Day Two of the International Festival of HR 2025 has come to a close!  

It’s safe to say that so far, the International Festival of HR has been bigger, better, and bolder than ever before – and we’ve still got one day to go!  

Our Main Stage MC, George Rogers, Chief Culture Officer at Lighthouse Research & Advisory, opened this year’s festival in typically charismatic fashion, setting the tone for the rest of the event.  

“I love being connected and there are three things that we can do,” Rogers said.

“I call it ‘Break the ICE’. I like to inspire people, I like to connect with people, and I enjoy being educated. Today we’re going to have all of that,” he told delegates. 

In case you were (very sadly!) unable to make it, UNLEASH’s Editorial team have rounded up just a few of their favorite sessions of the day. 

Addressing the bias of AI and how to keep humans in the loop

As the crowds rolled in, it was clear that there was one specific speaker that attendees were eager to see: Dr Joy Buolamwini.  

Dr Buolamwini, Artificial Intelligence Expert, Artist, Founder at Algorithmic Justice League, kicked off the event with an unforgettable keynote by tackling one of AI’s most controversial topics – keeping humans in the loop.  

Touching on her groundbreaking MIT research into how AI models struggle to recognize black female faces, as well as highlighting how AI bias can lead to cases of exploitation and harm – such as wrongful arrests and celebrity deepfakes. 

It is a pertinent topic for HR leaders focused on adopting and using AI in an ethical way and Dr Buolamwini imparted four key ways of addressing these issues. 

These “actionable imperatives” were to ask uncomfortable questions, ask intersectional questions, listen to silenced voices and to reduce exclusion overheads. 

“I would ask everybody, if you take nothing away, is to think how might we reduce the exclusion overhead. Are any of the new technologies we’re introducing perhaps increasing the exclusion overhead for some people and what can we do about that?” 

A message of optimism on the future of AI – for those that choose to hear it

On the subject of AI, MIT Professor Max Tegmark closed out Day Two of UNLEASH America 2025 with an in-depth keynote addressing the all-important question: How can we build controllable AI tools that empower us rather than Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) that replaces us?

Referencing the ‘wisdom’ of Homer Simpson, Tegmark pointed out that AI could be seen as the “cause and solution to all life’s problems”.

During the hour-long session, Tegmark explored the dangers that uncontrollable AGI presents to the world, alongside the benefits that safer, controllable Tool AI offers.

Leaning on his message of optimism, he also highlighted the importance of AI regulation – comparing it to similar measures implemented in biotech fields that have helped ensure that technology innovations are used for the betterment of mankind.

His key takeaway for HR delegates was the importance of being nimble as a skill going forward, saying he grew up at a time when there was the idea that you study some skills in school and then you work on them for about 40 years.

Forget about it. It’s not going to become that way again, he told delegates.

Even trying to make serious predictions about what the state of the job market is going to be in 10 years – it’s pretty hopeless. The smart way of dealing with this uncertainty is to not make 20-year plans, but to make shorter term plans, which have a lot of built-in flexibility.”

Microsoft, Phillips 66 & LVMH on the new human capital revolution

Starting the International Festival of HR in a truly unforgettable way were Gena Smith, Chief Human Resources Officer of LVMH North America; Andrez Carberry, SVP, Chief Human Resources Officer at Phillips 66, and Amy Coleman, newly appointed Chief People Officer at Microsoft.  

The CHRO trio was joined by moderator Gary Bolles, Global Fellow for Transformation at Singularity University, who declared that organizations are “not going to continually transform without humans”.  

Coleman shared about the need to move from change management to change readiness, and to embrace “coaching for uncertainty”.  

She declared that at Microsoft, 2025 is the year of the coach.  

The mic turned to Smith from LVMH who shared why creativity is right at the heart of the luxury goods brands’ vision and purpose.  

“Creativity doesn’t just happen by accident” – employees need psychological safety, and to work in an environment that not only accepts failure, but celebrates it.  

Phillips 66’s Carberry agreed, and argued that leaders must make sure they’re not assuming they know the culture, and are actually being intentional about consistently rewarding the right behaviors.  

“Leadership is not a rung on a career ladder”, “it is a true responsibility” to be able to get the best out of the workforce by engaging, inspiring and connecting with employees.  

Closing out the CHRO panel, in these times of uncertainty and change, for Coleman, a “sprinkle of optimism” always helps. HR teams need to communicate hope.  

Lenovo’s Chief AI Officer on earning trust with AI

 Lenovo’s Doug Fisher took to the Main Stage to discuss HR’s hottest topic: AI. 

