HR Leaders

In this episode of the HR Leaders Podcast, I had an inspiring conversation with Lisa Yankie , Chief HR Officer at Odyssey Logistics , to unpack why the future of HR is not just about AI, technology, or transformation. It is about solving the right problems with the right people in the room. Lisa shares how her own journey, from humble beginnings to leadership across manufacturing, financial servic...

In this episode of the HR Leaders Podcast, I had an inspiring conversation with Ciara Harrington (Barry) , Chief People Officer at Skillsoft , to unpack why the shift from jobs to skills is finally becoming real. Ciara explains why HR can no longer rely only on job architecture, job descriptions, and traditional role design. As AI agents enter the workforce, leaders need to think differently about...

In this episode of the HR Leaders Podcast, I had an inspiring conversation with Björn Axelsson , EVP and CHRO at Sandvik , to unpack how one of Sweden’s largest industrial technology companies is changing the way people think about mining, manufacturing, AI, sustainability, and future talent. Björn explains why mining is one of the most misunderstood industries in the talent market. Many people st...

In this episode of the HR Leaders Podcast, I had an inspiring conversation with Arun Serikar , VP, HR Technology, Digital Platforms & AI Innovation, Corp Functions at Schneider Electric , to unpack what it really takes to simplify HR technology, scale AI, and build a better employee experience across a global enterprise. Arun shares how Schneider Electric went from 545 HR applications to 303,...

In this episode of the HR Leaders Podcast, we sit down with Dr. Marcus Collins , Best-Selling Author, Keynote Speaker and Professor at University of Michigan - Stephen M. Ross School of Business , to unpack why culture is the most powerful force shaping human behavior, inside and outside organizations. Marcus explains why most companies misunderstand culture by reducing it to slogans, rituals, val...

Welcome to Work in Progress with Chris and Keyanna, your weekly workplace news hit, but with less corporate waffle, more real talk, and the occasional “wait… are we allowed to say that?” moment. All in under 10 minutes. No jargon. No doom-mongering. No pretending everything is fine when clearly… it is not. 🧪 Episode 1: The AI Pressure Test This week's big theme? AI is testing every leader right n...

In this episode of the HR Leaders Podcast, I had an inspiring conversation with Kelly Costanza , Chief People Officer at CAVA , to unpack how one of the fastest-growing restaurant brands is turning culture, hospitality, and frontline careers into a real business advantage. Kelly shares why culture cannot just be a word on a wall. At CAVA, culture is operationalized through values, competencies, re...

In this episode of the HR Leaders Podcast, we sit down with Anju Choudhary , Chief People Officer at Xoxoday , to unpack why burnout is not just a wellbeing problem, but a work design and change design problem. Anju explains why organizations often treat burnout as an individual resilience issue, when the real problem is often the way teams are overloaded with unclear priorities, constant change,...

In this episode of the HR Leaders Podcast, we sit down with Allwyn Dsilva , VP HR & Global Head of L&D, Future of Work & Business HR at Tata Communications , to unpack why the future of learning must be built around business outcomes, skills, internal mobility, and AI-enabled career growth. Allwyn shares how Tata Communications moved beyond disconnected learning platforms and tradition...

In this episode of the HR Leaders Podcast, we sit down with Khadija Ben Hammada , Member of the Executive Board and Chief People Officer at Merck Group , to unpack how HR can lead through AI transformation without losing the human heart of the organization. Khadija shares why leaders cannot run global organizations from an ivory tower, and why being close to employees on the ground creates the tru...

In this episode of our On The Road series, we sit down with Amy Coleman , Executive Vice President, Chief People Officer at Microsoft , to explore how leaders can scale AI transformation without losing the human connection at the center of work. Amy reflects on stepping into the Chief People Officer role at Microsoft, the humility of becoming a beginner again, and why leaders do not need to preten...

In this episode of our On The Road series, we sit down with Laura Mattimore and Lucia Suarez from Procter & Gamble to explore how one of the world’s most iconic companies is redesigning talent for the AI era. Laura leads global talent across P&G’s enterprise talent systems, including hiring, learning, leadership development, workforce planning, and talent strategy. Lucia leads talent devel...

