Strategic roundtable discussions
Share your successes, challenges and changes within TA with your fellow strategic leaders
Join us at #IHRLeaders26, an event designed for senior talent acquisition professionals driving recruitment strategy and transformation.
We will address the biggest challenges facing recruitment leaders today through expert-led sessions, strategic discussions, and actionable insights to help you lead with impact and confidence.
You’ll connect with peers, share solutions, and explore the strategies shaping the future of recruitment leadership in 2026 and beyond.
Premium Members can unlock FREE tickets (worth £295) using their Membership ID (found in My Account) as the promo code at registration.
Speaker Topics
Hiring excellence
Smarter, faster, data-driven hiring outcomes
Future-proof TA
Adapting teams for evolving hiring demands
Global candidate care
Elevating relocation and support experiences
Ethical AI hiring
Balancing speed, fairness, and decision integrity
Talent intelligence
Leveraging data for competitive hiring advantage
Agenda
25 June 2026
In a market shaped by economic pressure, evolving candidate behaviour, and rapid advances in technology, recruitment teams are being pushed to operate differently. This session looks at how leading TA functions are adapting, shifting beyond delivery to play a more strategic role in how organisations attract, assess, and secure talent.
What to expect:
• How economic shifts, candidate behaviour, and technology are reshaping recruitment’s role
• Why high application volumes and AI-enabled candidates are exposing cracks in traditional hiring models
• The shift from operational delivery to designing and overseeing more effective hiring systems
• The skills and behaviours needed to increase credibility and influence with stakeholders
• Practical ways to demonstrate value quickly and position TA as a trusted business partner
Hiring has never been more complex or more critical to business success. Traditional models are slowing teams down when speed, adaptability, and precision matter most. In this fast-paced session, we’ll break down a modern, flexible framework for hiring excellence showing how leading TA functions are shifting from reactive hiring to continuous, data-driven improvement that delivers faster, higher-quality outcomes across every stage of the funnel.
What to expect:
• How continuous improvement, efficiency, and agility actually show up in day-to-day TA operations
• A breakdown of the four areas that define hiring success: planning, attraction, evaluation, and stakeholder alignment
• Practical ways to prioritise initiatives that drive measurable impact, not just activity
• How to connect RecOps and TA workflows to improve speed, quality, and consistency
• What high-performing TA teams are doing differently to stay competitive in a changing hiring landscape
As companies expand globally, candidate expectations around relocation and support are evolving. This session explores how forward-thinking organizations are rethinking candidate support throughout the global hiring journey—from offer acceptance to full relocation—while balancing efficiency, experience, and cost. We’ll discuss how better coordination between talent teams, mobility, and external partners can create smoother transitions for candidates and stronger outcomes for employers.
What to expect:
• How leading companies are redefining candidate support in global hiring and relocation
• Practical ways to reduce friction and uncertainty during the relocation journey
• Strategies to improve candidate experience while maintaining operational efficiency
AI is accelerating hiring at pace but speed without structure is a risk. This session reframes ethics as a strategic enabler, not a constraint. Learn how using values-led and ethical frameworks can facilitate justifiable decisions and intentional management candidate AI use, and ensure that AI strengthens, rather than undermines, quality of hire.
What to expect:
• Why ethical frameworks are becoming a core capability for high-performing TA functions in an AI-enabled world, not a compliance afterthought
• How to evaluate where AI genuinely adds value vs where it introduces hidden risk
• A real-world case study on managing candidate AI use without compromising assessment integrity
• Practical ways to balance efficiency, candidate experience, and governance in AI-enabled hiring
• A clear, actionable checklist to guide ethical AI decisions across recruitment
Talent acquisition can’t afford to operate as a support function anymore. In a market defined by scrutiny, cost pressure, and shifting priorities, TA leaders must prove direct commercial impact. This panel tackles how to reposition TA as a strategic driver of business performance, not just a delivery team filling roles.
