In-Person

Washington, DC CHRO Community

Executive Summit

November 13, 2025 | Hilton Washington DC National Mall the Wharf

November 13, 2025
Hilton Washington DC National Mall the Wharf

Apply to Participate

Governing Body Agenda Location Sponsors Contact

Governing Body Co-Chairs

Melissa Hurst

American Red Cross
CHRO

Ken Kovach

B.F. Saul Company & Affiliates
CHRO

Shawn Stokes

Events DC
SVP, Human Resources & Culture

Loretta Young Walker

MedStar Health
EVP & Chief People Officer

What to Expect

Interactive Sessions

Hear from CHRO practitioners and thought leaders on how they're solving critical challenges impacting your role today in Keynote sessions, and join smaller, interactive discussions with your peers in Breakout and Boardroom sessions.

Community Networking

Make new connections and catch up with old friends in casual conversations during dedicated time for networking designed to better acquaint you with your Washington, DC CHRO community.

Peer-to-Peer Meetings

Connect with like-minded peers in a private, one-on-one setting through Peer-to-Peer Meetings. You will be matched with peers in your community based on your shared interests and priorities.

Agenda

November 13, 2025

morning afternoon

8:00am - 8:30am Registration & Breakfast

8:30am - 9:15am Keynote

Future-Proof Your Leaders — A Siemens Case Study

Daniela Proust

SVP, Head of People & Organization

Siemens

Details coming soon...

9:15am - 9:40am Networking Break

9:40am - 10:25am Breakout Session

Implementing AI – Insights from a Chief AI Officer

Delester Brown

Chief Data & AI Officer

United States National Guard

Details coming soon...

9:40am - 10:25am Executive Boardroom

Maximizing Workforce Success – Navigating the Influence of HR Technology

Rich Cober

Executive Partner, CHRO Practice

Gartner

Frequent, unfamiliar organizational changes and the uncertainty posed by technological, generational and social shifts have changed workforce dynamics. CHROs can leverage strategic workforce planning to guide organizations’ future talent investments in light of business priorities.

Join this boardroom to discuss:

Optimizing SWP processes while reducing complexities
Adapting strategies to meet short and long-term goals
Matching talent needs with enterprise aspirations

9:40am - 10:25am Executive Boardroom

Enhancing EVP to Drive Better Business Outcomes

Gartner research reports that only 41% of employees fall into the optimal performance zone. Work fatigue and lack of consistency is a growing trend among employees across industries. How can leaders spearhead and nurture experiences that drive productivity?

Join this boardroom to discuss:

Tackling key issues relevant to employees
Encouraging wellness for employees to circumvent fatigue
Implementing performance check-ins to ensure goal attainment

10:25am - 11:10am Networking Break

10:35am - 11:00am Peer-to-Peer Meetings

Peer-to-Peer Meetings

Connect with like-minded peers in a one-on-one setting through Peer-to-Peer Meetings. You will be matched with peers in your community based on your shared interests and priorities.

11:10am - 11:55am Breakout Session

AI for HR — Delivering Workforce Productivity

HR teams are under pressure to deliver more with less — balancing operational efficiency with rising employee expectations and the need for strategic agility. IBM transformed its HR function by embedding AI across the employee lifecycle, from onboarding and talent acquisition to manager support and workforce planning. By deploying digital assistants, agentic AI, and intelligent orchestration, IBM achieved significant productivity gains, reduced operational costs, and elevated the employee experience.

Join this session to learn how to:

Deliver seamless, AI-driven employee and manager support
Automate complex HR workflows with digital labor
Scale HR operations while enabling strategic focus

11:10am - 11:55am Executive Boardroom

Winning With Wellbeing — Igniting Buy-in From Burnout

Craig Rosenberg

SVP, Solution Advisory

Alight

No longer satisfied with transactional perks, today’s employees increasingly expect employers to support their total wellbeing that integrates physical health, mental health and financial security. Employers who adapt to these shifting needs enhance retention, productivity and optimize value for benefits investment.

Join this boardroom session to:

Boost engagement with personalized, easy-to-navigate benefits
Integrate high tech with the human touch to manage complexity
Drive retention, productivity, and success with total wellbeing

11:10am - 11:55am Executive Boardroom

Redefining Leadership and Development in a Disrupted World

Katerina Rodriguez

Innovation Leader, Director - Future of Work Strategy

ADP

As AI, hybrid work and workforce transformation reshape organizations, leadership development is more critical and nuanced than ever before. In this roundtable, CHROs from top companies will discuss innovations like AI-powered coaching, skills-based pathways and inclusive leadership. Join us to share ideas and reimagine what tomorrow’s people leaders need to succeed.

