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