Annual International Conference

Rethink Work:


In-Person | Monday 6 – Wednesday 8 October 2025
Lisbon, Portugal

Monday, 15.30 – Wednesday, 13.00 DST

Event


Over the next decade, organisations are confronting unprecedented challenges driven by geopolitical instability, economic shifts, technological advancements and changing social demographics. The problem is not just the scale of these changes but their rapid pace, reshaping everything from supply chains to workforce dynamics.

The need for effective organisational responses is urgent. Climate change, resource scarcity, and disruptive technologies are already impacting industries, while demographic shifts and changing employee expectations challenge traditional work models. Organisations must rethink their business strategies, focusing on risk management and the critical skills needed for future success.

HR’s role is pivotal. HR leaders must guide their organisations through this upheaval through strategy adaptation, fostering new skills and capabilities, and preparing employees and the business for change. They must also address the human impact of these transitions, ensuring that technology enhances rather than distances the workforce.

Rethink Work: Evolve or Endure in October 2025, will provide the insights and strategies HR and business leaders need to navigate this complex landscape and lead their organisations into a rapidly changing future.

Learning Objectives

  • Analyse the impact of geopolitical, economic and technological changes on your organisation and HR’s key role in preparing for these shifts.
  • Understand how to manage risks to business models and supply chains in light of climate change, resource constraints, and market disruptions, with HR playing a proactive, strategic role.
  • Identify the critical future skills required by your business to meet upcoming challenges and HR’s role in acquiring, developing and integrating these skills.
  • Explore how demographic shifts, employee expectations, and new technologies will reshape businesses and work, and HR’s responsibility in designing resilient workforce models.

Pricing

£1,700 +VAT for non-members

There are limited places each year for those outside of our network. If you are an in-house, senior HR leader and are interested in attending, please register your interest here.

Who is this event for?

  • HR/People Directors
  • CIOs/CTOs
  • Business Leaders

To register for this event please ensure you are logged in.

There are limited places each year for senior HR leaders outside of our network. The fee is £1,700 +VAT. If you are interested in attending, please register your interest here.

If you would like to amend or cancel your booking please contact events@crforum.co.uk.

To attend the online version of this event, please see information here.

Location

Epic Sana Lisboa Hotel
Av. Eng. Duarte Pacheco 15 Lisboa 1070-100
Lisbon, Portugal

Please note, accommodation is not included as part of your delegate place. CRF has secured discounted rooms at the venue. Complete this form and return to CRF to secure your Conference accommodation.

Event Masterclasses

These event masterclasses, hosted by Advanced People Strategies, Bird & Bird, BTS, Headspring Executive Development, LHH, Mercer, RHR International and Ricoh are included within the event but require additional registration. Once you have registered for the main event, you will be emailed and invited to choose two masterclasses out of the eight available. Each masterclass will be run twice across two sessions for 45 minutes each.


Organisational Leadership: Survive and Thrive, or Stagnate and Perish?

In today’s fast-changing world, resilience and adaptability are vital for leaders. Disruptors like AI, cybersecurity threats, hybrid working, trade sanctions and tax changes are reshaping how organisations operate – often quickly and unpredictably. The larger the organisation, the more complex the impact.

Strategic decisions that reshape customer offerings are key to staying competitive, but they also present a challenge for leaders to turn vision into action and manage the workforce’s journey, as well as their own.

Attendees to this masterclass will learn:
1. Why resilience is crucial during times of rapid change.
2. How it can be measured to raise awareness.
3. How leaders can develop their own resilience.
4. How leaders can manage resilience in their reports.

This masterclass explores why leaders at all levels need to strengthen resilience to lead agile, engaged teams through change in today’s – and tomorrow’s – fluid business landscape.

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Comply or Die: Navigating UK and EU Compliance for Multinational Organisations

The employment compliance burden for multinational organisations is ever-increasing.

In the EU, employers need to comply with the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive and the AI Act, with Pay Transparency and Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directives following soon.

