Jim Link is the Chief Human Resources Officer for SHRM. With nearly 340,000 members in 180 countries, SHRM is the largest HR professional association in the world and the leading voice for matters related to workers and the workplace. Prior to joining SHRM, Link’s career included roles of increasing responsibility across a variety of industries and companies including General Electric, the Pillsbury Company, Porsche Cars, and Randstad. While at Randstad North America, he led a global team of 150 HR professionals who were instrumental in transforming the company into an award-winning, inclusive, and sustainable global leader.

Link consistently demonstrates dynamic and visionary thought leadership with a variety of presentations focusing on the interconnection between effective human capital management and business results. Using a data-driven, story-telling approach with his audiences, Link’s presentations weave together insights gleaned from a variety of sources to address the rapid and necessary changes required for tomorrow’s leaders to succeed. Typical topics Link addresses include the future of HR, global workforce dynamics, workplace evolution, emerging leadership trends, tech readiness, culture, employee and organization wellbeing, as well as entrepreneurship and innovation.

Link has graced stages across diverse geographical landscapes, sharing his expertise with audiences in North America, India, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. As a sought-after speaker on the international stage, his insightful presentations delve into critical aspects of the contemporary workplace, including but not limited to inclusion, employee experience and engagement, organizational culture, benefits strategies, and mental health advocacy. His compelling discussions not only showcase his depth of knowledge but also reflect his commitment to driving positive change in society and business through the lens of empathy and civility. His ability to translate complex ideas into manageable outcomes, coupled with his passion for fostering inclusive and thriving workplace environments, positions him as a thought leader who leaves a lasting impact on audiences across the globe.

Newton Cheng is a husband and father, champion powerlifter, and is Director of Health + Performance at Google. He models and teaches a unique performance-oriented approach to vulnerable leadership that he’s developed throughout his career. His goal is to break the stigma around mental health in the workplace and beyond so that we can achieve our most ambitious goals without sacrificing our ability to take care of ourselves and each other. Drawing on his unique background at Google as well as his journey to becoming a world champion athlete, he has unique expertise in the intersections of health & wellbeing, and performance of individuals and teams. Despite still working as an executive at Google, Newton has openly shared about his struggles with mental health and burnout in order to model what it looks like to pierce the stigma around mental health. Exclusively represented by BrightSight Speakers, Newton has spent his 16-year career at Google developing, launching and scaling global programs aimed at helping Googlers to thrive. Today he oversees a global portfolio of Google’s physical and digital health & wellbeing amenities. He spends much of his time exploring how Google can leverage spaces and services, community, culture and technology to support the physical, mental, social, and spiritual health of Googlers, their families, and our neighbors. As a powerlifter, he has set multiple world, US, and California state records, and is a world and 8-time US national champion. Newton was born and raised in Macomb, IL. He earned a BS in Electrical Engineering from University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and an MBA from University of California, Berkeley.