Speaker Bios

Bryan Ackermann is head of AI strategy and transformation and managing partner of assessment and succession, leadership and professional development, at Korn Ferry. Ackermann brings over thirty years of experience to the firm. He provides individual insights via assessments and multi-raters, and all leadership, professional development, and training solutions in Korn Ferry’s consulting and digital lines of business.

Prior to this role, Ackermann was the chief information officer of Korn Ferry, responsible both for the corporate enterprise as well as client-facing technology teams. He was previously the chief information officer of Adecco, North America. Prior to Adecco, Ackermann was at PricewaterhouseCoopers, and served as director for IBM's Center for Business Optimization. He has overseen global systems, infrastructure, information security, and business intelligence capabilities. He is also responsible for exploring new and emerging technologies that will serve as the platform of the future for Korn Ferry and the services provided to clients.

John L. Bennett, Ph.D., M.P.A, began as president of Fielding Graduate University on an interim basis on February 1, 2025. He is a scholar-practitioner and change leader. As a Fielding alum and former member of the Board of Trustees, Dr. Bennett brings a deep passion and commitment to the university. As a trustee from 2019 to 2024, he chaired the academic affairs committee, alumni and development committee, and the Reimagination and Reinvention Task Force. He served on the strategy and business development committee. Most recently, he co-chaired the university’s presidential search committee.

During the last 20 years, Dr. Bennett was a business and behavioral science professor and Wayland H. Cato, Jr. Chair of Leadership at the McColl School of Business, Queens University of Charlotte. Dr. Bennett also served as communication department chair, graduate programs director, chair and co-chair of various strategic task forces, and curriculum designer and was the founding director of the first master’s degree in executive coaching in North America.

After 18 years with the American Red Cross, he worked in roles as diverse as human services program management, fundraising, and disaster relief services. His last eight years were as CEO of regional biomedical services divisions, where he led a merger and turnaround. In 1997, he founded Lawton Associates, a consulting and executive coaching firm focused on helping individuals, teams, and organizations prepare for, excel through, and improve from change. For 27 years, he has worked with clients in for-profit, not-for-profit, and government organizations. He was a senior practice leader for a global talent management firm and was the CEO of the Foundation of Coaching, a project of the Harnisch Family Foundation.

Dr. Bennett completed his undergraduate education at Mars Hill University, then earned a Master’s in Public Affairs degree from the University of North Carolina Greensboro. He earned a Master of Arts and Ph.D. in human and organizational systems from Fielding Graduate University. He is a member of several academic and professional associations, including the Academy of Management and the American Psychological Association. Dr. Bennett is the author or co-author of numerous articles and five books, including his most recent, The Manager’s Guide to Coaching for Change. Together with Fielding alum Yabome Gilpin-Jackson, PhD (HOS ’12), he co-edited three special issues of Organization Development Review: Bridging to Equity-Centered Futures in Organization Development (2024), Beyond DEIB: Bridging to an Equity-Centered Future (2023), and Justice, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (JEDI) in Organization Development (2021).

In 2010, Dr. Bennett was named a Charter Fellow in The Lewin Center and a Founding Fellow of the Institute of Coaching affiliated with McLean Hospital, Harvard Medical School. In 2023, he was named a Noble Fellow at Queens University of Charlotte. He is a past president of North Carolina Industrial and Organizational Psychology (NCIOP) and the Graduate School Alliance for Educating Coaches (GSAEC). He serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Applied Behavioral Science.

Matt Breitfelder is partner and global head of human capital at Apollo Global Management, a high-growth, alternative asset management and retirement services firm. He serves as a member of the firm’s management committee. Breitfelder is responsible for Apollo’s talent management, leadership development, diversity and inclusion, learning, performance management, citizenship, compensation and benefits, and recruiting.

Before joining Apollo, Breitfelder was managing director and chief talent officer for BlackRock, where he also served as a member of the operating committee. Previously, he held talent and strategy roles at MasterCard, PwC, and the Corporate Executive Board. Matt began his career at the US Department of Commerce, where he focused on international trade and economic policy.

Breitfelder serves as chair of the Advisory Group on AI, Analytics, and the Future of Work at Georgetown University and on the Board of Advisors of Georgetown’s McDonough School of Business. He serves on the advisory board of the Aspen Institute’s Business and Society Program, and on the Board of Directors of the Lumina Foundation, which is committed to advancing post-secondary education for all Americans. He has been recognized as a top chief human resources officer by n2Growth and Stanford Business School and has co-authored a number of Harvard Business School case studies and articles on human resources, leadership, and talent innovation.

Jake Calhoun is the CEO of Wiser, a leadership coaching platform built in partnership with the Hudson Institute of Coaching. Wiser combines world-class coaches and cutting-edge technology to help organizations scale coaching in all its forms, bringing it to every part of an organization. Before Wiser, Calhoun spent a decade as CFO and COO of One Acre Fund, an award-winning social enterprise. During his tenure, he managed the organization through 50x growth, supporting 8,000 staff in providing life-changing services to 1.5 million smallholder farmers across Africa. Calhoun also founded Yum Deliveries, which grew into the leading restaurant delivery app in Kenya.

