Kathryn Shaw – Stanford University
Ernest C. Arbuckle Professor of Economics

Professor Shaw is Ernest C. Arbuckle Professor of Economics at the Graduate School of Business, Stanford University. Professor Shaw’s most recent research focuses on managing talent in high performance organizations. She studies how firms attract and build star talent in the software industry and in a range of knowledge-intense industries.

More broadly, Professor Shaw studies how the firm’s choice of its human resource management practices can produce measurable performance gains for the company. She is identified as the co-developer of the field of “insider econometrics” that began with the use of production-level data from firms in the steel industry to model the effects of alternative management strategies on productivity. Her research has been extensively funded by the National Science Foundation, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and the Russell Sage and Rockefeller Foundations.

At Stanford, Professor Shaw teaches Managing Talent and Human Resource Strategy, wherein she often brings her research into the classroom. Previously, she was the Ford Distinguished Research Chair and Professor of Economics at the business school at Carnegie Mellon University.

She completed her Ph.D. in Economics at Harvard University in 1981. In 2001, Professor Shaw received the Columbia University award for the best paper on international business, and in 1998 she was honored as the recipient of the Minnesota Award for Employment Research for the best paper in 1997-98 on the topic of employment issues. In 1996, she was listed as one of the Top 50 Economists in the profession (based on the amount of publications in 30 top journals).

Professor Shaw has received several teaching awards, has been the Trust Faculty Fellow for 2005-06, the recipient of the Xerox Research Chair. She has served on a Research Panel of the NSF and is an editor of several academic journals.

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Lizabeth Ardisana – ASG Renaissance
CEO and Founder

Ms. Ardisana is the co-founder, principal owner and Chief Executive Officer of ASG Renaissance, an international professional services firm. As the CEO, Ms. Ardisana is responsible for the company’s strategies, overall direction and financial management.

Ms. Ardisana also directs the company’s marketing, supplier development and environmental consulting operations and provides consulting services to clients on several projects.
Ms. Ardisana was elected chairperson of the Michigan Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in 2003, becoming the first woman to chair the Chamber’s 30-member board.

She also serves on the Kettering University Board of Trustees, Citizens Bank Board of Directors, Ford Hispanic Supplier Council and the Board of Directors for Focus: HOPE - a civil and human rights organization dedicated to overcoming racism, poverty and injustice. Before founding ASG Renaissance, Ms. Ardisana held a variety of engineering and planning management positions in Ford Truck Product Development. While working she owned numerous race cars that raced all over the US and Canada.

Ms. Ardisana earned her Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from the University of Texas, her MBA in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan, and her MBA from the University of Detroit.

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Lynda Ward Pierce – MobiTV, Inc.
Vice President of Human Resources

Lynda Ward Pierce is an active member of the San Francisco human resources community. Her extensive HR experience includes over twenty years as a human resources professional in a wide range of industries. Ms. Pierce has cultivated HR programs that include compensation, benefits, employee development, employee relations, international HR, and staffing to name a few.

Ms. Pierce is currently the Vice President of Human Resources at MobiTV, Inc. where she manages all HR programs. Previously, Ms. Pierce was the Head of Human Resources for SVB Financial Group where she managed all of their HR programs, Facilities and Security. Prior to SVB, Ms. Pierce served as Organic, Inc.’s Vice President, Human Resources. There, she was instrumental in the development of the HR function from the company’s earliest days as a start-up company.

Ms. Pierce is currently on the faculty of San Francisco State University where she has taught a variety of classes in the Human Resources Management Program.

Ms. Pierce is a graduate of the University of California, Davis with a Bachelor’s degree in Managerial Economics and Philosophy, where she also attended the UC Davis Graduate School of Management. In 1993, she completed the course work for her Master’s degree in Human Resources and Organization Development at the University of San Francisco.

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Martin McNally – WorkforceLogic
Director, Product Management

Mr. McNally joined WorkforceLogic in 2004 to direct and manage activities of the Client Services team and foster collaborative client relationships.

Mr. McNally has since moved into a Product Management role to leverage his customer experience and respond to their business drivers as well as those of the market.

Mr. McNally has 20 years of experience defining and leading software product initiatives and client service programs, with a strong background in delivering market-facing, responsive and innovative solutions.

Prior to joining WorkforceLogic, Mr. McNally led product initiatives for best-in-class enterprise software vendors and provided consultative services at Accenture, where he focused on the knowledge transfer and organizational change needs of his clients.

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Nicole Patterson – Google, Inc.
Global Program Manager

Ms. Patterson has over 10 years of experience in human resources, staffing and business operations. Ms. Patterson joined Google Inc. in 2003. For the past three years, she has been the Global Program Manager for Google’s Contingent Workforce Program. Google has operations in over 20 countries and was Fortune Magazine’s 2007 Best Company to Work for in America.

Ms. Patterson has a Bachelor of Arts in English from Wheaton College and a certificate in HR Management.

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