Leaders
Organisations
Speakers
Sessions
is transforming
HR
Experience what works.
AI is moving from possibility to practice.
For business & HR leaders, the opportunity is to understand where AI can create real value, how work and talent practices need to be redesigned, and how to move from experimentation to impactful implementation.
SHRM MENA Annual Conference & Expo 2026 brings this opportunity to life through the Regions' First HR + AI Lab, a large-scale executive experience focused on real-world applications across HR, talent and work.
The Experiential Heart of SHRM MENA'26
It combines the scale of flagship annual event along side marquee speakers, an executive
audience, global perspectives and a powerful experiential Expo.
WATCH
Get the perspective
Main-stage keynotes, executive viewpoints, real case studies, demonstrations and debates
EXPLORE
Get close to the application
Prompt Clinics, AI Surgery, AI Office Hours, live demonstrations and expert conversations.
BUILD
Turn an HR challenge into an AI solution
Follow a structured path, work through a Capstone challenge, and test thinking and build your own AI HR Blueprint.
Choose your
Challenge
Find Your Solutions
X HIRE
Relevant talent acquisition
Explore how AI can transform the way organisations identify, assess, engage and hire talent.
X GROW
Redesign talent development
Explore how AI can reshape learning,
skills, capability building and
employee growth.
X LEAD
Reimagine talent management
Explore how AI can strengthen talent decisions, performance, mobility and people leadership.
Turn Potential
Into HR Impact
Designed to move progressively from
understanding AI to applying it.
DAY 1
Understand & Design
Discover
What's changing?
Understand the forces reshaping
HR work and talent.
Decode
What can AI actually do?
Separate real capability from hype
and explore relevent HR applications.
Design
What should HR redesign?
Identify where AI can create
meaningful value in your chosen
challenge.
DAY 2
Build & Implement
Build
Create the solution.
Turn your challenge into an AI-enabled use case and workflow
Test
Challenge and refine it.
Pressure-test your thinking with peers, practitioners and subject matter experts.
Deploy
Plan what comes next
Turn your solution into a clear path forward.
- Discover
- Decode
- Design
- Build
- Test
- Deploy
From Insight to Action
The 
introduces formats designed to create participation, challenge
thinking and bring AI closer to the problems organisations are trying to solve.
LEADERSHIP LENS
One leader. One perspective.
Five defining questions.
PROMPT BATTLE
One HR problem. Two approaches.
You decide.
IDEA EXCHANGE
Where business and HR challenge
each other's thinking.
CROSSROADS
Build together.
CASE STUDY LIVE
Go inside a real AI transformation.
AI-SPEED CONSULTING
Bring your question to an expert.
Prompt Clinics | AI Surgery | AI Office Hours | Live AI Demonstrations
Past Speakers
Guest of Honor
H.E. Ohood bint Khalfan Al Roumi
Minister of State for Government Development & the Future
The Government of UAE
Senior Government Dignitaries
H.E. Faisal Saeed Binbuti Al Mheiri
Director General
Federal Authority for Government Human Resources
H.E. Abdullah Ali bin Zayed Al-Falasi
Director General
Dubai Government Human Resources Department
Brigadier Rashid Nasser Rashid
Director of the General Department of Human Resources
Dubai Police
Key Speakers
Randi Zuckerberg
Founder & CEO
Zuckerberg Media and HUG
Sanford R. (Sandy) Climan
CEO
EMV (Hollywood Producer)
Michael Fraccaro
Senior Fellow & Former Chief People Officer
Mastercard
Lars N. Minns
Chief Human Resources Officer
Mercedes-Benz USA
Shiv
Operating Partner, Advent Private Equity Former Chairperson & CEO, PepsiCo & Former CEO, Emerging Markets, Nokia
Emily M. Dickens, J.D.
Chief of Staff, Head of Government Affairs & Corporate Secretary
SHRM
Achal Khanna
Chief Executive Officer
SHRM APAC & MENA
Adel Alghamdi
Assistant Deputy Minister for Human Resources
Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources
Osama Yousef G. Alfraidi
GM - HR Development
Ministry of Education, Saudi Arabia
Arda Atalay
Head, LinkedIn Talent Solutions
LinkedIn MENA
Nader Haffar
Former Chairman & CEO, KPMG LG
Co-Founder & Chairman, VALYOO Holding
Marketa Simkova
Partner & Head of People, Performance & Culture
KPMG Middle East
Abdullah ALZahrani
Founder & CEO
Tharwah
Fazeela Gopalani
Partner
EY Academy
Ahmed Jassim
Chief Human Resources Officer
Commercial Bank International
Sid Ahmed Benraouane, Ph.D.