What to expect:
• How to align hiring strategy with core business goals like growth, cost control, and productivity
• Practical ways to shift stakeholder perception from “service provider” to “strategic partner”
• The metrics that actually resonate with exec teams, and how to use them
• How leading TA functions are influencing workforce planning and commercial outcomes
• Real examples of embedding TA into business decision-making at a senior level
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Economic pressure, shifting markets, and ongoing uncertainty are forcing organisations into near-constant transformation. But while strategies evolve, it’s leadership that determines whether change actually sticks. This session explores how leaders can show up with clarity, resilience, and credibility, guiding their teams through transformation without losing trust, momentum, or themselves.
What to expect:
• The critical role leaders play in setting the tone during transformation
• How leadership behaviour directly impacts team resilience and performance
• Ways to lead with clarity and confidence when answers aren’t always clear
• How to maintain trust, energy, and momentum through prolonged change
• Leadership habits that prevent burnout, for both teams and themselves
Hiring wasn't designed. It accumulated from two centuries of inherited processes and entrenched thinking. TA has always had to manage the trade-offs and find the workarounds to make it all work. AI changes everything. It's the chance to build hiring systems and processes that work for everyone. It is also capable of doing serious damage by automating and accelerating processes that are not fit for purpose.This session sets out what TA leaders need to get right to make sure AI delivers the value their organisation needs. Drawing on examples and conversations from the Recruiting Future podcast, it shows what the leading edge of TA is actually doing, not just talking about.
What to expect:
- Why AI is exposing inherited problems as well as creating new ones
- The five questions every TA leader needs to answer before scaling AI
- How to spot the difference between AI as transformation and AI as faster dysfunction
- Real-world examples of TA leaders rebuilding hiring with AI rather than bolting it on
- Where the real strategic opportunity sits and why most TA functions are missing it
Speakers
Upcoming speakers
Why attend
Strategic roundtable discussions
Best practice sharing
Hear from your peers on their best practices
Unrivalled speaker content
Unrivalled speaker content
Be inspired by success stories from talent professionals from tech, healthcare and retail industries
Expert guidance
Learn from industry-leaders from world-class organisations
Offers, goodies & competitions
Offers, goodies & competitions
Pick up some treats for your team and be in with the chance to win big prizes!
Networking opportunities
Grow your network at our dedicated lounge areas and post-event drinks
Register for the event
Premium Members can unlock free tickets using their Membership ID as the promo code.
Previous attendees
“The event was fantastically insightful, with the array of interesting topics and the brilliantly organised roundtable discussions.”
“Each session was packed with invaluable insights, thanks to the engaging and inspiring speakers. It was also fantastic to connect with so many talented individuals from the industry, sharing experiences and insights in open, interesting conversations.”
“It was a great event, filled with insightful discussions and inspiring speakers. Beyond the sessions, the chance to network with so many brilliant minds within Talent Acquisition was invaluable.”
Gold Partners
Silver Partner
Venue
Cavendish Venues - 1 Basinghall Avenue
+44 (0)20 7706 7700
1 Basinghall Ave 1, Basinghall Avenue, London, Greater London, England, United Kingdom, EC2V 5DD
The venue is located in the City of London and is accessible within 2 minutes of the Elizabeth Line at Moorgate station.
Also within walking distance (5–10 mins) from several Underground stations: Bank, Mansion House, Cannon Street, Liverpool Street, Monument, Barbican.
Maria Dinu is Senior Director, Culture & People Experience for Europe at The Coca-Cola Company, leading Culture strategy across 23 countries. With 20+ years across Coca-Cola, Coca-Cola HBC and P&G, she specialises in organisational design, leadership alignment and culture transformation in complex, fast-moving environments. An ICF-accredited coach and LBS alumna, Maria is known for translating strategy into the leadership behaviours that make change stick, without losing trust, momentum, or the leaders themselves along the way.
Matt is a talent acquisition expert, speaker, and advisor with over 20 years of experience helping organisations navigate change. He specialises in emerging trends, technologies, and forward-thinking strategies, supporting leaders to stay competitive while empowering the next generation of talent leaders to build successful careers.
