Advisory Board

Soni K Basi, Ph.D.


Soni K Basi, Ph.D. is a strategic and passionate Global Human Resources (GHR) executive guiding the creation of cutting-edge talent programs. With a track record of delivering digital first initiatives, and 20+ years of experience, Soni has worked with some of the world's most notable companies in Luxury and Consumer Goods, Financial Services, and Pharma.

She has been featured in Chief Learning Officer magazine, in American Healthcare Leader magazine, and is a Top 100 Chief Learning Officer. She also speaks frequently at conferences and publishes articles as an Influencer on LinkedIn.

Most recently, Soni was the head of Global Talent at Allergan (Global Pharma, $16B). With a global team of 35 and two Recruitment Process Outsource (RPO) partners, Soni was instrumental in shaping the strategic end-to-end Global Talent agenda for the business. She created innovative, cutting-edge programs that attracted candidates to join, filling appx 4,500 positions a year, and through these programs, motivated employees to deliver strong business performance.

Prior to Allergan, Soni was the VP, Global Learning & Talent Development at The Estée Lauder Companies (NYC, Luxury Retail, $15B). She successfully built the first Global Talent programs across 30 brands and 40,000 employees. Among her many successes, she designed and delivered the Global Performance and Talent Management processes, and partnered with the CEO to introduce a pivotal annual ‘People’ month that significantly amplified the focus on talent.

During her time at Schering-Plough Pharmaceuticals (NJ) Soni was responsible for building a corporate university, delivering executive programs for the CEO, and played a critical role in two significant M&A’s.

She serves on the Advisory Board for Jobs for America's Graduates New Jersey (JAG NJ), the nation’s largest dropout prevention and recovery program, serving young adults ages 12-24. Soni is also on the Client Advisory Board for Cielo, one of the world’s top Recruitment Process Outsourcing firms.

She is a subject matter expert in Executive Search, Global Talent Acquisition, Learning & Development, Performance & Talent Management, Executive Succession Planning, Culture, Inclusion and Diversity.

Soni received her Ph.D. from Bowling Green State University in the Social Psychology, with a Minor in Quantitative Psychology.

Soni has a gorgeous 11-year old son, Armaan, who brings joy and wonder to her life.

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Ron Cheeley


Ron Cheeley is President of The Cheeley Consulting Group. In his current position, Mr. Cheeley provides high level human capital consulting services to both public and private companies. He was formerly a senior HR executive at Schering Plough, Pharmacia Corp. and The Coca-Cola Company, where he was global head of compensation.

Bruce R. Culver


Bruce Culver is a serial entrepreneur, investor, executive and scientist (Varian, Hach, Bausch & Lomb/ARL). He has invested in 20 start-ups and several publicly traded companies, including Axon (AAXN) (formerly Taser), On Assignment (ASGN) and Professional Staff plc (PSTF,) privatized in 2002.

Brian K. Dickens, Ph.D., SPHR, SCP


Brian K. Dickens is the Chief Human Resources Officer of University of Tennessee System and immediate past President and CEO of BD Consulting, Inc. Brian has also served as the Vice President for Human Resources and Diversity and Inclusion at Ithaca College (IC), the Associate Vice President for Human Resources and Payroll Services at Texas Southern University, the Director of Human Resources for the University of Houston and has the Executive Director of Student Activities and Leadership at Prairie View A&M University.

With more than 27 years of experience as a university administrator and over twenty years of experience as a human resource development and management consultant, Brian is committed to the pursuit and delivery of excellence through service with a focus on leadership, management, and organizational development. He has provided organization development services, and training services for managers and employees to enhance organizational effectiveness and efficiency, individual and work group performance, and the overall quality of work environments.

Brian is a certified Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and SHRM-SCP and holds a Ph.D. in Educational Administration and Human Resource Development from Texas A&M University. He has a M.A. in Counseling and B.S. in Biology from Prairie View A&M University. He is committed to lifelong learning and development for himself and others. Dr. Dickens is also a certified Executive Coach and certified facilitator for Franklin Covey’s Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Seven Habits for Managers, Leading at the Speed of Trust, and the Leadership Modular Series as well as Vital Smarts Crucial Conversations, Everything Disc Workplace, StrengthsFinder 2.0 and the Change Essentials program on change management.

