What to Expect at the 33rd Human Resource Summit
Employment law reform. AI adoption. Benefits under pressure. The 33rd Human Resource Summit brings senior HR leaders to Sitges for 2.5 days of strategic discussion and pre-matched business meetings.
From 7th–9th October, the 33rd Human Resource Summit will bring senior HR and People leaders together at the Eurostars Hotel, Sitges, for 2.5 days of strategic discussion, high-level networking and focused business engagement.
Now in its 33rd year, the Summit returns at a point of real change for the profession. New employment legislation is reshaping the compliance landscape, AI is moving from pilot projects into everyday workforce practice, and HR teams are being asked to deliver more strategic value while managing growing operational complexity.
Combining keynote presentations, pre-arranged one-to-one meetings, strategy group discussions and informal networking, the event is designed to create valuable conversations, practical insight and meaningful commercial connections.
Speaker Highlights
This year's programme tackles the issues currently defining the HR agenda, including employment law reform, AI adoption, benefits strategy, organisational resilience and the wellbeing of the HR function itself.
The Summit opens on the Wednesday evening with a guest presentation from Benedict Allen, Explorer & Anthropologist, whose work on resilience, isolation and decision-making under pressure sets the tone for the days that follow.
Featured sessions include:
- Employment Rights Act 2025: From compliance to competitive advantage
Jenny Hodgson, People & Culture Director, Commercial Ltd - Effective benefits strategy for HR & People Leaders – from research to practice
Daniel Wyatt, Business Development Director, Howden, and Jake Nunn, Associate Director Business Development, Howden - Who Are Your Benefits Actually For? Let's talk about the elephant in the room
Chloe Barber, Head of New Business, Pluxee UK - The HR Leader's Guide to Operating When the World Gets Complicated
Kelly Blackaby, Group HR Director – EMEA, Mavenir - HR Effectiveness & Wellbeing: Why HR can be its own worst enemy – and how we change that
Ady Tomsa, Chief People Officer, Futura Learning Partnership - Leading AI Adoption: How HR Leaders Can Turn AI Investment into Workforce Capability and Business Value
Kevin McAlpin, CEO, Performance Coaching International - From Clinical Insight to Digital HR: How GOSH is Accelerating AI and Automation in a People-First Future
Jonathan Porter, Associate Director of People, Great Ormond Street Hospital - Beyond AI in HR: From Managing People to Reinventing Work
Alexander Gasmena, Senior Director Global HR, Equinix
More Than a Traditional Conference
Alongside the speaker programme, the Summit runs a structured schedule of pre-matched one-to-one business meetings and collaborative strategy groups, giving delegates direct access to the providers most relevant to their current priorities. There is no exhibition hall to walk and no time lost to conversations that were never going to be a fit.
The social programme matters just as much. A walking tour of Sitges, welcome drinks, shared dinners and an off-site evening at Can Laury Peix give delegates the informal time that turns introductions into working relationships.
Why the Summit Matters
HR leaders are being asked to absorb legislative change, prove the return on their benefits spend, adopt AI responsibly and keep their own teams functioning while doing it. Few forums give them the space to work through all of that with peers facing the same pressures.
By keeping the audience senior, invitation-only and deliberately small, the 33rd Human Resource Summit creates a setting where people can speak candidly, benchmark their approach and leave with practical answers rather than a bag of brochures.
Places close tomorrow, Friday 18th September. If you're a senior HR leader or a solution provider in the HR industry and would like to attend, register your interest here.
If the timing doesn't work for you this year, the rest of our 2027 programme is open now.
Summit Events runs invitation-only summits across HR, People Development and Reward, Benefits & Wellbeing in Europe, including the People Development Summit in Brussels this March. You can see the full calendar at summit-events.com.