Business Accretive Diversity: Building an Inclusion Strategy That Drives Value

Subha Barry is president of Seramount, now part of EAB. Seramount is a strategic professional services firm dedicated to advancing diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace. Here, she drives the firm’s vision, strategy, and business development.

Prior to Seramount, Subha was SVP and Chief Diversity Officer at Freddie Mac, where she served on the firm’s management committee and led their Foundation. During her 20+ years at Merrill Lynch, Subha was a Managing Director and the company’s first Global Head of Diversity and Inclusion, driving strategy, infrastructure and execution with a lens on both global and local community. 

She has taught Gender Policy at Columbia University and speaks passionately about the ability to drive innovation by embracing diversity and creating a culture of inclusion. She serves on a number of boards aligned with her passions—education, cancer research, and women’s advancement.

 A native of India, Subha holds a BA from Bombay University and an MBA and MS in Accounting from Rice University. She enjoys golfing, reading poetry and rallying for social change. She has two grown children and lives in Naples, Florida and New Hope, PA with her husband.

Jim Link is the Chief Human Resources Officer for SHRM. With more than 340,000 members around the world, 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.

Bernie Milano is President, KPMG Foundation and The PhD Project (Ret.), and Member, President’s Board of Advisors on HBCUs. Milano has been appointed twice to serve on the President's Board of Advisors on Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), first under President George W. Bush and currently under President Donald Trump. He has received more than a dozen awards for his work in diversity and inclusion, including being named one of Diversity Edge Magazine's Top 20 Diversity Champions and one of Working Mother Magazine's Champions of Diversity. He received the National Association of Black Accountants Legends Award and was the inaugural recipient of the HBCU Business Dean's Bernard J. Milano Excellence Award.

Milano is a graduate of Temple University and holds an honorary doctorate of Humane Letters from North Carolina Agriculture & Technical State University and from Kent State University. He has an honorary doctorate of Humane Letters and Intercultural/Multicultural Diversity Studies from William Paterson University of New Jersey.