Wednesday morning plenary session: The challenges of global leadership

Dr. Rhinesmith is a partner in the Mercer Delta Executive Learning Center , which specializes in assessing, coaching, and developing global leaders. He is one of the world’s leading experts on global business strategy implementation and human resource development. For more than 25 years, he has helped managers and international teams improve their effectiveness and productivity. As an executive, consultant, diplomat, author, and lecturer, he has led and motivated people in more than 60 countries.

Dr. Rhinesmith consults with many Fortune 100 corporations on globalization and the development of global mindsets, competencies, and corporate cultures. His book, A Manager’s Guide to Globalization: Six Keys to Success in a Changing World, is frequently used in executive development programs to help managers gain a more global perspective. He is currently consulting with companies on developing leadership pipelines that will ensure the talent necessary for future global competitiveness. Dr. Rhinesmith is also the co-author of Head, Heart and Guts: How the World’s Best Companies Develop Complete Leaders, published earlier this year.

Wednesday aftenoon plenary session: The war for talent

Dr. Wooldridge, Washington bureau chief for The Economist, directs the coverage of business, social and political events. His specific areas of expertise include American politics, economic analysis, education, immigration, management theory, human capital development and globalization. Before taking his current post, Dr. Wooldridge served as Washington correspondent, Los Angeles correspondent, management editor and social policy editor (specializing in education and health care). He has co-authored four books: The Right Nation: How Conservation Won, The Company: A Short History of a Revolutionary Idea, A Future Perfect: The Promise and Hidden Challenges of Globalization and The Witch Doctors (a widely excerpted critique of management theory).

Thursday’s plenary session: Global talent strategy

We will wrap up the conference with a plenary session describing the results of groundbreaking research Mercer is conducting on the linkage of global business and talent strategies. The research examines the hypothesis that there are specific configurations of workforce management practices – or “talent models” – that support particular business models and that alignment of those models is, in fact, key to achieving profitable growth. In this session, we also examine whether greater segmentation (by business and geography) in talent management is more likely to facilitate high performance than centralized, “one company” approaches. The session will offer a practical decision framework to help you determine the right balance between commonality and segmentation in your own company’s talent strategy.

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