HR Leaders

What does collaboration look like when it’s built into the work, the strategy and what people get rewarded for?
Andrew R. Davis, Executive Vice President & Global Chief People Officer at Sony Music Entertainment, joins Chris Rainey to discuss company culture, cross-functional collaboration and leadership through change.
Andrew explains why data scientists work alongside the teams who find and develop artists, how Sony Music recognises collaboration, and why he sees culture erosion as a risk HR leaders need to watch.
Welcome back to HR Leaders On the Road. This is Episode #2 from our studio at UNLEASH World 2026 in Paris, recorded in partnership with Workhuman.

5 lessons you’ll learn:
→ Why understanding business operations matters for HR
→ How creative teams and data scientists work together
→ How recognition and rewards reinforce collaboration
→ Why leadership behaviour sets the standard for culture
→ How HR can help organisations change without losing their values

🙏 Thank you to our series partner, Workhuman
Learn what 21 million recognition moments reveal about skills, burnout, AI adoption and how work really gets done →https://www.workhuman.com/resources/reports-guides/recognition-intelligence-report/?utm_source=linkedin&utm_medium=social_advertising&utm_campaign=1215515251063857&utm_content=null&utm_term=emea_events_forum-paris-26_prospecting~null_whforum-paris-event-hr-leaders-podcastad_1x1_10.20.2026
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

How do you change company culture when confidence is low and too many decisions travel to headquarters?
Michelle Robertson, Executive Board Member, HR, People & Culture at adidas, joins Chris Rainey to explain the people decisions behind adidas’ turnaround, from honest leadership communication to giving local teams more authority.
Welcome back to HR Leaders Podcast on the Road. For Episode #1 from UNLEASH World 2026, we brought our studio to Paris with our friends at Workhuman for unscripted conversations with CHROs and People leaders.
Michelle shares why the CEO gave his mobile number to the workforce, how employees can question the board live, and what adidas changed in its structure to support a global brand with a local mindset.

5 takeaways from this episode:
→ How open leadership communication can help rebuild belief
→ Why local teams need decision-making power and accountability
→ How adidas shifted investment and reduced headquarters complexity
→ What respectful communication looks like during difficult change
→ Why Michelle sees AI transformation as a people challenge

🙏 Thank you to our series partner, Workhuman
Learn what 21 million recognition moments reveal about skills, burnout, AI adoption and how work really gets done →https://www.workhuman.com/resources/reports-guides/recognition-intelligence-report/?utm_source=linkedin&utm_medium=social_advertising&utm_campaign=1215515251063857&utm_content=null&utm_term=emea_events_forum-paris-26_prospecting~null_whforum-paris-event-hr-leaders-podcastad_1x1_10.20.2026
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Gina is Chief People Officer and Labor Director, and a Member of the Executive Board at SAP. An organisational psychologist who previously led HR at Siemens Energy, she explains how SAP is connecting employee development to its wider business transformation.
The conversation explores SAP’s Talent Engine, its skills work with more than 200 role owners across the business, and why Gina wants leaders to focus on business outcomes rather than the number of AI agents they build.
Gina also shares what she has learned about leading her own team, making room for challenge and bringing the people side of transformation in earlier.
IN THIS EPISODE
→ Connecting talent development across the employee lifecycle
→ Making talent strategy a shared executive responsibility
→ Building a skills approach that informs hiring and development
→ Defining human-led, agent-led and AI-assisted work
→ Developing the leadership behaviours needed for continuous change

🙏 Thank you to our series partner, Workhuman
Learn what 21 million recognition moments reveal about skills, burnout, AI adoption and how work really gets done →https://www.workhuman.com/resources/reports-guides/recognition-intelligence-report/?utm_source=linkedin&utm_medium=social_advertising&utm_campaign=1215515251063857&utm_content=null&utm_term=emea_events_forum-paris-26_prospecting~null_whforum-paris-event-hr-leaders-podcastad_1x1_10.20.2026
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

How does Primark develop frontline leaders and help colleagues build careers within the business?
John D. Hadeed, Senior Vice President, People & Culture, US at Primark, joins Chris Rainey to share the career conversations, training and leadership habits behind its approach.
At the time of recording, John says more than 60% of Primark’s US store leaders had grown within its US business, with an ambition to reach 80%.
We explore 5 practical takeaways for HR, from preparing people for their next role to equipping managers to support colleagues when HR isn’t there.

5 TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE

→ Turn career ambitions into a plan
How conversations about potential, goals and mobility inform succession planning.
→ Make teaching part of the leadership job
What John learnt during 18 months alongside his predecessor.
→ Protect the time to learn
How Primark approaches onboarding, peer training and development away from the shop floor.
→ Explain what your values actually look like
Why “dynamic” needed a shared meaning across different cultures and languages.
→ Equip managers to support people when HR isn’t there
Why being people-first depends on how leaders show up every day.

🙏 Thank you to our series partner, Leapsome
AI is already reshaping HR. Learn how to build an agentic HR team in six months and unlock Leapsome’s €24K Accelerator plus its HRIS Foundation at no extra cost before 31 December → https://hubs.li/Q04yT6Rh0
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The meeting ends. Everyone nods. Then the real conversation starts without the CEO.
For HR leaders, that puts you in a difficult spot.
You hear the concerns. You see the friction. But how do you tell someone at the top that their own behaviour might be part of the problem?
In this episode of the HR Leaders Podcast, I had an inspiring conversation with Andrea Petrone, The CEO Whisperer and author of Reinvention at the Top: The Playbook for CEOs to Lead Under Pressure.
I also share what happened when I gave a former CEO difficult feedback.
Spoiler: it wasn’t a thank-you.
7 lessons you’ll learn from this episode:
When a leader’s biggest strength becomes the problem
What the CEO isn’t hearing in the room
What happened when Chris told his CEO the truth
The hidden cost of acting like a leader
Why the message isn’t getting through
The question every aspiring CHRO-to-CEO needs to answer
What leaders under pressure are really asking for

🙏 Thank you to our series partner, Leapsome
AI is already reshaping HR. Learn how to build an agentic HR team in six months and unlock Leapsome’s €24K Accelerator plus its HRIS Foundation at no extra cost before 31 December → https://hubs.li/Q04yT6Rh0
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.