
San Francisco CHRO Community
Executive Summit
June 25, 2025 | Grand Hyatt at SFO
June 25, 2025
Grand Hyatt at SFO
Collaborate with your peers
Get together with San Francisco's top CHROs to tackle shared business challenges and critical priorities facing your role today. Participate in this one-day, local program with peer-driven topics and interactive discussions with your true C-level peers.
Join your peers to discuss the most critical issues impacting CHROs today:
Cultivating leadership and management skills to drive success and promote continuous growth
Boosting employee experience by defining and delivering a compelling value proposition
Establish metrics and development opportunities to motivate employees
San Francisco CHRO Governing Body
The Governing Body Co-Chairs shape the summit agenda, ensuring that all content is driven By CHROs, For CHROs®.
Governing Body Co-Chairs

Kristi Cappelletti-Matthews
VSP Vision
CHRO

Cori Davis
Genentech
Chief People Officer

Eric Hunn
Premier Protein
SVP, Chief People Officer

Grace Lee
Coherent Corp.
Chief People Officer

Eva Majercsik
Genesys
EVP & Chief People Officer

Kim Sullivan
Proofpoint
Chief People Officer
What to Expect
Agenda
8:00am - 8:30am Registration & Breakfast
8:30am - 9:15am Keynote
Employee Experience Equals Business Success
Hosted by Visier

Jyoti Mehra
CHRO
Gilead Sciences

Michael Bodziner
Principal, Co-Chief Human Resources Officer
Gensler
In today's fast-paced workplace, CHROs understand that improving the employee experience is crucial for organizational success. However, Gartner research indicates that only 25% of employees feel connected to their organization's culture. In this fireside chat, learn how Gilead Sciences focuses on a culture of impact and inclusion that drives innovation and tailors learning opportunities to build the leadership potential of every employee.
Join this session to discuss:
- Understanding the link between employee engagement and organizational success
- Learning how to implement accountable leadership practices
- Discovering methods to tailor learning opportunities for leadership development
9:15am - 9:40am Networking Break
9:40am - 10:25am Breakout Session
Navigating DEI Legality and Governance

Grace Lee
Chief People Officer
Coherent Corp.

Pat Wadors
Chief People Officer
Intuitive
Recent executive orders have posed significant challenges to the DEI programs that CHROs have developed over the past several years. While it’s not yet clear how courts will interpret the orders, CHROs are tasked with reevaluating their DEI strategies without legal repercussions while also meeting employee demands for sustained access, leadership development, and a positive company culture.
In this workshop, CHROs will collaborate with peers to address:
- Balancing legal compliance and DEI governance with business objectives
- Evaluating the impact of DEI on leadership development and succession planning
- Understanding the needs of the workforce in a sensitive political climate
9:40am - 10:25am Executive Boardroom
The CHRO's Role in Enterprise AI Transformation
Hosted by Wisq

Julian Clarke
Head of Marketing
Wisq

Daniel Swartz
CHRO, Technology & Product Management
Align Technology

Martin Woodrow
SVP, Human Resources Americas
Rakuten
AI is no longer a future trend. It's reshaping work right now, and HR has a unique window to lead the transformation. HR’s role won’t be about making things more efficient; it’s to completely reimagine how people grow, lead, and thrive in an AI-powered world.
Join this round-table discussion to learn about:
- Moving beyond automation and start using AI to scale culture, processes, and capability
- Discovering the real opportunity for HR to lead enterprise-wide value creation, and what happens if we don’t
- Applying change management strategies to successfully integrate digital teammates into the workforce
9:40am - 10:25am Executive Boardroom
What Actionable Data Do You Have About Your People?
Hosted by Beamery

Abakar Saidov
Co-Founder, Executive Chairman
Beamery

Victor Ubeda
Global Vice President Human Resources
Grifols

Traci Wicks
SVP, HR and Internal Communications
Cepheid
Advancements in artificial intelligence and automation now allow organizations a more granular-than-ever view into the skills of their people and the tasks they complete within their roles. To address current pain points in strategic workforce planning, CHROs must proactively develop strategies for acquiring or upskilling critical talent who are more agile and flexible to workforce needs.
Join the session to learn about:
- Identifying the skills supply you have and the tasks of the jobs you require
- Leveraging data to determine which tasks can be automated
- Finding the gaps between skills and tasks to strategically re-organize your business
9:40am - 10:25am Executive Boardroom
Prioritizing Mental Health to Build a More Resilient Workforce
Hosted by Modern Health

