Top 40 Human Resources Speakers
- By Aaron Peterson
- Aug 03, 2023
Human resources speakers offer the advice and insights you need to improve your workplace culture, attract top job applicants, or make employees want to stay on your team. With so many options for speaking topics, you need to make sure that you choose the right speaking talent for the topic you’re trying to drive home. Our top 40 human resources speakers are leaders in the field in many different areas.
She’s the CEO of Disruption Advisors, a talent development company that uses tech to its advantage. Whitney Johnson is the author of “Build an A Team” and is the creator of the “Disrupt Yourself” podcast that shares tips on personal disruption in the workplace.
2. Tom Rath
Tom Rath has 20 years of insight to share on improving well-being and health within the workplace. He’s the author of “How Full Is Your Bucket?,” “Strengths Based Leadership,” and many others. He spent more than a decade at Gallup helping strengthen employee engagement and improving an organization’s strengths.
Dr. Travis Bradberry has provided emotional intelligence tests and training to over three-quarters of Fortune 500 companies. He holds dual Ph. D.s in clinical and industrial-organizational psychology and has shared that knowledge with groups at Coca-Cola, Microsoft, Salesforce, and others.
4. Ram Charan
Ram Charan offers realistic solutions to the fast-changing world of business operations. BusinessWeek relied on him for in-house executive development programs and four of his books on human resources were bestsellers. He’s a Distinguished Fellow of the National Academy of Human Resources.
5. Jenn Lim
“Make Happy Work” is one of the top tips Jenn Lim shares with her audience. She’s the CEO of Delivering Happiness, a company that teaches that happy workplace culture will lead to a more sustainable, profitable business. She’s a member of the Global Happiness Council of Work and Wellbeing.
6. Wema Hoover
Corporate leadership is one of the many strengths Wema Hoover shares with audiences. She’s helped many HR departments at companies like Google and Pfizer develop strong diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in their respective workplaces. She holds a master’s degree in Human Resource Management and Organizational Change Management. Plus, she’s certified as a Global Professional in Human Resources.
Robert Richman graduated from Georgetown University’s Leadership Coaching Program. He’s a member of the Transformational Leadership Council and uses refreshing methods to build strong workplace cultures. He’s an improv expert and isn’t above using improv comedy in the workplace to change things up.
8. Liz Wiseman
Liz Wiseman has four bestselling business books on leadership skills and finding and growing the best talent. She’s the CEO of the Wiseman Group, an agency specializing in leadership research and development and collective intelligence. How did she get here? She spent years as the global leader for HR development at Oracle University.
9. Tim Ringo
“Solving the Productivity Puzzle” is Tim Rongo’s bestselling business book. He’s Corporate Vision Magazine’s “Most Outstanding HR Consultant & Conference Speaker 2021 and was a senior executive in HR consulting and HR software for more than 30 years.
10. Dr. Ashley Whillans
Dr. Ashley Whillans is an assistant professor at Harvard Business School. She holds multiple degrees in Social Psychology from the University of British Columbia. She’s a noted TED Talk speaker on topics like a better work-life balance and time management.
He’s the Steven Roth Professor of Management at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. He has dozens of books, including “Why Smart Executives Fail” and “Superbosses: How Exceptional Leaders Master the Flow of Talent.” Sydney Finkelstein shares his insight with companies around the world and is on the Thinkers 50 global list of “Top Management Gurus.”
12. Mike Sarraille
If you’re looking for a former military specialist with insight into building strong teams, the CEO of Talent War Group, a management consulting and executive search firm, is the perfect fit. Mike Sarraille uses his team-building expertise to help businesses find leadership solutions that help grow businesses. His keynote topics vary, but he’s extremely popular for talks on workplace culture, talent acquisition, talent management, and leadership development.
13. Smiley Poswolsky
Adam “Smiley” Poswolsky is the expert you need in a multigenerational workplace. He’s helped thousands of companies attract, empower, and retain millennials. He’s given human resources keynotes and presentations in 15 countries and led a TEDx talk that has more than 1.5 views. He’s a popular human resources speaker for younger audiences.
