Let’s Return to a Better Workplace!
Webinar #2: The Tools and Aesthetics of Work
September 23 | 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. EST
For the past five years, the AABDC has convened multi-cultural business professionals from all levels – C-suite to young professionals – to tackle topics that are meaningful not just to the mission of diversity and inclusion in the workplace but to broader conversations on trends in the workplace. Through this three-part webinar series we aim to engage our broad audience of internal organizational champions across industries – those who will lead the post-shutdown change in the workplace — in the conversation on using the learnings from most current crisis to significantly improve the future of work – from the way we work to the tools we use to the spaces we work in.
Generational shifts and disruptive technological advances are prompting us all to re-think what work looks and feels like. Organizations are redefining leadership and prioritizing innovation. According to one report, “the IT industry has never been more important” — from foundational infrastructure to creating new platforms, applications and learning algorithms – we all increase our reliance on it in personal and professional lives. Panelists representing key players in the field of technology will discuss their take on the systems, networks, tools and processes that support new ways of collaborating, innovating and being effective in the new world.
MODERATOR
Sara K. Abiusi
Civilian Technology Lead – Managing Director, Accenture
Sara Abiusi is a Senior Client Technology Director and Accenture Federal Services’ most senior woman in technology. Her leadership as a pioneer of change in tech is rooted in the empowerment of herself and her teams to think out of the box. She is recognized for leading the development and delivery of transformational large-scale software systems on time and on budget.
Ms. Abiusi’s personal background as a half-Asian Jewish woman in technology gives her a unique perspective on Inclusion and Diversity. She is on the Greater Washington Board of Ascend and and is a leader and role model for Women and girls in Tech, where she was just named a 2020 Women Leader in Technology 2020 by Consulting Magazine. As the Accenture US Asian Pacific American ERG executive sponsor, Ms. Abiusi develops Asian Pacific American employees by creating professional development programs that discuss provocative and multifaceted diversity. She serves as a mentor, career counselor, and advocate, and established a Women in Technology lecture series.
SPEAKERS
Lorrissa Horton
VP & GM of Webex Strategy and Online Business, Collaboration Team Group, Cisco
Lorrissa is Vice President and General Manager of Webex Strategy and Online Business. She leads a global team responsible for Cisco’s collaboration portfolio strategy and go-to-market motions to drive future growth. With the recent acceleration of remote work and new ways of working, Lorrissa and her team are laser focused on evolving Webex’s online presence and overall user experience to meet the growing demand of Cisco customers.
Prior to this role, Lorrissa drove the product evolution of Webex Teams. Transforming the modern work experience with a single app that keeps work moving regardless of location. Empowering people to work anyplace and anytime with best-in-class messaging, video meetings, calling and collaboration capabilities, in the cloud and on-premise. An area that she knows very well given her direct experience as a working mom who leads global teams and leverages remote capabilities to be successful. Webex technology and innovation is at the core of who she is as a person and as an industry leader.
Lorrissa brings more than 15 years of experience in product management, productivity software in Microsoft Office, natural language processing, and machine learning with search and NUI experiences, hardware development for sound and video, analytics with Microsoft PowerBI, and business applications for human capital management. She is extremely passionate about innovation and has a track record of thinking outside-the-box with the development of 10 patents over her career.
Gurinder Kaur
Chief Information Officer, Coca-Cola North America
Gurinder Kaur joined The Coca-Cola Company as Chief Information Officer, Coca-Cola North America in June, 2019. In this role, Gurinder leads the technology agenda and IT delivery of key digital priorities for Coca-Cola North America. This includes support for Digital Commerce, Customer Service, Data and Analytics and supporting the deployment of our Enterprise programs while continuing to simplify our technology landscape. She is a member of the Coca-Cola North America Executive Leadership Team.
Gurinder joins Coca-Cola from Kellogg Company where she was Vice President – Global Commercial, Robotics and Analytics Solutions. In this role, she partnered with business and regional leaders to enable global Marketing, Sales, and the Research, Quality, Nutrition and Technology (RQNT) groups. She joined Kellogg in 2009 and played a key role in building the global digital marketing and enterprise analytics team for Kellogg.
Prior to joining Kellogg, Gurinder was Vice President – Global Digital & Relationship Marketing Systems for Diageo. Additionally, she held roles of increasing responsibility in Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, UK and USA at Ford Motor Company, Shell Oil and Deloitte. During her time with these organizations, she led the strategy and implementation of finance, marketing and sales technology solutions globally.
Gurinder earned her Bachelor of Business degree in Accounting from The Royal Institute of Technology (RMIT), Melbourne, Australia and her MBA from the University of Michigan.
James Lee
Managing Director of Global Strategic Initiatives, Google Cloud
James Lee is currently Managing Director of Global Strategic Initiatives at Google Cloud. He is focused on driving digital transformation partnerships with customers in North America and APAC. With over 20 years of experience in the technology industry, James has worked across product, sales, and operations in North America, Europe, and Asia.
Before joining Google, James spent 12 years at SAP, most recently as Chief Operating Officer for SAP Ariba and Fieldglass. Before then, he was General Manager of Sales and Chief Operating officer for SAP Greater China. He also launched SAP’s private equity business in Asia Pacific and Japan.
James holds a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School, Bachelor of Commerce from the University of British Columbia, and Diploma in Piano Performance from the Royal Conservatory of Music. He is a recipient of the 2019 Outstanding 50 Asian Americas in Business Award.