Air Astana is eight times winner of Skytrax “Best Airline in Central Asia and India” and the Best Employer in Kazakhstan 2016-2020 by Universum.

Yevgeniya has been working for Air Astana for 18 years and 15 of them as the head of HR department.  The HR department helds numerous awards for its recent projects on digitalization of HR processes, development of internal communications, learning and development – WOW HR 2018-2019, Best HR brand in Central Asia in 2017-2019, Best HR director 2018-2019 (Growth Forum Kazakhstan) etc.

Yevgeniya Ni is certified SPHRi professional and trainer, member of APDC (Airline People Director’s Council), speaker of international conferences Aviation Festival Asia in Singapore 2016, 2018.

Sara’s background is in industrial psychology with a focus on organizational transformation and optimizing business performance. With over 10 years’ experience in the UAE working for local, multinational and government organizations, she uses her depth of experience and cultural awareness to position HR as a strategic business partner. Having lived in over 4 countries and 8 cities, she attributes her success to her strong cultural awareness and her ability to connect with all levels of employees within the organization.

Jo Richardson is a HR professional and Fellow of the CIPD with experience across a range of sectors including FMCG, Manufacturing, Logistics and Finance. Having coached executive business leaders and their teams for over 20 years, she is passionate about change management and helping others grow.

Jo has mentored numerous women in business both formally and informally. Through her network, she has coached and supported female entrepreneurs and small business owners helping them to break through barriers and overcome personal and professional challenges.

Donna Lewandowski is a Subject Matter Expert based in Gallup’s London office. She applies her real-world experience, education and passion to build high performing, strength-based, engaged organizations and understands that great science also requires practical application to be most meaningful for our clients. She is involved with advising, coaching, teaching and presenting for all levels of leadership and truly believes it really is about the manager.

Prior to joining Gallup, Donna spent 20 years with Stryker, a Fortune 500 global medical technology company; 13 years in European roles.  She has held both business-facing and Corporate positions across Talent Acquisition, as well as HR and Talent Management Leadership roles. Career highlights include designing, developing and executing a strong and successful recruitment process for a stand-alone division (sales, head office functions, manufacturing), partnering with Gallup to build four sales selection interviews for Europe, conducting annual profile validation studies to demonstrate ROI and ensure efficacy of selection tools. Donna has delivered successful development throughout the leadership pipeline by gaining leadership buy-in, conducting focus groups, and collecting key stakeholder input to align with business priorities to design relevant and effective solutions. She established Stryker’s Leadership at Harvard program for top leaders, designed a core global Management Education Program for all people managers, held global responsibility for Corporate Talent Reviews, Succession Planning, Strengths-based coaching, and Employee Engagement. Donna has a keen interest in Diversity and Inclusion and was co-founder of Stryker’s Women’s Network which today has over 5,000 members globally.

Donna holds a Ph.D. in Social Psychology with a concentration in research methods from Michigan State University, is a Columbia University Teacher’s College Executive and Organizational certified coach and has been a practicing CliftonStrengths coach since 2003.

Clifton Strengths Top Five:

Maximizer | Learner | Individualization | Achiever | Arranger

Sofian is a global thought and practice leader in the field of Talent Management, Learning & Development and Organization Development.

Driven by a genuine passion for developing people, he is the director of the Gulf Leadership, Talent and Organizational Development council with the Conference Board, a Think Tank that brings together the chief learning and talent officers of the leading gulf private and public organizations.

In addition to that, Sofian is leading the executive talent management and leadership development function at SABIC, a global leader of the chemical industry. He is been recognized for leading a world class global leadership culture transformation journey.

Based in the Middle East, he spends significant part of his time advising multinational and private companies on building human capital for the region.

He is recognized for being passionate, intense and engaging. Sofian is a story teller that leverages his culturally-rich experience to inspire people to be at their best.

For more than a decade, Thouraya has coached top executives, government advisers, and entrepreneurs in building transformational leadership skills, emotional literacy, and highly impactful organizational and team development.

Equipped with a background in strategy, she knows first-hand that company culture and growth begin when people step into their purpose and power. Her enthusiasm, empathy, and keenly minted intuitive skills have led to her working with an esteemed list of clients including, but not limited to, executives from Uber, Google, Goldman Sachs, Publicis Groupe, The Prince’s Trust, and the London Business School (LBS), where she delivers professional development workshops on time and change management, influence and impact, effective communication, and leading a meaningful life.

As a qualified Team Coach, Thouraya has the ability to skillfully read, understand and interact with all the emotional aspects of relationship: self, other and group or whole. Her sessions are based on heavily experiential conversations that are based on the latest in adult-learning 
theory and the neuroscience of learning. Her intention is ultimately to deliver learning that sticks, bring the learning into the workplace and achieve lasting behavioural change.

Thouraya holds an MBA from the London Business School (LBS), where she was awarded the prestigious entrepreneur visa for her work related to People & Organizations.

An MBA graduate from the University of West London with over 14 years of work experience across India and the UK. She has been a part of the SHRM India team for over a decade has worked in the areas of operations, events, trade support, research, business development and strategic management across organizations such as J.P. Morgan, DHL UK and Market Probe Europe. She is currently heading Retail Products Pan India and drives Memberships, Certifications, Virtual Professional Development Programs and other key initiatives. She has also been an integral part in launching the SHRM Certifications across India and Bangladesh.