Elevating HR Analytics

Lisa Csencsits is Director of Leadership Development and Human Capital Management Professional Programs at the Center for Advanced Human Resource Studies (CAHRS) at Cornell University’s ILR School. She is responsible for the design, development, and delivery of learning and capability development programs in the areas of Human Resources, Leadership Development, and Talent Management. Ms. Csencsits is an Organizational Development Practitioner who leverages her experience working with large privately and publicly held companies, as well as her research and educational expertise, to provide programs grounded in theory with practical solutions to enhance participant learning and professional development.

Ms. Csencsits’s expertise lies in implementing effective, innovative, and sustainable interventions to enhance organizational performance; aligning strategic HR and learning initiatives with organizational goals; improving leadership effectiveness; developing individual and team capabilities; planning for organizational change; and assessing talent needs. Her work has included establishing talent management processes for greater efficiency and results, delivering learning programs aimed at building strategic leadership, coaching leaders to meet individual and organizational needs, working alongside company leadership to identify and define the capabilities needed to perform effectively throughout their functions, and creating unique career development opportunities to support both organizational and employee growth.

Over the years, Ms. Csencsits has been actively involved in partnering to present and publish research in the field of Industrial/Organizational Psychology as well as consulting with organizations on HR practices and team-building initiatives. She holds a B.A. In Psychology from Adelphi University and an M.A. in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from Hofstra University.

Beth A. Perrone was appointed Senior Vice President, HR, and Chief Talent & Strategy Officer at Merck & Co. in early 2023. Ms. Perrone is responsible for the company’s talent and workforce strategy, including talent and leadership development, talent acquisition, learning and development, and workforce data and analytics.   

In 2020, Ms. Perrone was named the Senior Vice President of Human Resources for Human Health Commercial. She partnered with the Chief Commercial Officer on all strategic talent and HR matters. In 2021, Ms. Perrone led the organizational design efforts to bring together Global Marketing and Commercial into a single Human Health (18,000+ colleagues) organization where 80% of the Human Health Leadership Team members were moved into new roles for developmental purposes in preparation of succession planning.

In 2022, Ms. Perrone worked with the CEO to determine the new Human Health operating model to optimize the development of internal talent and the ability to bring external talent into Merck to strengthen the talent bench. Working closely with three Executive Team members, she led the creation of a Human Health talent strategy with a strong focus on diversity & inclusion. In this role, Ms. Perrone led a global HR organization of approximately 400 professionals in 90+ countries and managed an annual budget of $65M. In addition to the HR Leadership Team, she is also a member of the Human Health Leadership Team.  

Ms. Perrone also serves on the Senior Executive Crisis Team representing global HR and has led all efforts on three global crisis events: a major cyber incident, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the recent Ukraine/Russia situation. Prior to Merck, Ms. Perrone worked for Schering-Plough, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Macy’s, where she held various roles in Human Resources.

Ms. Perrone serves on the Board of Directors for Program Development Services, a consulting agency providing established agencies in the field of developmental disabilities with innovative and progressive solutions toward providing high-quality individualized care. She is a member of the G100 Women’s Network (part of World 5o) and has been awarded the TWIN award, which recognizes women in industry.

Jeremy Shapiro joined Merck & Co. in 2019 to lead their Workforce Analytics team focused on analytics, AI, and talent management. Before Merck, Mr. Shapiro created a similar team at Morgan Stanley over nine years.

Prior to his career in analytics, Mr. Shapiro led advanced technology teams for the Omnicom Group for 12 years, founding several successful HR technology businesses. He had the opportunity to co-author a Harvard Business Review cover story, “Competing on Talent Analytics,” as well as the book, Ultimate Performance.

Mr. Shapiro has been responsible at both Merck and Morgan Stanley for external disclosures regarding human capital (ESG reports, etc.) as well as leading content for talent-related corporate board updates for 15 years. At Morgan Stanley, he worked extensively on taking effective steps to strengthen ethics and culture in conjunction with the Chief Legal Officer and the board in response to NY Federal Reserve oversight. 

Outside of Merck, Mr. Shapiro advises technology startup founders in the healthcare and technology sectors through two VC funds, Semper Virens and PeopleTech Partners. Coming from a family of small business owners, he is also passionate about helping small businesses, volunteering through the U.S. Small Business Administration SCORE program to help small businesses thrive.

Mr. Shapiro holds a Master’s degree in Information Systems from the NYU Stern School of Business as well as a B.A. from Rutgers University in Economics.  He had the pleasure of serving as an adjunct professor for Cornell’s ILR Continuing Education School for eight years, teaching experienced HR leaders how to leverage analytics in HR.