Relocation Industry Speakers

Debbie Balli, CRP, GMS
President, Global Relocation Services
SIRVA, Inc.

Debbie Balli became president of SIRVA’s global relocation services in May 2008 following her role as senior vice president of operations, which she assumed in mid-2007. She originally joined SIRVA in 1996 and has served the organization in various leadership roles, including general manager and business unit director. She possesses more than 15 years of relocation and real estate experience, covering relocation policy development, total program management, customer training, orientation and team building.

In addition to being a licensed real estate agent, Debbie holds the Employee Relocation Council’s (ERC) Certified Relocation Professional (CRP) and Global Mobility Specialist (GMS) designations and is an active member of the Minnesota Employee Relocation Council (MERC).

David Barlow, SCRP, SGMS
Senior Vice President, Senior Consultant
SIRVA, Inc.

David is a Senior Vice President with SIRVA Relocation and SIRVA’s Senior Consultant. David joined SIRVA Relocation in March of 2000 at the time he retired with over 33 years of Human Resources assignments with Chevron Corporation. During his Chevron career he held many key HR leadership positions including compensation, benefits design, job evaluation, recruiting and heading up numerous HR staffs. His last assignment was general manager of non-compensation policies which included global relocation.

David is a Senior Certified Relocation Professional (SCRP) and holds the Senior Global Mobility Specialist (SGMS) title. In 1998, David received the Meritorious Service Award from Worldwide ERC®. In 2001, David was awarded ERC’s prestigious Distinguished Service Award, and in May of 2005, David received his second Distinguished Service Award. In 2009, he received his third Distinguished Service Award. And in May of 2011 at the National ERC Convention in Las Vegas, David received his 4th Distinguished Service Award and was inducted into ERC’s Hall of Leaders---one of only 47 individuals so honored since ERC was founded in 1964.

David has completed a three-year term on the Board of Directors of ERC and seven years on ERC’s Public Policy Committee. David holds a bachelors degree in economics and an MBA from the University of Utah.

Jill McDonald, CRP, GMS
Director, Policy Consulting
SIRVA, Inc.

As director of policy consulting for SIRVA Relocation, Jill works with current and potential clients to ensure that all relocation policies are constructed to fit the needs of each account. She is accountable for driving our clients’ cost containment and risk management needs, through policy reviews, benchmarking and overall policy management.

Jill joined SIRVA in 1993, and since that time has held numerous positions in client support, staff management and client reporting. She had led numerous initiatives to streamline SIRVA’s operational processes, while also spear-heading projects to develop client cost savings strategies and a policy database.

Jill has achieved the Employee Relocation Council’s designation as a Certified Relocation Professional (CRP) and Global Mobility Specialist (GMS).

Kathryn Cassidy
Vice President & General Manager, Global Assignment Services
SIRVA, Inc.

Kathryn began her career in global mobility in the UK in 1990 and has been with SIRVA since 2005. She has worked for large third party relocations companies managing operations in Europe, Asia and the Americas. Throughout her career, Kathryn has been responsible for managing regional and global implementations on behalf of many Fortune 500 companies.

As General Manager for SIRVA’s Global Assignment Services organization, Kathryn’s responsibilities include enhancing organizational capabilities while ensuring globally consistent practices in SIRVA’s multiple assignment management operations around the world. She is accountable for driving quality service delivery and ensuring compliance and continuous financial management of SIRVA’s clients’ global assignment programs.

Kathryn is a graduate of Dublin City University, Dublin, Ireland where she received her degree in business administration and marketing. She has earned both her Certified Relocation ProfessionalTM and Global Mobility SpecialistTM designations from Worldwide ERC®.

Matthew Dickerson, CRP
Senior Vice President & CIO
SIRVA Relocation

Matt has more than 12 years of senior-level information technology, quality and client integration expertise. Most recently, he served as chief innovation officer for another third party relocation firm, where he was their senior executive in charge of technology and quality. He was responsible for their technology road map, global CRM Strategy, and was actively involved in sales and client initiatives.

