliver a tailored benefit that empowers employees to save for education, better manage their student loans, find forgiveness options, and lower monthly payments.  Summer has helped over 148,000 borrowers save an average of $333 per month on their student loan payments and save over $45,000 over the course of repayment. In addition, Summer recently announced $1.15B in total projected savings for members.

Their company has made huge progress since its founding, and continues to make great strides amid a complex and critical landscape.

They covered:

John Land, a Partner at Mercer, is an experienced HR & Workforce Transformation and Global Rewards & Recognition Practice Leader/Consultant with a demonstrated history of building and leading transformative HR functions; including program/process/organization design, technology enablement, upskilling, and performance improvement. He is skilled in mergers and acquisitions (due diligence through integration/standup), HR digital transformation, and building highly effective teams. John is passionate about leveraging technology to drive employee and organization innovation and improve customer outcomes by creating people-centric experiences.

David Landman, an HR executive with 20+ years of experience driving business performance by enabling people to be their best selves at work. David is passionate about supporting the visionary founders, investors and innovators who are redefining what it means to thrive in the workplace and he is a prominent leader in the HR executive, startup and venture capital community. 

Based on John Land's client experience as a Total Rewards practice leader at Mercer, coupled with David Landman's role running Talent programs at Goldman Sachs and now advising startups on their value and position in the evolving landscape of people and work, what is our current thinking about TALENT and ORGANIZATIONAL strategy? How do we think about keeping people (important) and keeping them happy (big difference)? 

Michael Kannisto runs a think tank called MindemicLab, which utilizes scenario planning, wargame simulation, and predictive modeling to help organizations develop strategies that will be effective across multiple possible futures.

Michael began his career as a research chemist, but quickly realized that while molecules always act predictably and consistently, people rarely do. He has spent much of his career in corporate Human Resources exploring the uncertainty that comes along with having humans in the workplace. Large, successful, well-funded organizations frequently experience failure when purchasing technology or implementing new policies. This is mainly the result of unanticipated changes that occur along the way. Michael started MindemicLab as a resource to help others “rehearse” alternative futures, and thus increase their likelihood of success.

Prior/ongoing work in this area includes deep dives into The Future of Work, The Future of Early Career Recruiting and The Future of Disability.

Dr. Amy Dufrane, SPHR, CAE, is the CEO of HRCI, and the founder of HRCI’s sister organization, the HR Standards Institute (HRSI). Amy has spent her career helping businesses maximize their human capital and HR professionals maximize their careers. As HRCI’s top steward, she leads an organization dedicated to assisting more than 500,000 business-leader members around the world who want to enhance their HR and expertise through learning and certification. Amy oversees HRCI’s work to establish international HR standards in partnership with ISO, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), and the global community. She is a member of the Wall Street Journal CEO Council, the Economic Club of Washington, DC, and CEO Update’s CEO Roundtable. Through these organizations, she connects regularly with CEOs, CHROs, and other leaders, giving her firsthand knowledge of the workplace changes happening in industries everywhere. Prior to joining HRCI, Amy held CHRO and executive HR leadership roles at organizations in a variety of industries, where she faced issues similar to those confronting the HR professionals she partners with today. She chairs the board for the Columbia Lighthouse for the Blind, is a director of the Institute for Credentialing Excellence, and serves on the advisory board of Certree and Southern New Hampshire University.

Brian Sommer, Founder and President of TechVentive, is an award-winning IT industry analyst who covers the ERP, Finance and HR sectors. For over 30 years, Brian has been advising the world’s largest firms on strategy, change, process and technology initiatives. Brian assisted over 100 of the Fortune 500 on financial software selections and continues to advise a wide array of high technology firms globally. 

In his latest book, The Executive’s ESG Playbook, Brian examines the numerous requirements, planning tasks, technology challenges and more that must be dealt with to meet a number of new business realities. The research for that book took several years and involved visits and interviews with global leaders in HR, Accounting, Supply Chain, risk management and other disciplines. Previously, he was a senior partner at Accenture with leadership roles in their Software Intelligence, Human Capital and Finance & Performance Management groups.

TechVentive specializes in providing cutting-edge solutions to address the diverse needs of modern enterprises. Their mission is to revolutionize the way businesses operate by delivering innovative solutions that drive efficiency, productivity, and growth. They make the commitment to help their clients succeed in today’s dynamic and competitive landscape by providing them with the tools and expertise needed to stay ahead of the curve.

Brian Sommer is a keynote speaker in the upcoming virtual HR Technology Conference & Exposition, June 12-13. 100% free. 100% online. 100% rewarding. Register at https://www.hrtechnologyconference.com/virtual/.

Stick around at the end for a surprise guest appearance from Mike Sarraille, Founder of Legacy Expeditions. Mike is a former Recon Marine and Scout-Sniper, and retired U.S. Navy SEAL with 20 years of experience in Special Operations, including the elite Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC). He joined the meetup to share some of his journey and to show our community the trailer for Triple 7, a documentary following a record-breaking, adrenaline-fueled adventure following a group of former Special operations soldiers on a 7-day epic journey across 7 continents to raise 1,400 life-changing scholarships in support of the families of fallen and disabled service members and first responders.

Summer Davies, Founder of LeaderShop, is an accomplished leadership expert with over 15 years of experience in transforming aspiring leaders' lives. Summer specializes in fostering thriving work environments and empowering emerging leaders to lead with impact and confidence. With her extensive background in coaching and teaching leaders globally, Summer brings a wealth of knowledge on essential mindset shifts, tactical skills for modern leadership, creating empowering work cultures, and overcoming obstacles in personal and professional growth. 

