Jeffrey J. Childs, Sr. Vice President and Chief HR Officer
U.S. Cellular

As SVP and CHRO at U.S. Cellular, Jeff is responsible for hiring great leaders and associates, developing their skills, providing them with the proper tools and removing unnecessary distractions so that they can deliver the ideal customer experience to U.S. Cellular customers.  With more than 28 years of diverse experience in sales, marketing, operations and human resources, Childs joined U.S. Cellular in January 2004 and oversees all human resource related activities including hiring and organizational development within the corporation. Adhering to the overall U.S. Cellular philosophy that strong leadership drives associate satisfaction - which in turn leads to strong customer satisfaction - Childs develops and implements specific initiatives that provide enhanced training and development for all associates.

Prior to joining U.S. Cellular, Childs was a senior partner with Brimstone Consulting Group, LLC where he was responsible for providing leadership, change management and business consulting services to senior-level executives. Previously, Childs served as a key leader in the transformation of the human resources department at Ameritech/SBC.

He holds a bachelor of arts degree from Ball State University, where he studied business management and economics. Childs is also a graduate of the University of Michigan's Global Leadership Program. He serves on the human resources and pension committees of the Chicago Metropolitan YMCA, and is on the board of Human Resources Managers Association of Chicago (HRMAC).

Anne Szatmary, Vice President, HR Service Center
Jones Lang LaSalle

Anne joined Jones Lang LaSalle in 2007 and is responsible for design, implementation and management of the Firm’s centralized HR Service Center.  The HR Service Center supports over 12,000 US based employees and is a central point of contact on various benefits, payroll, HR process/procedure questions as well as system navigational support.  The center also supports employee based programs such as educational assistance, rewards & recognition programs and the offer letter process.

Anne brings over 20 years of human resources, facility management and administration experience to the Firm.  Before joining Jones Lang LaSalle, Anne spent more than 5 years with Equity Office, a REIT located in Chicago.  Anne provided strategic HR support to local market leaders as well as management of the centralized HR Service Center.  Additionally, Anne held various HR roles within Arthur Anderson ranging from HR Manager within their tax practice, Campus Recruiting and National Shared Services.

Helene Bak Slowik, Consultant
Service Delivery Solutions

Helene Slowik has over 30 years of experience in the design and delivery of technical solutions for HR and workplace applications.  As an HR functional manager, as an HRIT manager, and as a consultant, she has worked to apply appropriate technologies and process changes to improve the productivity of the workplace.  The range of solutions is as broad as the spectrum of HR technologies, from the mainframe custom-developed solutions of the past to the current web-based self-service approach to service delivery.  She has corporate experience in managing the development and operations of internal solutions, service center, outsourced services and was among the early adopters of web-based technology for HR.  She was involved in creating and managing a shared services organization and then helping other organizations with shared services.  She has worked on global HR solutions for core HR as well as specialized applications such as recruiting, variable compensation and reporting.

She is a member nad past chapter board member of the International Association of Human Resources Information Management (IHRIM) and a member of the Society of HR Management (SHRM).  She holds an MBA from the University of Chicago and a bachelor's degree from Northwestern. 

Dirk Vulbrock, Director – Employee Services

Brunswick Corporation

As Director, Employee Serivces at Brunswick Corporation, Dirk is responsible for driving the transformational change of Brunswick’s Human Resources function to become a strategic business partner. Joining Brunswick in 2004, Dirk assumed responsibility for corporate-wide Human Resource systems. In this role, Mr. Vulbrock led Brunswick’s companywide strategy to standardize policies and processes, automate HR processes and transactional activity, improve efficiency and eliminate costs. This included the implementation of an enterprise Oracle HR platform integrated with ADP payroll, implementation an employee portal to provide access to self service functionality, integration of disparate HR systems and creation of a Human Resources Shared Services environment.  He is also responsible for Brunswick’s Talent Acquisition strategies and related systems including streamlining on boarding in the new hire process.   

Mr. Vulbrock has more than 30 years of human resources experience.  Before coming to Brunswick, he most recently had served as Senior Vice President, Human Resources for CNA Insurance in Chicago. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Missouri in marketing.  He also received his MBA from Northwestern University, Kellogg School, with a concentration in finance.  He currently serves on the Business Advisory Council for the University of Illinois- Chicago, College of Business Administration,