SHRM-Approved Activity ✅

McLean & Company is recognized by SHRM to offer Professional Development Credits (PDCs) for SHRM-CP® or SHRM-SCP®.

Pre-Approved by HRPA

This program has been approved for one continuing professional development (CPD) hour under Section A of the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Log of the Human Resource Professionals Association (HRPA).

Lisa Highfield

Principal Director, Research & Advisory Services

• Lisa Highfield is the Principal Director, Human Resources Technology and Artificial Intelligence, for McLean & Company. Lisa creates and delivers practical HR research and advisory services to help leaders drive strategic results. She is a progressive leader with over twenty-five years of strategic, technical, and operational experience in human resources, IT, and finance. As a former Research and Advisory Director of Enterprise Applications for Info-Tech Research Group, Lisa is uniquely positioned to assist organizations around HR technology and operations.

• Lisa has knowledge across several HR disciplines, including HR strategy, HR technology, HR operations, culture, and learning & development. She has expertise in helping organizations connect their business, HR, and IT objectives into priorities, action plans, and results. She is passionate about positioning HR leaders and their teams to optimize investments by developing digital HR strategies.

• Leveraging her experience in client advisory and research, Lisa is well-versed in guiding members through their application lifecycle, including application portfolio management, strategy, selection, optimization, and operations. Lisa has expertise in many software categories, including human capital management, payroll, learning and development, workforce management, recruiting, and enterprise resource planning (ERP).

• A lifelong learner, Lisa has an Executive MBA from the University of Fredericton in Global Business, a degree in HR from Ryerson University, a post-graduate certificate in Information Technology from Lambton Colleges, and a Bachelor of Science from the University of Guelph. Lisa has also embraced the field of artificial intelligence, which she is studying through courses at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.

Damian Sycz

Senior Analyst, Human Resources Research & Advisory Services

• Damian is a Senior Analyst on the HR Research & Advisory services team at McLean & Company. He has a passion for translating research into practice. His areas of interest include HR technology, artificial intelligence (AI), metrics and analytics, and performance management.

• Before joining McLean & Company, Damian worked as a research coordinator, conducting program evaluations and academic research on recruitment, employee retention, organizational leadership, and performance measurement.

• Damian holds an MA in Sociology from the University of Waterloo and is working toward completing his PhD in Sociology, where he researched recruitment and retention in policing. Damian also has experience as a university instructor, having taught several classes at the undergraduate level.