In the UK, the upcoming Employment Rights Bill will upend years of accepted employment practice for business. HR leaders will need to be on top of these changes; the business will look to you for guidance on how to navigate them successfully.

In this interactive session, we will explore how these developments will impact labour relations and corporate governance in international businesses, examining the key legal risks your organisation must address and how you can stay ahead, adapt, and thrive in this new era of accountability.

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Simulation Culture: Practise What Matters Before It Matters

If your people knew the strategy, why can’t they deliver it?

It’s not just about skills. In times of pressure and change, execution depends on something deeper: alignment on what matters, the mindset to follow through and the capability to deliver when it counts. That’s what simulation culture builds..

In this interactive session, you’ll step into live simulation experiences and explore how leading organisations are using them to test thinking, stress-test plans and build execution muscle. You’ll leave with practical ideas to help your people deliver – not just understand – strategy, from the C-suite to the front line.

If work must evolve, so must the way we prepare to do it.

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From Support to Strategy: HR’s Moment to Lead Change

Let’s be honest: most change initiatives don’t deliver. Not because of strategy or systems, but because people aren’t truly on board.

In times of disruption like now, leaders can either drift or define the future. This session is a call to action for HR to lead from the front – not as bystanders, but as catalysts of transformation.

Drawing on 35 years of global experience as both a CEO and CHRO, Barney Quinn shares a pragmatic framework for leading people-centred change. Discover how to expose disconnects, mobilise leaders at every level, and drive execution through focus, urgency and alignment.

This isn’t theory – it’s a strategic playbook for HR to shift from support to strategy, and lead change when it matters most.

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Work Reimagined:
What Can We Learn From Progressive Organisations?

In this experiential masterclass, we will hear about some of the radically different practices that the most progressive organisations in the world are using right now (e.g. salary transparency, beyond budgeting, self-managed organisational structures).

We will then experiment with the idea of implementing those in your own organisations and reflect on the challenges and possibilities that they can bring. If you are thinking about how to reimagine the future for your organisation and are ready to ask the “what if?” questions, join this session to explore it together. 

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Future-Readiness Lab: Optimise Talent
with AI

Are you ready to redefine the future of talent management?

In an era where AI is not just a tool but a catalyst for change, this masterclass invites you to explore the profound impact of artificial intelligence on our work, workforce and HR practices.

Join us for an engaging 45-minute session designed for forward-thinking HR leaders eager to harness the power of AI across all aspects of talent. We’ll dive into the transformative shifts required to make sure we can do more with less, get the right people with the right skills in the right place and attract and retain talent. We will discuss how to leverage AI to foster agility and innovation, and personalise experiences for your workforce.

This is more than a presentation; it’s a collaborative lab where you’ll gain actionable insights, explore real-world case studies and engage in dynamic discussions with peers. Together, we’ll envision what the next 12-18 months could hold for your organisation and how you can lead the charge in this exciting landscape. Don’t miss this opportunity to position your organisation at the forefront of talent innovation!

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Leading in Flux:
The New Leadership Equation

Today’s senior leaders face unprecedented pressure.

Geopolitical shifts, economic volatility and rapid tech advancements mean executives must articulate not just what their company does, but why it exists – its core purpose, values and ethical stance. They’re effectively shifting from strategist to philosopher, while simultaneously managing heavier burdens and more stakeholders than ever.

This masterclass explores these complex new demands, considers the implications for HR and asks how HR can best support leaders, equipping them to thrive in today’s world. 

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From Chaos to Clarity: Leveraging Process Automation and Data Visualisation to Enable Smarter HR Decisions

In this masterclass, attendees will discover how to harness the power of process automation and data analytics to transform the way HR data is managed and utilised.

Ricoh will explore how automated workflows can streamline the collection and cleansing of fragmented, inconsistent data from multiple sources – eliminating manual effort and human error – while enabling seamless integration, analysis and visualisation of this clean data.

