General Session Keynote Speakers
Jan Hargrave
Communication starts before you say a single word. The way you enter a room, make eye contact, shake hands, and carry yourself can influence how others perceive your confidence, credibility, and professionalism. In today’s workplace, strong nonverbal communication skills can help you build trust faster, present ideas more effectively, and create stronger connections with colleagues, clients, and leadership.
This engaging session explores how body language, tone, posture, facial expressions, and cultural awareness shape everyday business interactions. Participants will learn how to recognize positive and negative signals, project confidence even when feeling nervous, and avoid common habits that can unintentionally weaken their message. Whether presenting in front of a group, interviewing for a new opportunity, or leading a conversation, understanding the silent signals you send can make a meaningful difference in how your message is received.
If you want to strengthen your professional presence and communicate with greater confidence and clarity, this session will provide practical insights you can apply immediately.
About Jan Hargrave
Jan Latiolais Hargrave, body language expert, teaches you the ways in which your body communicates to the world around you. As the nation’s leading behavioral authority and body language expert, Ms. Hargrave provides you with the skills you need to “read” your family, your associates, your customers, in fact, everyone around you. Jan is the author of Let Me See Your Body Talk, Freeway of Love, Judge the Jury, Strictly Business Body Language, and Poker Face. She has shared her expertise about body language, persuasion and influence with the New York Times, NBC News, ABC News, CBS News, Fox Television, the Steve Harvey Show, The Lifetime Channel, E-Entertainment Television and dozens of popular magazines such as Cosmopolitan, Glamor, People, InTouch Weekly, Us Weekly, Life & Style, First for Women, The Forensic Examiner, Golf Magazine and others. Jan describes all the “hidden messages’ you use in your everyday life and shows you how to stop the lies and uncover the truth—in any conversation or situation.
Working with thousands in the field of personal growth and self-expression as a consultant and corporate trainer for the past 15 years, Jan Hargrave continues to inspire may of today’s leading corporations such as Merrill Lynch, Starbucks, ESPN, Chase Manhattan Bank, NASA, Bank of America, IBM, Blue Cross Blue Shield, The Boeing Corporation, MARS Chocolate, Johns Hopkins Space Telescope Institute, MD Anderson Cancer Center, BlackRock Investments, and the Tony Robbins Leadership Academy. Her membership and leadership in the American College of Forensic Examiners provides practical tools for her seminars to Legal Associations throughout the country. Jan’s expertise regarding witness preparation, jury selection and interrogation tactics is frequently requested by the United States Military Armed Forces and foreign governments.
Jan has become the go-to-resource for analyzing key White House figures and Presidential and Vice-Presidential hopefuls since 1987. Jan consulted on the body language of President Bill Clinton during his grand jury testimony in 1998 and has continued her political behavioral analysis through to her recent study and reporting of President Donald Trump. As a media guest, she relays information concerning the delicate details of the political figure’s leadership style, thought processes, and decision-making abilities.
The Cajun French Ms. Hargrave was born to French-Acadian parents in the unique “Joie de Vivre” (Joy of Life) culture of southwest Louisiana and as a result, sprinkles her captivating presentations with entertaining Ragin’ Cajun folkloric tales. Jan received her Bachelor’s Degree, Master’s Degree, and Specialist Degree in Education with emphasis in Business Psychology from the University of Louisiana in Lafayette. Jan is presently CEO of Jan Hargrave & Associates, a Houston-based consulting firm, and served as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Houston for eight years.
Nonverbal communication — Body Language — often communicates a different message from the spoken word. Jan proves with her contagious warmth, wit, and humor that there is a method, and style, to success. Bring your body, your curiosity, your sense of humor and learn what your body—and the body of others—is communicating to the world.
Gerard Hall, CPP
Invisible Until It Breaks: Why Payroll Only Gets Noticed When Something Goes Wrong
Payroll is the most important function nobody talks about…until something goes wrong. When everything runs perfectly, it’s expected. Quiet. Invisible. Just another Friday. But the moment a check is off, a deposit is late, or a tax filing misses the mark…suddenly payroll is front and center, under a microscope, and answering questions no one asked when things were going right. In this keynote, we’re pulling back the curtain on the most underappreciated, high-risk function in every organization. We’ll unpack why payroll lives in the shadows, how that invisibility creates risk, and what happens behind the scenes to keep employees paid, compliant, and confident… even when no one is watching. This isn’t just about payroll mistakes. It’s about perception, pressure, and the constant balancing act between precision and expectation. And more importantly… It’s about changing the narrative. Because payroll isn’t just a back-office function. It’s trust. It’s timing. Its reputation. And when it breaks…everyone feels it.
