
Explore the conference programme | day one
Seizing the opportunity: reinventing HR to create a responsible working world
Gain fresh perspectives on highly relevant topics such as hybrid working, holistic wellbeing, inclusion and diversity, and much more; giving you the confidence to shape the future of you, your people and organisation. Explore the three conference streams below, all deep-diving into the latest research, innovations, and case studies;
- The people profession as hybrid and flexible working pioneers: mastering new ways of managing people, business, and culture
- The people profession as inclusion and engagement promoters: prioritising inclusion, wellbeing, and employee experience
- The people profession as strategic planners: applying skills, transformation, data, and OD
Platinum sponsors


Gold sponsors



All times given are in GMT. Please click on the session title to find more details.
3 November 2021
08:45-09:20 | Refreshments and networking
09:20-10:00 | CIPD opening
Peter Cheese, Chief Executive, CIPD
10:00-10:50 | Opening keynote
“When designing flexible work arrangements, focus on individual human concerns, not just institutional ones”
– Embracing a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reset work using the hybrid working model.
– How can organisations guarantee transparency and fairness?
– What might be the impact on productivity and how might the success of hybrid be measured?
– Safeguarding purpose and productivity in new working arrangements and striking the balance of place and time.
– What will be the medium term impact of hybrid on the way in which we work?
Lynda Gratton, Professor of Management Practice, London Business School and Leader of the Future of Work Research Consortium
Chair: Peter Cheese, Chief Executive, CIPD
10:50-11:30 | Networking break
Stream one
11:30-12:10 | Panel discussion
– Managing people’s new expectations and desires alongside your organisation’s needs.
– Defining hybrid working with regard to your specific business context.
– Effectively communicating your hybrid plan to the workforce and taking onboard employee feedback.
Rob Worrall, Head of People, BDO LLP
Baljinder Kang,
Executive Director Corporate Resources, Midland Heart
Sarah Blake, HR Director, Talk Talk
Hannah Leach, Vice President, Culture and Learning, Carnival UK
Chair: Andy Lancaster, Head of Learning, CIPD
Stream two
11:30-12:10 | Panel discussion
– Understanding responsibilities and needs of different demographic groups.
– How to best ensure that policy changes are sensitive to individual circumstances.
– Can we fully achieve a flexible and remote policy that meets the diverse needs of everyone?
Elaine Grell, Former Group People Director, The Collective
Amy Taylor, People Director, PKF-Francis Clark
Ravi Chand, Director, Places for Growth and Beyond Whitehall, Office of Government Property
Luqmahani Mustafa Kamal, Head, Remuneration, PETRONAS
Chair: Claire McCartney, Senior Policy Adviser Resourcing and Inclusion, CIPD
Stream three
11:30-12:10 | Case study
– Applying analytics to assess the skills gaps apparent in your workforce.
– Addressing what skills and knowledge are lacking among your people.
– Choosing the right training and reskilling solutions to effectively prep your employees.
Bartek Sibilski, Head of HR Reporting and Analytics, JLL Singapore
Chair: Hayfa Mohdzaini, Senior Research Adviser – Data, Technology and AI, CIPD
Stream one
12:20-13:00 | ACE talk
– Maintaining and safeguarding Responsible Business principles in your approach to hybrid working.
– Much more than a choice between home and office: understanding the opportunities available with hybrid working.
– Should the concept of the physical office as a core part of an organisation’s operating model change?
Neil Usher, Chief Workplace and Change Strategist , GoSpace, Author of ‘The Elemental Workplace’ and ‘Elemental Change’
Diane Lightfoot, CEO, Business Disability Forum
Chair: Tony Osude, Commercial and Marketing Director, CIPD
Stream two
12:20-13:00 | Case study
– What sort of pandemic-related mental and physical health challenges have people in different industries faced?
– How have people functions had to change their approaches to supporting mental and physical health?
– What needs to be done to ensure our people feel comfortable returning to workplaces?
