The Communicator’s Role in Finding, Retaining and Upskilling Talent

Azurée S. Montoute-Lewis  currently serves as Hill + Knowlton’s Global Head of Talent Management and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion where she draws on almost two decades of experience with diversity program development, recruitment, employee engagement, talent management, advocacy and management training. Widely regarded as a talent and diversity & inclusion subject matter expert, Azurée often presents at conferences and events on inclusion-related topics. As Global Director of Talent, Diversity and Inclusion for Fitch Group, she designed and implemented the organization’s first diversity and inclusion strategy which included the ForwardPath Women’s Leadership Development Program and the “All of Us” global inclusion training module. Azurée spent over nine years as a Vice President in Citigroup’s Global Diversity and Talent Management department where she led teams responsible for succession planning, talent reviews, executive assessments, coaching/development, employee networking and flexible work initiatives. Azurée’s resume also includes positions within the marketing departments of Dun & Bradstreet and J.P. Morgan Chase. Azurée earned her BA in Political Science, Sociology and Physics from the University of Richmond as a part of the Cigna Honors Program. She holds an MBA in Marketing, Management and Leadership from the Stern School of Business at NYU and will complete her master’s degree in Organizational Development and Talent Management at NYU in May 2022.

Ali Intres is the Senior Vice President, Human Resources and Talent Management, of Forbes. An industry veteran with significant experience in media and advertising, Ali oversees all facets of HR for Forbes, including recruitment, training and development, benefits administration, culture and inclusion and more. Ali believes in the power of working for purpose-driven companies like Forbes, whose mission is to help drive change in business, society and culture. She works directly with the company’s journalists, storytellers, brand-marketers, event planners, data scientists, engineers, designers and more to reach their full potential and advance business objectives.

Laura Brusca is Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications at Forbes, where she directs strategic corporate communications, thought leadership, issues management, media relations and internal communications. An accomplished and award-winning communications executive, Laura exerts influence that shapes the modern-day narrative at one of the world’s most-storied media brands. She brings to Forbes nearly fifteen years of significant corporate communications/reputation management experience, gleaned from in-house and agency roles, where she worked with established global brands. Throughout her career, she has steered brands in challenged industries, helping to position them in highly competitive environments and drive employee passion and pride.

Justin Joffe is the Editorial Director and Editor-in-Chief at Ragan Communications where he oversees the editorial strategy for Ragan across brands and products. In addition to his editorial duties, Joffe also advises the programming team on best-in-class conferences, webinars and workshops during a time of unprecedented change in the way that communicators and marketers learn and meet. He is also a freelance journalist and communications writer specializing in the arts and culture, media and technology, and ad tech beats. Before joining the Ragan team, Joffe worked for Muck Rack, PR News, and The Observer. Additionally, his writing has appeared in several publications including Vulture, Newsweek, Vice, Relix, Flaunt, and many more. You can find him on X @joffaloff.