The result is a robust foundation for data-driven decision making, empowering HR to identify workforce trends, optimise talent strategies and deliver measurable value to the business.

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Agenda Outline

Subject to confirmation.

15.30 | Registration
16.00 | Masterclass Session One
17.00 | Masterclass Session Two
18.30 | Welcome Drinks Reception and Dinner
09.15 | Welcome and Discussion, Gina Jardine
09.45 | Leadership in a Time of Disruptive Change, Prof. Ian Goldin
10.45 | Evolve or Endure? Designing a Future-fit Organisation, Andy Spence
11.45 | Break
12.15 | The 100-Year Life: Rethinking Talent for a Longer, Multigenerational Future, Céline Abecassis-Moedas 
13.15 | Lunch
14.00 | Creating Capability: The Future of Learning, Sarah Toms
15.15 | Break
15.45 | Harnessing Generative AI to Achieve Employee Peak Performance, Kristofor Swanson
17.00 | Close
19.00 | Canapés and Drinks Reception
09.15 | 2026 Programme, Gillian Pillans
09.30 | The Butterfly Defect: Managing Global Risks, Prof. Ian Goldin
10.30 | Break
11.00 | Is Employment Dead? How Technology Can Revolutionise the Way We Work, Deborah Perry Piscione
12.15 | Summary, Gina Jardine
12.30 | End of Conference. Lunch

Speakers

Céline Abecassis-Moedas, Associate Professor with Aggregation

Céline Abecassis-Moedas

Pro-Rector at Universidade Católica Portuguesa and Ambassador at Stanford Center on Longevity

Céline Abecassis-Moedas is Pro-Rector for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Universidade Católica Portuguesa and Professor in Strategy and Innovation Management at Católica-Lisbon School of Business and Economics, where she served as the Dean for Executive Education from 2019 to 2024. She is an Ambassador at the Stanford Center on Longevity and the founder of the Longevity Leadership Executive Education program since 2024. She is a non-executive director at Vista Alegre Atlantis, Lectra, and CUF a leader in private healthcare in Portugal. Céline holds a PhD in Management from École Polytechnique, Paris, and an MA in Management from Université Paris Dauphine. She is a graduate of École Normale Supérieure de Cachan and La Sorbonne in Economics and Management. Céline was an Assistant Professor at the Centre for Business Management at Queen Mary University of London. Her professional experience includes roles in Business Development at Lectra in New York and as a Strategy Consultant at AT Kearney in London. She was an International Faculty Fellow at MIT Sloan School of Management. 

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Ian Goldin

Professor of Globalisation and Development, Oxford University

Ian Goldin is Professor of Globalisation and Development at the University of Oxford, Professorial Fellow at Balliol College, Oxford University, and from 2006 to 2016 was the founding Director of Oxford University’s interdisciplinary Oxford Martin School. He currently leads the Oxford Martin research programmes on Technological and Economic Change, Future of Work and Future of Development. He has published over 60 journal articles and 23 books, most recently Rescue: From Global Crisis to a Better World.

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Gina Jardine

ex CHRO CRH, NED Forterra, Partner Jardine Oates

Gina Jardine is a former C-suite executive who has made her mark on some of the world’s largest and most renowned companies listed across the leading stock indices. With a career spanning over 30 years, Gina has worked across public, private, and semi-government organisations, where she was responsible for developing and leading high-performing teams and organisations in her roles as Chief People Officer. Her global experience in industries such as mining, building products, automotive and warehousing and logistics, has given her a unique perspective on the challenges and opportunities faced by organisations that have long term investments in financial and human capital-intensive programs. She has worked with some of the industry’s leading Chairs and CEO’s to help organisations deliver their strategy by ensuring that the Organisation and People agendas are aligned, that the culture drives performance and that employees have the capability and engagement to succeed. As a mentor and coach, Gina focuses on helping a range of diverse and senior executives navigate the cultural elements required for success in modern organisations.