As customer experience, operational excellence, and chief innovation officer with SIRVA, Matt is responsible for client facing technology and innovation projects that serve our corporate clients, transferees and moving customers. Matt interfaces with the sales, marketing, and IT teams on all new product development initiatives and the development of the customer technology, and leads SIRVA’s enterprise wide global CRM strategy. In addition, Matt leads the Operational Excellence (OE) initiatives to drive continuous improvement throughout the organization.

Matt is a Six Sigma Green Belt, a certified e-commerce consultant and a certified Internet webmaster associate. A Certified Relocation ProfessionalTM, Matt received Worldwide ERC©’s 2007 Meritorious Service Award. He served on ERC’s 2006 Global Workforce Symposium planning committee as well as ERC’s Unique Property Database and eSolutions Think Tank committees. Matt holds a bachelor of science in information systems from Cleveland State University and is currently pursuing graduate studies in information systems.

Meighan Dutt
Director, Client Services
SIRVA, Inc.

Meighan Dutt is a director, client services. In this position, Meighan manages a diverse portfolio of clients and delivers significant dollar savings and service improvements to all her clients. Meighan also expertly leads a team of relocation professionals and works collaboratively with the Vice President, Operations and Manager, Client Services to ensure overall client satisfaction, quality, and retention.

She joined SIRVA in 2004 as a loan counselor of SIRVA Mortgage, responsible for assisting corporate relocation transferees in negotiating through the current lending process, explaining any changes in the lending world, reviewing policy benefits regarding home sale and purchase, finding a competitive rate and the most efficient way to process their loan and assessing transferees’ mortgage needs.

Prior to SIRVA, Dutt was with Cendant Mobility as manager of the initiation center for two years and was responsible for building the department, managing 12 employees, training new staff, maintaining volume control for staff and initiating a new process to streamline authorization process. Prior to Cendant Mobility, she worked for Cendant Mortgage, Katherine Gibbs Schools and CBS Television.

Dutt holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in communication arts from Manhattan College. She received an Overall Achievement Award from SIRVA in 2006.

Dean Foster
President
DFA Intercultural Global Solutions

For over two decades, Dean Foster, President, DFA Intercultural Global Solutions, has been involved in researching, writing about, and consulting on the nature of culture and its role in society, work and politics in a globalizing world. As founder and former Worldwide Director of Berlitz Cross-Cultural, as well as the current founder and President of his own company based in NYC, Dean has played a central role in the development of the field of cross-cultural training and consulting. Dean works with most major Fortune 500 companies, national governments and NGOs (the United Nations and World Trade Institutes, among others), and as guest lecturer and faculty for a variety of premier educational institutions, such as Harvard Business School, Columbia University School of Business, NYU, Darden Business School, and others. His work has taken him to over 90 countries. He is the host on CNN of the nationwide “Doing Business in…” series, a frequent guest commentator on culture, global work and social issues for CNN, CNBC, the BBC and other radio and TV shows; and has been interviewed in Newsweek, USA Today, the New York Times, and elsewhere.

Dean is a familiar presenter at major international conferences related to international cultural issues. He is an active member of and speaker at the National Foreign Trade Council, the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD), the International Institute for Human Resources (IIHR), Worldwide Employee Relocation Council, and other organizations, and served as an Executive Board member of the International Society for Intercultural Education, Training and Research (SIETAR).

Dean has written many articles as well as the book, Bargaining Across Borders, published by McGraw-Hill and voted as one of the top ten business books of the year in 1994 by the American Library Association. Dean’s other books include The Global Etiquette Guide to Europe , The Global Etiquette Guide to Asia, The Global Etiquette Guide to Africa & The Middle East and The Global Etiquette Guide to Latin America. Dean is a Contributing Editor with National Geographic, writing the monthly “CultureWise” column, appearing in National Geographic Traveler Magazine. Dean is on the faculty of American University, Intercultural Management Institute, Washington, DC, and he received his Master’s degree in Sociology from the Graduate Faculty of the New School for Social Research, NYC.

Tracey Gatlin
Manager, Global Supply Chain
SIRVA, Inc.

Tracey joined SIRVA Relocation in May 2001 and has since held various positions within sales and marketing, operations, risk and global supply chain which have provided her with extensive knowledge of the relocation process.