14. Vineet Nayar
Vineet Nayar is the author of a book that every business leader should read, “Employees First, Customers Second: Turning Conventional Management Upside Down.” He’s one of Fortune Magazine’s “2011 Executive Dream Team” honorees and is the founder of Comet, a technology management firm.
15. Juliet Funt
She’s known as the “tough-love advisor to the Fortune 500.” Juliet Funt is the HR guide you need when it comes to freeing up your employees from busy work as a means to improving workplace culture. Book her for a keynote or custom experience.
16. Ian Siegel
He’s the founder of ZipRecruiter, an online platform that tosses out the traditional application and interview for a paperless online experience. Before that, Ian Siegel was in many leadership roles for companies like Rent.com and Stamps.com. He has a degree in Sociology, which helps him better understand the most important part of a business – the people within it.
17. Lauren Winans
Lauren Winans is the CEO and Principal HR Consultant for Next Level Benefits, a consulting firm that provides access to HR professionals for short-term and long-term needs. She has more than 20 years of experience in employee benefits and human resources. Some of her insight came from her work at American Eagle, CONSOL Energy, and GNC, where she managed employee health, welfare, absence management, and retirement benefits.
18. Amy Volas
She’s one of LinkedIn’s Top Sales Voices and created Avenue Talent Partners to help SaaS startups find and grow executive sales and customer service leaders. Amy Volas customizes her keynotes on sales-related topics like talent acquisition and leadership training.
19. Kim Blue
Kim Blue became Zoom’s Global Head of People Experience Partners in 2020. It was her job to lead the worldwide team of HR business partners. She left that role and became the Chief People Officer at OpenExchange. In this fintech company, she leads the HR team in organizational management and HR functions that align with the business.
20. Dr. Nikki Lanier
Dr. Nikki Lanier brings special expertise to human resources as she’s worked in labor and employment law, collective bargaining, and human resources. She has more than 25 years managing multi-site operations and building multicultural and cross-functional teams. She is certified in Collective Bargaining from Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations.
21. Janine Driver
Her expertise lies in reading a person’s body language as a means to grow your business by knowing what employees and clients are thinking. Janine Driver’s “You Can’t Lie to Me: Janine Reveals the 5 Hidden HR Secrets to Separating Fact From Fiction That Your Employees & Job Applicants Pray You’ll Never Find Out” is one of her most popular keynotes.
While he has a degree in Social and Political Science, Marcus Buckingham is best known for his specialized knowledge in management training. He’s written nine books on business management training and two are bestsellers. He’s the founder and CEO of his management training company, the Marcus Buckingham Company.
23. Michelle DiTondo
Human resources leadership is Michelle DiTondo’s specialty. She has more than 30 years of experience in the field. Ten years of that was as the Chief HR Officer with MGM Resorts International, helping with culture transformation and employee engagement for nearly 100,000 worldwide employees. She holds an MBA from Brigham Young University and has a degree in education, giving her exceptional insight into effective training in the business world.
24. Lee Rubin
Two decades of helping teams and corporations have led to Lee Rubin becoming one of our top human resources speakers. He excels in leadership development and corporate culture building. After being the captain of the Penn State football team, he became an HR executive for several companies and uses that insight to help others gain the understanding they need.
25. Mark Murphy
If you need a speaker with expertise in employee engagement, ending burnout, and creating a high-performing work environment, Mark Murphy is your guy. He’s an award-winning leadership expert who has talked on CNN, NPR, and 20/20, among many others, and given keynote speeches and presentations at Harvard Business School, the United Nations, MasterCard, Microsoft, and hundreds of other large and small companies.
26. Jill Ratliff
Jill Ratliff spent more than 25 years in human resources management for Fortune 100 companies. She’s been the Director of Corporate HR for PepsiCo/Taco Bell, Executive Vice President of HR for ING North America, and Director of Leadership Development for ADP. Ask her to talk to your group about her tips in business leadership.