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Deborah Perry Piscione

Author, Futurist, Entrepreneur and Leading Expert in Innovation, AI and Web3 Technologies

Deborah Perry Piscione is a futurist, serial entrepreneur, and a leading expert in innovation, AI, and web3 technologies. A New York Times bestselling author and LinkedIn Learning instructor, she moved to Silicon Valley in 2006, where a chance encounter led to her first startup securing multimillion-dollar funding. Inspired by Silicon Valley’s collaborative culture, she wrote Secrets of Silicon Valley, a bestseller adopted by a global consulting firm to enhance their innovation practices.

Perry Piscione developed the Improvisational Innovation approach, enabling anyone within a company to contribute ideas in a trusted environment, a method now embraced by Fortune 500 companies. Her LinkedIn Learning courses, ‘Risk Taking for Leaders’ and ‘Executing on Innovation,’ reach a global audience in multiple languages.

As a co-founder of the Work3 Institute and co-author of Employment is Dead: How Disruptive Technologies Are Revolutionizing the Way We Work (Harvard Business Review Press), she guides organisations through the transition to AI-driven work models. Recognised as a thought leader, Stanford’s Graduate School of Business featured her in a case study, underscoring her impact on entrepreneurship and innovation.

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Andy Spence

Workforce Futurist

Andy Spence has a passion for making work better. For over two decades, he has advised global organisations on workforce strategy, becoming a trusted voice for the C-Suite.  Andy’s career spans work with Big 4 consultancies, startups, and leading his own consulting firm for the past 17 years. His pioneering collaboration with Don Tapscott on Blockchain in the workplace has inspired countless entrepreneurs and technologists, with industry recognition as a key opinion leader in the future of work.

Andy has delivered keynotes and executive workshops in global cities, from London and Paris, to Singapore, Sydney and Shanghai.  His audiences value his ability to synthesise global megatrends into actionable insights, combining data-driven analysis, engaging storytelling, with a dash of humour. As an independent management consultant, Andy has helped build people-centric organisations, working with clients like the NHS, John Lewis Partnership, Novartis, and Deloitte.

His writing and media partnerships include Bloomberg, Mercer, HR.com, RSA, Global Drucker Forum, and many others. Andy publishes the popular Workforce Futurist Newsletter, offering original research and industry insights on building a better world of work. Through his extensive experience and visionary thinking, Andy Spence continues to shape the future of work, making him an invaluable resource for CHROs looking to navigate the complex landscape of workforce strategy.

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Kristofor Swanson

GCC Chief Learning Officer

Kristofor is a Talent and Learning Executive with 25 years of Digital HR product experience including professional services consulting, corporate learning and development, servicing and employee experience (UX) across a range of industries, countries and cultures. Successfully delivers the vision, architecture and implementation of award-winning solutions that drive business results and behavioural outcomes in large, global workforces. Experience with Fortune 500 companies including Accenture, HP, Avaya, Microsoft, Verizon, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and JPMorgan Chase.

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Sarah Toms

Sarah Toms

Chief Innovation Officer, IMD Business School

Sarah Toms is Chief Innovation Officer at IMD. She leads information technology, learning innovation, Strategic Talent Solutions, and the AI Strategy. A demonstrated thought leader in education innovation, Sarah is passionate about amplifying IMD’s mission to drive positive impact for individuals, organizations, and society.

She previously co-founded Wharton Interactive, an initiative at the Wharton School that has scaled globally. Sarah has been on the Executive Committee of Reimagine Education for almost a decade, and was one of the ten globally to be selected as an AWS Education Champion. Her other great passion is supporting organizations who work to attract and promote women and girls into STEM.

She has spent nearly three decades working at the bleeding edge of technology, and was an entrepreneur for over a decade, founding companies that built global CRM, product development, productivity management, and financial systems. Sarah is also coauthor of The Customer Centricity Playbook, the Digital Book Awards 2019 Best Business Book.

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