In her current role, Tracey is responsible for managing real estate and home rental partner relationships in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico and is a project leader on the global supply chain team. In her role as global supply chain project leader, Tracey works in collaboration with the SIRVA Relocation Global Supplier Management team to drive increased consistency in sourcing, performance management and reporting around the world.

Tracey earned her Certified Relocation ProfessionalTM designation from Worldwide ERC®, as well as her Six Sigma Green Belt. She has a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point. She has also authored several articles in professional mobility and supply chain publications.

Jon Gilbertson, GMS
Vice President of Risk, Global Supply Chain & Procurement
SIRVA, Inc.

Jon joined SIRVA in April 2004 as a Six Sigma Black Belt and was recently promoted, in September 2009, to vice president of risk, global supply chain & procurement for SIRVA, Inc. During his tenure at SIRVA, Jon has held the roles of vice president of client services and vice president of risk, quality, supply chain and DJK. Jon possesses more than 15 years of experience in distribution, systems, third-party logistics and supply chain management. Prior to joining SIRVA, he worked with the home-and-hardware division of Fortune Brands as a senior specialist, logistic services and nine years with United Parcel Service.

In his current position as vice president of risk, global supply chain & procurement, Jon is responsible for supply chain and procurement across SIRVA, and integrating the supply chain team across the globe. He continues to lead the risk management function within the relocation business and has direct line reporting to the president, global relocation services, the president, moving services and the chief financial officer for core purchasing.

Jon has made several significant contributions to SIRVA. In his position, he oversaw the restructuring of the home inventory portfolio, implementing process controls and measurements at key points in the risk management process. Recently, he has lead the relocation supply chain team in facilitating several Request for Proposals and contract renegotiations to ensure vendor pricing is competitive for SIRVA and our clients, and is working on enhancements to the vendor scorecard that will improve supplier performance management.

Jon holds a master’s degree in business administration with an emphasis in finance from the University of Portland and a bachelor’s degree in business administration and economics from Saint Norbert College. In addition, he holds an associate degree in logistics from Northeast Wisconsin Technical College, is a Six Sigma Master Black Belt and holds the Global Mobility Specialist™ designation from Worldwide ERC®.

Rick Hoover, CRP, GMS
Director, Client Services
SIRVA Mortgage

Rick began his career with SIRVA as a loan counselor in March of 1999 and was promoted to his current position as director, client services in April of 2003.

In this position, Rick manages a diverse portfolio of clients and delivers significant dollar savings and service improvements to all his clients. He expertly leads a team of relocation professionals and works collaboratively with the vice president, operations and manager, client services to ensure overall client satisfaction, quality and retention. In addition to these responsibilities, Rick is truly committed to continuous improvement. To demonstrate this dedication, he has partnered with SIRVA senior leadership members in order to develop benchmarking initiatives focused on improving business practices and, as a result, increasing SIRVA Mortgage’s quality service levels.

Prior to his tenure with SIRVA Mortgage, Rick worked as a loan officer and credit manager for a major financial institution.

Rick received a bachelor’s degree in business administration/finance from The University of Akron and is a recipient of the Certified Relocation Professional (CRP) designation accredited by the Worldwide ERC®.

Lorraine Jennings
Manager, IHR Consulting Services
Asia Pacific Middle East
SIRVA, Inc.

Lorraine Jennings is manager, consulting services, Asia-Pacific and Middle East, of SIRVA Relocation. She leads the strategic deliverables of International HR Advisory though thought leadership, innovations in cross-cultural/intercultural management programs and client-driven consulting across Asia-Pacific and the Middle East. She is a member of SIRVA’s Global Consulting team.

Jennings joined SIRVA in 2004 as Manager Consulting and Services (Australia). During her tenure, she was responsible for managing all Australian client relationships and delivering services in various assignment management models. She was also responsible for developing the International HR consulting practice and continues to deliver consulting projects to clients, which includes reviewing, auditing, developing and implementing global mobility infrastructures for clients. In addition, Jennings is also responsible for managing and delivering international compensation services to Mercer-ORC clients, as the Australian Representative for former-ORC products.

