The Leaders Summit for HR & People 2026: Lord's Cricket Ground

Budgets are tightening across every major market, and cost containment pressures from CEOs are accelerating a decisive shift toward ROI‑driven people strategies. In this climate, HR cannot rely on historical credibility, functional tradition, or internal goodwill. Half of HR leaders saw no change in their 2025 budget and a third saw it decrease, while two‑thirds expect further declines in the years ahead. These numbers are not a financial trend; they are a signal. HR’s positioning must sharpen because the value threshold has risen. The future will not reward functions that claim importance - only those that prove it.

For too long, HR has tried to define its own value. But value is defined by the receiver, not the sender. And the uncomfortable truth is that there remains a persistent gap between what HR brings forward and what CEOs consider strategically essential. In a world where CEOs are operating with collapsing confidence, investor pressure, and existential transformation imperatives, HR cannot remain a transactional player. If CEOs aren’t buying what HR is selling, then the question becomes clear: why are we still selling it? The organisations that thrive next are those where HR strategy is directly coupled to CEO strategy, investor expectations, and the board’s economic agenda — not parallel to it.

This is where AI becomes HR’s biggest strategic bet — but not in the ways most people are discussing. CEOs see AI as a core driver of enterprise survival. Yet workers’ adoption sits at just 12% daily usage. The bridge between CEO vision and workforce reality is culture, capability, and behavioural confidence - all domains HR owns but has not been funded to deliver at scale. AI is not a technology story; it is a human systems story, and therefore the most consequential investment case HR will make this decade.