Brian resides in Ithaca, New York with his wife, Dr. Shannon Presley-Dickens and three children.

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John Fikany


Most recently Fikany was the Vice President of Strategy and Corporate Development for Rock Holdings/Quicken Loans. Quicken Loans is the largest employer in downtown Detroit, and the largest Online Mortgage company in the nation. He was responsible for Community and Employer Branding efforts designed to attract the best talent, businesses and partnerships to the Quicken Loans family of companies and the city of Detroit.

He was also responsible for the Quicken Loans Intern Program and orchestrating the initiatives for 1,800 national interns. He developed and led the new University Relations Organizations and Strategic Partner Relationship Organization for the Quicken Loans and their family of companies. He was a proud Partner on the Bedrock Real Estate Team, transforming Detroit and creating a vibrant technology town.

Prior to his 2 years with Quicken Loans, Fikany served in multiple assignments in his 13 years at Microsoft, including Vice President of Microsoft’s Central Region Enterprise Business consisting of 18 States and $3.5 billion in revenue. Prior to that, he was responsible for the $6.2 billion U.S. Commercial Industry practice, driving industry strategy, sales, services, partner and marketing execution for 19 verticals. As a company partner, he served on the North America Leadership Team.

Prior to Microsoft, Fikany was a Vice President at Oracle Corporation for 8 years and served on the U.S. Leadership Team, responsible for sales, strategy, marketing, partners, consulting, education, and support services.

As a native Detroiter, Fikany is committed to the revitalization of his hometown. He is passionately engaged in many charity and community organizations. He serves on the Board of Directors for the Detroit Economic Club, Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce Executive Committee Board Member, Focus: HOPE, Boys & Girls Club of Southeastern Michigan, and the Parade Company. He is a recipient of the Global Citizenship Award and a proud graduate of Central Michigan University, where he was recently awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Science and Technology and delivered the 2015 commencement address. John resides in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan with his wife Marcy and their two children.

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Betty Gower


Ms. Gower, currently serving as the CMO for Xapa.com and CEO of the marketing and strategy company The Market Ninja, is recognized for her exceptional focus on strategy, agile execution, and business development return on investment (ROI). At Xapa, she spearheads a tech company that leverages dynamic digital learning tools for soft skills and personal enrichment in gamified training environments.

As the founder of Market Ninja, a boutique marketing and consulting agency, Ms. Gower empowers small to mid-size businesses with cost-effective marketing offerings ranging from focused tools to full-service strategy and implementation consulting. Her impressive portfolio includes the development of global communications and brand strategies for renowned organizations such as NxtWork, RDE LLC, Perkins Coie Privacy Law, and HealthTrackRx. Earlier in her career, Ms. Gower held leadership positions at GE, NBC Universal, and Classic Party Rentals, where she significantly contributed to the marketing success of these organizations.

Ms. Gower possesses a rich skill set that spans brand storytelling, public relations, and comprehensive marketing strategy. To BullseyeEngagement, Ms. Gower brings expertise in crafting impactful brand messaging, developing effective content marketing, and building efficient growth pipelines. She will bring insight to contemporary consumer/audience trends and strong guidance on effective approaches in the digital realm. In addition, she will advise the company regarding seamless collaboration across diverse marketing and communications initiatives.

Expressing her enthusiasm, Ms. Gower stated, "I am delighted to have joined BullseyeEngagement's advisory board. The product offerings are a game-changer for HR leaders. I am excited to use my marketing background to help elevate the brand and make a substantial contribution to our overall growth."

Adeel Zaidi, Founder & CEO of BullseyeEngagement, remarked, "Betty will complement the backgrounds and array of skills provided by our other board members, and her advice will guide us to better expose Bullseye to a wider audience. Her expertise will help us position our software offerings as a viable platform for medium-sized and larger organizations, and we are excited to benefit from her obvious skills and past experiences."

