New Jersey Inspiring Across Generations (IAG) Conference
Event Details
Description
Hear from Pan-Asian leaders across industries on career growth, and network with fellow professionals.
Keynote Speaker
Zeeshan Sheikh
Senior Vice President, Chief Information and Digital Officer
PSEG
Zeeshan Sheikh is Senior Vice President – Chief Information and Digital Officer (CIDO) for PSEG Services Corp., as of August 2020. He is responsible for leading, directing, planning and managing all information technology and digital needs in all areas of PSEG, including all ongoing business transformation strategies and improving the digital experience for customers and employees. Effective September 2022, Mr. Sheikh also oversees the Cyber Security Risk & Compliance function. He is a member of PSEG’s Senior Executive Team and is the Executive Sponsor for PSEG’s Asians and Pacific Islanders Reaching for Excellence (ASPIRE) Employee Resource Business Group (EBRG). Prior to his role at PSEG, Mr. Sheikh worked for Entergy Corp., most recently as vice president and Chief Information Officer, where he led the company’s information technology function in both daily operational and strategic roles. Additionally, he was responsible for leading the technology design, development and deployment strategy for the company’s grid modernization efforts, including digital customer engagement platforms, advanced metering, enterprise asset management and state-of-the-art distribution automation functionality. Prior to becoming CIO, Sheikh served at Entergy in a variety of roles over more than a decade, supporting the company’s nuclear, transmission, system planning and operations, fossil and wholesale commodities organizations. Mr. Sheikh earned a bachelor’s degree in environmental science and economics from Rutgers University.
Speakers
Jennifer Bayles
Director, Strategic Sales Engagement & Operations, US Consumer Healthcare
Sanofi
Jennifer (Jenn) Bayles is a highly accomplished Consumer Healthcare professional with 20+ years of experience across Sales, Strategy & Planning, Business Operations, and Category Insights. She has a proven record of developing successful go-to-market strategies, leading complex cross-functional projects, and developing high performing talent and teams. Jenn joined Sanofi Consumer Healthcare in 2021 where she is currently the Director of Strategic Engagement & Operations. She serves as the Chief-of-Staff to the Head of the US Commercial organization and leads Sales Capability Development, Collaborative Planning, Communication, and Change Management. Prior to Sanofi, Jenn held several headquarter sales roles of increasing responsibility at GSK/Pfizer where she managed a $1B portfolio and worked on a number of top Consumer Healthcare brands including Advil, Robitussin, and ChapStick. She is known in her industry for delivering best-in-class innovation launches and has proven her strategic leadership time and again on the commercialization of Advil Dual Action and blockbuster Rx-to-OTC switches, Voltaren and Nexium 24HR. In addition to her sharp business sense, Jenn’s warm, collaborative spirit allows her to create connections with colleagues at all levels and build an inclusive culture within her organizations. Throughout her career, she has been highly engaged with several employee resource groups and networking organizations, and consistently leads volunteer projects to benefit local communities. She also has a passion for mentoring young talent and helps connect her mentees to leaders within her network, craft impactful development plans, and navigate their career paths. Jenn holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Management from Seton Hall University and resides in Randolph, NJ with her husband, Chris, and two children, Joelle and Ray.
Aadesh Gandhre
General Auditor, Managing Director Internal Audit Department
DTCC
Aadesh Gandhre is Managing Director and General Auditor at DTCC. Within this role, he is responsible for managing DTCC’s Internal Audit function, with enterprise-wide responsibility for evaluating and strengthening processes, governance, and risk management to support the firm’s compliance with relevant laws and regulations. Aadesh has nearly 20 years of leadership and expertise in internal audit and compliance. Prior to DTCC, he served for 6 years as Managing Director and Head of Audit for IT, Operations and Latin America business at Société Générale Americas (SG). In this role, he oversaw a global team managing technology and operations audits across Corporate and Investment Banking activities in the U.S., Canada and Latin America as well as business audits in Latin America. He also held the position of Chief Innovation Officer within the Internal Audit department for the Americas and served on several key committees, including the Audit Executive Committee, Global IT Audit SteerCo and Diversity & Inclusion Council. Before SG, Aadesh held audit positions of increasing responsibility at Goldman Sachs & Co. Aadesh is a Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) from ISACA and is also certified with a ITIL 4 Foundation Certificate in IT service management. He graduated from the University of Mumbai with a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering and from the Stony Brook University with a Master of Science degree in Computer Science.
