Talent Insights Series

1. Gain Practical Insights: Learn directly from the City of Savannah's experience, understanding the real-world application and challenges of integrating EI into hiring and development.
2. Enhance Hiring Practices: Discover how to identify and assess emotional intelligence in candidates, leading to more effective and sustainable hiring decisions.
3. Improve Leadership Effectiveness: Understand how EI contributes to stronger leadership and a more cohesive, productive workforce.
4. Foster a Positive Organizational Culture: Learn strategies for building a culture that values and cultivates emotional intelligence, leading to increased employee engagement and retention.

Heather earned a master’s and doctorate in industrial/organizational psychology from North Carolina State University. She is currently the Managing Partner of Durham, North Carolina-based Developmental Associates, where she has worked since 2004. Heather, a Certified Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR), is an organizational consultant specializing in the government, nonprofit, and educational sectors.

As a passionate advocate for assessing and developing emotional intelligence in the workplace, Heather blends academic training and evidence-based solutions with a practitioner approach to leadership development. Areas of practice include executive selection, coaching, training on emotional intelligence skill building, facilitating performance appraisals for appointed public leaders such as city and county managers, and executive team development.

Heather’s coaching practice helps clients, using a variety of assessments, to identify their strengths and opportunities for development in a supportive but engaged and candid fashion. Having coached hundreds of people in different occupations, she enjoys helping individuals leverage their strengths in order to bridge their skill gaps. Heather has created and delivered multiple training programs on how to manage, hire, and lead with emotional intelligence for a variety of organizations. She is certified to administer a number of assessment instruments such as the EQ-i 2.0^®, EQ 360^®, LPI, Benchmarks by CCL, MBTI, DiSC, and Risk Compass among others, to aid in organization, leadership and individual development.

In this session, we demonstrate how MSCEIT^® 2 provides leaders with actionable insight into their EI skills—enabling them to navigate uncertainty, lead teams, and deliver measurable results. You’ll also hear about the MSCEIT^® 2’s powerful framework to deepen client self-awareness and accelerate leadership growth, which is ideal for executive coaches. Learning and development professionals and HR leaders will discover how EI assessment and development can strengthen succession planning, team effectiveness, and organizational culture. Consultants will learn how to integrate EI measurement into their interventions to create lasting impact; leaders will gain insight into how the development of EI skills can equip them to thrive in complex, high-pressure environments. Whether you are guiding others or leading a team, this session will show why the ability model of EI and the MSCEIT^® 2 are essential tools for building resilient, high-performing, and well-rounded organizations.

1. Explain the ability model of EI: Describe the origins of the ability-based approach to emotional intelligence and the four core EI domains: perceiving, connecting, understanding, and managing emotions.
2. Recognize the value of objective EI measurement: Understand how the MSCEIT^® 2 assesses emotional intelligence as a set of measurable skills, and how results highlight both strengths and growth opportunities.
3. Apply EI insights to leadership challenges: Identify how EI skills enable leaders to navigate complexity, foster inclusion, and lead diverse teams effectively in uncertain environments.
4. Integrate EI into coaching and development: Demonstrate how MSCEIT^® 2 results can be incorporated into executive coaching, leadership development, HR practices, and organizational consulting for greater impact.

Dr. Caruso is a consulting psychologist and founder of EI Skills Group. After graduating from Colby College with honors in Psychology, Dr. Caruso attended Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) for his graduate work as a National Institute of Child Health and Human Development pre-doctoral fellow. At CWRU, he studied in the laboratory of Dr. Douglas Detterman and focused on understanding intelligence theories and assessment. Upon graduation, he was awarded a National Institute of Mental Health fellowship and spent the next two years as a post-doctoral fellow at Yale University in Psychology, working with Dr. Edward Zigler and Dr. Robert Sternberg.

After his post-doctoral studies, he began a career in corporate and consulting environments. He worked at a market research firm, a Fortune 200 manufacturing company, a marketing firm, and an HR consulting firm—holding positions in market research, strategic planning, product line management, and career assessment. In these roles, he managed teams and projects, with direct reports in the U.S., Canada, and the U.K. At the same time, Dr. Caruso continued his research interests with an appointment as a research affiliate in the Psychology department at Yale University for several years.

