Strategy and Leadership

Join Bill Pelster for an intimate, hands-on masterclass designed specifically for startup founders, co-founders, and CEOs navigating the unique challenges of fast growth. Limited to just 20 attendees, this high-impact session dives into the essential people strategies startups need to scale successfully from hiring and culture to leadership and agility. A rare opportunity to work closely with one of the world's leading voices in HR innovation.

Agenda at a Glance:

• 14:00 – 14:15 | Welcome & Registration with Coffee
• 14:15 - 15:30 | Immersive Workshop
• 15:30 – 15:45 | Coffee & Networking Break
• 15:45 – 16:25 | Open Q&A
• 16:25 – 16:30 | Closing Remarks

• How Boards and CEOs distinguish between short-term disruption and issues that pose material, long-term risk
• Distinguishing between temporary turbulence and existential threats
• What boards actually expect from CHROs today (hint: it's not HR ops)
• Turning workforce data and external trends into narratives that land in the boardroom
• Why great CHROs act as stabilizers—protecting both performance and people through the storm

Work Moves Fast. Humans Don't: Technology can move at silicon speed, but organizations still depend on human decision-making, trust and adoption. Automation only works when it's built around how people actually operate.

• Why CHRO-CIO alignment is the key enabler of successful automation programs
• Where automation delivers real value: removing friction, not just reducing cost
• Identifying which workflows should be automated vs where human judgment must remain
• Avoiding "automation overload": when too many tools create complexity, not efficiency
• Designing end-to-end processes across HR, IT and Finance rather than automating in silos
• Embedding governance early: accountability, risk and decision rights in automated environments

• Workforce Economics & Productivity - Proving People Investment Pays Off
• The board-level question: What is the ROI of people investment?
• The productivity metrics that actually reveal value creation
• Connecting people's decisions to commercial outcomes, growth, cost, risk
• Which measures matter (and which are just noise)
• Building the business case that convinces the C-suite