Dessalen Wood

Chief People Officer Thoughtexchange

Dessalen Wood, CHRP, is an innovative HR executive, seasoned speaker, and coach. She specializes in passionately leading Learning and Development and Human Resources teams at some of North America’s most-respected organizations. Dessalen has over 20 years of experience in national corporations such as Reitman’s Canada, Hudson’s Bay Company, The Children’s Place and The Disney Stores. In 2019 she left her role as Vice President, Talent Development at Cineplex Entertainment to join Thoughtexchange in the newly created role of Chief People Officer. Thoughtexchange’s community intelligence software empowers leaders to find common ground, inspire trust and use data to make decisions that get immediate support.

Throughout her career, Dessalen has coached senior leaders and built teams from the ground up, in addition to designing and delivering multiple original programs. The results have been engaging corporate cultures and high performing leaders at all levels.

Day Two: Monday October 21, 2019

8:15 AM "Let's Give 'em Something to Talk About--"- The Power of Engaging the Employee Voice

Companies today face the challenge of engaging their employees in meaningful dialogue - whether it be due to geography, flex work - or simply that many people feel that speaking up has a cost associated with it.
In this talk we will examine:
- How technology can humanize the employee experience
- The power of allowing all voices to be heard which results in organizations benefiting from higher engagement 
- The value of gathering ideas and solutions from a broader, more diverse population