 As the company’s Chief Security and AI Officer, Fisher’s keynote focused on the promise of AI to do good, but also why trust must be the “cornerstone” of any AI initiatives.  

Otherwise, people simply won’t use it.  

The way to build trust is through transparency, accountability and ethics, but these must be embedded and not just an afterthought.  

AI is only as secure as the governance behind it,” stated Fisher.  

For Fisher, Lenovo’s HR team was integral to creating a framework of four responsible AI commitments: do no harm, be transparent, protect privacy and stay secure.  

Remaining vigilant is important, especially with the rise of deepfakes, which is “not just a novelty”, “it’s a growing threat”.  

Fisher ended his session by sharing his top tips on what to do about it?  

Embed critical thinking in the culture, and always question the unexpected (and reward those who question what they see that’s out of the ordinary).  

UNLEASH’s Chief Reporter Allie Nawrat sat down with Fisher to dig in deeper – stay tuned for the video interview.

McDonalds’ CPO International on bringing employees on the transformation journey

McDonald’s is on a growth mission – it wants to increase the number of restaurants from 43,000 to 50,000 worldwide by 2027.  

“We want to be able to scale your business”, “how do we become faster, more innovative, more efficient”, but also care about talent, shared Emilee DeMartino, McDonald’s CPO International.  

In order to focus on talent, you need to look at the points of frustration (and why they exist?), and then take action to take away that pain.  

During the same panel at DeMartino, Elizabeth Tyndell, VP in the HR department at New York Life, argued that leaders have a key role to play here, and they need to be empowered.

DeMartino continued that when going through change and transformation, focus on building new habits (rather than breaking old ones).  

When you’re in the midst of a HR or business transformation, DeMartino called on HR leaders to bring people on the journey even earlier. Then over communicate – “we can never do enough communication”.  

Leaders are your brand, empower them, says Medtronic’s Global Head of TA

One of the themes of UNLEASH America 2025 is courageous leadership. 

Medtronic’s VP of Global Talent Mark Smith took to the Talent A Stage to share that employer brand needs to be more than a hashtag; taglines only go so far.  

It needs to be grown, not created, and based on lived realities of a company’s people

Leaders play a key role in employer brand – remember, that the main reason why people leave a job because of their boss.  

For Smith, “your leaders are the brand”, so “let them speak” authentically – don’t script them. 

The session was packed, which was no surprise as the pre-event interview Smith did with Chief Reporter Allie Nawrat was very popular UNLEASH readers. Check it out here.  

Build a culture that keeps rewards and recognition separate: Zurich

For Zurich North America’s Head of Rewards and Recognition, Renad Jarzynski, the key to building a successful and resilient workforce lies in recognition and rewards.

Jarzynski explained to delegates how the insurance giant developed an approach to rewards and recognition with partner Achievers that initially yielded incredible results, such as a 99% activation rate among its 9,000-strong workforce. 

However, engagement soon dropped significantly, so Zurich dug into the data to discover the reason: “We were building a culture of rewarding, not recognizing. We were investing a lot of dollars, but we weren’t sending meaningful recognitions to our employees.” 

In response, Zurich changed its culture to focus on more impactful practices that boosted recognition – senior leadership recognition, paid time off and company-wide recognition. 

This approach saw a dramatic uptick in engagement, and Jarzynski closed out her session by reminding delegates that “recognition is not optional – it’s a strategic tool that drives performance, strengthens culture and supports business results.” 

When people feel seen, they show up, and that’s how organizations grow. Listen first, act second,” she said. 

It’s been a day of winners at UNLEASH America 2025!

In case you missed the news, UNLEASH is thrilled to announce HireBrain as the winner of UNLEASH America 2025’s Startup Award.

In front of our expert judging panel and a packed audience, the US-based hiring enablement platform stole the show – you can read more about HireBrain’s victory here.

UNLEASH was also proud to partner with Lighthouse for the HR Tech Awards, revealed live at the International Festival of HR.

Winners were confirmed across categories including Employee Experience, HR/Workforce Management, and Talent Acquisition & Management.

You can find the full list of winners and their thoughts on their victories here.

Last but certainly not least, we’re thrilled to announce that Gerry Crispin, Co-Founder of CareerXroads and The Talent Board, was named the recipient of the UNLEASH Lifetime Achievement Award.

Gerry has been a true visionary – shaping the talent landscape, mentoring generations of professionals, and championing the thoughtful evolution of HR through technology and community.

Congratulations, Gerry, this honor is more than deserved!

Day Two has come to a close – but don’t worry, there’s still much more to come from UNLEASH America 2025.

Join us again tomorrow to hear more!