WASHINGTON, April 25, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The nation's top employers join industry thought leaders at the Global STEM Talent Summit Initiative (GSTS) on April 27–28th, 2017, at The National Press Club in Washington, D.C. Its mission is to create solutions for developing the next generation of skilled talent necessary to drive innovation and economic growth within a global context. The summit is led by STEMconnector,® the leading organization working with industry, higher education, NGOs and the public sector to provide resources and leadership that supports smart STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) investments.

This year's theme is short-term STEM talent development strategies and impact on business performance. "We are building off the success of last year's first-ever employer-led annual Global STEM Talent Summit and bringing together major industry partners to address the STEM talent gap that exists in our country—and globally," said Dr. Heidi Kleinbach-Sauter, Senior Vice President, Global R&D, PepsiCo, and Chairwoman of the Global STEM Talent Summit. "We have fully transitioned from STEM theory into action and our industry partners are implementing STEM talent development strategies to deliver sustainable enterprise growth."

Several keynotes will present a call to action, such as Jan Geldmacher, President of Sprint Business, in conjunction with "Pepper," the intelligent humanoid robot. Jay Bavisi, CEO, EC-Council, will address why we must upskill STEM talent for the projected 8.1 million global cyber jobs, with two million in the USA alone.  Surya Kant, President, North America, UK and Europe Operations, Tata Consultancy Services, challenged last year's summit participants to work on supporting one million tech jobs for the underserved, and he returns in 2017 to build on the digital fluency priority. "Digital technologies are transforming every industry around the world, including manufacturing, banking, retail, and healthcare. Companies are adopting the forces of cloud and automation to make their enterprise far more agile and responsive, in order to provide superior experiences to their end consumers," says Surya. "In this new world order, companies across almost all sectors need talent with a combination of digital fluency, innovation excellence, and employability skills."

Other keynotes include Robert Fraley, Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Monsanto, and Nina Vaca, Chairman & CEO, Pinnacle Group. Media Moderators include Megan Murphy, Editor, Business Week, Bloomberg, and Angela Greiling Keane, Deputy Technology Editor, Politico.

This two-day summit serves as a platform for discussion, sharing best practices in STEM talent development strategies, networking and taking collective action to drive scale and speed in helping to solve the STEM shortfall. Together with 50 strategic partners representing more than six million employees, over $2 trillion in combined revenue, and broad industry segmentation from over 200 delegates, the GSTS will report on progress made as part of a three-year strategic roadmap that aims to drive sustainable impact and deliver tangible solutions to diminish the STEM talent shortfall gap.

"As disruption is evident, business leaders are shifting focus to talent investments and engagement in STEM and tackling the latest of new technology and skills required for jobs," says Edie Fraser, Chief Executive Officer of STEMconnector.® "As this GSTS initiative continues, leaders are intent on identifying and proselytizing investments in education proven to strengthen a sustainable, long-term talent pool."

"Ensuring a robust and sustainable pipeline of stem talent is key to drive innovation in industries and economies all over the world," said Seema Kumar, Vice President, Innovation, Global Health and Science Policy Communication, Johnson & Johnson. "Great innovative ideas can come from anywhere, and our opportunity is to cultivate a broad base of stem talent that is inclusive and diverse. The future of our economy… and our world… depends on it."

The 2017 GSTS strategic partners include Acord, APCO Worldwide, Apollo Education Group, AT&T, BAE Systems, Base 11, BP, Burning Glass, Cargill, Carnival Corporation, Cengage Learning, Centene Corporation, Cigna, Credit Suisse, Dassault Systems, Deloitte, Discovery Education, FedEx, Gulfstream, Honeywell, Hope Street Group, Gallup, GM, Eaton, Indeed, Johnson & Johnson Innovation, ManpowerGroup, Lockheed Martin, Mind Research Institute, Microsoft, Monsanto, Monster, My College Options, The National Press Club, PepsiCo, Pillsbury Law, Pinnacle Group, Smiths Group, Stratasys, Sodexo, Sprint, S&P Global, Tata Consultancy Services, UCI Henry Samueli School of Engineering, Unilever, University of Phoenix, and Walmart. 

Join us at the Global STEM Talent Summit

The Global STEM Talent Summit will be held on April 27–28, 2017 at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. For more information, visit: http://stemconnector.org/initiatives/global-stem-talent-summit/

For individuals unable to join in person, a livestream of the event will be available for remote viewing at: http://stemconnector.org/initiatives/global-stem-talent-summit/. Conversations can be tracked on social media by using the hashtag #GSTS2017.

About STEMconnector®
STEMconnector® is a consortium of 165 member companies, associations, societies, policy organizations, government entities, universities, and academic institutions concerned with STEM education and the future of human capital. With several products and services, STEMconnector® is both a resource and a service, designed to link "all things STEM." STEMconnector's network includes organizations at the global, national, state, and local levels. STEMconnector® focuses on the STEM workforce and jobs, with a particular emphasis on diversity and women. Our work spans the entire pipeline (Kindergarten to Jobs) and how STEM education experiences translate into careers.

Media Contacts:

Michael DuBois
STEMconnector
202-296-3118
Michael.DuBois@STEMconnector.org

Glyn Cozart
APCO Worldwide
202-905-7616
gcozart@apcoworldwide.com

Event Program

SHORT-TERM STEM TALENT DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES AND
IMPACT ON BUSINESS PERFORMANCE
Thursday, April 27, 2017 2:30 p.m.–9:00 p.m.

