As AI becomes more embedded in every part of the enterprise, the challenge is no longer about capability—it’s about balance. Leaders must now navigate the tension between the precision of intelligence and the power of intuition. While algorithms can optimize, only people can empathize. The human elements of leadership—judgment, trust, and culture—are more essential than ever.

The organizations that get this right are those that treat AI not as a replacement, but as a companion to the human experience. HR leaders are uniquely positioned to ensure that as systems get smarter, cultures get stronger. It starts with designing people strategies that prioritize emotional intelligence as much as artificial intelligence.

Discussion points

How to embed AI without eroding the relational and cultural fabric of your organization.
How to design leadership development that balances data-driven decisions with emotional insight.
How to use AI tools to strengthen, not standardize, the employee experience across scale and complexity.

Panelists

Larissa Murmann, Digital Chief HR Officer, Unilever
Ana White, EVP and Chief People Officer, Lumen Technologies
Jason Desentz, Chief HR Officer, Toshiba
DJ Campbell, Chief HR Officer, Sanford Health
[Moderated by] Mirjam Baijens, Former Chief HR Officer, Grundfos
[Event Chair]: Chris Rainey, CEO & Co-Founder at HR Leaders

This panel is part of the 2nd Annual Global AI HR Summit 2025. It brought together 100+ world-class speakers across 16 different panels who shared actionable insights, practical takeaways and how they are using AI in HR. View all Sessions:

Panel #1 Watch here: Workforce Innovation in the Age of AI: The CHRO’s New Role
Panel #2 Watch here: Work Re-Architected: Redesigning Jobs, Roles, and Skills in the Age of AI
Panel #3 Watch here: How to Turn Skills into Strategy: Orchestrating Talent, Tech & Marketplaces for Enterprise Impact
Panel #4 Watch here: Reimagining the HR Tech Stack to Power People, Performance, and AI at Scale
Panel #5 Watch here: The Workforce Intelligence Advantage: How to Predict, Plan, and Perform Using People Analytics
Panel #6 Watch here: How Future of Work Executives are Connecting the Dots: Data, Technology and People
Panel #7 Watch here: Re‑Imagining, Re‑Building, Re‑Doing: How to Design Work for Human and AI
Panel #8 Watch here: The Perfect Pair: How Chief HR Officers and Chief AI Officers are Shaping the Future of Work
Panel #9 Watch here: From Transactional to Transformational: The Future of Employee Experience in the AI Era
Panel #10 Watch here: Reimagining Workforce Design: Aligning Human Strengths with AI at Scale
Panel #11 Watch here: Human + Machine: Inside the C-Suite Alliance Re-Architecting Work for the AI Age
Panel #12 Watch here: Intuition vs Intelligence: Preserving Culture and the Human Touch in an Algorithmic & Agentic AI World
Panel #13 Watch here: Driving AI Adoption Cross-Functionally Across the Workforce: The AI-Coached Enterprise
Panel #14 Watch here: Humans + AI Agents: The Strategic Transformation of Talent Acquisition
Panel #15 Watch here: Re-Architecting Work at Scale: Redesigning Jobs, Skills, and Organizations for the AI Age
Panel #16 Watch here: The Chief People Officer's Role in Enterprise AI Transformation