Global Member Forum: Future-Ready Blueprint: Building an Inclusive Global Strategy for 2030 and Beyond

Barbara Frankel is the Managing Director of the Insights division at Seramount, working on global and US diversity surveys, national thought-leader projects, and groundbreaking research on inclusion and DEI topics and how to create family-friendly workplaces. She was the leader of the recent Pledge to Progress research project, which details corporate America’s progress in combating racism in the year since the murder of George Floyd.

Barbara is a thought leader, editor, writer, manager, and consultant in global and US diversity management, business development and marketing, business journalism, and human- and civil-rights advocacy.

She previously was executive editor and senior vice president at DiversityInc. Barbara has served on the national Board of Directors of GLSEN (Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network) and the global advisory board of WeConnect International, a nonprofit that helps women entrepreneurs be corporate suppliers, as well as Garden State Equality.

Joe Infantino is Senior Director of Research at Seramount, part of EAB. In this role, he supports Chief Human Resource Officers with their most pressing issues through stakeholder education, as well as decision and implementation support. Before joining Seramount, Joe oversaw EAB’s research on enrollment growth strategy for higher education. Over 10+ years, he led research initiatives on various topics, including strategic planning, athletics, and maturity modeling.

Joe has a degree from Syracuse University. He is based in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Bridgette Scales is Managing Director of DBP and Seramount’s Advisory team. She is a diversity, equity, and inclusion expert with experience in sales and human resources. Bridgette joined Seramount from American Airlines in 2020, where she was the human resources business partner for customer experience. There, Bridgette was responsible for collaborating on people policies, talent management, career development, succession planning, departmental training initiatives, and aligning employee strategies with American Airline business goals.

Prior to her time at American Airlines, Bridgette spent 27 years at Proctor & Gamble. During her tenure at P&G, she was instrumental in developing and implementing strategies, programs, and processes across a complex and matrix organization. As a DEI practice leader for North America, Bridgette guided and counseled senior leaders on the integration of strategies that included awareness, cultural competency, leadership development, accountability and employee engagement. This led to better processes in the identification of high-potential employees, reduction in attrition rates of minorities, and increased DEI scores on the corporate employee survey.

Bridgette currently serves on the Global Advisory Board for the Women’s Leadership Forum within the P&G alumni network. She also sits on the She Runs It Foundation board’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Advisory Council and is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc.

She has a BA from the University of Oklahoma, an MBA from the University of Phoenix, and a Senior HR Professional certification from HRCI.

Mollie Teitelbaum (she/her) is a Director on the Learning and Advisory teams at Seramount. She is a Learning and Development leader who designs and delivers evidence-based training programs that enhance workplace engagement, collaboration, and innovation. With a focus on workplace culture and employee wellness, Mollie combines her academic research background and storytelling prowess to create impactful learning experiences for employees at all levels—from entry-level to C-suite. She has developed dozens of workshops and webinars and facilitated hundreds of sessions on topics such as leadership accountability, communication, psychological safety, cultural competence, and emotional intelligence, training tens of thousands of employees across a wide range of industries.

Mollie’s career began as a researcher and speaker at the intersection of philosophy and psychology, focused on accountability, bias mitigation, and habit science. Her graduate research formed the basis for her popular 2020 Mindful Magazine article, “5 Mindful Habits to Fight Bias Every Day,” and she delivered a TEDx talk in 2017 on addressing harmful social biases.

At Seramount, Mollie designs training programs that enhance engagement, productivity, and inclusion across partner organizations. She also advises talent leaders, facilitates leadership trainings, and creates learning programs for ERG leaders. Her approach blends cutting-edge research with actionable tools and facilitation best practices to ensure training is both relevant and impactful.

Mollie holds a B.A. from Binghamton University and an M.A. in Bioethics from NYU College of Global Public Health.

Blanca Villela is a business strategist, corporate governance expert, certified executive coach, and lawyer with an MBA, bringing over 28 years of global and regional leadership experience. She has driven growth and sustainable innovation in sectors including agribusiness, consumer goods, and manufacturing, across mature and emerging markets. At Cargill, Blanca held senior positions such as Protein Business Manager, overseeing legal, sustainability, corporate communications, and crisis management. She successfully led Cargill’s Global Women’s Network, launching diversity and inclusion strategies worldwide, including in Latin America and APAC. Recognized for her work in women’s empowerment by Forbes and the U.S. Embassy in Honduras, Blanca serves on the boards of Ternova Group, ALZU Group, and GRUPO SEARCHiN, specializing in human capital, innovation, and sustainability. She actively mentors leaders through Vital Voices and Telethon, fostering inclusive workplaces and strategic growth. Blanca holds certifications in Strategic Workforce Planning and Co-Active Professional Coaching (CPCC).

Gareth Whalley is the Founder and CEO of Big Bang People Solutions, an HR consultancy specialized in diversity, equity and inclusion, reward and recognition, and change management and communications. Big Bang helps organizations worldwide to build holistic solutions to complex people issues, in service of enhancing both employee and customer experiences.

Before launching Big Bang, Gareth spent over 20 years in generalist and specialist HR leadership roles in multinational organizations including Procter & Gamble, IBM, The Coca-Cola Company, and Levi Strauss & Co. In recent years, he focused his efforts on driving meaningful culture change in diversity, equity, and inclusion, first leading the global inclusion practice at Coca-Cola, and later serving as the Head of DEI for Europe at Levi’s. He now consults with clients across industry sectors to help increase DEI maturity and impact.