About Gerard Hall, CPP
Gerard Hall, CPP, is the Senior Payroll Operations Manager for the Human Capital Management division of CBIZ in Roanoke, VA. After spending over twenty years working with payroll and benefits, Gerard knows the challenges that payroll practitioners face and how to remain relevant amid the ever-changing regulations that surround the industry. Gerard serves as an active member of the Southwest VA APA Chapter and as the Marketing Committee Co-Chair for the Virginia Statewide Payroll Conference. Gerard serves on the Volunteer Hotline, Board of Contributing Writers, Government Relations Task Force, and the Social Networking Committee for the American Payroll Association. Gerard has created a strong network in both the Learning & Development and the payroll arenas. He has been seen in articles and group pages offering advice and answers on the American Payroll Association, Certified Payroll Professionals Facebook Group, and PayTech. In addition to his extensive payroll experience, Gerard has assisted over 500 people in achieving their FPC and CPP designations through his preparation and assessment activities. In 2018, Gerard established the company donned “That Payroll Guy, LLC” focused on educating people on the intricacies of payroll as well as keeping those within the industry relevant of regulation updates/changes. Through his payroll moniker, Hall spends countless hours evangelizing on social media for better pay for payroll professionals, adequate staffing, and overall RESPECT for the payroll practitioner. Gerard holds a Bachelor of Science in HR Management from his beloved alma mater, Virginia Tech.
Pete Tiliakos
AI and Augmentation in the Golden Age of Payroll
Payroll is entering a transformative era where technology is no longer just supporting operations; it is reshaping how payroll professionals work. Artificial intelligence and automation are enabling payroll teams to process data faster, identify errors earlier, and provide deeper insights that support better decision-making across organizations. In this session, we will explore how emerging technologies are augmenting—not replacing—the payroll profession. Participants will learn how AI tools can assist with data validation, compliance monitoring, anomaly detection, and reporting while reducing manual effort and improving accuracy. The discussion will also examine how payroll professionals can adapt their skills to work effectively alongside intelligent systems and leverage technology to enhance efficiency and strategic value.
About Pete Tiliakos
Principal Analyst, Strategic Advisor, & Chief Payroll Champion, Payroll Influences LLC
Pete leverages unique market expertise from over 30 years in HR and payroll technology, services, and transformation. Pete is globally recognized for his extensive knowledge, coverage, research, and strategic advisory of leading and emerging solution providers across the payroll, employer of record services, payments, and HCM technology marketplaces. Both practitioners and providers widely leverage his research and perspectives as he is a regular contributor to industry associations, podcasts, publications, and events and the co-host of the HR and Payroll 2.0 podcast, and host of The Source podcast by DailyPay.
Follow Pete on:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/petetiliakos/ X: @petetiliakos Facebook: Pete A Tiliakos Bluesky: @peteatiliakos.bsky.social YouTube: HR & Payroll 2.0 Podcast
Ian Giles
The Price of Work: A Global History of Payroll
Welcome to the world’s oldest operational headache: getting people paid. From clay tablets in ancient Mesopotamia to cloud platforms and blockchain, payroll has evolved dramatically over thousands of years. Yet despite the technological transformation, the fundamental questions at the heart of payroll have remained unchanged: What is fair? Who gets paid? And how can we prove it?
This keynote takes audiences on a journey through 5,000 years of payroll history, exploring how societies have attempted to answer these questions through systems of wages, records, deductions, and compliance. Along the way, it reveals how payroll has always been more than an administrative function — it has been a critical mechanism for maintaining trust, stability, and economic order.
Blending historical insight with modern relevance, this session challenges how we think about payroll today. It reframes the function not as a back-office necessity, but as one of the most enduring and influential systems underpinning the relationship between work and reward.
Because while technology continues to evolve, the responsibility remains the same: To ensure that the price of work is calculated fairly, delivered accurately, and trusted completely.
Key Takeaways
- Payroll = Trust. If people don’t trust they’ll be paid correctly and on time, nothing else matters. Protect it. Measure it. Lead with it.
- Data = Influence. Payroll data isn’t just history — it’s insight. Stop reporting. Start shaping decisions.
- Visibility = Value. If payroll stays invisible, it stays underestimated. Show up early. Speak the language of the business. Be heard.