2:30–3:30 p.m. Registration Opens

3:30–3:50 p.m. Welcome/Opening Remarks

• Edie Fraser, Chief Executive Officer, STEMconnector/Million Women Mentors
• Dr. Heidi Kleinbach-Sauter, SVP, Global R&D, PepsiCo

3:50–4:00 p.m.

• Rob Denson, President, DMACC

3:50–5:00 p.m. Panel 1: Year 3000: The Next Generation of STEM Talent

• Moderator: Matthew Peterson, CEO, Mind Research
• Adegboyega Akinsiku, PhD Candidate in Human-Centered Computing, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
• Aleem Prince, Student, Patterson High School, Class of 2018
• Megan McCauley, Electrical and Computer Engineering Student, Olin College of Engineering, Class of 2017

5:00–5:30 p.m. Keynote

• Dr. Robert Fraley, EVP and Chief Technology Officer, Monsanto

5:30–6:30 p.m. Panel 2: STEM Talent Readiness: What's in Your Playbook?

• Moderator: Michael Norris, Senior Advisor, STEMconnector
• Melissa Harper, VP, Global Talent and Inclusion & Diversity, Monsanto
• Gerri Mason Hall, SVP and Chief Human Resources Officer, North America, Sodexo
• Michael Regelski, SVP and Chief Technology Officer—Electrical Sector, Eaton
• Sheri Hickok, Executive Chief Engineer for Autonomous Vehicles, GM
• Terese Taylor, Director, Global Technology Lead, Credit Suisse

6:30–7:30 p.m. Networking

7:15–9:00 p.m. VIP Reception/Dinner: The GSTS Consortium and Business Impact with Table Discussions

SHORT-TERM STEM TALENT DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES AND
IMPACT ON BUSINESS PERFORMANCE
Friday, April 28, 2017 8:00 a.m.–4:15 p.m.

8:00–8:30 a.m. Intro Speech: Results and Progress of the 2016 Global STEM Talent Summit

• Dr. Heidi Kleinbach-Sauter, SVP, Global R&D, PepsiCo

8:30–9:30 a.m. Panel 3: America's Got STEM Talent: Skilling and Upskilling Your Current STEM Workforce

• Moderator: Megan Murphy, Editor, Business Week, Bloomberg
• Jane Oates, VP, External Affairs, University of Phoenix
• Jen Granner, Managing Director, IT Minneapolis, ManpowerGroup
• Krishna Nathan, Chief Information Officer, S&P Global
• Matt Sigelman, CEO, Burning Glass

9:30–10:30 a.m. Panel 4: Innovative and Impactful STEM Talent Development Strategies

• Moderator: Angela Greiling Keane, Deputy Technology Editor, Politico
• Susan Fallon, VP of Global Strategy and Business Development, Monster
• Landon Taylor, CEO, Base 11
• Al Bunshaft, SVP, Global Affairs, Dassault Systems
• Dr. Gregory Washington, Dean, UCI, Henry Samueli School of Engineering 
• Richard A. Wright, Director, Research Engineering, Lockheed Martin

10:30–10:45 a.m. Networking Break

10:45–10:55 a.m. Keynote

• Nina Vaca, Chairman and CEO, Pinnacle Group

10:55–11:15 a.m. Keynote: Future-Ready Talent for the Digital Economy

• Surya Kant, President, North American, UK and Europe Operations, Tata Consultancy Services

11:15–12:15 p.m. Panel 5: STEM Gem: Future-Ready Talent for the Digital Economy

• Moderator: Balaji Ganapathy Head of HR Workforce Effectiveness, Tata Consultancy Services
• Nate Wells, VP Operations Planning and Engineering, FedEx
• Lori McFarling, CMO, SVP of Content Partnerships, Discovery Education
• Becky Schmitt, SVP, Human Resources, Walmart
• Morag Watson, VP, Head of Digital Innovation, BP IT&S
• John Staines, Human Resources Officer, Cigna

12:15–12:45 p.m. Lunch

12:45–1:15 p.m. Lunch Keynote: Cyber Workforce Pipeline Winners and Losers, Which Path Are You On?

• Jay Bavisi, President, Co-founder and CEO, EC-Council

1:15–2:15 p.m. Panel 6: We Live in a STEM World: STEM Talent Development Beyond the US

• Moderator: Dale Jones, CEO, Diversified Search
• Bill Pieroni, President & CEO, Acord
• Kendra Carrol, VP of Talent for the Americas, Smiths Group
• Seema Kumar, VP, Innovation, Global Health & Policy Communication, Johnson & Johnson
• Barb Bidan, VP of Talent Attraction, Indeed
• Jane E. Friedrich, Director of Research, Development & Innovation, Cargill

2:15–2:45 p.m. Keynote: Robotics in Business Accelerating Innovation-Expectations of a Changing Workforce

• Jan Geldmacher, President, Sprint Business, Sprint
• & Pepper, The Intelligent Humanoid Robot

2:45–3:45 p.m. Panel 7: There Is No "I" in STEM: Public/Private Partnerships that Drive Scale and Impact

• Moderator: Allen Shapard, SVP, Chair, Public Engagement Strategies, APCO Worldwide
• David Benoit, Director of Business Development, Stratasys
• Al Patel, Vice President of Global Services, Apollo Education Group
• Dr. Mike Hampton, Dean of the Chaplin School of Hospitality, Florida International University
• Tonie Leatherberry, President, Deloitte Foundation, Deloitte
• Brent Ramdin, President, National Research Center for College & University Admissions/myCollegeOptions

3:45–4:15 p.m. Closing Remarks

SOURCE National Press Club; STEMconnector