Bola Ogundeji, Deputy Director of Workforce and OD, Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Matt Elliott, Chief People Officer, Bank of Ireland
Chair: Rachel Suff, Senior Policy Adviser Employment Relations, CIPD
Stream three
12:20-13:00 | Panel discussion
– Knowing what’s lawful and what’s not when it comes to monitoring your people.
– Examples of what good, beneficial data monitoring looks like and how we can put useful productivity measures in.
– Being transparent when communicating with your workforce what you’re monitoring and why.
Iyad Rahme, Head of Digital – HR, Chalhoub Group UAE
Alejandro Sotomayor, Lecturer in People Analytics, Management & Leadership, Tecnológico de Monterrey Mexico
Suzanne Marshall, Clinical Governance Officer, GoodShape
Chair: Dr. Wilson Wong, Head of Insight and Futures, CIPD
Session sponsored by GoodShape.
13:00-14:00 | Lunch
Stream one
14:00-14:40 | ACE talk
– Reinventing your physical office spaces for the new era of work: where to start?
– Considering the importance of employee wellbeing, experience, purpose, and sustainability when designing your new work environments.
– Should we all be seriously considering flexible shared office solutions?
Andrew Mawson, Founder and Managing Director, Advanced Workplace Associates
Gemma Dale, Lecturer, Liverpool John Moores University
Chair: Tony Osude, Commercial and Marketing Director, CIPD
Stream two
14:00-14:40 | Panel discussion
– Diverse employees struggled the most during the pandemic, what can we do to ensure more equal recruitment processes?
– Why inclusive workplaces will be the ones thriving the most in the new era of work and making sure inclusion doesn’t slip from the business priority list.
– Introducing policies that address specific challenges highlighted by diverse employees.
Emma Codd, Global Inclusion Leader, Deloitte
Nadia Younes, Global Head of Employee Experience, Diversity & Wellbeing, Zurich
Katherine Gansallo, Global Diversity and Inclusion Director, London Stock Exchange Group
Steven Atkins, Global Analytics Enablement Director, SplashHR
Chair: Mary Connaughton, Director, CIPD Ireland
Session sponsored by SplashHR.
Stream three
14:00-14:40 | Case study
– Job vacancies are still soaring but there are not enough workers to fill them: why is this all happening now?
– Applying strategic workforce planning to understand the skills your organisation needs
– Designing a learning and development programme to nurture existing talent
– Standing out in the market: how to effectively attract and/or upskill the talent that you require.
Gerwyn Davies, Senior Labour Market and Policy Specialist, CIPD
Chair: Wilson Wong, Head of Insight and Futures, CIPD
14:40-15:20 | Networking break
15:20-16:10 | Plenary panel discussion
– What does wellbeing mean now? Mental and emotional health, career development, financial planning, teambuilding, recognition, sustainability, and social impact.
– Where to start? Practical examples of companies and people teams who are getting their wellbeing initiatives right.
– The implications of your organisation not having a holistic wellbeing programme in place.
Aneela McKenna, Diversity and Inclusion Specialist, Scottish Parliament
Tolu Oke, EMEA Senior Inclusion, Diversity & Equity Business Partner, Amazon
Dr Wade Larson, Chief Human Resources Officer, Wagstaff US
Shalini Bhateja, HR Director – APAC, The Coca-Cola Company, Singapore
Chair: Prof Sir Cary Cooper, 50th Anniversary Professor of Organizational Psychology and Health, ALLIANCE Manchester Business School, University of Manchester
16:10-17:00 | Closing keynote
– Sustainability has shifted from being a ‘nice to have’ to now being embedded in an organisation’s core, both strategically and operationally.
– Why is this an HR problem? If you’re not a sustainable business across your entire value chain, your reputation, customer service, employee engagement and supply chain are all at risk.
– Collaborating with other departments and rethinking business for leadership buy-in: what are the opportunities to make sustainability profitable and profitability sustainable?
Marga Hoek, Vice Chairman Supervisory Board, SUSI Partners
Chair: Peter Cheese, Chief Executive, CIPD