However, Leadership development was never part of Summer’s plan. She grew up in a household that played fast and loose with the poverty line for many years. Growing up in Boulder, Colorado in the 90’s Summer found a deep love for horses which changed her life. It was always her intention to work in the horse industry, but life had other plans. Unexpectedly, Summer fell into a leadership role early in her career. Being completely unqualified for that role, trial-by-fire ignited a passion for helping others learn to lead skillfully and effectively.

Outside of work, Summer remains a lifelong equestrian, beekeeper, and a sub-par snowboarder. She currently lives in Parker, Colorado with her husband and two daughters. As a family they love to travel and explore local breweries, and they are die-hard food truck junkies.

Summer’s engaging storytelling and practical advice on leadership and personal development are sure to captivate you.

JESS VON BANK, and Jason Averbook are joined by special guests: Sarah Mink, Principal Consultant & Advisor, Mercer; Traci Tenkely, IT Project Manager at City of Chandler, Arizona; Kristen Poe, IT Project Manager at City of Chandler, Arizona.

On this episode of the Digital Meetup, we discussed how the City of Chandler has successfully built and maintained a strong organizational culture, as well as exploring the potential benefits of a new ERP system in enhancing employee engagement and connectivity.

About the City of Chandler:

Please join us in welcoming Andrew Hartman, Founder Time Boss!

Burnout, stress, and anxiety are omnipresent in the modern workplace. But it doesn't have to be this way for business leaders looking to make an impact while balancing their professional and personal lives.

Andrew Hartman is the Founder of Time Boss, an organization that helps leaders and their teams reinvent their relationships with time to get more done with less stress and anxiety. For the last 2 decades, Andrew has been a high-level professional managing his own schedule while working in marketing tech firms and software startups. About 5 years into his career, he began to burn out when he found there was more to do than there was time in the day. At 27, as the stress and anxiety built up, Andrew lost his sense of smell for six months.

“I decided to learn everything I could about making massive progress on my strategic priorities while maintaining my mental health so my family and well-being wouldn't be left in shambles.”

So, Andrew started implementing new habits to manage his time, allowing him to close the computer at the end of the day without stress. And it worked.

He has taken all he has learned over the years to build a simple system that helps business leaders avoid the same mistakes and chaos. The Time Boss Model is a distilled version of 15 years of learning. Andrew has run the experiments, made the mistakes, learned what works and what doesn't.

TUNE IN as we explore the common issues faced in time management among professionals, the addiction to the stress cycle, and practical tips for effective time management and setting healthy work boundaries.

After a decade as the Founder/CEO of Jibe and then serving as an executive at iCIMS, Joe Essenfeld is embarking on a new entrepreneurial adventure as Founder & CEO of Fora, an innovative executive relationship management (ERM) platform poised to transform C-suite decision-making through cutting-edge AI technology.

In today’s corporate environment, there’s a relentless influx of data which places a high demand on executive bandwidth. Fora addresses this challenge directly by sourcing essential insights from the overwhelming buildup of information generated by organizations, allowing leaders to concentrate on strategic decision making and relationship building. Fora is committed to enhancing the strategic capabilities of executive leaders across medium to large enterprises. Emphasizing the platform's unique position, Essenfeld notes, "In a landscape dominated by AI solutions designed for widespread use among knowledge and task workers, Fora stands apart by specifically serving the C-suite. Going beyond enhancing decision-making capabilities, Fora ensures the highest levels of safety and security. Our platform acts as a safeguard for executive leaders, integrating AI to support strategic decisions while conscientiously minimizing organizational liability related to the retention of meeting recordings and transcripts. This careful approach advances leadership effectiveness and protects sensitive information, establishing Fora as a vital ally for the C-suite in navigating AI adoption with confidence and reduced risk."

Prior to Jibe and iCIMS, Essenfeld worked as the chief operating officer at Insomnia Cookies, a private equity backed cookie delivery company. He led operations, achieved triple-digit revenue growth, quadrupled the number of locations, and grew the employee base to more than 150 full-time staffers. Essenfeld launched his career at Dartcor Food Services, a corporate dining services company in the tri-state area, serving as a vice president after graduating Cornell University. While still a student at Cornell, he joined the executive team of Nightfunk, a venture capital-backed national network of online entertainment guides for college students. He helped to expand it to more than 120 campuses throughout North America.

Please join us in welcoming Skai Dalziel and Joe Facciolo, Co-Founders and Co-CEOs of Guusto! Today's discussion will delve into Guusto's history of building a culture of recognition from the head office to the frontlines.

Old pals, Skai Dalziel and Joe Facciolo, go all the way back to 1988 when they grew up together in a small town just north of Toronto. They both attended the University of Western Ontario, where Joe studied Psychology and Sociology, while Skai studied Engineering and Business. After graduating, they both traveled the world for a few years before returning home in the midst of the global financial crisis.

In 2008, they kickstarted their first business venture, Dining Tours (think high-end food and wine crawls). Despite local success, they were unable to expand without strong relationships with restaurants in other cities. Around 2012, Skai and Joe noticed that restaurants would often receive calls from people requesting to send a drink to a friend for a celebration or to show appreciation to a client. However, the staff would often refuse to take credit cards over the phone. Aha! There should be an app for this!

From 2012 to 2017, the pal duo built Guusto from the ground up. They partnered with a clean drinking water foundation that fueled their motivation. They pitched the product of Guusto to the Dragon's Den but walked away without a deal. They were also the first to raise equity crowdfunding in Canada. Around that time, they started working with HR leaders to build more robust employee recognition tools. They focused all their energy on customers and solving their problems.

After receiving a 1-star review on Glassdoor in 2019, Guusto recognized the irony of selling employee recognition tools but not using them internally. After this epiphany, Guusto completely transformed their business. The secret ingredient? CULTURE! Culture is the ultimate advantage.