Dubai Government Advisor
Pallav Popli
Chief Revenue Officer & Employee Engagement Evangelist
Vantage Circle
Sara Boueri
Group Director-HR
Scope Investment
Dr. Salima Hamouche, Ph.D., SHRM-SCP
Professor of Human Resources Management
University of Sharjah
Rami Busbait
Vice President - Talent Management
Savvy Games Group
Abdulrahman Alsheail
Director
KPMG, Saudi Arabia
Shilpa Bhushan
Consultant & Strategic Advisor - HR Department
RAK Government
Zahia T. Abu Ali
Talent Acquisition & Talent Management Leader
Nabila Al Amri
Culture & Employee Engagement Leader
Masterclass Facilitators
Vijay Gandhi
Regional Director - EMEA
Korn Ferry Digital
Iktimal Daneshvar
Vice President, RPO & Projects - META
Korn Ferry
Prof. Andrew James
Professor of Innovation Management & Policy
Alliance Manchester Business School
Sally Al Shafey
Leadership Solutions Associate Coach
Center for Creative Leadership
Manar Al-Dina
Leadership Solutions Associate
Center for Creative Leadership
Prof. Matthew Bidwell
Xingmei Zhang and Yongge Dai Professor of Management
The Wharton School
Nicholas Williams
Director - TSE HR M&A Lead
EY Parthenon, MENA
Zahid Mubarik SHRM-SCP, SPHRi, GPHR
CEO
HR Metrics
Seminar Speakers
Pallav Popli
Chief Revenue Officer & Employee Engagement Evangelist
Vantage Circle
Wassim Hassanieh
Founder & CEO
Magnar Systems
James Chouffot
Partner - People Consulting
EY
Dr. Muath Jafaari
Chief Innovation Officer
Tharwah
Mahmoud Ayman Al-Saleh
Chief Executive Officer
Ivory Training
Sudarsan Ravi
Founder & CEO
RippleHire
Sriram Iyer
Adjunct Faculty - NUS (Singapore),
Korn Ferry Academy (Singapore)
Elie Moussallem
HR, L&D & Organizational Development Expert
Rohit Manucha
AI Factory Program Director and Executive Coach
Yamen Zein
Senior Knowledge Advisor
SHRM MENA
Fadi Ganni
CEO
Morgan International
Rishi Malhotra
Regional Business Development Manager (Strategic Partnerships)
ACCA Middle East
Hamzeh AlSmadi
E-Learning SME, Moodle Specialist
Mena For Information Technology
Hosts and Moderators
Amandeep Bhangu
Presenter & Media Trainer
Voice Media London
Kirat Dhillon
Director-HR
SHRM APAC & MENA
Partika Raj
Head of Consulting and Capability Building
SHRM MENA
Yamen Zein
Senior Knowledge Advisor
SHRM MENA
Nida Shahid
Director Consulting and Capability Building
SHRM MENA
Reem Zakaria
Partnership Manager
SHRM MENA
Registration
Conference: 16th & 17th December
Pre-Conference Masterclasses (2): 15th December
SHRM PMQ License
Access to: EXPO and Seminars 16th & 17th December
Access to: SHRM MENA Star Awards Ceremony 17th December
Standard Price
Early-Bird (Valid till 31st October 2026)
Super Early-Bird (Valid till 15th September 2026) Sold Out
Platinum
Conference: 16th & 17th December
Pre-Conference Masterclasses (2): 15th December
SHRM PMQ License
Access to: EXPO and Seminars 16th & 17th December
Access to: SHRM MENA Star Awards Ceremony 17th December
Standard Price
$4,000
Early-Bird (Valid till 31st October 2026)
$3500
Super Early-Bird (Valid till 15th September 2026)
$3000
Gold
Conference: 16th & 17th December
Pre-Conference Masterclasses (2): 15th December
SHRM PMQ License
Access to: EXPO and Seminars 16th & 17th December
Access to: SHRM MENA Star Awards Ceremony 17th December
Standard Price
$3,500
Early-Bird (Valid till 31st October 2026)
$3000
Super Early-Bird (Valid till 15th September 2026)
$2650
Silver
Conference: 16th & 17th December
Pre-Conference Masterclasses (2): 15th December
SHRM PMQ License
Access to: EXPO and Seminars 16th & 17th December
Access to: SHRM MENA Star Awards Ceremony 17th December
Standard Price
$2,500
Early-Bird (Valid till 31st October 2026)
$2250
Super Early-Bird (Valid till 15th September 2026)
$1850
The EXPO'26
Gets an Upgrade
DEMONSTRATE
Show your technology in action.
Bring your education to solution
and workplace is one word.
CONNECT
Meet the people making the decisions.
Engage with senior HR, talent, technology and business leaders exploring AI for their organisations.
INFLUENCE
Bring your expertise into the conversation.
Contribute to conversations around AI applications, workflows, governance and implementation.
BUILD CREDIBILITY
Be part of the solution.
Position your organisation alongside the workforce and talent challenges leaders are actively addressing.
GROW
Turn conversations into opportunity.
Build relationships that can develop into deeper engagements, pilots, partnerships and future business.
As Covered By the Media
Press Coverage - 2025
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