What is the HR Innovation Roundtable?

A powerful closed-door workshop bringing together 50 HR executives from leading global
brands for intimate discussions about specific challenges and transferable solutions.

Agenda:

June 18th, 2025

8 AM - 8:40 AM | Breakfast, Networking and opening remarks

Arrival Reception & Welcome

About:

For more than 80 years, Mastercard has worked to connect and power an inclusive digital economy that benefits everyone, everywhere by making transactions safe, simple, smart and accessible. Mastercard Incorporated is a technology company in the global payments industry, comprised of over 35,000 global employees.

Join us at Mastercard’s NYC Tech Hub, which fosters a collaborative environment for creating systems that never fail, ensuring continuous service for a world that never stops. While contributing to Mastercard’s global impact, the NYC Tech Hub also strengthens the local community by forging partnerships, fostering businesses, and collaborating with educators, governments, and community groups.

8:40 - 9:30 AM | Opening Keynote

Talent Strategy in the Age of AI: What Leaders Need to Know

SPEAKERs:

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN:

AI and data are reshaping industries, so talent strategies must follow suit. In this session, leaders from Mastercard will break down how they’re evolving their approach to attracting, developing, and upskilling their people to ensure their workforce is ready to use AI to their full advantage.

• How Mastercard is redesigning its talent strategy to attract and retain AI-ready talent in a rapidly evolving digital landscape

• Practical approaches to upskilling and reskilling employees to harness the power of AI and stay competitive

• Insights on integrating AI and data into workforce planning to drive smarter decision-making and future-proof your organization

9:30 - 10:40 AM | SESSION #1

Navigating the Skills Economy: Building Talent for Growth, Agility, and Enterprise Impact

PanelistS:

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN:

With business models evolving at unprecedented speed, CHROs must lead a strategic shift from workforce planning to workforce shaping. This session explores how to align skills transformation initiatives with growth priorities, digital transformation, and agile organizational models — not just filling today's gaps, but architecting tomorrow’s capabilities across the enterprise.

• How to pivot workforce strategies toward critical skills that drive growth and innovation.

• How to embed agility and reskilling into the organization's talent DNA, enabling flexibility at scale.

• How to move from transactional workforce planning to enterprise workforce shaping aligned to business strategy.

11 AM - 12:10 PM | SESSION #2

From Potential to Performance: How to Build the Human Capabilities to Navigate Change

PanelistS:

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN:

In 2025 and beyond, leadership is no longer about hierarchy — it's about influence, resilience, and culture-building in a digital-first world. This session examines how CHROs can reimagine leadership pipelines to cultivate adaptive, inclusive leaders who not only manage operations, but also drive enterprise transformation, employee trust, and innovation.

• How to redefine leadership competencies to foster agility, resilience, and empathy.

• How to create development ecosystems that enable leaders to thrive amid uncertainty and change.

• How to measure the impact of leadership development on culture, retention, and business performance.

1:10 - 1:40 PM | AFTERNOON Keynote

Building a Data-Driven, Experience-Centric Powerhouse for People Practices

PanelistS:

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN:

As organizations navigate volatility and accelerate transformation, traditional HR metrics are no longer enough. Today’s CHROs must lead a new era of evidence-based, AI-enabled workforce strategy — one that fuses people analytics, machine learning, and generative AI to deeply understand their people and unlock breakthrough performance. This session explores how leading organizations are shifting from static reporting to dynamic, predictive, and prescriptive insight engines that power talent decisions, amplify skills, and accelerate enterprise growth.

• How to integrate people analytics, AI, and GenAI to predict, personalize, and proactively shape workforce outcomes.

• How to identify and activate hidden talent and skill adjacencies to drive internal mobility and growth.

• How to shift from insight to action — turning workforce intelligence into enterprise impact across productivity, retention, and business performance.

1:40 - 2:50 PM | SESSION 3

The AI-Enabled CHRO: Catalyzing Enterprise-Wide Digital Transformation

PanelistS:

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN:

AI is not an HR tool — it’s a business transformation lever. This session explores the CHRO’s pivotal role in embedding AI across talent, business operations, and culture to drive productivity, innovation, and competitive advantage. It will show how people strategies must evolve alongside AI technologies, and how CHROs can champion human-centered transformation across the enterprise.

• How to lead AI integration not just within HR, but across critical enterprise workflows and decision-making.

• How to balance the acceleration of AI adoption with trust, ethics, and employee empowerment.

• How CHROs can position human capital as the key differentiator in an AI-augmented enterprise.

3:10 - 4:20 PM | cLOSING kEYNOTE

Engineering the New Employee Experience: Culture, Connection, and Retention at Scale

PanelistS:

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN:

Employee experience is now a core business priority, directly linked to retention, performance, and brand equity. In a fragmented, hybrid world, CHROs must design holistic experiences that foster deep connection, inclusivity, and engagement. This session will explore how experience design evolves from programs to ecosystems — and how it becomes a true lever for enterprise resilience and growth.

• How to design integrated employee experience strategies that drive retention and productivity.

• How to embed authentic culture-building into every stage of the employee journey.

• How to use data and employee listening to continually evolve and personalize the experience at scale.

4:20 - 4:50 PM | cLOSING kEYNOTE

Beyond the HR Function: Reimagining Responsibilities for Strategic Growth and Innovation

PanelistS:

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN:

In today's dynamic business environment, the role of HR has transcended traditional boundaries. CHROs are now pivotal in shaping organizational strategy, culture, and performance by partnering across various functions. This session delves into how HR can extend its influence beyond its conventional scope, fostering collaboration with departments like Finance, IT, Operations, and Marketing to drive holistic people strategies that align with business objectives.

• Strategic Alignment: Learn how to align HR initiatives with broader business goals through cross-functional partnerships.

• Enhanced Influence: Understand methods to position HR as a central player in enterprise-wide strategic planning.

• Collaborative Culture: Gain insights into building a culture that promotes collaboration across various departments, enhancing overall organizational performance.

17:00 - 19:00 PM

Networking & Evening Drinks

Get to know your esteemed peers over some hors d'oeuvres and deliciously prepared cocktails. The Tech Hub fosters a collaborative environment for creating systems that never fail, ensuring continuous service for a world that never stops. While contributing to Mastercard’s global impact, the NYC Tech Hub also strengthens the local community by forging partnerships, fostering businesses, and collaborating with educators, governments, and community groups. This commitment to technology leadership and community advancement makes the Tech Hub a vital part of both Mastercard and New York City.

Apply to Attend

Please fill out your details in the form below.

We reserve the right to reject any registrations if your role is to provide HR services, products, or consultancy offerings.
The HR Leaders Innovation Roundtable is strictly reserved for Executive level HR Practitioners (both generalists & specialists).

Why Should You Attend the Innovation Roundtable?

Members

Hosted at Mastercard’s NYC Tech Hub

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