Dominique Shelton Leipzig, Cybersecurity & Data Privacy Partner at Mayer Brown and Co-Founder, Co-CEO of NxtWork, expressed support and congratulations to Bullseye. "We are thrilled that one of our founding members has been appointed to the Bullseye board,” said Ms. Shelton Leipzig. “NxtWork is committed to creating a bench of leading, diverse candidates for boards, and Betty is a great example of our membership. Bullseye is lucky to have her."

Christine Heckart, CEO of Xapa, stated, “Betty Gower is an exceptional corporate executive with outstanding business acumen, extensive experience across a range of industries, and high emotional intelligence. She will make an excellent board member for BullseyeEngagement.”

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Irene S. Helsinger


Irene S. Helsinger is a Managing Director of Newport Board Group, where she provides advisory services to companies with growth, human capital strategy or management challenges. Formerly, she was executive VP and COO of the Texas Heart Institute and senior VP/CHRO of St. Luke's Episcopal Health System.

Rolf E. Kleiner


Rolf E. Kleiner was formerly Senior Vice President and Chief Innovation Officer at Kelly Services, Inc., a leader in providing workforce solutions.  Founded H L Yoh Scientific and Kelly Scientific.  Currently, he is CEO of Renatus Partners and President of InVitro International.

Margaret Lazo


Margaret Lazo is a Chief Human Resources Officer and board member known for taking a strategic and active role in ensuring successful outcomes for highly visible companies in transition. A bilingual and bicultural executive with a history of successful leadership in the US, Latin America, Europe, and Asia, Margaret is a trusted partner in establishing business strategy, ensuring compliance, managing risk, and improving diversity.

She has guided organizations through complexity, including M&As, multiple CEO and ownership changes, and the creation of mandated risk and compliance standards and capabilities. As a member of the NBC Universal Board, she provided operational expertise and oversight to ensure a successful transition to Comcast.

In 2023, Margaret joined Cerberus Capital Management as a Senior Operating Consultant, leading human capital initiatives across its portfolio companies.

As Chief Human Resources Officer at Univision Communications (2016-2021), Margaret was member of the executive leadership team that guided the Spanish-language network through whipsaw changes that included multiple CEOs and two ownership transitions. She was instrumental in standing up a formal compliance function and committee structure, recruiting qualified leadership, establishing a code of conduct/ethics, and creating conflict of interest policies, backed by an ombuds function and formalized training. She also launched several initiatives that advanced Diversity, Equity & Inclusion across the business, including support and expansion of Employee Resource Groups, adding a Veterans and BIPOC group, and new academic partnerships for professional development and coaching. She worked with a series of management consulting firms on strategic initiatives while also creating a total rewards team and deploying new HRIS and talent acquisition tools. In addition, Margaret helped to establish the Univision Foundation, serving as President and then Chair, to set its vision and strategy.

Earlier, Margaret was Global Human Resources Leader at GE Capital Americas during two critical eras: the buildup of systems and procedures required by GE Capital’s new designation as a SIFI and the subsequent divestment of ~$100B of business value as the company rapidly divested its financial services businesses. She led a multifaceted upgrade of the risk and compliance functions, recruiting leadership with desired expertise from big banks and federal agencies. She established new procedures for talent management, succession planning, and leadership reviews, with regular report-outs on progress to the Fed. She then worked across 10 business units to wind-down operations, participating in 14 transactions over 15 months. She joined GE in 2012 as Global Human Resources Leader for GE Real Estate supporting the company’s return to profitability after the financial crisis.

Margaret also had a series of high-profile roles at NBC Universal before and immediately after its acquisition by Comcast. As head of EVP, HR for the Entertainment & Digital Networks and Integrated Media, she was a strategic business partner to a diverse portfolio of NBC and Comcast assets, including Bravo, Style, Oxygen, Telemundo, Fandango, and iVillage. She also served as global co-leader for the GE Hispanic Forum, an employee resource group, and a member of GE’s Diversity Council. She previously led HR for NBC Universal’s Television Entertainment division, the Telemundo Communications Group, and the NBC TV Stations Division. She began her career at Macy’s, completing its executive training program before moving on to generalist and functional leadership roles.

