Welcome coffee & networking

Opening remarks

Artificial intelligence, leadership burnout, institutional distrust, and always-on transformation have left many organizations reacting to the future rather than shaping it. In this opening keynote, leadership strategist and narrative advisor Jason Ashlock argues that the organizations best equipped for the next era of work will not be the most optimized, but the most adaptive, regenerative, and capable of collective imagination. Blending ecology, systems thinking, storytelling, and practical enterprise insight, this session challenges leaders to move beyond passivity and actively story the future they wish to inhabit.

As AI moves from experimentation to enterprise-wide impact, organizations are being pushed to rethink how work gets done and how capability is built. Join Todd Tauber, Principal Value Engineer at Degreed, for a deep dive into the future operating model in an AI-first world, grounded in three pillars of transformation: how learning is embedded into the flow of work, how technology enables and scales change, and how organizations evolve their people, roles, and structures to keep up.
Drawing on insights from original research and real-world examples, this session will explore what it takes to move from AI ambition to measurable outcomes. From rethinking the learning experience to aligning the tech and people for transformation, you’ll gain a clear perspective on how leading organizations are building operating models designed for continuous change.
In partnership with Degreed

In this session, you’ll gain insights into the pitfalls of workplace change initiatives and discover the pivotal role trust plays in effective change management. Learn to foster adaptability and resilience within your teams and leave armed with practical tools to enhance team dynamics and organizational culture. Elevate your company with strategic knowledge and actionable takeaways for corporate transformation and leadership empowerment.
In partnership with Activate 180

Now change isn’t just another event to manage. It’s a new way to operate. So the most adaptable businesses are building real-time, sense-and-respond capabilities for skills. The L&D and Talent functions that get there won't just support business strategy, they'll be embedded in it. In this session, we'll show you how global HR leaders are reshaping experiences, technologies, and teams to move from skills catalogued to capabilities activated.
- Understand what an AI-native skills infrastructure actually looks like in practice
- See how leading organizations are reshaping L&D and talent teams to activate skills at scale
- Leave with a clear action plan for moving from skills strategy to skills operation
In partnership with Degreed

- Where is AI genuinely creating measurable value across HR, workforce management and productivity - and where is the market still being overwhelmed by hype?
- How prepared are organizations, leaders and employees to truly embed AI into day-to-day decision-making and workflows? What barriers still exist around trust, adoption and capability?
- What are the biggest unanswered questions leaders still have about AI, workforce transformation and the future of work - but rarely get the opportunity to discuss openly?
In partnership with Dayforce

Enjoy a curated lunch and connect with attendees, speakers and partners.

As organizations continue to navigate constant change, the focus often lands on building trust and improving team adaptability. But for HR leaders, a more persistent challenge remains: how do you actually develop leaders who can operate effectively in that environment over time?
This roundtable explores what genuinely builds leadership capability in practice, moving beyond programmes and frameworks to focus on real-world development. In fast-moving organizations, leadership is shaped far more by experience, exposure, and everyday decision-making than formal learning interventions.
The discussion will bring HR leaders together to share what is working on the ground, where traditional approaches are falling short, and how organizations can better sustain leadership growth in environments defined by continuous change.
Together we will uncover:
- Why leadership development struggles to keep pace with ongoing change and complexity
- What actually builds leadership capability through lived experience in the workplace
- How organizations are embedding development into day-to-day work to sustain leaders over time
In partnership with Activate 180

As organizations navigate increasingly global, distributed and mobile workforces, talent mobility is becoming far more than an operational or legal consideration. Rising scrutiny, evolving regulations and increasing workforce complexity mean organizations are now being challenged to think differently about governance, accountability and enterprise risk across global talent movement.
In this interactive workshop, we will explore how leading organizations are evolving beyond reactive compliance approaches to build more scalable, visible and defensible talent mobility programmes. Through candid discussion and real-world examples, the session will examine where organisations are most exposed, how gaps are uncovered, and what HR, mobility and business leaders should be considering as expectations around oversight continue to evolve.
The conversation will also explore how organisations can strengthen consistency, improve cross-functional accountability and leverage technology to support more resilient and audit-ready workforce mobility strategies.
Learning Outcomes
1. Understand the growing workforce, governance and reputational risks linked to global talent mobility
2. Identify common vulnerabilities and visibility gaps across mobility and compliance programme
3. Explore what separates reactive compliance management from scalable, enterprise-ready approaches
4. Learn how organizations are improving accountability and oversight across HR, mobility and business functions
5. Consider the role of technology in supporting more resilient and future-ready mobility strategies

In partnership with Fragomen

For years, organizations have invested heavily in workforce data and people analytics - yet many leaders still struggle to turn insight into action fast enough to keep pace with change.
A new generation of AI-powered workforce intelligence is beginning to change that.
This session explores how leading organizations are evolving from static reporting and reactive decision-making toward predictive, AI-driven decision-making powered by connected workforce data, intelligent insights and emerging agentic systems.
Discussion points include:
1. Why are so many organizations still overwhelmed by workforce data but underpowered when it comes to decision-making?
2. How can AI help leaders move from reactive reporting toward predictive workforce strategy and organizational agility?
3. Where are organizations already seeing measurable business impact from AI-powered workforce intelligence?
4. What must leaders get right around transparency, governance and trust as AI becomes more embedded within workforce decision-making?
In partnership with PeopleScape.AI

