William J. Rothwell, PhD, SPHR, CPLP Fellow is President of Rothwell & Associates, Inc., and Rothwell & Associates, LLC (see www.rothwellandassociates.com). He is also a Professor in the Workforce Education and Development program, Department of Learning and Performance Systems, at Pennsylvania State University, University Park campus. He has authored, coauthored, edited, or coedited 300 books, book chapters, and articles—including over 90 books.

Before arriving at Penn State in 1993, he had 20 years of work experience as a Training Director, in HR, and in Organization Development in government and in business. He has also worked as a consultant for more than 40 multinational corporations—including Motorola China, General Motors, Ford, and many others. In 2012, he earned ASTD's prestigious Distinguished Contribution to Workplace Learning and Performance Award, and in 2013 ASTD honored him by naming him as a Certified Professional in Learning and Performance (CPLP) Fellow. In 2014, he was given the Asia-Pacific International Personality Brandlaureate Award (see www.thebrandlaureate.com/awards/ibp_bpa.php).

Truly global in his outlook, he has conducted training in 15 nations around the globe in 2014 alone and visited many other nations virtually to offer webinars. Notably, in 2015 he visited China for his 76th time since 1996.

His recent books include Beyond Training and Development, 3rd ed. (HRD Press, 2015), Career Planning and Succession Management, 2nd ed. (Praeger, 2015), Organization Development Fundamentals: Managing Strategic Change (ATD Press, 2015), The Competency Toolkit, 2 vols., 2nd ed. (HRD Press, 2015), Creating Engaged Employees: It's Worth the Investment (ATD Press, 2014), The Leader's Daily Role in Talent Management: Maximizing Results, Engagement, and Retention (Institute for Training and Development [Malaysia], 2014), Optimizing Talent in the Federal Workforce (Management Concepts, 2014), Performance Consulting (John Wiley & Sons, 2014), the ASTD Competency Study: The Training and Development Profession Redefined (ASTD, 2013), Becoming an Effective Mentoring Leader: Proven Strategies for Building Excellence in Your Organization (McGraw-Hill, 2013), Talent Management: A Step-by-Step Action-Oriented Approach Based on Best Practice (HRD Press, 2012), the edited three-volume Encyclopedia of Human Resource Management (Wiley/Pfeiffer, 2012), Lean but Agile: Rethink Workforce Planning and Gain a True Competitive Advantage (AMACOM, 2012), Invaluable Knowledge: Securing Your Company's Technical Expertise-Recruiting and Retaining Top Talent, Transferring Technical Knowledge, Engaging High Performers (AMACOM, 2011), Competency-Based Training Basics (ASTD Press, 2010), Effective Succession Planning: Ensuring Leadership Continuity and Building Talent from Within, 4th ed. (AMACOM, 2010), Practicing Organization Development, 3rd ed. (Pfeiffer, 2009), Basics of Adult Learning (ASTD, 2009), HR Transformation (Davies-Black, 2008), Working Longer: New Strategies for Managing, Training, and Retaining Older Employees (AMACOM, 2008), and Cases in Government Succession Planning: Action-Oriented Strategies for Public-Sector Human Capital Management, Workforce Planning, Succession Planning, and Talent Management (HRD Press, 2008). He can be reached by e-mail at [email protected] and by phone at 814-863-2581. He is located at 310B Keller Building, University Park, PA 16803.

G.M. (Bud) Benscoter, PhD, is the owner of GMB Performance Group, a performance improvement consulting company. Bud has more than 25 years of experience in marketing, sales, training, organization development, and management. He has worked with numerous companies in the financial services, technology, pharmaceutical, and manufacturing sectors as well as federal government agencies.

Bud has a master's degree and PhD in instructional systems design from Penn State, where he taught for nearly 20 years in both the Instructional Systems and MBA programs. He received the Excellence in Teaching Award from the Smeal College of Management in 1997 and 2005. Bud also taught management communications at the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania from 2002 to 2004 and in the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University from 2006 to 2010. He was editor of the Encyclopedia of Human Resource Management, Volume 3 published by Pfeiffer in 2011 and coauthored Performance Consulting published by John Wiley & Sons in 2014.

Marsha King, PhD, is the Founder and President of SkillPoint Consulting, LLC, where she is an independent consultant working with senior leaders to assess their skills and provide coaching in the areas of leadership and management. Most recently, she has coached executives within Navigant Consulting, Hanover Insurance, B/E Aerospace, T. Rowe Price, Federal Reserve Banks, Nationwide, Dale Carnegie, Gurwitch Cosmetics, CEVA Logistics, The Goodwill of Greater Washington, Sunrise Senior Living, Pepco Holdings, and AARP.

Marsha worked for Capital One Financial, a Fortune 200 Financial services firm based in McLean, VA, for nearly eight years. She began as the Director of Leadership Acceleration, where she led 40 employees to provide services across the organization including succession planning, performance management, diversity, training and development, and talent management. After three years, she became a Managing Vice President of HR and led HR Consulting for Capital One's staff groups and several other strategic businesses. Additionally, she led HR branding and enterprise-wide change management as part of her responsibilities.

Prior to joining Capital One, Marsha was an Executive Coach for Development Dimensions International (DDI), a global human resource consulting firm based in Pittsburgh, PA. She worked with several Fortune 500 firms including Chase, Qwest, Nortel, Steelcase, Whirlpool, and the U.S. Postal Service to assess leadership capability and coach leaders to demonstrate stronger performance. Prior to DDI she worked with the Pennsylvania State University as a faculty coach in their Engineering Leadership Program. Marsha began her career with Worthington Industries, headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, as a human resource generalist where she specialized in training and development and performance improvement.

Marsha is also a well-respected adjunct professor at Northwestern University, Georgetown University, and George Washington University, where she teaches in their Human Resource Development programs, specializing in Leadership and Executive Coaching in the United States and across Asia.

Stephen B. King, PhD, is currently Vice President, Talent & Leadership Effectiveness for Allstate Insurance Company, with responsibility for Enterprise Learning, Talent, Succession Management, Performance Management, Leadership & Executive Development, and Energy for Life (a strategic initiative to help Allstaters identify their purpose and manage their energy effectively). Steve is a graduate of the Ohio State University and Pennsylvania State University. He began his career in a variety of operations roles with Worthington Industries. Before joining Allstate, Steve held key leadership roles in leading organizations. He was the Director of Leadership & Management at a global consulting firm, Management Concepts, after which he took the role of the Chief Learning & Talent Officer with Constellation Energy in Baltimore, Maryland. In November 2008, Steve joined Allstate's Human Resource Senior Leadership Team. Steve and his wife, Marsha, have one son and reside in Glenview, Illinois. In addition to spending time with his family, part of Steve's personal purpose is helping children in need through his involvement in Safe Families for Children. He also enjoys fitness, gardening, and strumming his guitar.