Americas Accreditation Conference

Keynote I: Engaging Your Team for the Future of Higher Education

Dan Pontefract, The Pontefract Group

Dan Pontefract is a renowned leadership strategist, author, and keynote speaker with over two decades of experience in senior executive roles at companies such as SAP, TELUS, and Business Objects. Since then, he has worked with organizations worldwide, including Salesforce, Amgen, the State of Tennessee, Nestlé, Canada Post, Autodesk, BMO, the Government of Canada, Manulife, Nutrien, and the City of Toronto, among others. As an award-winning and best-selling author, Dan has written four books: LEAD. CARE. WIN., OPEN TO THINK, THE PURPOSE EFFECT, and FLAT ARMY. His fifth book, WORK-LIFE BLOOM, will be published in 2023. Dan also writes for Forbes, Harvard Business Review, and other outlets. Dan is a renowned keynote speaker who has presented at four TED events and has delivered over 600 keynotes . He is an adjunct professor at the University of Victoria's Gustavson School of Business and has received over 25 industry, individual, and book awards. Dan's career is interwoven with corporate and academic experience, coupled with an MBA, B.Ed, and multiple industry certifications and awards. Notably, Dan is listed on the Thinkers50 Radar, HR Weekly's 100 Most Influential People in HR, PeopleHum's Top 200 Thought Leaders to Follow, and Inc. Magazine's Top 100 Leadership Speakers.

Keynote II: Generative Artificial Intelligence Driving Re-Evaluation in Business Education

Brad Wheeler, Kelley School of Business, Indiana University

Brad Wheeler is the SungKyunKwan Professor of Information Systems at Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business. With 20 years of higher ed administration, he has served as IU’s Vice President for IT & CIO with responsibilities for almost $200M in IT services and grants; Vice President for Communications and Marketing; as Interim Dean for the Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering; and as department chair. He consults for companies and serves on both corporate and non-profit boards. He loves teaching his Kelley Direct MBA students.

M’hammed Abdous, Old Dominion University

Dr. Abdous has championed transformative digital learning solutions as the Assistant Vice President for Teaching with Technology at Old Dominion University. He led the launch of 33 online programs, encompassing 800 courses, resulting in a 137% increase in online enrollment from 2010 to 2020. With 27 peer-reviewed articles to his credit, Dr. Abdous has notably formulated policy and created competency frameworks around the role of generative AI in education. His international consulting work, which includes key ICT roadmaps for Oman and Gabon, spans 40 projects in 13 countries in collaboration with prestigious organizations such as UNICEF and UNESCO-IBE. Dr. Abdous believes in the tremendous educational potential of Generative AI, while also highlighting the complex logistical, pedagogical and ethical challenges that require a well-rounded approach to its integration.

Anne Trumbore, UVA Darden School of Business, University of Virginia

Trumbore is responsible for expanding access to transformational learning experiences for learners globally. Previously, Anne established and led Wharton Online, at The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. As an early-stage employee at Coursera, NovoEd, and Stanford’s Online High School, Trumbore helped pioneer new forms of student-centered online education. Her work has resulted in a number of publications on online pedagogy and history, the future of higher education, and the future of work. She holds an AB from Brown University, and MA from San Francisco State University, and an EdD from the University of Pennsylvania. She is currently working on a book for Princeton University Press on the history of online education.