Dr. Cynthia Bentzen-Mercer is a USA Today best-selling author, international keynote speaker, and board-certified executive coach with over 30 years of executive leadership experience across global industries. As the founder and CEO of Bentzen Performance Partners and co-founder of The Zeal of the Heel, she is a recognized force in transforming human potential into high-impact business performance. Cynthia is the creator of the Human Capital Investment Strategy (HCIS) framework—a game changing approach that challenges leaders to manage their workforce with the same rigor, discipline, and foresight used to manage financial capital. Her latest book, Human Capital Investment Strategy: Six Steps to Outperform the Market and Yield Competitive Advantage, empowers CEOs, leaders, and CHROs to rethink how they invest in talent, mitigate risk, and unlock enterprise value. She’s also the co-author of USA Today Bestselling book, Now, Near, Next: A Practical Guide for Mid- Career Women to Move from Professional Serendipity to Intentional Advancement and the Intentional ALLYship Companion Guide, both of which reflect her passion for helping individuals rise with purpose and strategy. A thought leader featured in Improving HR, Heather McGowan’s The Empathy Advantage, Mel Stanley’s Success without Compromise, and podcasts such as Daring to Leap, This Is Women’s Work, and Success Stories of Professional Women, Cynthia brings unmatched clarity to the intersection of people, purpose, and performance. She holds a Ph.D. in social psychology, an MBA, is a Board-Certified Coach, and carries the Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) designation. Whether on stage, in boardrooms, or across podcast airwaves, Cynthia’s message is clear: when you invest in human potential, you don’t just grow performance—you grow possibility.