In this roundtable, we’ll discuss:

Leadership mandates driven by AI and agility
Innovations in skills-based, inclusive development
Measuring leader effectiveness and impact

11:55am - 12:30pm Lunch Service

12:30pm - 1:05pm Keynote

Transforming Work — HR's New Domain in the AI Era

Jessie Knight

Research Vice President

Gartner

CEOs plan to fuel the next wave of growth by taking cost out of the business, reinvesting in growth areas and capitalizing on AI. Achieving this vision will require transforming how work gets done across the enterprise.

Join this Gartner analyst-led keynote to explore how HR can:

Ensure employees get value from AI in their day-to-day work
Reengineer roles and functions as AI takes on more work
Build the trust employees need to invent new ways of working

1:05pm - 1:30pm Break

1:30pm - 2:15pm Executive Boardroom

Strengthening Culture — HR Strategies for Change

Sue Davies

CHRO

Markel Corporation

Ongoing change, evolving work models and economic pressures threaten employees' alignment with organizational culture. Savvy HR leaders guide the workforce through change, engagement and development to reinforce desired behaviors and foster employees’ culture alignment and interconnectedness.

Join this session to learn:

Measuring the success of changing initiatives
Driving a culture of transformation
Equipping all levels of the organization to embed culture values

2:15pm - 3:00pm Networking Break

2:25pm - 2:50pm Peer-to-Peer Meetings

Peer-to-Peer Meetings

Connect with like-minded peers in a one-on-one setting through Peer-to-Peer Meetings. You will be matched with peers in your community based on your shared interests and priorities.

3:00pm - 3:45pm Executive Boardroom

Pathing to Performance — HR's Role in Career Roadmaps

April Castañeda

CHRO

MITRE

Gartner research shows less than half of employees are satisfied with their organizations’ career development opportunities. Despite the need to retain and find key talent, the same research shows only 34% of organizations help in visualizing these paths to growth.

In this boardroom, CHROs will discuss best practices in:

Developing partnerships between employees and managers in career development
Coaching and career conversations to make employees feel supported
Building career paths that create opportunities for internal mobility

3:00pm - 3:45pm Executive Boardroom

Retaining Talent in Times of Uncertainty

In an era of uncertainty, talent management leaders face pressing challenges with CEOs prioritizing growth, AI deployment challenges and shifting labor market pressures on talent strategies. How can HR leaders simultaneously retain talent and meet these goals?

Join this boardroom to discuss:

Modernizing talent management to meet organizational skill needs
Accelerating the readiness of the leadership bench
Growing talent for engagement and performance

3:45pm - 4:00pm Networking Break

4:35pm - 4:45pm Closing Comments and Prize Drawing

4:45pm - 6:00pm Governing Body Reception

Governing Body Reception

Finish the day sharing lessons learned with your peers over light fare and drinks at this closing reception hosted by your governing body members.

November 13, 2025

morning afternoon

Apply to Participate

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Apply to participate in the Washington, DC CHRO Community Executive Summit.

Gartner facilitates exclusive, C-level communities by personally qualifying and understanding the priorities, challenges and interests of each member.

Our selective approach maintains the high quality of the network and ensures top-level discussions with peers from the world’s leading organizations.

Each application will be reviewed, and once your participation is confirmed, you will have access to year-round community programs.

Community Member Criteria

To ensure peer connections and conversations at the highest level, members must meet the following criteria:

- C-level or senior most executive for respective function

- Organization revenue of $500M+

Exceptions are considered.

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We look forward to seeing you at an upcoming in-person gathering

Gartner cares about the health and safety of our community. If you are feeling unwell, please refrain from attending the conference. At this time, Gartner does not have any health-related requirements in place for attendance. Should this change, we will follow up with updated guidance.

Location

Venue & Accommodation

Hilton Washington DC National Mall the Wharf

A block of rooms has been reserved at the Hilton Washington DC National Mall the Wharf at a reduced conference rate. Reservations should be made online or by calling 1800-Hiltons. Please mention 901 to ensure the appropriate room rate.

Deadline to book using the discounted room rate of $306 USD (plus tax) is October 20, 2025.

Reserve Room

Your Community Sponsors

Key Sponsors

Program Sponsor

Community Program Manager

For inquiries related to this community, please reach out to your dedicated contact.

Marissa Bernal

Community Program Manager

432-349-4073

marissa.bernal@gartner.com