What you need to know from the first CHRO Summit at UNLEASH America
The very first CHRO Summit took place at UNLEASH America 2026, packed with insights from HR leaders facing a world of work changing faster than ever before.
UNLEASH America 2026
HR leaders from The Coca-Cola Company, Kyndryl, On, Toshiba, MetLife and more came together at UNLEASH America this year for an exclusive summit to address the biggest challenges of the future of work.
Here are the topline insights from UNLEASH’s first CHRO Summit, powered by Deloitte.
UNLEASH America 2026 hosted its first-ever CHRO Summit, a half-day event offering HR leaders from organizations defining the future of work the opportunity to connect and learn in a collaborative environment.
Emceed by Frank Congiu, EVP, Human Capital Strategy and Executive Partnerships at Randstad Enterprises, the Summit blended panels and roundtables to dig into the challenges and opportunities in front of CHROs.
Kicking off the Summit, Congiu challenged HR leaders in attendance to skip the small talk and pick one thing from their discussions to take back to their organizations to do differently.
A fireside chat, chaired by Darren Gest, Principal at Deloitte, delved into the intersection of HR and AI in unlocking the future of work
Amy Kickham and Stephen Bronson, CHRO and CIO respectively at Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits, detailed how cross-functional collaboration forms the foundation of the organization’s approach to AI and workforce strategy.
Prompted by Deloitte’s latest Human Capital Trends report, the pair discussed their experiences and views of building trust at both a departmental and personal level, as well as the need for clear governance and accountability in AI projects at
Closing the session, Kickham and Bronson urged HR leaders in the room to embrace these elements as key drivers of AI momentum within their organizations over the next 90 days.
Next up was a powerhouse panel featuring CHROs from The Coca-Cola Company (Lisa Chang), MetLife (Shurawl Sibblies), and Kyndryl (Maryjo Charbonnier), chaired by Congiu.
A fascinating discussion touched on how to manage judgement atrophy and critical thinking in the AI era, managing accountability throughout the enterprise, and redesigning work for skills.
Katarina Berg, CHRO at On, led one of the exclusive roundtable discussions
The session closed with in-depth roundtables focused on topics such as changing workforce expectations, designing the human and machine workforce, and enhancing the influence of HR leaders – and more importantly, key actions that HR leaders can take now to get ahead of the challenge.
Stay tuned for a closer look into the insights from these discussions coming soon from UNLEASH.
