EQUITY, INCLUSION & DIVERSITY
SPEAKER INFO
Maria Casanova
FOUNDER + Senior Partner, Maximum Learning and Consulting
Ms. Casanova is the Founder and Senior Partner of Maximum Learning &
Consulting. Maximum Learning & Consulting partners with clients to expand their capabilities through the active and intentional focus on building and deploying strategies that are Diverse, Equitable and Inclusive. She and her team have designed and deployed initiatives and programs across the globe including Africa, Eastern and Western Europe and Latin America. Her global insight, extreme focus on organizational empathy and extraordinary client experiences contributes to the significant
transformation of both people and business processes.
Ms. Casanova collaborates with senior executives and HR business partners across multiple disciplines to design organizational and human capital investment strategies that result in tangible business outcomes. Previously, at IBM, Maria served as a Global Organizational Effectiveness Consultant in the area of Client Relationship Management and Sales Execution. It was her role at IBM that created a powerful vision of what it means to combine the complexity of global strategy with the diverse needs of
focused execution.
Ms. Casanova's passion for developing high performance leaders and teams informs her design of highly interactive and experience based learning strategies that deliver tangible skills and visible increases in effectiveness. Some of her most popular programs are Strategic Communication for Leaders, Client Focused Collaboration, and the Art & Science of Storytelling in Business. Ms. Casanova also delivers scalable and creative Executive Coaching Programs that are designed to address the unique needs and challenges of her clients’ industries and business functions.
Ms. Casanova holds a BBA from Northwood University. She is certified as a Global Facilitator and Professional Negotiator. Ms. Casanova is also a member of the Association for Talent Development (ATD).
Kyle Bolden
EY US East Region Market Segment Leader
Kyle Bolden is is an audit partner in Ernst & Young LLP’s Real Estate, Hospitality, and Construction (RHC) practice in the New York City office and is the US East region’s RHC market segment leader.
Mr. Bolden has over 20 years of experience working with national and international entities, including landlords, hotel owner/operators, real estate developers, commercial real estate services firms and flexible office providers. He has extensive experience in audit, accounting and consulting and a trusted business advisor to the management of public REITs, private real estate developers and real estate funds.
Mr. Bolden has worked with numerous publicly traded and privately held companies and has extensive experience in dealing with complex SEC matters, capital market transactions, initial public offerings, business combinations and divestitures.
Kyle currently serves on the boards of the Real Estate Executive Council (REEC) and William Newman Department of Real Estate Advisory Board (Baruch College); is a member of the following trade associations: Urban Land Institute (ULI), Nareit, The Economics Club of New York, Real Estate Roundtable’s President’s Council serving on both the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee (ED&I) and the Sustainability Policy Advisory Committee (SPAC), CRE Finance Council (CREFC), serving on the Education and Transparency committees, and the National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC).
Mr. Bolden runs the EY Entrepreneur of The Year (EOY) program (Real Estate category), which recognizes the endeavors of exceptional entrepreneurs; and, is an executive sponsor of the EY Entrepreneurs Access Network, a business accelerator program for Black and Latinx companies.
Mr. Bolden has served on the boards of several nonprofit organizations including Per Scholas, Schools That Can, Playworks, and Cornerstone Family Programs.