Speech Title: How a Strong Company Vision & Culture Propels Us in Times of Uncertainty #OnlyForward
Speech Abstract: Now more than ever, human resources (HR) is tasked with recruiting and retaining the best talent and keeping culture at the forefront while ensuring the safety and wellness of its employees. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the review and adoption of new HR practices, programs, and workplace “norms” globally. Gilma Saravia, chief people officer at Altair, will provide insight into how Altair continues to mobilize efforts to ensure the safety of Altairians, while continuing to foster a culture of risk-taking, innovation, collaboration, and inclusion. Saravia will also share her perspective on how COVID-19 has influenced changes and expectations in the recruitment process, candidate experience, role of leadership, and work-life balance.

As chief people officer, Gilma Saravia leads Altair’s global human resources organization, including workforce strategy, talent acquisition and development, and employee engagement. Saravia joined Altair from Aptiv where she served as vice president, global corporate human resources and talent. Previously, she held various senior roles at U. S. Steel and Deloitte’s Human Capital consulting group. Saravia has more than two decades of experience in leading large-scale, global teams in organizational effectiveness, talent acquisition and development, and HR transformation at major companies. She earned a bachelor of business administration degree from the University of Texas at Austin and holds various certifications in talent, leadership development, diversity, and inclusion.

Speech Abstract: This presentation will focus on three main areas including:

• Reflections on the pandemic in regards to remote work: The focus will include information about changes in the work space/work place, how the workforce has risen to the occasion and some observations and learnings.
• The journey so far (past 18 months): This section will focus on key technology/tools during the pandemic, improvements in our environment to provide a positive remote experience, keeping employees safe and how our teams adopted.
• How to thrive going forward (things to think about post-pandemic): This will focus on how to benefit from things employees have become experts in during the pandemic, the new norm for the work environment and what employees want in a flexible environment, potential challenges to consider and tips to be successful (in any environment).

Gurshaman Baweja, PhD, is a senior vice president and chief information officer of Texas Instruments responsible for the IT Services organization. Prior to this role, he was vice president of TI’s Global IT Solutions organization, leading the development and implementation of critical information technology strategies and roadmaps for manufacturing automation, e-commerce and channel management. Previously, Baweja has also led IT for TI’s Manufacturing and Supply Chain organizations and served as the company’s chief IT architect. Gurshaman started his higher education in India where he received his bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Punjab University. He received his master’s and doctorate degrees in Industrial Engineering from Arizona State University, and a Master of Business Administration from Southern Methodist University. He holds patents in the areas of computer integrated manufacturing, constraint management algorithms and manufacturing process control.

Speech Title: Tend your Garden: Tips for Career Management in a Hybrid Workplace
Speech Abstract: Prepare the soil, plant the seeds, nurture, assess, adapt, and reap the harvest – a proven formula for managing a successful garden. There are many parallels to managing a successful career. This analogy can also be adapted to career management in a post pandemic world. How do we apply these principles to a remote or hybrid work setting which includes varying degrees of geographical separation between team members, increasing virtual collaboration, and a multi-generational work force?

This discussion will focus on how we can be intentional about managing our career in a hybrid work setting, including how to develop marketable and transferrable skills, network and build lasting relationships, and remain agile and pivot to respond to ever changing business priorities.

Ellen Buck, as the Vice President of the Oncor Electric Delivery Business and Operations Services organization, Ellen oversees planning for capital investments for the Oncor system; supply chain including sourcing, materials management, facilities management, and supplier diversity initiatives; engineering standards; transmission interconnections; performance management; and Power On. Deliver Strong., Oncor’s continuous improvement framework. She is also the sponsor of Oncor’s engineering recruiting program.

Ellen holds a BS in Industrial Engineering from Georgia Tech, a MBA with a concentration in Entrepreneurship and Strategy from SMU, and is a registered Professional Engineer in the State of Texas. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of the YMCA of Metropolitan Fort Worth and the CIE/USA-DFW Chapter.