November Insights Series: Thriving Together | Strategies for Retaining Top Tech Talent

Description

Moss Adams//Block 162 | 675 15th St., Floor 11, Denver, CO 80202

Thriving Together: Strategies for Retaining Top Tech Talent

We are now at capacity for this event. Please email eventsmgr@coloradotechnology.org to be added to the waitlist.

In today's rapidly evolving tech landscape, the competition for top talent is fiercer than ever. Companies that succeed in retaining their best employees not only thrive but also set themselves apart as leaders in innovation and growth. Join us for an insightful event where industry experts and thought leaders will share proven strategies and actionable insights on how to attract, retain and engage top talent in the tech industry.

Key Takeaways: 

• Define attraction, retention and engagement: Why are they important and how can we build strategies around them? 
• Key themes in today’s talent market
• Creating your employer value proposition
• Strategies for employees at all levels to contribute to an engaged workplace/culture

Keynote Speaker:

Brett Addis, Practice Director Human Capital Advisory, Moss Adams

Brett has worked in human capital management consulting and several disciplines of HR since 1997. Over the course of his career, Brett has worked across multiple industries leveraging his human capital experience to partner with global HR organizations through their process, technology, and people transformations.

Brett is dedicated to guiding clients through their business and HR digital transformations, improving customer experiences, maximizing operational efficiency, and boosting team performance. He has successfully devised and implemented transformational strategies while minimizing operational expenses, improving enterprise processes, and building top-tier teams across a wide variety of professional disciplines.

As a respected thought leader and subject-matter expert, Brett shares his knowledge at conferences and events at both regional and national levels.

Prior to joining Moss Adams, Brett held various roles throughout his career including:

• Global Vice President, HCM Transformation at SAP
• HCM Practice Leader at Appirio
• HCM Managing Consultant at Korn/Ferry
• Vice President of Human Resources and Talent Acquisition at Washington Mutual Bank

Panelists:

Veena Bricker, Chief People Officer, Flexential

Veena Bricker is Chief People Officer for Flexential, a $700M+ leader in IT infrastructure and cloud services. She has led large business transformation projects for both private and public companies, working in partnership with the board on compensation, succession planning, C-Level coaching, organizational design resulting in 25% YoY EBITDA growth and 15% YoY revenue growth, while retaining top talent. She has led the HR function for firms backed by PE groups such as KKR, Blackstone, and The Carlyle Group.

Veena joined Flexential in 2020, bringing more than two decades of experience as an HR executive across all people functions in high technology companies. She has been instrumental in transforming the culture over the last 4 years increasing engagement by over 400% as measured by Gallup and winning multiple Top Workplaces awards.

Prior to Flexential, Veena held CHRO roles in leading tech companies, including: Optiv, a $2B market leading cybersecurity company, where she helped scale the employee base globally by 30% as well as organizational synergies post merger; Coresite where she shaped the HR strategy for the newly public organization creating employee efficiencies to scale while revenues were growing by 40+%; and McData (acquired by Brocade) where as CHRO she developed shareholder proxy for a revised stock program adding millions of options for the employee base, increasing employee retention. She also served as Managing Director at Blake Street Group, a human capital consulting firm, leading talent assessments and consulting services for private equity clients and their portfolios.

In addition, Veena has held executive roles at Avaya, Qwest, and StorageTek – where she led the selection and retention process for the acquisition of $1.5B business with over 6,000 employees in 40 countries.

Sarah Herzog, Senior Director of IT Strategy & Collaboration, Ardent Mills

Sarah Herzog is the Senior Director of IT Strategy & Collaboration at Ardent Mills, a Grain-Based Solutions company headquartered in Denver, CO. She brings 25 years of experience in technology leadership across manufacturing and agriculture spaces with a passion for embracing technology for strategic business change. In her role at Ardent Mills, she leads the women’s Employee Resource Group at Ardent Mills, co-founded Women in Tech, and serves on several boards focused on Women’s Leadership, Talent Development, and the intersection of women’s empowerment and agriculture.

Paul Kresser, Deputy CIO, City and County of Denver

Paul Kresser is a strategic leader with a passion for leveraging technology and data to improve public services. As the Deputy Chief Information Officer for the City and County of Denver, he is responsible for guiding the city's technology vision and ensuring the delivery of innovative solutions. Previously, he served as the city's first Chief Data Officer, helping transform Denver into a data-driven organization. His leadership in implementing a modern data hub and advancing data governance practices has positioned Denver as a national leader in data-driven government. Before joining Denver, Paul held key leadership roles in the City of Boston, where he was involved in pioneering civic technology projects. His strong technical background, coupled with his deep understanding of public administration, enables him to drive impactful change and deliver results for the city.

Christian Winward, CIO, FirstBank

Christian has been with FirstBank for over 30 years.  He first joined FirstBank as a Teller and spent five years working at a branch before transferring to Information Technology. He has worked in Information Technology for more than 25 years and has direct experience with every IT team.  He was promoted to his current position as Chief Information Officer in June of 2019.  

FirstBank’s Information Technology team is over 400 people, managing their own infrastructure, developing applications as well as integrating purchased applications.  

Christian currently serves on the Board of the Colorado Technology Association and the Foundation for Colorado Community Colleges.  He is also a member of the University of Colorado Denver Information Systems Advisory Council.  

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