27. Tessa White
She’s the founder of The Job Doctor, a firm that helps companies build employee engagement. Tessa White was an HR exec for 25 years with experience in aggressive mergers. She holds LIVE career sessions on TikTok and is ranked #1 in that category.
28. Lorne Epstein
Lorne Epstein’s “2021 CEO Bias Impact Report” has had more than 1,000 downloads since its release. He can talk about his HR experience and skill in talent acquisition as he has recruited teams across the globe. He holds a degree in Organizational Development from George Mason University and is a SHRM Senior Certified Professional.
29. Renee Smith
The “Great Resignation” has led to high turnover rates in some careers, and Renee Smith is an expert in it. She excels in helping companies find ways to make jobs rewarding and keep their employees rather than develop abusive, disliked practices that lead to resignations. Her message, “It’s time to put love at the center of work,” is one of her strongest messages to audiences. She’s the founder and CEO of A Human Workplace and loves helping business owners find ways to make the workplace a happy, productive one.
30. Amber Vanderburg
Amber Vanderburg is an expert in action-focused team development and leadership. She developed her skills as the only American female football coach at the Adidas Gameday Academy. She’s the author of the guide to building strong teams “Uniquely Better” and holds a degree in Organizational Dynamics from the University of Oklahoma.
While sailing across the Atlantic Ocean, Carlos Piera Sierra reached his destination and started thinking a lot about personal and professional happiness. How did people find happiness, and how could he make a difference in the world? This led him to Grupo CMR, a Spanish HR consultancy. He used his work there as his platform to collaborate with Delivering Happiness where he helped establish the Make Happy Work business model to help people find their passions in work and beyond.
32. Andrea Iorio
Andrea Iorio brings more than a decade of experience with multinational companies in topics like leadership. He’s an excellent keynote speaker with degrees in International Relations from Johns Hopkins and is an MBA professor at Fundacao Dom Cabral. His books have been number one on Amazon’s People Management and Leadership lists.
33. Travis Apple
Travis Apple is General Sports Worldwide’s Vice President of Executive Search and Team Consulting. He specializes in sports and entertainment and finding and developing top talent and brings 15 years of expertise to events and keynotes.
34. Stephanie Angelo
Stephanie Angelo created Built to Thrive, a process that helps businesses improve their company’s culture. She’s a consultant and corporate trainer who has helped companies like Intel and Doubletree Hotels decrease employee turnover and establish positive workplace cultures that improve the effort workers put into their jobs.
35. Lester Morales
Lester Morales is the CEO of Next Impact, LLC. Prior to forming his own firm, he managed over 200 employees in dozens of offices as a Chief Growth Officer at Willis’ Human Capital Practice. He excels in human resources and business growth and development.
Galit Ventura-Rozen’s business Commercial Professionals stems from more than 25 years as a commercial real estate broker. She used the insights she had in commercial real estate to write “The Successful Woman’s Mindset,” a guide to developing successful HR strategies.
37. George Randle
With more than 20 years in human resources and talent acquisition at many Fortune 100 and Fortune 1000 companies, George Randle has the experience you need in selecting, building, and reorganizing your workforce and teams. He’s a Hogan Leadership Assessment Certified Coach and built one of the largest veteran hiring programs for a Global Fortune 50 company.
38. Jason Collett
Jason Collett has held leadership roles in the HR departments of several Fortune 500 companies. Through this, he also built, grew, and sold several small businesses. He knows the ins and outs of human resources in the largest companies and the smallest ones.
39. Stacey Delo
When it comes to human resources, Stacey Delo’s expertise is on women in the workplace. She’s the author of “Your Turn: Careers, Kids and Comebacks – A Working Mother’s Guide.” She’s talked to business professionals around the country, including big corporations like Google and LinkedIn.
40. Davina Smith
Davina Smith holds a master’s degree in Human Services and Business from Liberty University and a master’s and doctorate in Human Services from Walden University. Her focus as a human services professional is on helping others use empathy to find solutions and inspire change through personal development.
Whether you want to boost productivity or get your teams working cohesively, our top 40 human resources speakers are ready to help. Reach out to Engage for more information and to schedule the right speaker for your goals.