Jennings holds a business degree with a major in HR and a Post-Graduate in HR Management from Deakin University, Melbourne. She is an author and has been on regular interviews and published in various magazines including Australian Human Resources Institute, Singapore Human Resources Institute, CCH Asia Pacific, Australian Relocation Network and SIRVA publications. Jennings is also a Certified Professional member of the Australian Human Resources Institute and the Australian Relocation Network.

Ryan Kifus
Vice President, Account Management
SIRVA Moving Services

Paul Ryan Kifus is vice president of account management for SIRVA Moving Services, responsible for all moving services corporate accounts for both Allied and North American Van Lines. In his role, in conjunction with an account management team, Kifus is operationally responsible for renewing and developing long-lasting relationships with SIRVA’s corporate clients and the Allied and northAmerican agents that support these customers.

Kifus joined SIRVA in 2003 as a sales intern during his senior year at John Carroll University. After graduation, Kifus was accepted into the inaugural class of the “SIRVA Leadership Program” where he gained exposure to areas such as six sigma quality, procurement, operations, and relocation and moving corporate sales.

Upon successful completion of the Leadership Program, Kifus joined the product development team within SIRVA Relocation, responsible for building a HHG Move Management Product. During the implementation of the HHG Move Management Product, he served as the product manager for 16 months, before joining the Moving Services division of SIRVA. Kifus was then appointed the domestic account manager for ExxonMobil, a position he held until 2009 when he was promoted to his current role.

Kifus holds a bachelor’s degree in marketing from John Carroll University in Cleveland, OH.

Paul Klemme, CRP
President
SIRVA Mortgage

Paul has been with SIRVA Mortgage since 1994, and currently serves as president, SIRVA Mortgage. His lending career began with Norwest Financial in 1988, and includes a three-year term as the assistant vice president of sales for Nationwide Mortgage. During his career, Paul has held the positions of loan counselor, director of operations and executive vice president.

While with SIRVA Mortgage, Paul has played a crucial role in the development of the mortgage division's process, procedures, products and service delivery and has energized the company's team-based agenda with an emphasis on continuous personnel development and growth.

Paul obtained his bachelor's of business administration with a degree in finance from the University of Toledo. He has achieved the Employee Relocation Council’s designation as a Certified Relocation Professional (CRP) and is a licensed mortgage banker.

Wendy Komac
Senior Vice President, Global Sales
SIRVA, Inc.

As Wendy Komac is senior vice president of global sales of SIRVA Relocation, overseeing all U.S. domestic and global relocation sales operations and leading a highly seasoned sales force in developing aggressive-growth sales goals and objectives.

Komac joined SIRVA in 2002 as senior vice president of national sales. In 2007, she joined Prudential Relocation as senior vice president, global business development, responsible for developing global sales strategy, building global sales organization and implementing a global CRM tool.

Komac re-joined SIRVA in 2008 in her current role, bringing a history of successfully implementing and motivating global sales teams. As a motivational speaker, she has presented to thousands of sales teams, leadership executives and training workforces on topics such as personal responsibility and choosing success.

Komac holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Malone College and a master’s of business administration degree from the University of Phoenix.

Wes Lucas
Chief Executive Officer
SIRVA, Inc.

Wes Lucas was named SIRVA’s chief executive officer and board member in July 2008. A seasoned executive with experience in a variety of C-suite roles at global FORTUNE 500 corporations as well as small private companies, Wes is widely known for his ability to drive company growth through the development of enhanced execution capabilities and delivery of superior customer value.

From 2001 to 2006, Wes served as chairman, chief executive officer and president of Sun Chemical, the world’s largest producer of printing inks and pigments with 300 operating plants and approximately $4 billion in annual sales. Prior to this, he served as co-chairman of Kodak Polychrome, a joint venture between Kodak and the world’s largest provider of imaging equipment and materials for commercial media. Previous significant leadership roles also include serving as chief executive officer and president of Quebecor World, a $6 billion printing services company; president of Sytrenics Nova Chemicals, a leader in plastics and materials; vice president of AlliedSignal, a multi-billion-dollar industrial company; and as a management consultant with McKinsey & Company.

