Every profession has its turning points.
For HR, one of the most powerful came decades ago, when companies began replacing the term “personnel department” with “human resources.”
It seemed like a simple rebrand, but anyone who lived through it knows what it meant. That moment was a transformation. It was HR’s declaration that people are the core of the enterprise.
Today, HR stands at another historic threshold. At the HR Technology Conference in Las Vegas, the theme “Be the Change: Drive HR Transformation” carried the same weight as that earlier shift. The difference? This time, the driver of change is technology – AI in particular.
The story unfolding in Las Vegas was one of courage, vision, and responsibility.
Just as HR once redefined its role by stepping out of the back office and into the boardroom, today’s leaders are being called to reinvent the employee experience, decision-making, and even the design of work itself.
Over four packed days, the conference spotlighted how AI, culture, and leadership are converging.
The agenda was a roadmap of HR’s future – from executive summits to AI playgrounds, from keynote insights to real-world case studies.
Here are the highlights, organized around the conference flow.