Breakfast Club

Michael E. Echols, Ph.D.
Executive Vice President, Strategic Initiatives
Bellevue University and Bellevue University's Human Capital Lab

An internationally known thought leader on evaluating and improving ROI on human capital, Dr. Michael E. Echols' three books on the subject are must-reads in CEO, COO and CLO suites around the globe. Named one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals” in the United States by Training Industry Inc., Echols earned his bachelor's degree in physics from Carnegie Mellon University, his MBA from the University of Pittsburgh and his Ph.D. from the College of Business at the University of California, Berkeley. His thesis was in operations research and information process.

Dan Heffernan
Vice President, Learning Products
Element K

Dan Heffernan is vice president of learning products at Element K. The learning products business delivers a broad range of e-learning, instructor-led, blended learning and performance support solutions to corporations, universities and government agencies. Prior to joining Element K, Heffernan worked for Paychex, a payroll and HR outsourcing company, where he led the leadership development and e-learning teams. He published an article in the Journal of Organizational Excellence describing how his team used leadership development programs to reshape the company’s leadership culture by setting expectations and building competencies for proactive problem solving, collaboration and accountability. Heffernan is a graduate of Colgate University.

Norm Kamikow
President and Editor in Chief
MediaTec Publishing Inc.

Norm Kamikow is president and editor in chief of MediaTec Publishing Inc., which publishes Chief Learning Officer magazine,Talent Management magazine, Diversity Executive magazine and Certification magazine, along with targeted supplements, special reports and electronic newsletters for each publication. Chief Learning Officer was named "Best New Publication" by the American Society of Business Publication Editors (ASBPE). Norm also received the 2005 Innovation Award from Media Business Magazine, which honored him as Top Publisher of the Year.

Norm has more than 30 years of magazine and direct marketing publishing experience. Since beginning his career with Seventeen magazine, Norm has worked either directly or as a consultant to many consumer and business-to-business magazines. With a specialty in new magazine development, he has played a key role in the launch of OMNI magazine, SPIN magazine, Game Players magazine, CD-ROM Today, Internet World and Web Week. He contributed to the redesign of such magazines as Financial World and CD-ROM World. As president/CEO of Decks Inc., he worked with several major publishing companies to develop revenue resources from alternative media. This client base included BusinessWeek, Fortune, Money Magazine, Sports Illustrated, Esquire, The Journal of the American Dental Association and Dun & Bradstreet reports. Norm is a recipient of the Tempo Award from the Direct Marketing Association and is a biographee of Marquis Who's Who in the Midwest and Who's Who in Advertising and the Media.

Joan Loewy
Regional Vice President
AchieveGlobal

Joan Loewy leads and manages a regional P&L business unit within AchieveGlobal with more than 30 management and individual contributors. Her direct reports include three sales managers and an administration support staff who work with North East clients to mutually build successful solution sets. Her region has sustained high double-digit growth for the past few years. Prior to joining Achieve Global in 2003, Loewy has held positions in sales and sales management for more than 20 years. She has lead national and regional sales teams to consistent success selling into multiple industries that include consulting, accounting, finance and insurance and the Fortune 500.

Rebecca Lea Ray, Ph.D.
Senior Vice President, Global Talent Management and Development, Global Human Resources
MasterCard Worldwide

Rebecca L. Ray, Ph.D., leads the global team responsible for employee training and development under the banner of MasterCard University. She also is responsible for management and leadership development, executive coaching and mentoring, organizational development, employee engagement, performance management and succession management for MasterCard Worldwide. Previously, Ray held positions at Comcast, American Skandia, Prudential and Merrill Lynch. She serves on the Editorial Advisory Board for Training and Chief Learning Officer magazines and on the Advisory Board for the Executive Program in Work-Based Learning Leadership at the University of Pennsylvania. She holds a doctorate from New York University, where she taught as an adjunct professor for many years.

ESI International Director, eContent Strategy
01/14/2010
The Director, eContent Strategy is responsible for providing ESI’s executive team with strategic-level direction to implement alternative blended learning delivery formats to our worldwide client base.

Senior Manager, Global Learning & Talent Development
11/19/2009
Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu (DTT) is an organization of member firms devoted to excellence in providing professional services and advice. We are focused on client service through a global strategy executed locally in nearly 150 countries.

Director, Leadership & Organizational Development Parkland Health & Hospital System
10/26/2009
Parkland Health & Hospital System (www.parklandhospital.com) located in Dallas, Texas has been voted one of "America's Best Hospitals" by U.S. News & World Report for 16 consecutive years and recently named one of the "Top 100 Hospitals to Work For" by Nursing Professionals Magazine.