Wes holds a master’s in business administration from Harvard Business School, and a Bachelor of Science in finance and accounting from the University of California, Berkeley.

Pam Milani, CRP
Director, Corporate Real Estate
SIRVA Inc.

Pam has been with SIRVA Relocation since 1995, and currently serves as Director, Corporate Real Estate and a member of the Risk team.

Pam's career in real estate and relocation spans 24 years, and includes a background in the real estate, appraisal and banking industries as well as new home sales and marketing. Pam is a committee member of the Worldwide ERC’s “Unique Properties Database”.

Pam obtained a bachelor of science degree from John Carroll University.

John O’Connell
Vice President, Global Operations
SIRVA, Inc.

John O’Connell is vice president of global operations for SIRVA Relocation, responsible for leading the global service delivery teams located in the Americas.

O’Connell joined SIRVA in 2011 in his current role. He has held various leadership positions in international operations, account management, and business development.

Prior to joining SIRVA, O’Connell was with Bristol Global Mobility as vice president of International Strategic Solutions for 3 years and was responsible for managing international service delivery teams and leading business development activities for global accounts. Prior to Bristol, his career included working for Prudential Relocation as senior vice president, international, and HR and Associates as Manager of International.

O’Connell holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish from DePauw University and a Master of Business Administration in International Management from The Thunderbird School of Global Management.

Dena Ostrander
Director, Supply Chain Management
SIRVA, Inc.

Dena Ostrander joined SIRVA in March 2004 and is the Director of Supply Chain Management, responsible for procurement initiatives and supply chain management across the organization. During her time at SIRVA, Dena has held several roles within the Supply Chain group and has successfully implemented process improvements, cost saving and revenue opportunity initiatives.

Prior to SIRVA, Dena spent seven years at Barnes Distribution and held positions in purchasing, corporate account sales and product development. Dena holds a master’s of business administration degree with concentrations in supply chain and operations from Case Western Reserve University and a dual bachelor’s business administration degree in marketing and management from Northwood University.

Hank Roth
Senior Counsel
SIRVA, Inc.

Hank initially joined SIRVA’s legacy organization, Cooperative Resource Services, as an outside legal counsel and in 1995 became a full-time, on-staff counsel. Hank was an integral part of the team that developed the array of relocation products that put CRS on the map as the fastest growing relocation company in America in the 1990s. In addition, Hank’s experience includes over 30 years in private practice. He is an adjunct professor at Capital University, instructing students in business law, employment law, and civil courts classes

Hank splits his time between acting as SIRVA’s senior contract counsel, and consulting. As a core consultative resource to our clients and our industry, he reviews tax and administrative implications for relocation products and services. Recently, Hank has devoted his time as a resource to the sales and marketing department and training of SIRVA’s products and services as well as the negotiation of new client contracts. He is currently an appointed member of the Worldwide ERC Public Policy Committee dealing with industry-wide tax and legal issues. He has been invited to speak at numerous ERC local and national meetings including ERC National Relocation Conferences.

In 2006, he was awarded the prestigious ERC President’s Award for his work in obtaining the new Revenue Ruling 2005-74 from the Internal Revenue Service as well as the Meritorious Service Award for other contributions to the relocation industry. In 2009, he received the ERC Distinguished Service Award.

Peggy Smith, SCRP, SGMS
Chief Executive Officer
Worldwide ERC®

Peggy Smith, Worldwide ERC® Chief Executive Officer, is an experienced and innovative business leader and recognized global strategist. She came to Worldwide ERC® in May 2010 after a stellar career with Microsoft, where she expanded the company’s workforce mobility reach from U.S. to global coverage.

In her own words, she “never met a stranger”- indeed, Peggy is viewed by her peers as a friendly and straightforward communicator with a great sense of integrity and humor, a curious and intelligent colleague, a purposeful world citizen and a highly effective business development leader who builds strong relationships with a range of professionals in workforce mobility, talent management, staffing, benefits, payroll, finance, and procurement. When asked to describe herself, she’ll note that she drives for results with an open mind for ideas, and loves a challenge.

