Speakers Who Change the Room.
Year after year, attendees tell us the keynotes are the part of GCS they are still quoting months later. We look for speakers who challenge how you think about the work, not just fill an hour well.
Both keynotes are presented at lunch — Wednesday and Thursday, May 26–27, 2027 — and are included with every full registration. No extra ticket, no separate sign-up.
The 2027 lineup is being announced now.
Dr. Taryn Marie Stejskal
Founder & Chief Resilience Officer, The Resilience Leadership Institute · Former Head of Executive Leadership Development, Nike
Keynote · Wednesday, May 26, 2027 · 12:30 pm
Keynote Bio
Dr. Taryn Marie Stejskal is a #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author, resilience researcher, and former Fortune 500 talent leader. At Nike, she led executive leadership development and talent strategy for the company’s top 400 vice presidents; at Cigna, she built global leadership programs across 86 countries. She has sat on your side of the table.
Today, as Founder and Chief Resilience Officer of the Resilience Leadership Institute, she draws on two decades of original research to help organizations connect business strategy with the wellbeing of the people who deliver it. The author of The 5 Practices of Highly Resilient People, she has spoken on more than 800 stages, and her TEDx talk has been viewed more than 1.3 million times.
Human by Design: Building the Future of Work Where Strategy Meets People
As artificial intelligence reshapes every industry, HR has an unprecedented opportunity to shape something even more important than technology: the human experience of work. The organizations that thrive over the next decade will not simply be those that adopt AI the fastest. They will be those that intentionally cultivate resilient people, courageous leaders, and cultures where human potential can flourish.
In this visionary opening keynote, Dr. Taryn Marie challenges audiences to rethink one of leadership’s most enduring assumptions. Rather than asking resilience to compensate for increasingly complex workplaces, organizations can intentionally design environments where resilience becomes the capacity for growth, innovation, collaboration, wellbeing, and meaningful contribution. By blending compelling stories, research, and practical insight, she offers an optimistic roadmap for how HR can become the architect of workplaces where strategy truly meets people.
Every organization, culture, and employee experience is designed, whether intentionally or unintentionally. The question is not whether we are designing work; the question is what our workplaces are designed to allow people to experience and produce.
For generations, organizations were designed primarily for efficiency. Today, we have an extraordinary opportunity to design something even greater: human flourishing. Technology will continue to transform how we work, and artificial intelligence will reshape what work looks like. But human flourishing will determine who leads. Organizations don’t flourish by accident. People don’t flourish by accident. They flourish because leaders intentionally design environments where resilience, trust, purpose, courage, innovation, and connection can thrive.
People weren’t made to simply survive at work; they were designed to flourish. And when people flourish, organizations flourish. That is the future of work.
Brigadier General Joe E. Ramirez, Jr.
Former Vice President for Student Affairs, Texas A&M University · U.S. Army (Ret.)
Keynote · Thursday, May 27, 2027 · 12:30 pm
Keynote Bio
A Houston native and Texas A&M graduate, Brigadier General Joe E. Ramirez, Jr. served 31 years in the U.S. Army, commanding soldiers from platoon to division level. He was Deputy Chief of Staff for U.S. Central Command during Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom, and finished his career as Deputy Director of Strategy, Plans, and Policy at U.S. European Command.
As Texas A&M’s 45th Commandant of Cadets, he grew the Corps from 1,800 to more than 2,550 cadets in seven years and raised its GPA from 2.6 to 3.2. He then served as Vice President for Student Affairs, leading services for more than 76,000 students.
Session Details Coming Soon
General Ramirez’s keynote topic will be announced soon. Check back for the full session description.