HR's job description is being rewritten in real time. Between AI adoption, shifting workforce expectations, and the pace of business change, every stage of the employee lifecycle is up for renegotiation. This opening panel brings together CHROs leading through the shift to share what they're prioritizing, what they're letting go of, and where they're placing their biggest bets.

A great employer brand does the hiring work before recruiting ever begins. CHROs at mid-market companies are finding new ways to partner with marketing, sharpen their EVP, and tell a story that converts passive candidates into applicants. This panel digs into what actually moves the needle on brand perception, how to measure it, and where AI and content tools are reshaping how companies show up in the market.

AI is transforming how work gets done, creating a once-in-a-generation opportunity for People leaders to shape what comes next. But to lead that transformation, the People function must transform itself.

Drawing on her work with thousands of organizations, conversations with Chief People Officers at the leading edge of AI transformation through her podcast, and customer insights from the Surface people intelligence platform, Joelle Emerson will explore what becomes possible when we stop using AI to make today’s people practices incrementally faster and instead reimagine the function from the ground up. She’ll examine how the HR technology stack is evolving, the new division of labor between humans and AI, and how CHROs can build an AI-native People team ready to lead the next era of work.