The 2025 GW Business & Policy Forum: The Future of Work is Now

Valerie Abend is a globally recognized cybersecurity and risk management expert with thirty years of experience in the public and private sectors. She has advanced cyber resilience as a board director, consulting practice leader, former regulator and industry practitioner.

As the CEO of the Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Center (FS-ISAC), Abend leads the global financial industry’s go-to organization for sharing threat intelligence and providing resources to financial institutions to respond and protect against cyberattacks. Her leadership focuses on strengthening cyber resilience across the global financial system.

Before her role at FS-ISAC, Abend served as the Senior Managing Director for Accenture’s Financial Services Security, where she led a $2.5B double-digit growth business and engaged with large banks and insurance companies globally. Before leading FS Security, she was Global Lead for Accenture’s Global Cyber Strategy and also founded the Accenture Cybersecurity Forum’s Women’s Council, convening women CISOs and board directors to address leadership, diversity and technical challenges in cybersecurity.

Abend is a board director for the Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) and serves as a Sector Advisor to the Board of the Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Center (FS-ISAC).

Abend has received numerous awards, including being named a 2024 NACD Directorship 100 Honoree for her work in cybersecurity board governance. She is a frequent media commentator and thought leader across major media outlets. Abend is an alumna with an M.P.A. in International Science, Technology and Competitiveness with honors from GW.

Jim Clifton is the Chairman of Gallup, a global analytics and advice firm. From 1988 to 2022, he served as CEO, guiding the company’s transformation from a U.S.-based organization to a worldwide enterprise with 30 offices across 20 countries. Gallup now leads the world in public opinion polling and workplace consulting, conducting ongoing surveys across 160 countries, representing 96% of the world’s population.

Clifton is the creator of the Gallup Path, a metric-based economic model that links human nature in the workplace with customer engagement and business outcomes. This model is used in performance management systems by more than 500 companies worldwide. He also launched the Gallup World Poll, which gives voice to the world’s 8 billion citizens on the most pressing global issues.

In 2015, the Clifton Foundation and Gallup gifted $30 million to the University of Nebraska to establish the Don Clifton Strengths Institute, supporting the early identification and development of gifted entrepreneurs and future business leaders.

Clifton is the bestselling author of numerous books, including “Culture Shock”, “Wellbeing at Work”, “It’s the Manager” (a #1 Wall Street Journal bestseller), “Born to Build” and “The Coming Jobs War”. His articles on global leadership appear frequently on Gallup.com and LinkedIn.

Clifton serves on the U.S. Council on Competitiveness and chairs the Dr. N. Joyce Payne Center for Social Justice. He is Chairman Emeritus of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and a visiting professor at UNC-Chapel Hill and Duke. Clifton lives in Washington, D.C.

Maria Fernandez leads global indirect procurement at HelloFresh, where sustainability and reducing food waste are core to the company’s business model. In her role, she drives value from all spending “outside of the box,” covering goods and services beyond ingredients and packaging. Previously, she was a partner at McKinsey, where she co-led the sustainability in life sciences practice, building on her expertise in procurement, technology and sustainability. She advised pharmaceutical companies on ESG strategy, setting practical targets, collaborating with suppliers on Scope 3 emissions and strengthening team capabilities. Fernandez holds a bachelor’s in engineering from the College of Engineering, Guindy and a postgraduate diploma in management from the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore.

Andrew Hodge (M.B.A ‘02) is the President of Virginia and North Carolina Wholesale for Atlantic Union Bank, where he manages teams across the Bank’s entire geographic footprint, from Georgia through Virginia and up to Pennsylvania. Before his promotion in 2024, he served as the Head of Middle Market and Specialty Banking for Atlantic Union Bank. In total, he has worked in commercial banking for 23 years.

Hodge manages 115 FTEs and approximately $6B in loans outstanding among all the teams. The teams include nine general industries C&I teams, a government contracting specialty team, an asset-based lending team and a corporate banking team. With priorities in order of importance being soundness, profitability and growth, the teams proactively manage the portfolio, diversification of the portfolio and grow both interest and non-interest income.

