Deb Zehner. Deb is the creator & product manager of the Agility Accelerator rapid organizational network analysis (ONA) platform, and the Director of Applied Research for the Connected Commons. Deb’s has almost 20 years of experience partnering with clients to build capability and deploy ONAs, augmented by Rob Cross’ research, has proven an effective way to inform and transform organizations, teams, and individuals. Deb leads the Agile Team Program, has authored dozens of case studies, and is co-author on the article “Collaboration Without Burnout,” which appeared in the Harvard Business Review.

Prior to the Connected Commons, Deb held leadership roles with DXC Technology, Morgan Stanley, and Continental Airlines (as a commercial pilot). Deb holds an MBA from University of Virginia’s Darden School.

Rob Cross. Speaker – Educator – Consultant. For more than 20 years, Rob Cross has studied the underlying networks of effective organizations and the collaborative practices of high performers. Working with more than 300 organizations, he has identified specific ways to cultivate vibrant, effective networks at all levels of an organization and any career stage.

Rob is also the co-founder and Research Director of the Connected Commons consortium of over 100 leading organizations accelerating network research and practice. Rob’s has authored four books, the most recent one released by Harvard Business Review Press, Beyond Collaboration Overload. He has written over 50 articles for Harvard Business Review, Sloan Management Review, California Management Review, Academy of Management Executive and Organizational Dynamics. His work has also been repeatedly featured in venues such as Business Week, Fortune, The Financial Times, Time Magazine, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, CIO, Inc. and Fast Company.

Michael Arena, Ph.D., is a co-founder of the Connected Commons and the Dean of the Crowell School of Business at Biola University. He also holds a faculty position in the Masters in Organizational Dynamics program at the University of Pennsylvania. Before his tenure at Biola, Arena served as the Vice President of Talent and Development at Amazon Web Services (AWS), where he harnessed the power of network analysis to foster employee growth, enhance organizational culture, and drive innovation. Earlier in his career, as the Chief Talent Officer for General Motors Corporation, Arena helped to facilitate a disruptive business transformation, which is highlighted in his book Adaptive Space.

Academically, he spent two years as a Visiting Scientist at MIT's Media Lab, conducting research on the dynamics of human networks. Additionally, he acted as a design thinking coach at Stanford University's dSchool driving user centric innovation. His exploration of network roles in crafting adaptive organizations led to his nomination in the Thinkers50 Radar class of 2020 and his research on adaptation and networks garnered the 2017 Walker Prize from People + Strategy. Notably, his insights have been cited in such publications as the Wall Street Journal, Inc. Magazine, Forbes, Entrepreneur, Fortune, Harvard Business Review, and Sloan Management Review.