12:00- 12:45pm The Future of Work Interactive Experience
We will kick off with a brief business simulation of the contemporary work experience. Participants will engage in dispersed teams, tackling ambitious goals in a competitive market. The focus will be on maintaining concentration, fostering engagement, and fully utilizing the skills of all team members.
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12:45-1:30 pm Expert Ideas Exchange
In panel discussion with Joanna Åšrednicka (CEO Assimilate), Melissa Fisher (Senior Advisor CFAR) and Neal Wendel (HR Executive) we will explore answers to the following questions:
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How can we currently build organizational cultures that inspire and motivate?
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What strategies can shape an inclusive space and work environment, especially for diverse dispersed teams

Presented by Rick Andrews
Rick Andrews is a trainer, teacher & improviser living in New York City and facilitating globally. He creates applied improvisation experiences to help teams work better together with focuses on team building, creativity & innovation, public speaking, & leadership. He is head instructor at The Magnet Theater and a professor at Columbia University in the MFA acting program. Current and former clients include Google, Bloomberg, Mount Sinai, NBCUniversal, Spotify, and many more.

Neal Wendel
Neal is a highly experienced HR Executive who spent his career in Training & Development and HR Business Partner roles in the Financial Services industry. He has provided career coaching to entry level employees at Citibank, American Express, JP Morgan Chase, Credit Suisse and Marsh.
Neal has served as a mentor to early career employees, helping them navigate and integrate into corporate environments.

Melissa Fisher
Senior Advisor focusing on Workplace Culture and Design Practices. She is a cultural anthropologist and has extensive experience studying and consulting on organizations, workplace culture, leadership, and the built environment. Melissa has actively bridged business and academia throughout her career. She has published two books, Frontiers of Capital: Ethnographic Reflections on the New Economy (2006) and Wall Street Women (2012). Currently, she is working on a book called “Anthropology, Ethnography, and the Global Reimagining of Work,” which explores how workplace experts shape future work environments in the context of pandemics, with a focus on equity and justice.