Lorna leads the recruitment technology strategy for Police Scotland, where she is dedicated to transforming talent acquisition through forward-thinking innovation. With deep experience in driving large-scale change initiatives, she specialises in implementing cutting-edge tools that move recruitment beyond administrative tasks to focus on strategic impact. Lorna has a proven track record of streamlining complex processes and removing friction to drive efficiency. She is committed to leveraging automation to support her teams, enhance the candidate experience, and ensure Police Scotland meets its broader organisational goals.
Christina O’Connor is an experienced International Talent Acquisition leader specializing in sourcing and hiring high-performing talent across diverse regions including Europe, Middle East, Asia Pacific, and North America, particularly within hyper-growth organizations. With a robust corporate talent management background spanning over 15 years, she has demonstrated her leadership acumen in focusing on go-to-market customer talent and niche technical talent delivery on a global scale, with significant in region experience in the UK, UAE and Singapore.
In her current role at Amazon Web Services (AWS), Christina serves as the EMEA Sourcing Leader within the Central Sourcing Team, spearheading the establishment of a new offshore sourcing model and is also part of the Gen AI recruiting ambassador program. Previously, as Head of Diversity Sourcing EMEA at AWS, Christina’s leadership was instrumental in driving initiatives to enhance diverse employee representation within EMEA. She orchestrated successful Diversity Sourcing campaigns across various sectors and played a pivotal role in building sourcing strategies for a number of new build businesses across AWS.
Prior to her tenure at AWS, Christina held key positions at Rapid7, Symantec, Intel Security and McAfee, where she honed her skills in international talent acquisition, business partnering, and organizational effectiveness. Notable achievements include implementing hiring analytics, diversity hiring strategies, and agile hiring transformations, as well as overseeing the successful implementation of Workday as a new ATS.
Christina holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and History from the University of Portsmouth and is known for her process-driven approach, innovative mindset, and commitment to driving change to center the talent agenda. As a seasoned D&I advocate and change agent, she thrives in scaling agile programs and enhancing organizational effectiveness within hyper-growth environments.
As the Group Head of Recruitment at Royal London, Richard helps develop the resourcing strategy and offers operational support to the UK's largest mutual life insurance, pensions, and investment company. He joined Royal London in November 2023, bringing with him over 18 years of experience in HR and recruiting, as well as a passion for excellence and innovation.
Charles is the Founder and CEO of Oleeo, a company he guided to a successful flotation on the London Stock Exchange within five years. His expertise lies in enabling organisations of any scale, from emerging startups to established corporations, to undergo significant change by leveraging AI-powered talent acquisition technology.
Outside of the office, his happy place is definitely in the water — whether enjoying a relaxing dip in the pool or an adventurous open-water swim.
Harry Lee is a Director at PerchPeek, working closely with Talent and People teams as they navigate the realities of global hiring.
He spends his time speaking with TA leaders about how candidates are supported beyond the offer - particularly when roles involve international moves.
Harry is passionate about improving candidate experience in global hiring and enjoys exploring where process, data, and technology can make this support more consistent and scalable.
Amanda is a Chartered and HCPC-registered Occupational Psychologist with 30+ years’ experience in consultancy and research with UK and global public, private and third sector organisations.
At PeopleScout she directs psychology services and thought leadership on how AI is impacting assessment practice and strategy, and leads the team of psychologists in delivering evidence-based diagnostics, data-driven insight and high-impact, fair assessment solutions that demonstrably strengthen talent quality and organisational outcomes.
Natasha Preocanin is the Managing Director for In-house Recruitment (IHR), the largest and most engaged community for In-house Recruiters. Our 20,000+ community benefit from over 70 live and virtual events each year ranging from our 1000-strong exhibitions and high profile awards to exclusive half-day breakfasts and targeted dinners for Recruitment Leaders. We also produce industry leading digital whitepapers, webinars and leadership videos alongside high value community forums and an all-inclusive supplier directory.
With a background in events, Natasha's joined the company in 2012 as an Events Executive and quickly progressed up the ranks to her current position as MD. She now leads the company in becoming the go-to resource for all In-house and Talent Acquisition teams who are looking to become better recruiters. Natasha can often be seen on stage, hosting our events or behind a microphone, interviewing a host of industry experts.