AI is rapidly reshaping talent strategy, from hiring and performance to engagement and retention. But not all AI is created equal. While general-purpose tools can generate content, they often lack the context, benchmarks, and judgment required for high-stakes people decisions.
In this session, Natalie Johnson, co-Founder and Managing Director of Paradigm, explores the promise of purpose-built AI for HR leaders. She’ll share what separates generic tools from solutions designed specifically for talent strategy and why that distinction matters for high-stakes people decisions and overall business performance.
Attendees will leave with a clear framework for evaluating AI partners, understanding risk, and harnessing AI to build stronger teams and cultures.
In partnership with Paradigm

As serious and complex health conditions become an increasing reality in the workforce, employers are being challenged to rethink how support is delivered across the employee journey. This is driving a shift beyond traditional navigation, towards more expert-led support that helps employees access timely and accurate diagnosis, clearer treatment pathways, and more personalized guidance when it matters most.
For HR leaders, this raises important questions about how organizations can respond in a way that improves outcomes for employees and their families, while also strengthening productivity, retention and trust across the workforce.

1. Why rising rates of serious and complex health conditions are becoming a growing workforce challenge for employers, impacting productivity, retention, wellbeing and employee trust.
2. How leading organizations are rethinking employee health support beyond traditional insurance and EAPs, ensuring employees can access the right diagnosis, treatment pathways and specialist guidance when they need it most.
3. What HR leaders can do to create a more human, supportive and commercially sustainable approach to complex health challenges, helping employees and their families navigate uncertainty whilst reducing stress, absence and long-term workforce impact.
In partnership with Private Health Management

As AI rapidly reshapes the workplace, organizations are entering a defining moment. The challenge is no longer simply adopting new technology - it is determining how to remain innovative, productive and competitive whilst still building cultures, leadership and employee experiences that people genuinely want to be part of.
The organizations that thrive over the next decade will not necessarily be those moving fastest with AI, but those best able to balance transformation with trust, performance with wellbeing, and efficiency with human connection.
In this high-energy closing panel, senior HR leaders will explore the defining shifts shaping the next era of work – from leadership reinvention, workforce transformation and evolving employee expectations, to talent attraction, culture, performance, rewards and the changing relationship between people and technology.
Expect candid perspectives, bold predictions and forward

Welcome coffee and networking with peers, partners and speakers ahead of an inspiring day.

Opening remarks from People 1st MENA host.

A Fireside chat between Emile Saadi, the Head of Legal for GCC at Apple and Policy and Regulatory Coordination Lead for EMEIA and Murtaza Khan, Regional Lead Partner for the Middle East and Africa for Fragomen. Emile will provide his unique perspectives and observations on how the regulatory landscape has been impacting by AI and Geopolitics from a broad perspective and how this is challenging CHROs to become more strategically aligned with the business. Emile and Murtaza will discuss the optimum ways in which CHROS and HR and GM leaders can respond to this challenge.
In partnership with Fragomen

An interactive discussion around how the GCC can strengthen its middle management pipeline – a critical but often overlooked layer. Explore innovative ways to develop leadership capabilities at scale, harnessing learning technologies such as simulations and AI. The session will explore how to develop the leadership capabilities necessary for navigating the complexities of the modern business landscape and how you can blend AI and human leadership to unlock growth for your organisation.
In partnership with Abilitie.

Global workforce deployment is a core lever in global talent and business strategy and traditional global mobility roles are no longer about international assignments but deploying talent where it delivers most value, unlocking skills with speed and agility. The panel examines what this means for the global mobility function and how it is adapting to changing workforce dynamics and the capabilities, technology, data, and AI, required to lead in a more dynamic workforce landscape.
In partnership with Fragomen.

For a decade, HR technology has been about visibility - dashboards showing hiring funnels slow down, survey responses flagging flight risks, workflows routing requests to the right desk. The reports and insights have always been there. What's been missing is the system that acts on them.
This keynote sits at the center of that shift. Rahul Lakhanpal will explore how agentic AI is moving HR from systems of insight to systems of action — where autonomous agents can take the next step within the guardrails of business sets, across hiring, employee experience, and retention.
In partnership with Darwinbox.

Refresh and Refuel: Refreshments & Formula 1 Simulator Experience

Explore how organisations across the Middle East are responding to nationalisation requirements, evolving immigration and compliance landscapes, and changing workforce mobility models while building the talent capabilities needed for future growth.
In partnership with Fragomen

Explore how organisations are adapting talent mobility, crisis preparedness and decision-making following recent regional disruption, while building more flexible, consistent and resilient mobility programmes.
In partnership with Sirva

Discuss how organisations are balancing remote work, business travel and cross-border workforce mobility with evolving immigration, tax, payroll and compliance requirements across the GCC.
In Partnership with Vialto

Explore how organisations can use deeper insight into individual capabilities, behaviours and potential to strengthen leadership pipelines, internal mobility, development and succession decisions.
In partnership with Easy Tiger Group

As the GCC people agenda continues to evolve, this session will uncover what the past year has taught HR leaders about resilience, talent and changing employee expectations — and how these lessons are shaping the workforce equation today. Looking ahead to 2027, the conversation will explore how AI, business expectations and the demand for greater impact will reshape the CHRO mandate and what people leaders need to rethink now.

The Final Lap: Lunch, Networking & F1 Simulators

Start the day with coffee and connections among fellow People 1st leaders.

Enjoy a curated lunch and connect with attendees, speakers and partners.