Hodge has specialized in building and growing commercial teams, including middle market and corporate banking. He successfully built out a corporate syndications team and helped build out an asset-based lending team. His teams have grown loans, deposits and non-interest income annually over the past seven years.

Hodge is a part of the Wholesale Leadership Team, charged with setting strategy and formulating priorities and structure that allow the line of business to grow responsibly. Outside of his role, Hodge serves as a Board of Visitor for Old Dominion University and is a board member on several organizations, including the Tidewater Community College Foundation and the Hampton Roads Workforce Council Foundation. 

Jon Kessler is a GW alum and the retired President and CEO of HealthEquity (NASDAQ:HQY), a $10 billion company whose mission is to save and improve lives by empowering healthcare consumers. More than 3,000 HealthEquity teammates help 17 million American families (what HealthEquity calls members) nationwide get the most out of Health Savings Accounts and other benefits. The team lives by four authentic “purple” values: do the right thing, be remarkable, make a difference and celebrate people. In the decade HealthEquity operated as a public company under Jon’s leadership, it delivered for shareholders as well as teammates and members. Jon holds the distinction of having been named one of the nation’s top CEOs in the same year by Glassdoor, which surveys employees, and Institutional Investor, which surveys public company shareholders.

Jon and his wife, Laura, previously founded health and commuter benefits company WageWorks (NYSE:WAGE), which HealthEquity subsequently acquired, and before that Jon began his career as an economist in the administrations of Presidents Bush Sr. And Clinton in Washington and at Arthur Andersen in San Francisco. He is currently a trustee of GW’s Medical Faculty Associates and the Employee Benefits Research Institute, and was previously a trustee of the International Baccalaureate (“IB”) Organization based in Geneva. Jon holds a bachelor’s degree from the Elliot School and a master's from the Kennedy School at Harvard.

Jon and Laura participate in pro-democracy philanthropy and action, with a current focus on the competitiveness of statehouse elections throughout the US.

Jack McDougle is President and CEO of the Greater Washington Board of Trade, where he works with business, government and academic leaders to drive the region’s economic transformation. He focuses on building an economy that is more resilient, inclusive and fueled by innovation and digital growth.

Over his career, McDougle has worked across government, business and the nonprofit sector, giving him a unique perspective on how economies evolve. His experience ranges from shaping national economic policy at the U.S. Department of Commerce to guiding business strategy and transformation in the banking sector. He also played a leading role at the Council on Competitiveness, where he helped craft the first national manufacturing strategy in decades, engaging leaders from industry, labor, government and universities to strengthen America’s long-term competitiveness.

These diverse experiences inform his leadership today at the Board of Trade, where he works with regional partners to confront challenges like federal downsizing, disruptive technologies and the need for smarter infrastructure and workforce strategies. He is a frequent voice on innovation, entrepreneurship, business growth and the future of work and is deeply engaged in regional collaborations such as the Potomac Conference.

McDougle is committed to ensuring Greater Washington leads the way as one of the world’s most dynamic, competitive, and inclusive economies.

Margaret Smith is one of Accenture’s most senior leaders, serving as Senior Managing Director and Executive Director of Corporate Services & Sustainability and Business Operations. She is responsible for the critical services that keep Accenture’s global business operating at scale and with purpose, including business resiliency, procurement, payroll, real estate, health and safety, travel, workplace experience and sustainability operations. Her work ensures that more than 700,000 people worldwide can be productive, safe and supported, while advancing Accenture’s ambitious sustainability goals.

Over her 36-year career with Accenture, Smith has built and led global teams that deliver innovation and operational excellence across every market in which the company operates. Her influence extends to the highest levels of the organization through her roles on the Accenture Operations Council and the Accenture Global Leadership Council.

Smith is equally recognized for her people-centered leadership. She is a passionate advocate for inclusion, diversity and equity, and champions company-wide initiatives around mental wellness and neurodiversity. She brings both operational rigor and a deep commitment to creating a workplace where individuals can thrive.

She holds both a BBA and MBA from the George Washington University School of Business, making her participation in the Future of Work Summit a meaningful homecoming.

While she manages a global portfolio, Margaret herself is globally rooted. She splits her time between Vermont, Virginia and the United Kingdom, where she and her husband enjoy life with their four sons and many dogs.