In this episode of our On The Road series, we sit down with Kalifa Oliver, Ph. D. Senior Director of Technology - People Analytics at Lowe's Companies, Inc. to explore why HR needs to stop chasing AI tools and start solving the right business problems. Kalifa now sits in technology, not HR, leading teams across engineering, product, analytics, and people data. That gives her a very different view...

In this episode of our On The Road series, we sit down with KeyAnna Schmiedl , Chief Human Experience Officer at Workhuman , to explore how organizations can identify future leaders before they are already in the obvious succession pipeline. KeyAnna shares how Workhuman’s Future Leaders technology is helping companies spot the people giving off strong leadership signals across the business, includ...

In this episode of our On The Road series, we sit down with Jennifer Reimert, SVP, Consulting Practice at Workhuman, to explore how organizations can make recognition reach the people who are often hardest to reach: frontline and deskless workers. Jennifer spent 20 years as an HR practitioner and total rewards leader before joining Workhuman. She was also a Workhuman customer back when the company...

In this episode of our On The Road series, we sit down with Ken Wechsler , VP, Total Rewards at Akamai Technologies , to explore how AI is changing the conversation around rewards, recognition, performance, and the future of work. As a total rewards leader, Ken is now facing questions that would have seemed unlikely just a few years ago: What is our AI strategy? What outcomes are we trying to driv...

In this episode of the HR Leaders Podcast On The Road, we sit down with Eric Mosley , Founder and CEO at Workhuman to explore how recognition data, AI, and human insight are changing the way organizations identify their future leaders. Eric shares how Workhuman’s new Future Leaders capability uses recognition data, performance data, and AI to identify the people most likely to rise into senior lea...

In this episode of the HR Leaders Podcast On The Road, we sit down with Jorge Quezada, MBA (He. Him. His) , Vice President, Culture & Performance at Granite Construction , to unpack what happens when culture stops being treated as a soft initiative and starts being run as a business driver. Jorge explains why culture is the operating system of an organization, shaping how people think, act, in...

In this episode of the HR Leaders Podcast On The Road, we sit down with Khalil Smith , VP, Inclusion, Diversity, and Engagement at Akamai Technologies , to unpack what it really takes to build a performance culture where people trust each other enough to speak up, challenge ideas, and grow. Khalil explains why culture is not what leaders say they want, but what the organization actually rewards, a...

In this episode of the HR Leaders Podcast On The Road, we sit down with Peter Andrew Danzig , Senior Advisor, Foundation Culture at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia , to unpack what psychological safety really means beyond the buzzword. Peter explains why psychological safety is not a checklist, policy, or one-time initiative, but a belief system that has to be co-created, practiced, and reinfo...

In this episode of the HR Leaders Podcast On The Road, we sit down with Julie A. Stone , Chief Learning Officer, Group VP at TTEC , to unpack what it really takes to bring AI into an organization without losing the human connection, trust, and coaching that actually drive performance. Julie explains why simply training people on AI tools is not enough, and how leaders must help employees understan...

In this episode of the HR Leaders Podcast On The Road, we sit down with Raúl J. Valentín , EVP & Chief Human Resources Officer at ABM Industries , live from Workhuman Live Orlando 2026, to unpack what it really takes to lead a frontline workforce through constant change, AI transformation, and rising employee expectations. Raúl explains why the future of HR is not about choosing between people...

In this episode of the HR Leaders Podcast, we sit down with Blair Bennett , Senior Vice President, Global Talent Acquisition at PepsiCo , to unpack how talent acquisition is being completely redefined in the age of AI, hyper-personalization, and constant change. Blair explains why simply adding AI tools into outdated recruitment models doesn’t work, and how PepsiCo redesigned its entire talent acq...

In this episode of the HR Leaders Podcast, we sit down with Sarah Stary , Vice President Global Head of People and Organisation and Internal Communications at Swisslog Healthcare . Sarah breaks down what it really takes to lead transformation in a complex global business. She explains why standardizing the basics, especially onboarding and recruiting, became a high-impact priority, how her team bu...

In this episode of the HR Leaders Podcast, we sit down with Frederic Patitucci , Chief People & Culture Officer at Philip Morris International , to unpack how one of the world’s largest organizations is transforming both its business model and its workforce capabilities at the same time. Frederic explains how PMI’s bold shift toward a smoke-free future forced the company to rethink its operati...