Keynote Panel
Dinesh Desai
Executive Chairman and Founder
Emtec, Inc
Mr. Desai has been Emtec’s Executive Chairman of the Board since August 2005 and served as Emtec’s CEO from 2005 to 2020. Prior to August 2005, Mr. Desai was the Chairman and CEO of DARR Global Holdings, Inc., a management consulting firm. Prior to DARR, Mr. Desai was President, CEO, Co-Chairman and an owner of Western Sky Industries, a privately-held manufacturer of proprietary component parts used primarily in aerospace applications. Western Sky grew from approximately $3 million in revenues to over $170 million prior to being sold to McKechnie in 1999. Before Western Sky, Mr. Desai spent twelve years with American Can and Arco Chemical in various management positions.
Mr. Desai holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in chemical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology in Bombay, India, and a Masters of Science Degree in both chemical and industrial engineering from Montana State University. He earned a Masters in Business Administration from Temple University.
Mr. Desai is also founder and president of the SSBD Desai High School which provides education to underprivileged children in Gujarat, India.
Ben-Saba Hasan
Senior Vice President
Global Chief Culture Diversity Equity & Inclusion Officer
Walmart, Inc.
Ben Hasan joined Walmart’s Global People team as Senior Vice President and Chief Global Culture, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Officer in July 2015. In this role, Ben and his team are responsible for the activation and strategic evolution of Walmart’s culture; the development of behaviors that embrace diversity, equity and inclusion at all levels; and the promotion of the company’s external reputation as a great place to work.
He joined Walmart in 2008, and previously served as Senior Vice President, Strategic Services, in Walmart Technology. In this role, Ben and his team were responsible for ISD (Information Systems Division) strategy, communication, innovation, vendor management, project management, business analysis, Global Technology Services (GTS) – India & Mexico, and quality assurance.
Prior to joining Walmart, Ben worked 11 years at Dell Inc. where he progressed through several leadership positions before serving as Vice President of Corporate & Product Group Information Technology (IT). In this position, he directed teams in Texas, Shanghai, Taipei, and Singapore. Ben also served as General Manager of Dell’s IT Development Centers in Brazil and India. He gained broad experience in IT, human resources, rates and regulatory affairs, and customer service early in his career across 14 years at ENSERCH Corporation, an energy company based in Dallas.
Ben was the 2006 recipient of the Temple University Fox School IT Award for Distinguished Alumni. He earned a Master of Business Administration from Amberton University in Dallas and a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a computer science concentration from Temple University in Philadelphia. Ben also completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School.
Ben is a board member for several national and local organizations, including the Walmart Foundation; Catalyst Board of Advisors; Ron Clark Academy (Atlanta); United Negro College Fund; and Bentonville Area Chamber of Commerce.
Jenn Nyiri
Vice President
Enterprise Accelerated Development
Comcast NBCUniversal
Jenn Nyiri joined Comcast NBCUniversal in 2013 to implement new, lead current and build future rotational programs that support the organization’s long term talent strategy. Over the past nine years, her role has expanded to lead Talent Management for the Corporate and Cable Headquarters organizations, most recently building and leading the Accelerated Development team to support critical successor development.
Prior to joining Comcast NBCUniversal, Jenn spent close to a decade with Aramark Corporation leading Talent Management for their Sports, Leisure & Corrections divisions.
Jenn has a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from the Temple University Fox School of Business and a Master’s Degree in Organizational Development & Leadership from Saint Joseph’s University. She is also a graduate of the Internal Coaching Intensive of the Columbia University’s Advanced Coaching Certification Program and participated on the Temple University Fox School of Business MBA Industry Advisory Council. Additionally, she chairs the PSPS Interviewing Skills Committee in partnership with the Philadelphia Academies to bring interviewing skills to high school students in the Philadelphia Public School District.
Niraj Patel
Vice President
Chief Information Officer
Greystone
Niraj Patel is Chief Information Officer at Greystone. He has over 25 years of operational and board experience with corporate, venture and private equity backed entities.
Prior to joining Greystone, Niraj was the President of AI, Analytics and Platforms business unit at DMI and a subject matter expert providing guidance on Digital Strategy to Goldman portfolio companies. Other roles include CIO of lending platforms at IBM, Strategy Officer at Selex, co-founder and President of ISGN and CIO at GMAC Commercial Holding. At GMAC he led the startup, scaling-up and exiting of six different divisions in the technology and services focused on lending.
Graduated from Temple University, Niraj has a Finance and MIS degree. He also completed the Wharton Advance Management program. At Fox School of business, Niraj taught the Digital Business Strategy course that was designed to inspire and mentor MBA students. Also, Niraj supports the startup eco system by advising and sitting on many companies’ boards.
Mark Spykerman
Chief Information Officer
AmerisourceBergen
Mark Spykerman is the Chief Information Officer of AmerisourceBergen, a Fortune 10 global healthcare company with a foundation in pharmaceutical distribution and solutions serving pharmaceutical manufacturers, pharmacies, and healthcare providers in more than 50 countries.
As CIO, he is focused on leading and empowering the technology team to strengthen the global pharmaceutical supply chain. The technology team strives to have a positive impact on the health of communities around the world by creating value through innovative technology. He is thankful and counts it as a privilege that AmerisourceBergen has played a significant global role in fighting COVID-19 with novel technology to support distribution of COVID-19 therapies and vaccines.
He has been with AmerisourceBergen since 2012 in various leadership roles. Before joining AmerisourceBergen, Mark was a consultant with McKinsey & Company. He earned an MBA from the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was a Dean’s Fellow and has a BS from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.
Jen Warne
Executive Vice President
Chief People Officer
Lincoln Financial Group
Jen Warne is executive vice president, chief people officer for Lincoln
Financial Group. She reports to President and CEO Dennis R. Glass and sits on Lincoln’s Senior Management Committee, which drives the company’s long-term strategy.
Warne is responsible for setting, implementing and providing strategic oversight over all aspects of Lincoln’s Human Resources programs, including Diversity and Inclusion, Employee Relations, HR Business Partnering, HR Operations and Technology, Leadership and Employee Development, Organization and Leadership Effectiveness, Talent Management, Total Rewards, and Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability efforts.
Warne has been with Lincoln for more than 10 years, serving as the Chief Talent Officer since 2011. During this time, she was also the Head of HR Business Partnering for a variety of business lines and led multiple, critical enterprise HR initiatives. As Chief Talent Officer, she led the development and execution of effective talent strategies to differentiate Lincoln in the marketplace as a destination employer. That included a focus on building the organizational design and leadership capabilities, creating employee resources for learning and career development, and enhancing Lincoln’s ability to attract, retain and engage employees. Warne also played a critical role in the company’s response to COVID-19, return-to-office planning and the development of Lincoln’s new work model.
Warne joined Lincoln Financial from Towers Watson, formerly Towers Perrin, where she served on the HR leadership team and held various HR roles. Warne holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Human Resources from Temple University and is based in Lincoln Financial’s Radnor, PA office.