He next began a 16-year part-time role as the special assistant to the Dean of Yale College while maintaining his EI Skills Group practice. At EI Skills Group, which focuses on practical applications of the ability model of emotional intelligence, Dr. Caruso provided MSCEIT^® feedback to thousands of individuals. He conducts MSCEIT^® certification workshops and delivers hands-on, emotional intelligence skill-building sessions worldwide. He is the co-author of several peer-reviewed articles and chapters, as well as four practical books on emotional intelligence. He has designed his career to include time with his family (and dogs) and for pursuits including sea kayaking and hiking.

Dr. Salovey is the Sterling Professor of Psychology, holding secondary faculty appointments in the School of Management, School of Public Health, Institution for Social and Policy Studies, and Department of Sociology at Yale University. He served as the twenty-third president of Yale University from 2013 to 2024 and, before that, as the Provost of Yale University from 2008 to 2013. He also served as the Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and as Dean of Yale College.

After receiving an A.B. (psychology) and A.M. (sociology) from Stanford University with departmental honors and university distinction, Dr. Salovey earned three degrees at Yale in psychology: M.S., M.Phil., and Ph.D. After completing an internship in clinical health psychology at the West Haven Veterans Administration Medical Center, he joined the Yale faculty in 1986. He has studied the connections among emotion, health communication, and health behavior, with a special focus on emotional intelligence. He played key roles in multiple Yale programs including the Health, Emotion, and Behavior Laboratory, which Dr. Salovey founded, the Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS, and the Cancer Prevention and Control Research Program.

Dr. Salovey has authored or edited over a dozen books translated into eleven languages and published hundreds of journal articles and essays. He has lectured internationally on emotional intelligence, health communication, and issues in higher education. In addition to teaching and mentoring scores of graduate students, Dr. Salovey has won both the William Clyde DeVane Medal for Distinguished Scholarship and Teaching in Yale College and the Lex Hixon ’63 Prize for Teaching Excellence in the Social Sciences. He has received honorary degrees from the University of Pretoria, National Tsing Hua University, Harvard University, McGill University, University of Haifa, and Vytautas Magnus University. In 2013, he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the National Academy of Medicine.

During his tenure as President of Yale, Dr. Salovey led the development of new programs and facilities across the schools and departments of Yale. Advancements included restructuring and expanding the Faculty of Arts and Sciences and the School of Engineering and Applied Science, launching the Jackson School of Global Affairs, and opening two new residential colleges. He also advanced innovative teaching on campus, amplified Yale’s partnerships in Africa, Asia, and other parts of the world, and enhanced multidisciplinary collaboration and entrepreneurial opportunities for faculty and students. He was—and remains—committed to improving access to a Yale education for students worldwide, regardless of their financial background. As provost, he facilitated strategic planning and initiatives such as enhancing career development and mentoring opportunities for all Yale faculty members, promoting faculty diversity, creating the Office of Academic Integrity, establishing the university-wide Committee on Sexual Misconduct, and overseeing the university’s budget during the global financial crisis.

Dr. Salovey serves on the board of the IBMA Foundation for Bluegrass Music and plays double bass in the band “Professors of Bluegrass.” He is an Independent Director of Legend Biotech and a Visiting University Professor at Waseda University in Tokyo.

Here is Dr. Salovery’s full list of honorary degrees:

• 2025 - MD, honoris causa, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
• 2025 - PhD, doctorate honoris causa, Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan
• 2024 - LHD, honoris causa, Yale University, New Haven, Conn., US
• 2022 - AHL, honoris causa, Gateway Community College, New Haven, Conn., US
• 2019 - PhD, doctorate honoris causa, Vytautas Magnus University, Kaunas, Lithuania
• 2018 - PhD, doctorate honoris causa, University of Haifa, Israel
• 2018 - DSc, honoris causa, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
• 2015 - LLD honoris causa, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass., US
• 2014 - LLD, honoris causa, National Tsing Hua University, Taiwan
• 2014 - PhD, doctorate honoris causa, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China
• 2009 - EdD, doctorate honoris causa, University of Pretoria, South Africa

1. Describe the EQ-i 2.0^® Leadership Report: Explore the structure, unique features, and benefits of using the Leadership Report in organizational contexts.
2. Recognize the link between emotional intelligence and leadership effectiveness: Learn how EI competencies contribute to leadership styles and outcomes.
3. Facilitate meaningful development conversations: Use insights from the Leadership Report to support leaders in building self-awareness, resilience, and adaptability.