Alison Borland
Chief People & Strategy Officer
Modern Health

Erin Dangerfield
SVP, People & Culture
Golden State

Eric Hunn
SVP, Chief People Officer
Premier Protein
In today’s fast-moving and uncertain economy, employee resilience has become a core driver of business performance. But sustaining that resilience means going beyond surface-level support. It requires leaders at every level to foster psychological safety, address burnout proactively, and embed mental health into the fabric of workplace culture.
Join this session to explore:
- How to equip leaders with the tools to support their teams—and themselves
- Which models are best positioned to drive real outcomes globally—for individuals and the business
- What today’s talent expects from employers—and how mental health impacts retention and performance
10:25am - 11:10am Networking Break
10:35am - 11:00am Peer-to-Peer Meetings
Peer-to-Peer Meetings
Connect with like-minded peers in a one-on-one setting through Peer-to-Peer Meetings.
11:10am - 11:55am Breakout Session
Total Rewards Revisited — A New Approach to Elevating the Employee Experience
Hosted by O.C. Tanner

Ryan Jensen
Workplace Culture Strategist
O.C. Tanner
Organizations everywhere have used Total Rewards programs to attract and retain talent by offering a buffet of benefits to highlight the investment they make in their people. Yet despite these efforts, research shows that workers feel these strategies often fail, not only in addressing their most important needs, but in enhancing their overall employee experience. This session will unveil the latest insights from the 2025 Global Culture Report and foster discussion to help you redefine your Total Rewards programs and provide the right mix of offerings to better communicate authentic care.
Join this session to discuss:
- Why employee-centered care must be at the core of Total Rewards strategies that align with what matters most to employees
- Why recognition done well throughout an organization can make a difference in fostering positive mental health practices
- How organizations can approach employee job transitions with the same care and attention given to new hires
11:10am - 11:55am Executive Boardroom
Winning With Wellbeing — Igniting Buy-in From Burnout
Hosted by Alight

Karen Frost
SVP, Corporate Strategy - Health
Alight

Kristen Kurland
Head of Human Resources
Essex Property Trust

Jonathan Pyle
Chief People Officer
Patra Corporation
No longer satisfied with transactional perks, today’s employees increasingly expect employers to support their total wellbeing that integrates physical health, mental health and financial security. Employers who adapt to these shifting needs enhance retention, productivity and optimize value for benefits investment.
Join this boardroom session to:
- Boost engagement with personalized, easy-to-navigate benefits
- Integrate high tech with the human touch to manage complexity
- Drive retention, productivity, and success with total wellbeing
11:10am - 11:55am Executive Boardroom
Aligning Workforce Strategy with Business Goals
Hosted by Workboard

Deidre Paknad
CEO
Workboard

Michael Hoessl
CHRO, Americas & Global HR Leader
Birkenstock

Jessica Raefield
Chief Human Resources Officer
Rodan + Fields
CEOs surveyed by Gartner say talent shortage is the top damaging factor for the enterprise. Despite that fact, only 15% of organizations reported practicing strategic workforce planning (SWP) last year. How can CHROs streamline SWP, aligning company strategy and workplace goals, while remaining adaptable to change?
Join this boardroom to discuss:
- Optimizing SWP processes, reducing complexities
- Matching talent needs with enterprise aspirations
- Developing frameworks for subordinates to keep track of KPIs and OKRs
11:55am - 12:30pm Lunch Service
Apply to Participate
Apply to participate in the San Francisco CHRO Community Executive Summit.
Gartner facilitates exclusive, C-level communities by personally qualifying and understanding the priorities, challenges and interests of each member.
Our selective approach maintains the high quality of the network and ensures top-level discussions with peers from the world’s leading organizations.
Each application will be reviewed, and once your participation is confirmed, you will have access to year-round community programs.
Location
Venue & Accommodation
Grand Hyatt at SFOParking:
• $30 – 0 to 2 hours
• $40 – 2 to 6 hours
• $50 – 6+ hours and overnight
*The hotel does not have self-parking. The nearest self-parking is at International Garage A at the San Francisco Airport.
A block of rooms has been reserved at the Grand Hyatt at SFO at a reduced conference rate. Reservations should be made online or by calling 1-650-502-6117 . Please mention G-VANT to ensure the appropriate room rate.
Deadline to book using the discounted room rate of $299 USD (plus tax) is June 2, 2025.
Community Program Manager
For inquiries related to this community, please reach out to your dedicated contact.