NOW of Work Mercer

Meet Will Sealy, Co-Founder & CEO, and Daniel Macklin, President of Summer!

Summer is a certified B Corporation combining innovative technology and policy expertise to serve student loan borrowers across the country. Built by borrowers, for borrowers, Summer provides an end-to-end workplace student loan solution that is proven to reduce employee turnover and guaranteed to save employees thousands by simplifying student loans for everyone.

Summer partners with employers to deliver a tailored benefit that empowers employees to save for education, better manage their student loans, find forgiveness options, and lower monthly payments.  Summer has helped over 148,000 borrowers save an average of $333 per month on their student loan payments and save over $45,000 over the course of repayment. In addition, Summer recently announced $1.15B in total projected savings for members.

Their company has made huge progress since its founding, and continues to make great strides amid a complex and critical landscape.

They covered:


The scale of student loan debt and college costs crisis. It's not just a “student problem,” but rather one that impacts adults of all ages, and 80% of families in America
The impact employers can have in the immediate term to help employees’ overall financial wellness by introducing student loan and college cost planning solutions
The massive potential for employers to boost talent attraction and retention by addressing this critical concern for their workforce

John Land, a Partner at Mercer, is an experienced HR & Workforce Transformation and Global Rewards & Recognition Practice Leader/Consultant with a demonstrated history of building and leading transformative HR functions; including program/process/organization design, technology enablement, upskilling, and performance improvement. He is skilled in mergers and acquisitions (due diligence through integration/standup), HR digital transformation, and building highly effective teams. John is passionate about leveraging technology to drive employee and organization innovation and improve customer outcomes by creating people-centric experiences.

David Landman, an HR executive with 20+ years of experience driving business performance by enabling people to be their best selves at work. David is passionate about supporting the visionary founders, investors and innovators who are redefining what it means to thrive in the workplace and he is a prominent leader in the HR executive, startup and venture capital community. 

Based on John Land's client experience as a Total Rewards practice leader at Mercer, coupled with David Landman's role running Talent programs at Goldman Sachs and now advising startups on their value and position in the evolving landscape of people and work, what is our current thinking about TALENT and ORGANIZATIONAL strategy? How do we think about keeping people (important) and keeping them happy (big difference)? 

Michael Kannisto runs a think tank called MindemicLab, which utilizes scenario planning, wargame simulation, and predictive modeling to help organizations develop strategies that will be effective across multiple possible futures.

Michael began his career as a research chemist, but quickly realized that while molecules always act predictably and consistently, people rarely do. He has spent much of his career in corporate Human Resources exploring the uncertainty that comes along with having humans in the workplace. Large, successful, well-funded organizations frequently experience failure when purchasing technology or implementing new policies. This is mainly the result of unanticipated changes that occur along the way. Michael started MindemicLab as a resource to help others “rehearse” alternative futures, and thus increase their likelihood of success.

Prior/ongoing work in this area includes deep dives into The Future of Work, The Future of Early Career Recruiting and The Future of Disability.


Plastic Love by Mayiya Takeuchi
Virtual HR Technology Conference

Dr. Amy Dufrane, SPHR, CAE, is the CEO of HRCI, and the founder of HRCI’s sister organization, the HR Standards Institute (HRSI). Amy has spent her career helping businesses maximize their human capital and HR professionals maximize their careers. As HRCI’s top steward, she leads an organization dedicated to assisting more than 500,000 business-leader members around the world who want to enhance their HR and expertise through learning and certification. Amy oversees HRCI’s work to establish international HR standards in partnership with ISO, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), and the global community. She is a member of the Wall Street Journal CEO Council, the Economic Club of Washington, DC, and CEO Update’s CEO Roundtable. Through these organizations, she connects regularly with CEOs, CHROs, and other leaders, giving her firsthand knowledge of the workplace changes happening in industries everywhere. Prior to joining HRCI, Amy held CHRO and executive HR leadership roles at organizations in a variety of industries, where she faced issues similar to those confronting the HR professionals she partners with today. She chairs the board for the Columbia Lighthouse for the Blind, is a director of the Institute for Credentialing Excellence, and serves on the advisory board of Certree and Southern New Hampshire University.

Brian Sommer, Founder and President of TechVentive, is an award-winning IT industry analyst who covers the ERP, Finance and HR sectors. For over 30 years, Brian has been advising the world’s largest firms on strategy, change, process and technology initiatives. Brian assisted over 100 of the Fortune 500 on financial software selections and continues to advise a wide array of high technology firms globally. 

In his latest book, The Executive’s ESG Playbook, Brian examines the numerous requirements, planning tasks, technology challenges and more that must be dealt with to meet a number of new business realities. The research for that book took several years and involved visits and interviews with global leaders in HR, Accounting, Supply Chain, risk management and other disciplines. Previously, he was a senior partner at Accenture with leadership roles in their Software Intelligence, Human Capital and Finance & Performance Management groups.

TechVentive specializes in providing cutting-edge solutions to address the diverse needs of modern enterprises. Their mission is to revolutionize the way businesses operate by delivering innovative solutions that drive efficiency, productivity, and growth. They make the commitment to help their clients succeed in today’s dynamic and competitive landscape by providing them with the tools and expertise needed to stay ahead of the curve.

Brian Sommer is a keynote speaker in the upcoming virtual HR Technology Conference & Exposition, June 12-13. 100% free. 100% online. 100% rewarding. Register at https://www.hrtechnologyconference.com/virtual/.

Stick around at the end for a surprise guest appearance from Mike Sarraille, Founder of Legacy Expeditions. Mike is a former Recon Marine and Scout-Sniper, and retired U.S. Navy SEAL with 20 years of experience in Special Operations, including the elite Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC). He joined the meetup to share some of his journey and to show our community the trailer for Triple 7, a documentary following a record-breaking, adrenaline-fueled adventure following a group of former Special operations soldiers on a 7-day epic journey across 7 continents to raise 1,400 life-changing scholarships in support of the families of fallen and disabled service members and first responders.

Summer Davies, Founder of LeaderShop, is an accomplished leadership expert with over 15 years of experience in transforming aspiring leaders' lives. Summer specializes in fostering thriving work environments and empowering emerging leaders to lead with impact and confidence. With her extensive background in coaching and teaching leaders globally, Summer brings a wealth of knowledge on essential mindset shifts, tactical skills for modern leadership, creating empowering work cultures, and overcoming obstacles in personal and professional growth. 

However, Leadership development was never part of Summer’s plan. She grew up in a household that played fast and loose with the poverty line for many years. Growing up in Boulder, Colorado in the 90’s Summer found a deep love for horses which changed her life. It was always her intention to work in the horse industry, but life had other plans. Unexpectedly, Summer fell into a leadership role early in her career. Being completely unqualified for that role, trial-by-fire ignited a passion for helping others learn to lead skillfully and effectively.

Outside of work, Summer remains a lifelong equestrian, beekeeper, and a sub-par snowboarder. She currently lives in Parker, Colorado with her husband and two daughters. As a family they love to travel and explore local breweries, and they are die-hard food truck junkies.

Summer’s engaging storytelling and practical advice on leadership and personal development are sure to captivate you.