Panel Discussion: Leading the Charge in Internal Communications – Insights from Employee Experience Pioneers

Pinaki Kathiari is the CEO of Local Wisdom, a leader in digital communications, an international speaker on communications, and Co-Founder of Resource Hero.  

With this level of expertise, Pinaki has positioned Local Wisdom as the agency that gives clients the headspace to be strategic leaders by taking on the nuts and bolts of their communication strategy. At Resource Hero, Pinaki created and launched a 5-star-rated Salesforce SaaS product aimed at helping managers optimize their team’s workload.

With two decades of experience working with global Fortune companies, conglomerate interactive agencies, and startups, Pinaki has mastered audience awareness and employee engagement skills to boost brand reputation, sales, productivity, and quality. As the first member of his family to be born in the U.S., Pinaki adopted his family’s pioneering spirit. Delving into tech at the beginning of its boom, Pinaki graduated from Rutgers University with a Bachelor of Science in computer science and a minor in psychology.

Encompassing the Local Wisdom Values of sharing wisdom and learning by doing, Pinaki sits on the board of the IABC New York Tristate Area Chapter as Vice President of Professional Development, and he co-hosts the podcast “Why Does It Feel So Wrong To Be Human At Work?”. Additionally, Pinaki volunteers as a Business Mentor for WOMEN Unlimited.

When he’s not doing all that, Pinaki enjoys spending time with his lovely wife and three children, and being a gamer.

I’ve spent the last 20+ years counseling organizations on improving employee engagement and business results. Employee engagement is my passion and I believe strongly in the role that communications plays in helping people feel good about the work they do every day. I believe my work has meaning, positively affecting experiences for my clients’ employees all over the world. After all, we spend at least a third of our waking hours at work – shouldn’t those hours be meaningful and inspiring?

Today, I lead a brilliant team of employee engagement experts at Brilliant Ink. We partner with companies large and small to assess and improve key moments of their employee experiences, ultimately to give power to your people – it’s our passion and our purpose.

Carolyn Clark is the Vice President of Employee Experience Strategy & Transformation of Simpplr, an employee experience platform. A seasoned leader, with deep roots in employee communications and employee experience, Carolyn joined to help Simpplr elevate the employee experience by driving innovation and reimagining how employee communication is delivered in today’s world.

Throughout her career, Clark has intentionally diversified her experience to all facets of communication. From producing broadcast news to consumer and product public relations, media relations and corporate communication. Before joining Simpplr, Clark led internal and HR communication at major tech companies including Yahoo, Oath (Verizon Media), Pandora, GoDaddy, and Opendoor. Clark has led countless transitions, navigated more crises than she can count, and shepherded thousands of employees through complex acquisitions and integrations. She has a passion for navigating difficult situations and an ability to drive employee experience strategy through complicated corporate issues.

Clark lives in North Carolina with her husband and energetic 9-year-old daughter.

Christine Robertson founded our Implementation Consulting practice. During her tenure, she has implemented many of Simpplr’s largest customers and is one of our foremost experts on Simpplr product functionality including intranet architecture, governance, segmentation, and file management. She is a firm believer in delivering five-star experiences to our customers and continues to develop best-in-class service programs across her teams. Christine is a true advocate for having professional and personal balance, her favorite mantra is “you can have it all; just not at the same time.”