Better Workplaces Challenge Cup Final Pitch Competition
COME GET A GLIMPSE OF THE FUTURE OF WORKPLACE TECH!
Watch the four final startups compete to be the champion of the Better Workplaces Challenge Cup. Their final pitches will be made to a panel of judges as well as an audience of investors, leading HR professionals, fellow innovators and the media.
This is one competition you won’t want to miss!
Kevin Harrington
Kevin Harrington, chairman and founder of As Seen On TV, Inc., is widely acknowledged as a pioneer and principal architect of the infomercial industry.
In 1984, Kevin produced one of the industry's first 30-minute infomercials. Since then, he has been involved with over 500 product launches that resulted in sales of over $4 billion worldwide with 20 products that reached individual sales of over $100 million.
Kevin founded Quantum International, Ltd. in the mid 1980s, which merged into National Media Corporation in 1991. Under his leadership as President, National Media reached $500 million in annual sales, distributing in over 100 countries and 20 languages. This company's success has been chronicled in a case study at Harvard/MIT for over a decade.
Kevin was also CEO of several other entrepreneurial companies including HSN Direct, a joint venture with Home Shopping Network, in 1994 and Reliant International Media in 1997. Reliant International Media was sold in 2007.
In 2011, Kevin's company As Seen On TV, Inc. acquired the web property AsSeenonTV.com. AsSeenOnTV.com represents a highly trafficked catalog of direct response products with over two million customers, 700,000 email registrants and hundreds of thousands of unique visitors each month.
Throughout his career, Kevin helped to establish two of the most important and recognized global networking associations: the Entrepreneur's Organization, or EO (formally known as the Young Entrepreneurs' Organization) and the Electronic Retailing Association, or ERA. Today, the EO has 113 chapters in 38 countries. The ERA represents the $125 billion electronic retailing industry and is comprised of over 450 member companies and subsidiaries that use the power of electronic retailing to sell directly to consumers via television, radio, Internet and wireless media in over 100 countries worldwide.
Due to his extensive resume, Kevin was selected as an investor "Shark" on the ABC television series Shark Tank produced by Mark Burnett. The show gives budding entrepreneurs the chance to pitch their products to a panel of acclaimed judges in hopes of turning their ideas into a successful business reality. He has a book entitled "Act Now: How I Turn Ideas into Million-Dollar Products" that chronicles his life and experiences in the DRTV industry.
Cindy Eckert
A self-made serial entrepreneur and vocal advocate for women, Cindy defies convention. In her industry, in her companies, in her outcomes. Her work today in The Pink Ceiling/Pinkubator continues to break barriers by investing in and mentoring other women to get to her same outcomes. She’s on a mission to make women really rich. You cannot miss Cindy. Everything she touches turns to pink.
Over a distinguished 24-year career in healthcare, in only the last 10 years she has built and sold two businesses for more than $1.5B. First Slate Pharmaceuticals, which redefined long acting testosterone treatment for men then Sprout Pharmaceuticals which broke through with the first ever FDA-approved drug for low sexual desire in women — dubbed “female Viagra” by the media. After selling the company for $1B in 2015, she successfully fought to get the drug back and launch it on her own terms.
Cindy has made waves, and made her own success, creating mission driven companies that deliver big. Her results have become a widely covered business success story featured in major media outlets. She is most proud of helping others take command. The profoundly positive impact those companies have made in people’s lives is what keeps her coming back for more.
Amber Clayton, SHRM-SCP
Amber Clayton is the Senior Director of Knowledge Center Operations at SHRM. Amber leads a team of HR experts who field an average of 60,000 HR-related inquiries from members a year. She is frequently sought after as a speaker and expert for webinars, conferences, and media interviews. Amber co-hosts a podcast called Honest HR. She is SHRM-certified with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Baltimore. She also holds specialty credentials in California law, inclusive workplace culture, and workplace investigations. Prior to joining SHRM in 2011, she had years of HR experience in healthcare and retail.
Dedeepya Ajith John
A passionate and multi-tasking business professional with over 13 years of experience, Dedeepya handles the portfolios including Advisory, Research and Academic Partnerships catering to the regions of India, as well as APAC, MENA regions. She further also heads the South Region for SHRM India and is responsible for business development & consulting in the area of Human Capital Management. Prior to this, she has worked with Oracle India as HR Consultant.
Her areas of interest include Knowledge Management, Diversity and Inclusion, Competency Assessment & Development, Organization Development, Research and HR Analytics. She has been involved in the project design, content generation and implementation of consultancy projects in the above areas. She is experienced in using Quantitative and Qualitative research methods for diagnostic purposes including identifying relevant variables, designing questionnaires and using various statistical methods for analysis. She co-authored papers/ book chapters in the areas of Diversity and Inclusion and further has contributed extensively to various articles/interviews in leading newspapers. Dedeepya is a Mechanical Engineer from Jawaharlal Technological University (Kakinada, A.P) followed by an MBA from Indian Institute of Science (IISc, Bangalore, India). She is a certified SHRM Senior Certified Professional ( SHRM SCP), Level -1 Hogan Assessor, SHRM PMQ and is certified in Job Evaluation by KornFerry – Hay. Along with her work, Dedeepya is passionate about painting, dancing and sports.
Johnny C. Taylor, Jr., SHRM-SCP
Johnny C. Taylor, Jr., SHRM-SCP, is President and Chief Executive Officer of SHRM. With nearly 325,000 members in 165 countries, SHRM impacts the lives of more than 235 million workers and families globally.
As a global leader on the future of employment, culture, and leadership, Mr. Taylor is a sought-after voice on all matters affecting work, workers, and the workplace. Recently named one of the “Most Influential People Shaping Public Policy” in our nation’s Capital by Washingtonian Magazine, Mr. Taylor is frequently asked to testify before Congress on critical workforce issues and authors the weekly USA Today column, "Ask HR."
Mr. Taylor's career spans over 20 years as a lawyer, human resources executive, and CEO in both the not-for-profit and for-profit space. He has held senior and chief executive roles at IAC/Interactive Corp, Viacom's Paramount Pictures, Blockbuster Entertainment Group, the McGuireWoods law firm, and Compass Group USA. Most recently, Mr. Taylor was President and Chief Executive Officer of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund.
He is the author of the national bestseller, RESET: A Leader’s Guide to Work in an Age of Upheaval, which delivers a candid and forward-thinking vision for leaders to reimagine their company cultures in a time of global upheaval and presents data-driven strategies to make the necessary foundational reset of all things work. Immediately upon its release in September 2021, RESET was in the top three of the Wall Street Journal’s list of best-selling hardcover business books. All author proceeds benefit the SHRM Foundation, which is committed to empowering HR as a social force for change.
Mr. Taylor sits on several corporate boards, including as Lead Independent Director of XPO Logistics (NYSE: XPO) and as an Independent Director of Guild Education and Flores & Associates. In addition, he dedicates himself to non-profit organizations, serving as Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees of the University of Miami and as a Trustee of the United Way Worldwide. Mr. Taylor was appointed chairman of the President’s Advisory Board on Historically Black Colleges and Universities and as a member of the White House American Workforce Policy Advisory Board during the Trump Administration.
The Women Business Collaborative (WBC) named Mr. Taylor as one of its 2023 Trailblazers in Gender Equity and Diversity for his work to achieve equal positions, pay, and power for all women in business. In 2020, he received the Distinguished Executive of the Year Award from the Academy of Management, and he was named 2021 ALA Professional Society CEO of the Year by CEO Update.
He is a Fellow of the National Academy of Human Resources and is licensed to practice law in Florida, Illinois, and Washington, D.C.