Programme

09.00 – 09.40

Responsible use of data and algorithmic decision-making

• Ethical considerations in people analytics and AI
• Managing bias and transparency in HR technologies
• Building trust in data-driven decision-making
• Governance and accountability in algorithmic systems

Daniel Sykes, Head of Analytics, Orsted

10.10 – 10.50

Making HR feel human in the digital age

• Using technology to enhance, not replace, human connection
• Creating employee-centric experiences in digital workplaces
• Balancing AI innovation with empathy and trust
• Building more human and inclusive HR practices

Nebel Crowhurst, Chief People Officer & Conference Chair

KEYNOTE: Dr Laura Weis, Human-AI Strategy and Transformation, WPP

11.00 – 11.40

Designing digital employee journeys end-to-end

• Mapping seamless employee experiences across the lifecycle
• Using digital tools to improve engagement and efficiency
• Integrating people platforms for better user experiences
• Driving adoption through employee-focused design

Claire Sherwin, Director of People Experience & Platform, Lloyds Banking Group
Chris Manning, HR & EX Transformation Consultant, Experience HR (Primark)

 

11.15 – 11.50

The science of belonging at work

• Understanding the drivers of inclusion and belonging
• Creating psychologically safe workplace cultures
• The impact of belonging on individual and team performance
• Practical approaches to fostering connection at work

Emma Lee, Chief Psychologist, Matthew Syed Consulting

 

13.50 – 14.25

Culture as a competitive advantage

• Building culture as a driver of business performance 
• Aligning values, behaviours, and organisational strategy
• Strengthening employee engagement through leadership
• Using culture to attract and retain talent

Kevin Green, Chief People Officer, First Bus & First Group

 

14.10 – 14.45

Designing roles after automation

• Redefining roles and responsibilities in AI-enabled workplaces
• Identifying skills that remain uniquely human
• Balancing automation with employee experience
• Preparing teams for changing job expectations

Megan Marie Butler, AI Workforce Lead, KPMG

 

14.50 – 15.25

The next operating model for HR: The evolving people profession

• Exploring the future structure of the HR function
• Shifting from traditional HR to agile people operations
• Enabling workforce flexibility and responsiveness
• Developing the evolving HR profession and capabilities

KEYNOTE: Perry Timms, Chief Energy Officer & Founder, PHTR

16.10 – 16.50

Community Exchange: Skills-based organisations and workforce fluidity

• Exploring the future structure of the HR function
• Shifting from traditional HR to agile people operations
• Enabling workforce flexibility and responsiveness
• Developing the evolving HR profession and capabilities

Sasi Venables, HR Business Partner, University of Worcester & Founder of the HR Confidence Club
Georgina Kelly, Founder, Women in HR
Andy Lancaster, Founder, Reimagine People Development
Meena Anand, CEO, City HR

09.00 – 09.40

Workforce planning in an unpredictable environment

• Why the traditional workforce planning model broke
• Workforce planning is a business problem, not HR
• Balancing agility, capability gaps, and future workforce needs
• Planning continuously, not annually

Tejal Shah, Former Chief Talent Officer, Kantar

10.00 – 10.50

The future of work – designing organisations for an AI-enabled world

• How AI is reshaping organisational design and work models
• Building adaptable and technology-enabled organisations
• Rethinking leadership, collaboration, and productivity
• Preparing the workforce for AI-driven transformation

KEYNOTE: David Blott, COO Future Ways of Working, Lloyds Banking Group

11.00 – 11.40

Panel Interview: Driving coherent transformation – people, priorities & change

• Aligning business, HR, and leadership priorities
• Driving successful transformation through collaboration
• Managing communication and stakeholder engagement
• Overcoming barriers to organisational change

Halima Sacranie, Head of People, DAZN
Adam Linney, Deputy Chief People Officer, National Institute for Health & Care Excellence (NICE)
Chris Manning, HR & EX Transformation Consultant, Experience HR (Primark)

 

11.15 – 11.50

Empowering a culture of resilience and agility

• Resilience and agility in a volatile, uncertain and complex world  
• How resilience has evolved from a defensive posture to a proactive competitive advantage
• Inspire people to take personal responsibility through change and uncertainty

Liggy Webb, LWL

 

13.35 – 14.10

Panel Session: Workforce productivity: Driving commercial performance

• Connecting workforce strategies to business outcomes
• Improving productivity through people and culture initiatives
• Measuring the impact of HR on commercial success
• Creating high-performing and engaged teams

Fatou Okafor, Executive Director, Human Resources, Thermo Fisher Scientific
Julie Griggs, Deputy Chief People Officer, Open University
Bethany Jayne Rutt, Wellbeing and Employee Engagement Lead, GXO

14.20 – 15.00

Creating genuine value in EVP

• Creating Real Value through EVP
• Building meaningful employee value propositions
• Aligning EVP with employee expectations and organisational culture
• Enhancing engagement, attraction and retention strategies
• Communicating EVP authentically throughout the colleague lifecycle

Jade Archibald, Director of People Partnering & Talent Acquisition, Halfords 
Craig Morgans, Head of Talent Acquisition, Halfords 

 

14.40 – 15.20

Candidate experiences when using recruitment automation

• Exploring fairness and bias in AI recruitment systems
• Maintaining human oversight in hiring processes
• Improving candidate trust and transparency
• Balancing efficiency with positive candidate experiences

Clara Moretti-Parker, Global Head of Talent, Vitesse

15.20 – 15.45

Human by Design: How we lead in the next era of work

• Key reflections and emerging themes from conversations across the conference
• Leading organisations intentionally through AI-enabled transformation
• Reimagining leadership, culture, and workforce design for a changing world

KEYNOTE: Nebel Crowhurst, Chief People Officer & Conference Chair