Name: Connect HR Leadership Summit
Start: 2026-04-12
End: 2026-04-14
Location: Fairmont Austin

Comprised of executive leaders and experts, the CONNECT HR Leadership Advisory Board provides strategic program guidance to build our event agendas. All programming and topics are designed to enlighten, support and initiate conversations that are current, ultra-relevant, and provide genuine value to your strategic vision.
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A Strategic Agenda Crafted By Senior Human Resource Executives

Event Schedule

Take advantage of SHRM Credits, Watch 35+ sessions and speakers across various markets, 6 Networking Events & More

Agenda

Watch 35+ presentations on demand and with lifetime access.

In our 15+ year tenure we’ve connected 1000s of peers across every industry. 

Over 80% of the Fortune 100 attends. 

Welcome Reception and Registration

Breakfast

Keynote Panel: From AI Curiosity to Operating Model — How Talent Leaders Are Rebuilding the Talent Ecosystem

Empowering your Workforce to Embrace AI

Designing Career Mobility at Scale: Turning Lifelong Learning into Workforce Strategy 

Ask the Experts: Embedding Lifelong Learning into Organizational Culture 

AI-Enhanced Well-Being: Personalizing Employee Care 

Building the Learning Engine While the Business Is Running: Developing a Learning Culture in a Legacy Organization

Fixing our Broken Relationship with Time

Lunch

 Keynote: Purpose-Built AI: The Next Evolution of Talent Strategy

Fireside Chat: Learning Is the New Operating System for Growth

Psychological Safety as a Leadership Skill: Designing Learning Environments That Work

Boardroom: Building Leadership Pipelines and Culture in an Age of Constant Disruption

Debate: Humans vs. Machines — Who Owns the Future of Work?

Cocktail Reception & Dinner 	

Keynote: HR Trends 2026: Leading Through Change - Human-Centric and Future Ready

Ask the Experts: Building AI‑Ready Individuals and Organizations

Workshop: AI-Powered Learning — Personalized Growth at Scale

Networking Experience | Culture Conversations — Where Work, Purpose, and People Connect

Belonging in Action: Finance and HR Leaders on the ROI Impact

Standing Tall When "Short Staffed"

 Digital Channels in Talent Sourcing

Bridging the Gap: Why Psychological Safety is Crucial for Employee Well-Being Amidst the RTO Revolution

High-Potential Employees: Identification, Development, and Retention

The DNA of a High-Performing Culture

Cultivating Workplace Excellence by Aligning Strategy, Policies, and Culture

Putting the HEART Back into HR

Distributed Teams: Maintaining Culture and Engagement in a Remote World

Celebrating Failure: Encouraging Risk-Taking in Pursuit of Innovation 

Innovating the HR Ecosystem at PepsiCo

The Experience of Black Women in Leadership: Recommendations to Improve the Experience, Their Career Advancement, and Organization Results

The Critical Link between Employer Brand and Employee Engagement

Virtual Onboarding: Making Remote Hires Feel Welcome

Employee Experience: Beyond the Paycheck

How the Atlanta Braves Transformed HR Leadership - Adapting to Uncertain Times

The Office - A Place of Purpose and Experience

Mindfulness at Work: Boosting Employee Mental Health

A Culture of Learning at Coca-Cola Bottling Company

Uplevel Your Culture for Ongoing Change

HR Process Innovation 

Building a Compelling Employer Brand Online

DEI & Intersectionality: The Compound Effect on Employee Experience

CONNECT is an invite-only experience for senior HR leaders—meaningfully connect with peers, meet matched vendors, and explore today’s most relevant trends.

Join HR's Most Esteemed Summit

HR Leadership Summit | Spring

In-Person Event 

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Online Event

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CONNECT HR is a peer-led leadership-focused event that is complimentary for qualified professionals. Discover strategies from field experts, research new solutions, and meet like-minded peers on your path for professional growth. Your invitation is waiting.

Join Your Peers in Senior Leadership at HR's Most Esteemed Summit

Reserved for executives and tailored to support your professional and departmental goals. 