Psysoft Ltd. is an occupational psychology consultancy which provides assessment, development, coaching and training services to a wide range of organizations.

You can find out more about Psysoft’s range of training courses and consultancy services at psysoft.com.

Imogen de Vries is a Senior Consultant at Psysoft Ltd. She specializes in psychometric training and client projects, leading the EQ-i 2.0^® & EQ 360^® Certification and BPS Test User courses (Occupational, Ability and Personality). Alongside this, she works with organizations on recruitment and leadership development, drawing on tools such as EQ-i 2.0^®, EQ 360^®, MSCEIT^® 2, OPQ, Hogan and HUCAMA Factors. Imogen holds a BSc in Psychology with Business and Management and is currently completing her MSc in Occupational Psychology. She combines academic insight with practical experience, with a strong focus on evidence-based practice and the needs of each organization.

Mia George is a Consultant at Psysoft Ltd. She delivers psychometric training and workshops, including BPS Test User certification, and supports webinars, report writing and assessment feedback. Mia works with tools such as EQ-i 2.0^®, EQ 360^®, MSCEIT^® 2 and HUCAMA Factors, helping organizations apply psychometrics to leadership and talent development. She holds a BSc in Psychology and is completing an MSc in Occupational Psychology. Mia’s approach is practical and engaging, bringing psychological insight into everyday workplace challenges.

1. Discuss a real-world case study: Carolyn will share a powerful case study from one of her most successful leadership development programs, highlighting how emotional intelligence was used to drive measurable results in engagement, trust, and performance.
2. Integrate EI into training programs: Learn how to integrate emotional intelligence tools, like the EQ-i 2.0^®, and MSCEIT^® 2 into your leadership training programs.
3. Utilize practical tools: Discover actionable techniques leaders can use to manage emotions, coach with empathy, and foster emotionally safe cultures.
4. Implement effective programs: Gain insight into how to structure programs that deliver both immediate takeaways and long-term impact.

Whether you’re an HR professional, learning and development specialist, or executive coach, this session will help you understand how emotional intelligence can be the catalyst for stronger leadership. You’ll leave with tools you can implement right away and ideas to elevate your organization’s leadership development strategy.

Join us to discover how leading with emotional intelligence isn’t just a “nice to have”—it’s the key to developing resilient, connected, and highly effective leaders.

She is a certified Emotional Intelligence and Leadership Development Expert, Certified Speaking Professional^®, corporate trainer, award-winning author, and university professor. Since launching her book, The Emotionally Strong Leader: An Inside-Out Journey to Transformational Leadership, Carolyn has quickly gained acclaim following her appearances on The Social, CTV Your Morning, Daytime Chicago, Global TV, Slice TV, OWN, Lifetime TV, MovieTime, Prime, and Tubi. Her book was awarded the Axiom Book Award for the Best Business Book in 2023 in the leadership category and the 2022 Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Award in the career category. She has also been featured in various media outlets across the globe, including Forbes, Fast Company, The European Business Review, The Globe and Mail, and Inc.com. Carolynʼs emotional intelligence courses and modules have been adopted by top universities, and she has trained over 60,000 business leaders across the continent in highly regarded corporations.

1. Describe the strategic value of the EQ-i 2.0^®: Participants will be able to articulate how the Emotional Quotient Inventory can be leveraged as a strategic asset for talent management, moving beyond its traditional use as a selection tool.
2. Analyze real-world EQ-i 2.0^® applications: Attendees will be able to analyze case studies from the South African context to understand how EQ-i 2.0^® data can be used to drive development, succession planning, and talent acquisition.
3. Formulate actionable recommendations: Participants will be able to develop clear, practical recommendations for integrating emotional intelligence into their own organizations' talent strategies to achieve a measurable return on investment.

Jana van Heerden is a registered Industrial/Organizational Psychologist and seasoned talent and organizational effectiveness expert with extensive experience in driving business transformation, organizational development and talent management initiatives.

She has held various key leadership roles within the HR division of Capitec Bank in South Africa, where she spearheaded initiatives in succession planning, employee engagement, people analytics and organizational design. Jana has a proven track record of implementing large-scale transformation projects, optimizing workforce planning, and developing strategic HR frameworks that enhance organizational performance and drive business success.

Jana has recently stepped into the role of Managing Director at JVR Consulting, where she continues to drive innovation in the talent management and organizational effectiveness space.