- By Business Desk
- Fri, 14 Nov 2025 05:13 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
The SHRM India Conference 2025 launched on Thursday with a strong focus on the intersection of AI, technology and purpose-driven leadership, drawing over 2,400 attendees on-ground and 2,100 participants virtually.
The two-day event, themed "Celebrating Work", began with a welcome address by Achal Khanna, CEO, SHRM APAC & MENA. The official opening included a performance, "A Whole New World", by Esther Lalduhawmi Hnamte and a student choir from Ragaaz Studios.
Leadership Focus on Purpose and Adaptability
The discussions centred on the need for leaders to build organisations that are both inclusive and adaptable.
The day's highlight was the Keynote Address delivered by Johnny C. Taylor, Jr., President & CEO, SHRM, who offered "A Global CEO's Perspective" on the essentials of building inclusive, adaptable, and purpose-driven workplaces. He asserted that technology, talent, and purpose are converging to define the new era of work, urging leaders to build organisations that actively drive change.
Other speakers stressed that the integration of technology must be about empowering people rather than replacing them. Achal Khanna, CEO, SHRM APAC & MENA, highlighted the co-existence of AI, empathy, and purpose as key to creating better work environments.
Strategic Role of HR in the Digital Era
The conference served as a platform for launching new reports and playbooks detailing the shift in HR strategy:
New findings on "Driving Enterprise Productivity with Agentic AI" were unveiled in a collaboration between SHRM India, Quantiphi, and Google Cloud.
A report titled "Inside India's HR Pay Pulse" by Keka was also released, offering data on compensation trends.
The shift signals a new mandate for human resources. Sudhir Gadh, Chief Strategy Advisor, SHRM India, noted that the evolution of HR is already in progress, shifting from merely transformation to "true intelligence," where HR functions as a strategic growth engine for the business.
Panel discussions, including one featuring Richard Rekhy (Grant Thornton Bharat) and Sanjeev Jain (Wipro), addressed the "New Code of Work" and the role of CXOs in championing culture. Further sessions explored practical issues like financial well-being, collaboration, and empathy in today's distributed work models, confirming that people-first strategies remain crucial as technology advances.