Beyond the Check-in: Building Trust and Performance Through Powerful 1:1s

With 20 years of Chick-fil-A experience, including being a Grand Opening trainer and Operating Partner, Alex Seale is passionate about leadership & coaching. He is currently an Operating Partner and the owner of The Pivot Experience where he helps Quick Service Restaurant leadership grow and find their why. A Beaumont native, Alex is married with 3 children.

Holly McIlwain is the founder and chief cheerleader of the Brave Women Project. She is the author of “For She Who Leads: Practical Wisdom from a Woman Who Serves” and leads the Talent Development platform for Winner Partners. She is a subject-matter expert in the usage of behavior assessments as part of coaching and development plans, in addition to talent acquisition engagements. As a Gallup Certified Strengths Coach, working with individuals and organizations to build a better world and sustainable business solutions is her passion. What’s not exciting about that? This enthusiasm comes with Holly into each coaching session, team workshop, search opportunity, and speaking engagement. It carries right over into the Brave Women Project. Nothing excites Holly more than inspiring women to do brave things. One of the brave things she did was partner with Amy Hooper Hanna to create "For She Who Grieves: Practical Wisdom for Living Hope". ​ Developing leaders who change lives is Holly’s passion and professional purpose. She has studied and written about topics such as: Leadership and Mission, Bravery in Business, and Managing Human Relationships. As a recognized subject matter expert, Holly has spoken at numerous conferences and on Sirius XM Radio. She holds an advanced degree in Organizational Leadership from Robert Morris University, and is certified as a DISC Behavior Analyst and a Driving Forces Behavior Analyst. ​ Holly invests herself to expand the reach of those organizations she serves and has a long record of engagement in the region. Holly functioned as a lead consultant in Organizational Management and Leadership Development for one of the largest non-profits in the world and spent 15 years in the non-profit sector. After studying with Pittsburgh Leadership Foundation, she invested her time and professionalism in the Pittsburgh region, consistently seeking ways to challenge leaders to become fully engaged in transformation. In 2020 she began serving as Pittsburgh Leadership Foundation Faculty and became a DDI Certified Facilitator. Holly is an expert in the value of dynamic onboarding as part of the foundation for fully engaged employees and served in Human Resources at Robert Morris University and Franciscan University. She previously served as Director of People & Culture for Wolfe.com, an INC top 100 fastest growing company! Currently she leverages her subject matter expertise through conducting management training and corporate learning and development workshops.

Kjerstin (pronounced Shustin), a California native with a very Swedish name, is an HR professional with 10+ years of experience working with various high-growth tech companies. Most recently, she served as a People Business Partner at Sequoia Consulting Group, supporting leaders across the organization. Prior to that, she spent 5 years at Connery Consulting where she ran the HR consulting practice and worked closely with various tech companies, large and small. She is a New Ventures West Certified Development Coach and recently passed the SPHR. Between her robust HR knowledge and coaching experience, she endeavors to support business leaders in running the most effective teams possible. Originally from the Bay Area, Kjerstin now resides in LA with her husband and their two little ones. On the weekends you will find her at the pool with her kids, exploring LA and soaking up the sunshine. Unrelated and in no particular order she loves all things Swedish, cheeseburgers, when her kids are finally asleep, spa days, living in cities, and hosting parties.