John Hom
Vice President, Business Transformation
Prudential International Insurance
John Hom is currently Vice President, Business Transformation for Prudential International Insurance (PII). In this role, he has helped manage multiple strategic initiatives such as the development and execution of PII’s multi-year Emerging Markets Growth Strategy. He also led key transformation programs such Gibraltar’s culture change program and PII’s long-term growth initiative. John recently returned to PII - Newark after a two-year assignment leading several complex projects in Japan. Before PII, John led an internal consulting group responsible for delivering talent and organizational change solutions across Prudential’s businesses and functions. He joined the company in 2010. John also spent over 20 years working at investment banking and external consulting firms. John was the Senior Vice President of Talent Management at Merrill Lynch / Bank of America where he was responsible for talent strategies, leadership development and succession planning for 11,000 employees in the US, Europe and Asia. John was also a Senior Consultant at the Hay Group/Korn Ferry, a global management consulting firm, where he specialized in improving sales force performance and productivity for Fortune 500 companies. Prior to Hay, John worked at Salomon Brothers in both its Strategy Consulting team and Mergers and Acquisition group where he worked on revenue-generating opportunities and restructuring programs. John graduated from Cornell University with a B.A. in Economics. He also holds an MBA in Finance and International Business Management from New York University’s Stern School of Business
Joanne Kao
Chief Executive Officer
Joanne Kao NYC
JoAnne is a founder, speaker, investor, mentor, and fixer of the impossible. As founder/CEO of JOANNE KAO NYC, JoAnne provides a bespoke experience for exclusive clients who want to buy and sell real estate anywhere in the world. She is building a revolution for next generation leaders, Daring Women to Succeed. In a society that encourages women to use their voices, many don’t know how. JoAnne is showing women how to take a seat at the table, to be proud of their unique backgrounds, and turning differences into superpowers. JoAnne is a venture capital investor backing entrepreneurial companies for return and impact, especially companies led by women and/or with diverse founder teams. She is a member of the Residential Membership Committee at REBNY (Real Estate Board of NY) and is actively involved with Fordham University’s AAF (Asian American Pacific Islander Alumni Affinity) and is a Fordham Mentor.
Dr. Tina Shah
Fmr Senior Advisor, Office of the US Surgeon General
Dr. Tina Shah is a practicing physician and national expert in workforce wellbeing, public policy and health technology. In 2022, she was handpicked by the US Surgeon General to serve as Senior Advisor and created the nation’s first strategy to address worker burnout and the great resignation in healthcare. She also served in both the Obama and Trump White House Administrations with a dual appointment at the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Among her federal work, as VA’s first national director of clinician wellbeing, she is most proud of expanding veteran access to primary care by optimizing electronic medical record-based workflows. Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Shah stood up virtual care for one of the largest health systems in Georgia. As a seasoned healthcare executive, she oversaw COVID-19 emergency response across the US Indian Health Service to expand capacity to care for critically ill indigenous patients. She is currently Chief Clinical Officer of Abridge, a generative AI company that is reducing documentation burden for clinicians and allowing them to spend more time with their patients. Dr. Shah is a founding member of the National Academy of Medicine’s Clinician Well-being Collaborative and the recipient of the American Medical Association’s Excellence in Medicine Award for her contributions to US medicine. Dr. Shah appears frequently as a healthcare expert on national television. Nationally known as a dynamic communicator, she has spoken at Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Harvard, National Academy of Medicine, and Institute for Healthcare Improvement. Dr. Shah received her MD from Thomas Jefferson University and her MPH from Harvard. She is triple board-certified in internal medicine, pulmonary and critical care, and actively practices in New Jersey.
Our Program Partners
Safety of our guests is paramount to Ascend. Attendees are responsible for monitoring their own condition and agree to comply with the safety, hygiene and CDC identified pandemic level communicable illnesses (including COVID-19) guidelines established by relevant health authorities. We request that attendees not attend an event should they test positive or if they experience COVID symptoms prior to the event.