By integrating deep global experience with applied expertise, Chris Ernst, Ph.D is uniquely positioned to enable innovation and change in complex, multi-stakeholder, cross-boundary environments. He has worked with organizations and communities across sectors in most parts of the world from generals and ambassadors in Iraq to the Executive Director of a leading nonprofit in India to the CEO of a disruptive innovation company in Silicon Valley.

Chris has held leadership roles with the globally top-ranked Center for Creative Leadership (CCL), as vice-president of leadership and organization effectiveness for Juniper Networks in Silicon Valley, and presently, as global head of learning, leadership and organization development at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

As an active speaker and writer on global issues, his work is published in leading academic journals and outlets such as HBR, Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Chief Learning Officer, Talent Management, Organizational Dynamics and MIT Sloan Management Review, and in authoring two books, including CCL’s best-seller, Boundary Spanning Leadership: Six Practices for Solving Problems, Driving Innovation, and Transforming Organizations.

Out of these successful experiences, and plenty of unsuccessful ones along the way, Chris holds the conviction that innovation spans boundaries, yet appreciates first-hand that leading across boundaries is hard work.

http://www.chrisernst.org

Jean Singer, PhD, is an organizational consultant specializing in the use of social network principles and techniques to improve performance. She combines 20+ years of experience in the fields of organizational development and business process improvement with the latest tools of network analysis to help companies build better cross-functional collaborations, influence the adoption of change, enhance process efficiency and create the diverse knowledge-sharing connections needed to foster innovation. Jean has a particular passion for helping scientific and technical organizations to leverage networks for innovation and speeding the delivery of scientific advances to market. Her industry experience includes biopharmaceuticals, financial services, high technology, energy, insurance and consumer products.

Jean is also a core member of the Connected Commons, a community of organizational and academic leaders committed to improving the performance and well-being of individuals and organizations by helping them build capability in the use of organizational networks. She is a co-editor of The Organization Network Field Book: Best Practices, Techniques and Exercises to Drive Organizational Innovation and Performance as well as author of a number of articles and book chapters on organizational development, business process improvement and organization networks. She holds a PhD from Fielding Graduate University, an MBA from the Wharton School, and an SB from MIT.