Navigating the future of work with transformative workplace and people leaders. Explore how organisations are rethinking employee experience, culture, workplace design, leadership, AI-enabled working and the people systems shaping high-performing, connected organisations 🚀

In a world where change is constant, leaders must deliver today while building the capability for tomorrow. Drawing on SharkNinja’s rapid global growth, consumer-led innovation and “Outrageously Extraordinary” culture, Maja Troedsson Thuroczy explores how organisations can turn ambiguity into competitive advantage. She shares lessons from responding rapidly to disruption, including tariffs and AI, and explains why change is really about but helping people understand why it matters and their role in it. The talk offers insights on creating clarity, building commitment, owning change, and strengthening talent, culture, leadership and reinvention for sustained performance.

Organisations want to become more innovative, adaptive and human, yet often overlook the thoughtful people who see more than they say. This session explores the hidden rules that shape who contributes, whose ideas carry weight and which voices remain unheard. Moving beyond familiar calls to “speak up”, it examines how leaders can create the conditions for highly capable, less vocal colleagues to share their insight. Discover how everyday leadership behaviours and cultural expectations influence participation, and what it takes to build workplaces where more intelligence becomes visible, talent is genuinely heard and a wider range of perspectives shapes meaningful change.

From its origins as a print directory to its position today as the UK's leading tech platform for trusted tradespeople, Checkatrade has moved decisively ahead of the curve in the age of AI. Ashley will share Checkatrade's transformation journey - how the business has delivered strong year-on-year growth while building a resilient, future-ready talent pipeline. She'll unpack Checkatrade's proactive approach to AI adoption, embedded into the company's culture and daily operations: from performance management and employee recognition, to company-wide hackathons and fully automated agents solving real customer problems. This talk offers a candid, practical guide for HR and leadership teams navigating the challenges and opportunities of AI integration - and what it takes to secure long-term durability and market leadership.

How can organisations move beyond measuring engagement to creating a culture that employees genuinely want to be part of? This panel explores the role of trust, purpose, employee voice and shared experiences in strengthening connection at work. Alongside the everyday actions of leaders and managers, we’ll examine how employee giving and volunteering can bring organisational values to life, build relationships and connect colleagues with causes that matter to them. Expect practical perspectives on designing inclusive initiatives, overcoming barriers to participation and understanding impact beyond headline numbers, with lessons for building engagement that lasts beyond a single campaign or annual survey.

When processes fail, we often blame people rather than question the systems shaping their behaviour. This session explores why explaining a process is not enough, and how intentional design can make the right behaviour the easy choice. Drawing on experience influencing tens of thousands of daily passengers in mass transit and leading complex change programmes in facilities management, Paul examines how structural, environmental and behavioural guardrails can support better outcomes. Discover how to move beyond instructions and assumptions to create processes that guide action, give people greater confidence and make organisational change easier to navigate, adopt and sustain in practice.

How can organisations turn colleague feedback into workplace improvements people can see and feel? Ines Weifenbach-Pillay explores how continuous listening, research and behavioural insight can inform workplace design, services and investment. Drawing on a practical example, she shows how understanding the need behind a comment can lead to better decisions on comfort, cost and sustainability. This session introduces a clear framework for connecting feedback to action, measuring outcomes and communicating what has changed. Discover how combining what people say, do and need helps leaders prioritise investment, build trust and make workplace decisions with colleagues throughout every stage of workplace change.

What does human centred leadership look like when AI is reshaping work and employees experience the same organisation in very different ways? This panel explores how leaders can build trust, connection and a shared culture across fragmented workforces, without overlooking individual needs. We’ll examine where confidence in HR comes under pressure, how leaders balance commercial priorities with employee interests, and what HR must change to keep pace. From developing leadership capabilities for an AI-enabled workplace to involving employees in difficult decisions, expect practical perspectives on making human centred leadership an everyday reality rather than simply an organisational aspiration.

We spend a lot of time talking about the workplace experience - the office, culture, flexibility, wellbeing and what happens once employees arrive. But what about the journey that gets them there? As organisations rethink where and how people work, commuting is becoming an important part of the employee experience. Cost, stress, parking, accessibility and limited transport options can influence who joins, who stays and how people feel when they arrive. This session explores why commuting belongs in the future of work conversation - and how organisations can turn an everyday journey into an opportunity to improve employee experience, engagement and sustainability.

Providing access to AI tools is only the beginning. How can organisations turn early experimentation into sustained changes in how people work? This session explores the gap between executive ambitions and everyday adoption, examining how leadership, workforce skills and change management can help close it. Drawing on experience from Gallagher’s global AI transformation practice, it considers how organisations can redesign workflows and operating models to extend the benefits beyond individual productivity. Attendees will gain practical perspectives on building adoption, establishing governance and measuring progress, with a focus on connecting people, technology and processes to deliver meaningful business value from AI.

In this session, Becky explores how internal communications and AI are quickly becoming powerful strategic partners - driving productivity and clarity for a remote workforce while fostering the culture, trust, and engagement that keeps globally distributed teams connected.

AI is changing how we work, lead and make decisions. But real progress depends as much on people and culture as it does on technology. In this session, Richard Adams explores what organisations need to rethink as AI becomes part of everyday working life. Drawing on his experience in digital transformation and enterprise architecture, he considers how leaders can support change, build confidence and create space for experimentation. The presentation will explore why curiosity, creativity, adaptability and diversity of thought matter, offering practical perspectives on developing the human capabilities and organisational conditions needed to turn AI adoption into lasting value.

Successful AI transformation starts with the people who understand the work. Drawing on experience at CBRE, Ricky Bartlett shares how empowering a sales specialist to solve a data processing problem led to a solution scaled across global operations. He explores three priorities for building workforce capability: educating people to identify valuable problems, giving them tools and permission to experiment, and inspiring them through colleagues’ achievements. With examples spanning AI apprenticeships, hackathons and an internal agent app store, this session shows how organisations can develop the confidence and capability to turn employee expertise into practical business solutions and accelerate AI adoption.