Margaret earned a BS in Communications and Business from St. John’s University. A longtime participant in industry and community groups, she is a member of the Board of Hispanic Federation, a nonprofit dedicated to empowering and advancing the Hispanic community and its institutions. She previously served on the boards of the T. Howard Foundation and the “I Have a Dream” Foundation in Los Angeles. She has been honored as a “Wonder Woman” media leader by Multichannel News (2019), a “Woman of the Year” by the Mexican American Opportunity Foundation (2008), and as one of the Imagen Foundation’s “Most Powerful & Influential Latinos” (2011).

Board Assets

Human Capital Strategy | Risk & Compliance Management

  • Strong operational expertise and a demonstrated capacity for defining HR strategy aligned to shifting business goals. Deep understanding and awareness of business metrics in diverse industries and public and privately held companies.
  • Ensured successful transitions of multiple CEOs and C-Suite leaders. Upgraded people and processes to create a contemporary HR function. Supported a heightened approach to compliance and risk management, recruiting and supporting a compliance team backed by performance metrics, new conduct, ethics, and conflict of interest policies, and expanded training. Guided HR due diligence related to multiple transactions (including the acquisition of Gawker Media). Created a total rewards team. Supported regulatory approval processes and led significant reorganization activities. Implemented health and safety protocols ensuring 24/7 media operations during COVID-19, shifting to establishing future of work practices.
  • As the global HR leader for GE Capital Americas, led a multifaceted upgrade to the risk and compliance functions to meet federal requirements related to GE Capital’s designation as a SIFI. Recruited highly qualified talent from big banks while building out committees and practices to support regular report outs to the Fed and other regulators. Established new procedures for talent management, succession planning, and compensation practices.
  • Co-led project to articulate a new vision for GE Capital’s business culture, taking best-in-class practices from big banks, to establish new approaches to performance objectives, compliance practices, and total rewards.
  • Played a key role supporting business turnaround at GE Real Estate, including its return to profitability, after the financial crisis. Provided oversight to a strategic disposition of equity portfolio and growth/restart of debt financing globally.

Transformation & Change

  • Led complex reorganization activities to support ownership transitions at Univision. Partnered with three management consulting teams on critical initiatives: achieving $100M in cost savings (BCG, 2018); executing a CEO transition and board orientation related to an acquisition by Searchlight Capital Partners and ForgeLight (McKinsey & Co., 2020); and assessing systems, processes, and policies related to the Televisa merger (Deloitte, 2021).
  • Delivered organizational changes first to shore up GE Capital Americas as a SIFI and then to wind down operations across ten businesses. Helped prepare all assets to go to market, creating a data room for due diligence, and deploying retention plans for at-risk talent and to support ongoing transition service agreements. Engaged directly with successor companies, ensuring that ~85% of employees remained with the acquired businesses.
  • Established restructuring actions at GE Real Estate during a business transformation and turnaround period following the financial crisis. Focused on talent identification, development, and retention strategies to support the growth of debt originations while executing an equity portfolio retraction.
  • Led multiple organizational transitions at NBC Universal Television Entertainment, Telemundo, and the NBC TV Stations Division. After Comcast’s acquisition of NBC Universal, guided efforts to integrate a diverse portfolio of entertainment assets, spanning cable networks, pure play digital businesses, and Spanish-language businesses (Bravo, Style, Oxygen, Telemundo, Fandango, and iVillage).

People & Culture | Global Leadership

  • Bilingual and bicultural, with skillful HR leadership in the US, Latin America, Europe, and Asia. Organizes and focuses diverse teams while building culture of accountability and inclusion.
  • Advanced DEI at Univision through the expansion and support of Employee Resource Groups, and the addition of an external speaker series with thought leaders. Enhanced professional development offerings and experiences (partnerships with UCLA, Nova Southeastern, and Smith College; executive coaching for women leaders). Heavily involved in community/social issues.
  • Co-led the global Hispanic Employee Resource Group for GE and served on the Diversity Council driving talent development programs and leadership representation, as well as engaging in external initiatives.
  • Facilitated significant organization and cultural change as a cultural “conduit” between NBC, GE, and Telemundo by identifying talent to import into key roles.

