This opening session will provide an overview of the key trends shaping HR in 2026, the macroeconomic enviornment of geopolitical and economic shifts, the impact of AI and automation, the shift towards skills-based hiring, evolving employee expectations, and more.

This opening keynote addresses the "Great Disconnect" between boardroom strategy and frontline reality, exploring why the "Productivity Paradox" sees stalling output despite increased digital tools. It challenges leaders to stop adding "more" and start designing for "better," offering a pragmatic roadmap to bridge the gap between IT’s vision and human capacity, shifting organisations from an "always-on" culture to one of sustainable, reality-based performance.

In a world of rapid economic and technological transition, "talent" is no longer just a HR priority—it has become the foundational infrastructure of national and corporate competitiveness. Drawing on global policy shifts and frontline organisational data, Paul Healy explores the international pivot toward integrated talent ecosystems that unite education, enterprise, and regional development.

Paul provides a candid assessment of Ireland’s standing as a world leader in this space, tracing a 60-year journey of progressive policy while sounding a necessary alarm on the risks of complacency. As other nations rapidly close the gap, how do we navigate the "perfect storm" of shifting workforce expectations and the radical redesign of operating models? This session offers a high-stakes look at the public-private coalitions required to sustain our competitive advantage and the practicalities of future-proofing the Irish workforce for the digital and green transitions.

Drawing on the metaphor of the orchestra conductor, this visually arresting keynote explores Versatile Leadership as the essential skill for navigating a disrupted world. It challenges the traditional "Command and Control" model, demonstrating how modern leaders must adapt instantly between driving strategy and nurturing individual well-being to unify siloed teams. Attendees will learn how to "listen" through the corporate noise and set the tempo for their organisations, transforming a group of disconnected experts into a singular, high-performing ensemble.

Inclusive leadership — ensuring every voice is valued — is more than a buzzword; it’s proven to boost team performance and innovation. However, in our push to support employees, we have overloaded managers by expecting them to be all things to all people, resolving problems that are far beyond their job description. This contrarian, research-backed keynote argues that today’s well-intentioned “caring” management push is leading to emotional burn-out. Drawing on fresh research the talk will draw boundaries around inclusive leadership,  and make an appeal that managers stop people-pleasing, set healthy boundaries, and get back to leading with accountability.  This talk will leave you with practical takeaways on how to create teams that are high performing and inclusive, while lessening the load for managers. 

We’ve never had more technology designed to save us time and yet more people than ever feel like they don’t have enough of it.

For most of human history, we lived by light, by seasons, by the natural edges of work. Effort rose and fell with the world around us. Then the modern era launched the greatest social experiment humanity had ever undertaken: it standardised time. Railways synchronised it. Factories optimised it. Markets compressed it. Digital platforms collapsed it. Gradually, we stopped negotiating with our bodies and started obeying the clock.

We are introducing a worker that does not sleep, does not fatigue, does not ruminate about tomorrow, and does not recognise ecological limits. Artificial intelligence will not burn out. We might.

This keynote traces how our relationship with time was reshaped, why “I don’t have enough time” is less a personal failing and more a signal of the system we’ve built, and why AI presents a choice we can no longer defer: will we use technology to restore space, rhythm, and coherence to human life or will we raise the tempo again, and discover what finally breaks?

We are living in an era where our prehistoric brains are being asked to run 21st-century software, and the system is starting to crash. In this session, Ruby Wax explores the intersection of neuroscience and modern work, moving past the surface-level "wellness" trends to look at the actual biology of burnout.

Ruby argues that we need to stop trying to "fix the canary" with a few breathing exercises and instead start redesigning the "coal mine." By understanding how our nervous systems react to relentless cognitive load, Ruby challenges leaders to create environments that respect human limits. This is a deep dive into how we can reclaim our focus, protect our thinking time, and stay "sane" in a world that never hits the pause button.

Kindly sponsored by IrishJobs

The conversations don't have to end with the final keynote. Join us for a celebratory drinks reception sponsored by our partners at IrishJobs. Unwind, network, and toast to a successful day of talent innovation before you head home.