As an in-person attendee, you’ll receive the following at no cost:
<ul>
<li>Comped night&#8217;s stay at the Fairmont Austin &#8211; partners are welcome!</li>
<li>Exquisite catering for all meals throughout the event</li>
<li>5 on-site networking events</li>
<li>Dedicated Concierge to tailor your experience</li>
</ul>
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A Full Suite of VIP Benefits

Your time is valuable, which is why we skip the usual “wandering the exhibition hall” and connect you directly to relevant solution providers.
Tell us about your current challenges during registration, and we’ll arrange meetings with a tailored set of solution providers who can help. It’s a simple, fun way to do solutions research in a relaxed, no-pressure environment.
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Curated Research Meetings

Key connections. Elevated ambience.

As an online attendee, you’ll receive the following at no cost:
<ul>
<li>All educational sessions available on-demand</li>
<li>Flexible schedule built around your needs</li>
<li>Up to $500 in rewards of your choice from our virtual marketplace. Popular options include Visa gift cards, Apple Products, Charitable Donations, and more.</li>
</ul>

An Online Event with VIP Benefits

Your time is valuable. That’s why we include our signature 1-on-1 research meetings in every online event.
Tell us about your current challenges during registration, and we’ll arrange meetings with a tailored set of solution providers who can help. It’s a simple, fun way to do solutions research in a relaxed, no-pressure environment.

Experience the power of our in-person events from anywhere you are.

Key Connections. Unmatched Flexibility.

video testimonials from OUR SOLUTION PROVIDERS

We ‘re proud to work with the best in the business. By learning about your projects up front, we match you for 1-on-1 meetings with those best-suited to tackle the challenge.

Strategic Solutions by Category:

Meet our sponsors

Brandy Ford

AVP, Manager Strategy, Analytics & Technology

Jay Fortuna

SVP of Talent & Operations

Kim Morick  

Global HR Technology Practice Leader

Dr. Sandesh Bilgi

VP, Global Learning

Rob Carman

Former Senior Director, Learning & Development

Cammy Wood

Global Head of Learning

Jon-Paul Ales Barnicoat

CHRO

Danny Canary

VP Learning & Talent

David Evans

Head of Learning & Development

Rehana Rajwani

Director, Learning & Development for Agile Center of Excellence 

Dr. T.J. Niño

Director of Training & Adjunct Professor

Naznine Tilak

VP, Head of Talent & Learning

Kim Ferreira

VP of Talent Development

Megan Leasher  

Director, Strategic Talent Leader, Leading U.S. Pediatric Health System

Elisabeth Woodfield 

Head of Talent Acquisition

Jen McFadden

Talent Operations Wrangler & Hiring Specialist, Automattic

Andrew Tai

Founder & CEO

Matt Scudder

Enterprise Strategic Partnerships Executive

Joelle Emerson

Tyler Larsen

Enterprise Account Executive

LynnAnn Brewer

Senior Executive Advisor

Speakers

Network and learn from the peers driving innovation in HR.

Nicholas Lawrence

VP of HR

Noelle Peart

VP of Learning & Inclusion

Brandy Sullivan 

SVP, Chief People & Culture Officer

Jessica Jones

VP of Human Resources

Brian Fink

Talent Acquisition Partner

Kerry Griffin

Chief Talent Officer

Sandra Pham

VP, Finance, People & Culture

Joe Williams

Director Benefits, Leave Administration & Total Wellbeing

Matt Nicolas

Director, HR Administration and Corporate Services 

Sondra Dryer

Former Head of Employer Brand, Amazon Stores

Natalie Lorberboym Mano

Global Tech Venturing and Innovation Director

Pamela Viscione

Former Vice President 

Heidi Capozzi

Executive Vice President, Global Chief People Officer

DeRetta Rhodes

Executive Vice President, Human Resources

Wil Gomez 

Head of Workplace, Americas

Gianetta Jones

Vice President & Chief People Officer	

Luciana Duarte

Former VP, Global Head of Employee Experience 

Thomas Møller Lybæk

HR Process Innovation Director

Become a sponsor

CONNECT HR, Human Resource’s longest running peer-led Leadership Summit is back in Austin Texas this Spring 2026!