Board Service

  • Member of the NBC Universal Board (2010–2011).
  • Member of the Board and Governance Committee Chair of the Hispanic Federation, the nation’s premier Latino nonprofit membership organization empowering and advancing the Hispanic community (2015-present).
  • Member of the Board and Vice Chair of the Board of T. Howard Foundation, dedicated to increasing and advancing diversity in the media industry (2017-2021).
  • Member of the Board of the “I Have a Dream” Foundation, Los Angeles, providing academic, socio-emotional, and cultural resources to youth living in under-resourced communities (2009-2012).
  • Served as President (2018-2020) and Chair (2020-2021) of the Univision Foundation.
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Richard J. Lueders


A seasoned human resources executive and consultant with 25+ years global experience in all aspects of compensation, benefits and human resources systems. Extensive interaction at the Compensation Committee and senior executive levels. Significant experience in incentive plan design for executives, middle management and individual contributors. Executive coach and mentor.


Company Highlights (15+ years)

DTE Energy Company
Director, Compensation, Benefits & HRIS

The Hershey Company
Sr. Director, Global Compensation

United Technologies Inc
Director, Compensation & Benefits

PepsiCo, Inc
Compensation & Benefits Manager

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Kevin Martin


Kevin joined i4cp in 2012 as chief research officer. Prior to joining i4cp, Kevin worked at Aberdeen Group where he built one of the industry’s leading Human Capital research practices, eventually overseeing the company’s 17 research practices as well as its international operations. Kevin has spent nearly three decades in the human capital industry.

  • Rated a Top 100 Influencer in HR (HR Examiner) and a Top 100 HR Influencers to Follow on Twitter (Witty Parrott)
  • Acclaimed international speaker and author of more than 100 studies/articles on best/next practices in Talent/HR
  • Research cited in Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Forbes, Fast Company, Harvard Business Review, and on CNBC
  • Advisory Council Member; University of Dayton Business and Engineering Schools
  • Former Board Chair and Board member, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Central Massachusetts
  • MBA, Boston University; BS, University of Dayton
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Michael D. Rochelle


Lieutenant General (Retired) Michael Rochelle is co-founder (with his wife of over forty years), President and CEO of MDR Strategies, LLC, an executive coaching and management consulting firm located in northern Virginia.

Immediately upon retirement from the United States Army in 2009, General Rochelle founded MDR Strategies, LLC and operates a thriving executive coaching, leader development and training concern and consults internationally on a broad range of leader development and management matters.

General Rochelle culminated his distinguished career as the Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel, G-1, Headquarters, United States Army. In this position, he served as the U.S Army's Chief Human Resources Officer, General Rochelle was responsible for all Human Resources policy and Human Resource management for the 1.1 million person United States Army. Prior to his service as Army G-1, Lieutenant General, Rochelle's service included numerous world-wide command and staff billets, including Senior Military Assistant to the Deputy Secretary of Defense, Commanding General, U.S. Army's Soldier Support Institute, Fort Jackson, SC; Commanding General U.S. Army Recruiting Command, Fort Knox, KY, and Director, U.S. Army Installation Management Agency, Alexandria, Virginia General Rochelle serves on the Board of Governers of the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL), Globili, LLC, an information technology company based in Cincinnati, OH and the Capital Area Chapter of the National Association of Corporate Directors.

He recently completed a term on the Board of Visitors of Norfolk State University, Norfolk, Virginia: a Gubernatorial appointment.

Michael Rochelle and MDR Strategies, LLC's coaching clients include:

  • John Deere, Inc.
  • George Mason University Leader Development Programs
  • The Pac-12 Athletic Conference
  • Frontier Communications, Inc.
  • Leadership Arlington; Arlington, VA
  • Stand Beside Them (Wounded Warriors in Transition)
  • The Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation

Michael D. Rochelle, Professional Certified Coach, ICF

Education

Master of Arts in Public Administration, Shippensburg State University

The Miro Group and One21Five Certificate of Completion, Leadership Development Program (LDP), Center for Creative Leadership

Professional Associations and Affiliations

  • George Mason University Coaching Fellow
  • Member, International Coach Federation (ICF)
  • Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM)
  • Military Officers Association of America (MOAA)
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