Beth Tweddle is one of Great Britain’s most successful gymnasts and the first ever female British Olympic Medalist whose career helped redefine British gymnastics on the world stage. With multiple World and European Championship titles, Beth is celebrated not only for her athletic excellence, but also for her resilience, discipline, and leadership. Since retiring from elite competition, Beth has remained a prominent voice in sport and performance, sharing insights on mental strength, high-performance cultures, and navigating pressure at the highest level. Her experiences competing on the global stage give her a unique perspective on perseverance, wellbeing, and the importance of recognising effort as much as achievement. Beth’s story resonates strongly with UK audiences and brings a powerful local lens to conversations around excellence, resilience, and recognition.

Aly Raisman is one of the most accomplished gymnasts in U.S. history and a globally recognised advocate for empowerment and positive change. As the third-most decorated American gymnast, Aly has used her platform well beyond competition—championing survivor advocacy, accountability, and healing, while inspiring individuals and organisations to lead with integrity and purpose. Today, Aly partners with Awardco as part of the Recognise the Good campaign, celebrating people and organisations making meaningful contributions across all sectors. Through this work, she encourages leaders to intentionally recognise positive actions, foster cultures of appreciation, and create environments where people feel seen, valued, and supported. Aly’s journey from Olympic champion to trusted advocate aligns seamlessly with Awardco’s mission to elevate recognition as a powerful driver of impact in the workplace and beyond.

Sarah Marrs is a member of Awardco’s Center of Excellence, a team of experts that advise some of the world’s largest organisations on their rewards and recognition programs. Sarah’s expertise lies in designing research on employee behavior and the subsequent organisational outcomes. As a practising Organisational Psychologist, Sarah is uniquely suited to understand the principles of motivation and the particular challenges of putting those principles into practice. Sarah is currently completing her doctoral thesis in Evidence-Based HR at Birkbeck University, London.

Christi Gilhoi is a seasoned Employee Experience executive with a passion for building people-first cultures rooted in strategy, data, and heart. With more than a decade of leadership across organizations like Qualcomm, Okta, and Cisco, Christi has designed global employee experience programs that elevate engagement, spark belonging, and deliver meaningful results. Her work has driven double-digit increases in engagement scores, launched global recognition programs, and built cultural playbooks that align with both business goals and human needs. As a trusted voice in the HR space, Christi brings deep expertise in recognition, culture, and brand alignment—alongside a track record of translating strategy into action. From leading international initiatives at UC San Diego to transforming recognition at scale for 100,000+ employees, her cross-industry perspective and people-first mindset continue to drive innovation in today’s evolving workplace. Christi’s thoughtful leadership and ability to build equity-driven, scalable employee experiences make her a sought-after advisor, speaker, and change agent.

Katie Bundy brings a unique and holistic perspective to Awardco’s Center of Excellence, strategically guiding organizations in the development and evolution of their global reward and recognition programs. Drawing upon a rich 17-year career at J.P. Morgan that encompassed leadership roles in Sales, Finance, and Employee Experience, this cross-functional background equips her with a comprehensive understanding of organizational challenges and opportunities. A pivotal point in her career was co-leading J.P. Morgan’s global integration with Awardco in 2019, a transformative project that introduced a points-based recognition platform to over 290,000 employees across 70 countries and yielded a remarkable 17% increase in recognition satisfaction. Katie is passionate about partnering with clients to understand their current state and collaboratively co-create a path forward by leveraging her expertise in crafting robust business cases, effectively engaging executive stakeholders, and designing tailored recognition strategies that drive meaningful and lasting impact within their organizations. Her collaborative approach and firsthand experience ensure successful and sustainable change.

Laura Shanley is a recognition practitioner and advisor on Awardco’s Center of Excellence team, fluent in both client reality and platform possibility. With 20+ years of experience in employee engagement, communications, and culture—including eight spent exclusively on recognition—she has built and modernized recognition programs from within global companies such as Qualcomm, Okta, and DocuSign. Having worked extensively with Awardco and multiple other recognition platforms, Laura brings a unique perspective that enables clients to make confident, well-informed decisions. She specializes in vendor evaluation, implementation strategy, enterprise adoption, governance design, and long-term program evolution. She has guided large, complex organizations through platform transitions, helping clients anticipate challenges, avoid common pitfalls, and design recognition programs that are strategic, scalable, and built to last. In addition to her advisory work, Laura is an experienced facilitator and content creator. She develops frameworks, playbooks, and workshops on recognition strategy, change management, service award modernization and program governance. Her thought leadership helps organizations embed recognition more deeply into their culture, creating workplaces where employees feel valued and seen. Trusted for her collaborative style and empathy for the realities of internal teams, Laura meets organizations where they are, offering practical insight and clear guidance shaped by years of walking in the client’s shoes.

