Unlock the Power of HR Maturity to Drive Measurable Business Outcomes

Nick Schacht is a highly experienced executive with more than three decades of experience in professional services, education, and corporate learning and development. He has a history of driving product innovation, growth, and profitability, and he has led organizations operating worldwide. Schacht is Chief Commercial Officer for SHRM, the world's largest HR professional society. Before joining SHRM, he was the founder and CEO of KnowCyber, a learning and development company focused on improving the cybersecurity-related skills of people in all types of organizations worldwide. Prior to KnowCyber, he was President and Chief Operating Officer for PetroSkills, a provider of training and development services to the worldwide petroleum industry. Prior to that, he was CEO and President of Learning Tree International, a publicly traded provider of IT and management learning and development. Schacht was also the President of Global Learning Systems, a start-up focused on e-Learning and digital content. He served in a variety of capacities at ESI International, culminating in his role as President when ESI was sold to the Institute for International Research (IIR) and then as Group President for the Americas for IIR. He has been a Research Fellow at the Logistics Management Institute, and began his career as a U.S. Navy Supply Officer, on the headquarters staff of the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program.

James Atkinson is the VP, Thought Leadership at SHRM, where he leads research teams uncovering key insights on the challenges and trends affecting HR and the workplace. James joined SHRM with more than 15 years of research, data, and product experience, having spent a decade in various leadership roles within the HR industry. Prior to SHRM, James was the Vice President of Data Products at Payscale, where he was responsible for the overall strategy, development, and delivery of data products for compensation professionals. He also spent 9 years at Gartner, finishing his tenure there as the Managing Vice President of Data Products for the HR research and advisory practice. Across his career, his teams have created award-winning research and data products for HR executives and their teams on topics including learning and development, total rewards, recruiting, talent management, HR strategy, HR technology, and diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. This work has been featured in top business journals and media outlets such as Harvard Business Review, Wall Street Journal, and Forbes.

James holds a PhD in Political Science from the University of Michigan and an MBA from Ohio State University

Derrick Scheetz, SHRM-CP, is a Lead Researcher with SHRM’s Thought Leadership team. Since joining SHRM in 2018, Derrick has led research initiatives focusing on critical topics impacting all things work, worker and the workplace. His research has explored the connection between HR functional maturity and business outcomes, SHRM’s Civility Index, HR executive strategic priorities, second-chance hiring, employee benefits, HR benchmarking metrics, and more. His work has been published in HR Quarterly and the People + Strategy Journal and has been featured in leading business outlets including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and Fortune.  Derrick holds a Master of Science degree in Applied Psychology with an Industrial/Organizational Psychology concentration from the University of Baltimore.