About Ian Giles
Ian Giles has spent more than half his life in payroll and workforce management, on both sides of the customer and solutions provider fence – in operations, implementation, target operating modelling, vendor relationship, advisory, sales, and even marketing. He has worked in start-up, scale-up, and enterprise businesses ranging from Retail & Beauty to Aerospace, managing and overseeing pay and time for 100,000+ employees per payroll cycle in more than 170 countries. Ian is a regular speaker and writer on global payroll strategy, compliance, risk, and operational excellence, and is widely recognized for translating complex challenges into practical outcomes for payroll professionals.
Ian is an active contributor to the payroll profession at global, national, and local levels, including involvement with PAYO through education, mentoring, and thought leadership. Ian is a member of the PAYO Global Payroll Editorial Advisory Board, as well as the Strategic Payroll Leadership Task Force, serving on the Global Payroll and Best Practices subcommittees. He is also a member of the Board of Contributing Writers and Social Networking Committee.
Additionally, Ian is an Advisory Board Member for HR.com. He holds a Payroll Degree from the Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals and the University of Derby, England. Ian is a passionate advocate for raising awareness that payroll is not simply a transactional process but is, in fact, a strategic business function encompassing 8 billion individual stories.
Kathy Cardinal, CPP
Key Employer Impacts of the One Big Beautiful Bill
The One Big Beautiful Bill introduces several significant updates that directly impact employers. This session provides a clear and practical overview of the most critical changes, equipping employers with the knowledge needed to navigate the evolving legislative landscape with confidence.
Participants will gain insight into 2026 mandatory W-2 reporting requirements, including the end of transition relief, eligible occupations for tip reporting in Box 14, and new reporting codes in Box 12 for “No Tax on Tips” and “No Tax on Overtime.” The session will also address Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) overtime premium calculations, updates to information return requirements for Form 1099, and guidance on Trump Account contributions. In addition, attendees will explore a new option for claiming the Family and Medical Leave Credit, along with other key provisions affecting payroll and compliance.
Designed for professionals involved in payroll processing, tax reporting, and regulatory compliance, this session delivers practical guidance and actionable strategies to help organizations efficiently adapt to new requirements. Attendees will leave with a stronger understanding of legislative changes and how to implement them effectively within their organizations.
About Kathy Cardinal
Kathy Cardinal is a seasoned financial executive with 30+ years of experience in accounting, controllership, and payroll operations. She is a Certified Payroll Professional, Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor, and holds a BBA in Accounting from Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi. Kathy currently serves as Corporate Controller for Las Colinas Compounding & Wellness Pharmacy.
Since 2018, Kathy has taught PayrollOrg-approved FPC/CPP exam preparation and QuickBooks Online certification courses at Collin College. She is a board member of the Dallas Chapter PayrollOrg, a member of DallasHR, and a volunteer educator for Money Matters. Kathy also serves nationally through PAYO’s Government Relations Task Force – Federal Issues Subcommittee and the Strategic Payroll Leadership Task Force, contributing to the Small Employers Best Practices, Educational Institutions, Healthcare, Shared Services, and Social Networking committees.
Originally from South Texas, Kathy moved to North Texas in 2017. She enjoys time with her husband, exploring museums, traveling, and volunteering as a foster with Dallas DogRRR.
Rory Gardiner
In an industry built on precision, deadlines, and constant change, it’s easy for pressure to turn into burnout. In this energizing and laugh-out-loud keynote, comedian, musician, and former corporate software consultant Rory Gardiner shows payroll professionals how to transform everyday stress into sustainable performance. Blending real-world workplace insight with sharp humor and practical strategies, Rory reveals how creativity, adaptability, and connection can help teams bridge generational gaps, boost engagement, and rediscover meaning in their work. Attendees will leave with simple tools to reframe challenges, strengthen collaboration, and turn the demands of payroll into momentum for both personal and professional growth.
About Rory Gardiner:
Rory Gardiner Rory Gardiner is an award-winning comedian and CCMA-nominated country artist who has shared the stage with icons like Keith Urban. With over 100 million views across social media, his viral humor has been featured on Canada’s Got Talent, America’s Funniest Videos, and TEDx. A former corporate software consultant who worked on multimillion-dollar projects, Rory brings rare real-world business credibility to his high-impact performances. Blending stand-up comedy, live music, and powerful storytelling, Rory delivers unforgettable
experiences that help audiences rethink resilience, shift perception, and take imperfect action. Equal parts practical and hilarious, his talks leave audiences ready to embrace uncertainty and get comfortable in the uncomfortable.