Robert Garcia, vice president and chief staff officer of ICF Coaching in Organizations is responsible for leading the operations that enable global organizations to build coaching capabilities and develop a strong coaching culture. A pivotal leader in coaching culture development, Garcia is renowned for his strategic approach to expanding organizational coaching capabilities. His global expertise is reflected in strong partnerships across 50+ countries. An executive coach, a seasoned professor, and an eloquent keynote speaker, Garcia’s sessions are a confluence of insight and inspiration.

He has held senior level positions at Randstad, Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), Baptist Health, Florida International University (FIU), LHH, ADP, and United Healthcare. Garcia is fluent in English and Spanish, has presented in six continents, and has visited 92 countries and counting.

One of the founders of the coaching profession, David Goldsmith worked closely with Thomas Leonard, served as the first president of Coach U, and later went on to lead CoachInc.com. He trained the first Japanese coaches, wrote the Dear Coach column for the Sunday London Times and co-founded the Foundation of Coaching, which later became the Institute of Coaching at Harvard.

Alex Haitoglou founded Ovida, the world's first AI platform aimed at enhancing the fundamental communication skills for leadership and coaching. Ovida supports leaders and coaches in their growth by providing AI-generated objective data, video reviews for self-reflection, and expert human mentoring.

With a background in Business Economics and German, Haitoglou worked with Procter & Gamble in global business leadership roles while also leading the Grow Coaching program, training hundreds of leaders in coaching skills. He later assumed executive positions at Walgreens Boots Alliance working across geographies in healthcare. Moving into entrepreneurship, Haitoglou built a health-tech business that was acquired by a major European retailer, and three years ago launched Ovida with his partner Bryan Watson.

Jonathan Kirschner is an executive coach and the Founder and CEO of AIIR Consulting, a coaching and leadership development company that fuses its proprietary leadership framework, proven approach to behavior change, and real-world business expertise to increase the performance of leaders and their organizations. Kirschner founded AIIR Consulting in 2009 when he saw an opportunity to leverage technology to make executive coaching more accessible and impactful. Since then, AIIR has helped clients across the Fortune 500 and around the world build better leaders, better teams, better organizations, and a better future.

Kirschner is also founder and CEO of AIIR Consulting's sister company, AIIR Analytics, a people insights company that empowers organizations with a deep understanding of their leaders. Through its suite of tools, AIIR Analytics helps companies create a leadership pipeline that drives organizational success. Kirschner  resides in the Philadelphia area with his wife and four kids. When not working, Jonathan derives energy from his vegetable garden, reading existential philosophy, mastering the art of BBQ, and playing late night ice hockey for his local team.

Varun Puri is the co-founder of Yoodli Roleplays. Yoodli helps you ace your next sales pitch, interview, or manager conversation with private and judgement free feedback. It’s being used by organizations like Google, Sandler Sales, RingCentral, Toastmasters, among others to scale their go-to-market coaching. Yoodli has raised $8M+ in funding, and been featured across media outlets such as the Wall Street Journal, Inc, and others.

Before Yoodli, Varun ran special projects for Sergey Brin, one of Google’s founders. Varun is a TEDx speaker, part of Forbes 30 under 30, voted the Best Young Entrepreneur in the Pacific Northwest, and gave the commencement speech at Claremont McKenna College, his alma mater.

Rebecca Rutschmann is a pioneer in the convergence of coaching technology and artificial intelligence. She has founded the AI coaching companion startup evoach in 2019, being responsible for all product development and acting as co-CEO overseeing product development and marketing until January 2024. Now she works mostly as an AI Consultant delivering keynotes, AI literacy trainings and consulting on creating outstanding integrated AI coaching experiences. As a tech entrepreneur, communications specialist and certified business coach, her expertise shines in crafting outstanding user experiences, a testament to her deep understanding of both technology and human interaction.

Rutschmann’s mission is bold and transformative: she aims to make coaching accessible through designing and developing innovative AI coaching and learning experiences. This groundbreaking work is designed to empower coaches and their clients, unlocking their utmost potential in an ever-evolving digital landscape. Her focus extends beyond theoretical frameworks to practical applications, particularly in coach enablement. She dedicates herself to making AI an accessible and integral tool for coaches, fostering a deeper understanding and practical navigation of AI in coaching.

Manuela Veloso is Head of AI Research at JPMorganChase and Herbert A. Simon University Professor Emerita in Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University. Veloso pursues research interests in core AI as AI robot and digital agents with perception, cognition, and action. She further aims at a seamless human-AI symbiotic interaction. Veloso is a member of the National Academy of Engineering for “her contributions to artificial intelligence and its applications to robotics and to the financial domain.” She is a past president of AAAI, and a co-founder of RoboCup. Veloso is a fellow of AAAI, IEEE, ACM, and AAAS. She has a BSc. and MSc. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from IST, an MA in Computer Science from BU, and a Ph.D. in Computer Science from CMU. 

Veloso has doctorate honorary degrees from the Catholic University of Portugal, University of Bordeaux, ISCTE, and University of Orebro.