Sabina Carlheim-Gylenskiöld is an experienced business leader with over eight years in the employee experience and recognition space. As part of Awardco, she helps organisations build stronger cultures through meaningful recognition, engagement, and rewards. Sabina is recognised for her strategic mindset, customer-centric approach, and ability to cultivate partnerships that yield measurable results. Passionate about helping companies elevate their people strategies, she combines analytical insight with a collaborative approach to create lasting value for both clients and teams.

Steve Sonnenberg is the Co-Founder and CEO of Awardco, the leading employee recognition and rewards platform. Since founding the company in 2015, he has guided its growth from bootstrapped beginnings to global industry leader, securing the largest Series A round of funding in HR SaaS history in 2021 and a $165M Series B round in 2025, with a current valuation over $1 billion. A passionate advocate for purposeful work and positive culture, Steve currently serves on the Forbes Business Council and has helped redefine how organizations worldwide celebrate and retain their people. Steve resides in Salt Lake City, Utah, with his wife and four children.

Amy Butler is the VP of People Operations at Awardco. With over a decade of experience in roles at Qualtrics, where she led the Global Benefits Team, and most recently as Head of People Operations at Route, Amy’s expertise lies in driving HR strategies during periods of rapid growth. At Awardco, Amy focuses on fostering human connection and aligning employee recognition with business success.

Chantale Callingham is the Vice President of Client Success at Awardco and has over 12 years of leadership experience in HR technology. Prior to Awardco, she spent 5 years at O.C. Tanner, where she played a pivotal role in shaping their client success strategy and driving improved client satisfaction and retention. Chantale’s focus is on enhancing client retention and advancing strategic growth initiatives. She holds an MBA from the Australian Institute of Business and is passionate about putting clients first and driving business growth through exceptional service and support.

Paige Bennett Carr is the Director of Experience Marketing at Awardco and the visionary leader behind the RCGNZ Summit. Since joining Awardco in January 2022, Paige has reimagined the Summit experience year over year, elevating it from a boutique gathering into a pivotal industry event that drives meaningful conversations, deep client engagement, and measurable go-to-market results. Her strategic vision and relentless focus on experience design have turned the Summit into a key growth lever for the business, blending creativity, community, and commerce in powerful, memorable ways. With a career rooted in high-impact event execution and brand storytelling, Paige has partnered with global leaders like AWS, Google, SAP, and Esri to build immersive experiences that move markets and strengthen relationships. Her expertise lies in designing events that not only reflect the soul of a brand but also serve as catalysts for connection, education, and action—especially within the HR space. Through countless interactions with HR and people leaders across industries, Paige has developed a unique ability to craft experiences that speak directly to the challenges and aspirations of today’s workforce. As a people-first leader, Paige oversees a growing team of event marketers and drives cross-functional alignment to ensure that every event serves a strategic purpose. Her leadership style is rooted in empowerment, innovation, and data-driven creativity, and her fingerprints are on every stage of the event lifecycle—from initial concepting to onsite execution to post-event optimization. Under her direction, Awardco’s event strategy has evolved into one of the company’s most valuable revenue-generating channels. Paige is passionate about building environments where relationships flourish, ideas thrive, and individuals feel seen and celebrated. When she’s not planning the next unforgettable experience, you can find her reading, hiking Utah’s scenic trails, cheering for the Minnesota Vikings, painting, puzzling, or weightlifting. Her combination of strategic leadership, creative energy, and passion for people make her a driving force behind the experiences that define Awardco’s brand and impact.

Spence Hyde is a technology leader with over two decades of experience developing highly engaged, customer-centric teams. As an SPHR Certified professional, he has a proven ability to leverage technology to create HR efficiencies and achieve key business results. A qualified communication designer, Spence is passionate about equipping team members with the purpose and tools they need to succeed.

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Serving as VP Human Resources at Ingersoll Rand since March 2020, I contribute to managing strategic HR initiatives for the Compressor Systems and Services Business Unit. My expertise in talent strategy, strategic communications, and organizational development supports the company's overarching goals. With over five years in this role, I collaborate with senior leaders and local HR managers to drive global projects, optimize HR infrastructure, and ensure accurate execution of performance management and rewards systems. My mission is to promote sustainable talent relationships and empower teams to achieve organizational success. Guided by a Master’s in Strategic Human Resource Management and Development, I focus on change management, strategic initiatives, and aligning policies with company values to create a high-performing, innovative culture that delivers exceptional outcomes for all stakeholders.