Having served on a number of committees and task forces for Worldwide ERC®, and more recently, on its Board of Directors and Executive Committee before joining the staff, she is equally familiar with global and U.S. member issues, and service provider and employer concerns, from both an internal and external perspective. She brings a deep understanding of each member segment’s needs and perspectives and an unwavering focus on the advancement of the workforce mobility industry and Worldwide ERC®.

Peggy holds a BA in marketing from Seattle University, as well as the Worldwide ERC® Senior Certified Relocation Professional (SCRP) and Global Mobility Specialist (GMS) designations. Her involvement with Worldwide ERC has included presentations, articles, and a variety of committee assignments, and led to recognition with a Meritorious Service Award in 2004 and the Distinguished Service Award in 2006. She served as 2006 Vice President of Worldwide ERC®, as Chairman of the association’s 2006 National Relocation Conference and Global Workforce Symposium Program Planning Committees, as 2007 Worldwide ERC® President, 2008 Chairman of the Board of Directors, as Chairman of the 2009 U.S. Advisory Council and as a board member of the Worldwide ERC® Coalition – Center for Governmental Issues.

Nick Stevovich, CRP
Vice President, Relocation Account Management
SIRVA, Inc.

Nick has developed new business relationships with relocation clients in the Fortune 1000 segment using a variety of services from full outsourcing to single product purchase. His exceptional leadership skills, developed over a 16-year career with SIRVA have made him one of the most consistently top-ranked performers within the SIRVA family. As the senior executive in SIRVA’s relocation account management team, Nick has account management responsibility for all of SIRVA Relocation’s North American vice presidents, client services and directors, client services.

Nick is a graduate of Ohio State University with a degree in economics and an emphasis in mathematics. Nick has also earned the Certified Relocation Professional™ designation from Worldwide ERC®.

Deb Wilk
Global Project Administrator for the International Assignment Services staff
General Motors

Deb is the Global Project Administrator for the International Assignment Services staff at General Motors in Detroit, Michigan. She began her career with General Motors 26 years ago and has held various positions in both domestic and international human resources management. Her last 15 years have been dedicated to the international arena where she has had responsibilities in compensation and assignment administration, immigration, tax policy and administration and global policy and procedure development. Currently, she manages the expatriate payroll activity for GM’s global operations which has operations in North America, Latin America, Middle East, Europe, and Asia Pacific.

Deb holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Management and Organizational Development from Spring Arbor University, Spring Arbor, Michigan.

Sue Wines
Vice President, Global Compensation & Payroll Services
SIRVA, Inc.

Sue joined Global Operations for SIRVA in 2011 to put her practical experience with international assignees to work – building best practices, enhancing system functionality, and creating a world class compensation service for SIRVA’s global assignment management clients. Services include cost estimates, letters of assignment, pay instructions and balance sheet, payroll reconciliations, and global compensation collection.

Previously, Sue was VP, Global Payroll Operations, for a large media / information company for 8 years. Sue consolidated payroll systems and operations using a regional service model. Those regional teams administered local payrolls in 95 countries and supported international assignees in 60 countries under both home-paid and host-paid arrangements.

Wines holds a bachelors degree in psychology with a minor in business from the University of Missouri – St. Louis. She is a member of the Strategic Payroll Leadership Task Force, working on the Global Issues Committee, for the American Payroll Association.

Julian Yates, Chartered MCIPD
Vice President, Global Client Services
SIRVA, Inc.

Julian Yates leads SIRVA Relocation’s global consulting practice. Julian provides strategic leadership to our global services delivery team and leads a team of subject-matter experts to deliver best practice policy analysis, benchmarking and policy development. In addition, he provides consulting support to clients in various areas of global mobility, leads thought-leadership projects such as the production and review of global surveys and studies, and participates in industry conferences.

Julian has over 25 years of global mobility and human resources experience having held assignments in the United States, Europe and Asia, both in a client and service provider role. A U.S. citizen, Julian originally hails from the United Kingdom and has traveled extensively on business to most regions of the world.

Julian holds a business degree with a minor in human resources, and is also a Chartered Member of the U.K. Institute of Personnel and Development (CMIPD).