Dwane Lay
Chief Innovation OfficerGBS Worldwide
Dwane Lay leads GBS Worldwide’s Experience, Systems & Agentic Design practice, designing processes and maximizing technology investments for talent acquisition teams. He combines AI with process and design thinking to fix how talent systems function, not how they look on paper.
Dwane is known for turning complex technology into practical, people-centered solutions that produce measurable results. Grounded in Lean Six Sigma and real-world execution, his approach cuts through hype and stays focused on what works. Author of Lean HR and a featured keynote speaker at global talent and technology conferences, Dwane brings practical frameworks that organizations can implement immediately.
Born and raised in St. Louis, MO, Dwane works with his wife Crystal (CEO, GBS). Their blended family includes two daughters, two sons, two sons-in-law, and three grandchildren. Outside of GBS, he is an Adjunct Professor of International Business at Maryville University and has served in numerous volunteer roles with the Special School District of St. Louis.
12:45 p.m.–1:20 p.m. PT —
9:30 a.m.–10:10 a.m. PT —
In this engaging fireside chat, Melissa Thompson, Global Head of Talent Acquisition at Ford will discuss how the TA team partnered with stakeholders in HR, the business and COEs to drive continuous improvement. This year they have utilized the lean tool, Kaizen, to identify bite-sized solutions for streamlining TA. Melissa will share quantitative and qualitative examples of how she has used lean methodologies and principles maximize impact and results for TA and the business. Join us for this insightful case study on how a 120 year old company successfully implemented an operational overhaul and understand the critical data improvement in key TA metrics.