Fairmont Austin

Connect HR Leadership Summit

Danny Phang

The cost of producing our Summits is underwritten by our sponsors, allowing us to provide our attendees with a beautifully hosted VIP event experience, all complimentary. 
Through our registration process, we’ll take a deep dive to understand your unique challenges, areas of interest, and upcoming projects. Using our proprietary AI, we’ll connect you with the industry leading solution providers best placed to support your unique needs. From there, we’ll arrange collaborative exploration discussions during your event. We do all the heavy lifting for you to identify cutting edge technology and innovation to drive down costs and run your department as efficiently as possible. 
You always have 100% control of your schedule and our dedicated concierge team is on hand to adjust as desired. Our goal is to support you from start to finish, and deliver maximum value for you and your company. We’ve hosted senior level professionals from over 80% of the Fortune 100 and facilitated 300,000+ curated meetings over the last 15 years, so we’ve got a lot of experience under our belts. Our attendees constantly cite these meetings as the most valuable aspects of our events. It’s a perfect win-win for all involved. We hope to see you there!

Join us! We’ll cover everything. 

Experience the difference. This is the only event catered completely to you and your individual needs.
Every event attendee is assigned a Personal Concierge from day one. Beginning with your registration, we get to know everything you’re looking for to achieve your professional and departmental goals.
Your concierge will work with you to build a talk track, find relevant solution providers, and handle every aspect of your attendance, all the way down to dietary needs. Complete your registration and leave the rest to us.

Your experience is white-gloved and customized to you.

Personalized Experience

Come in with a challenge. Leave with options, contacts, and a game-plan. 
Researching B2B solutions can be a long, frustrating process—especially when you’re already stretched thin. That’s what makes 1-on-1 onsite meetings so powerful. Instead of wandering an exhibition hall, we ask about your priorities in advance, and arrange short, informal meetings with solution providers who match your needs.
It’s a fast, easy, and no-pressure way to handle month’s worth of solutions research with ease. As a thank you, our sponsors will cover your entire costs of the event, including your conference pass and other event benefits. It’s a win-win!

Make real progress with tailored solutions meetings. 

Research Meetings

Quartz Network events are reserved for senior-level leaders, allowing you to connect with your high-profile peers across a variety of networking receptions. 
Our in-person events are known for attracting the top leaders in the industry. Since passes are invitation-only, we tailor our guest list include the decision makers transforming their industry.
All in-person event include multiple networking receptions, where you’ll mix and mingle with your high-profile peers. (We’ll even pick up your bar tab.) You’ll also enjoy 5-star catered meals alongside your fellow attendees, creating ample opportunities to create powerful new connections.

Connect with 100s of your peers at in-person summits. 

High level Networking

Gallery

Join HR's Most Esteemed Summit

Fairmont Austin, Austin, TX - Registration ClosedApril 12 - 14, 2026

HR Leadership Summit | Spring

Speakers

Brandy Ford

Jay Fortuna

Kim Morick

Dr. Sandesh Bilgi

Rob Carman

Cammy Wood

Jon-Paul Ales Barnicoat

Danny Canary

David Evans

Rehana Rajwani

Dr. T.J. Niño

Naznine Tilak

Kim Ferreira

Megan Leasher

Elisabeth Woodfield

Jen McFadden

Andrew Tai

Matt Scudder

Joelle Emerson

Tyler Larsen

LynnAnn Brewer

Agenda

A Full Suite of VIP Benefits

Curated Research Meetings

Meet our sponsors

Testimonials

Still have questions?

In-Person Event

Wondering about something else?

Join HR's Most Esteemed Summit, US

Join HR's Most Esteemed Summit

Fairmont Austin, Austin, TX - Registration ClosedApril 12 - 14, 2026

HR Leadership Summit | Spring

Speakers

Brandy Ford

Jay Fortuna

Kim Morick

Dr. Sandesh Bilgi

Rob Carman

Cammy Wood

Jon-Paul Ales Barnicoat

Danny Canary

David Evans

Rehana Rajwani

Dr. T.J. Niño

Naznine Tilak

Kim Ferreira

Megan Leasher

Elisabeth Woodfield

Jen McFadden

Andrew Tai

Matt Scudder

Joelle Emerson

Tyler Larsen

LynnAnn Brewer

Agenda

A Full Suite of VIP Benefits

Curated Research Meetings

Meet our sponsors

Testimonials

Still have questions?

In-Person Event

Why is my conference pass complimentary?

What are the one-on-one meetings?

Who attends?

Why should I attend?

Wondering about something else?

Join HR's Most Esteemed Summit, US