
HR Director Conference | Africa 2022

Planning for and shaping the future of work
Join HR leaders and top brands to cover some the most pressing issues facing HR leaders today and with a view of what’s to come! The world has gone through profound disruption with great change which has transformed the way society operates and how individuals interact and work. Disruptive innovations are creating new industries and business models, and destroying old or ineffective ones. We have all witnessed an atscale shift to remote work, the reallocation of resources, and the acceleration of digitization and automation to meet changing individual and organizational needs. Most organisations have by and large met the challenges of the moment, but as we move in the direction of picturing what a postpandemic era or future might be, leaders need to reimagine and relook at models that are no longer relevant to how people communicate, collaborate and work today and in the future. HR leaders need to rethink workforce and employee planning, management, performance and experience strategies. As generations collide, workforces become more diverse and people work longer, and from anywhere in the world; traditional career models may soon become a thing of the past. Many of the roles or job titles of tomorrow will be ones we’ve not even thought of or conceptualised yet. Many companies are pushing HR to take a more active role in redefining how and where work gets done with initiatives such as redesigning the physical work environment, implementing a new organizational structure, and enabling transformational change.
A recent report by McKinsey suggests that future-ready companies share three characteristics: they know what they are and what they stand for; they operate with a fixation on speed and simplicity; and they grow by scaling up their ability to learn and innovate. HR can help propel this transformation by facilitating positive change in these three key areas. Another key element that came out was that of creating more people-centric policies where many heads of HR said they were eager to shift to a model we have come to call “back to human.” Gartner also recently surveyed 2 hundreds of HR executives across 60 countries and across industries to assess HR priorities and expected challenges and found that building critical skills and competencies tops the list, with many HR leaders indicating they will be prioritizing change management, leadership, and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.
With this in mind, it’s time to ensure that you as an HR leader are developing yourself and remaining relevant. Keep your finger on the pulse of local and international HR trends by joining the HR Director Conference 2022 – an event which is designed exclusively for HR decision makers. This conference provides a platform to engage with leading thinkers and fellow HR leaders during a two-day online conference (9-10 March). Hear others leaders’ experiences, challenges, and lessons learnt. Gain some clarity, reassurance and inspiration from other leaders in the room. This is an ideal opportunity to learn, share and leave with fresh ideas, motivation and actionable insights to continue leading through change and prepare you and your function for the new and evolving work reality.
Why Attend?
- Engage in provocative discussions with leading-edge thinkers who are shaping the workforce and delve into topics that deepen your understanding of vital issues impacting business.
- Discover trends, challenges, opportunities and next steps for HR leaders in a hyper-digitised workplace
- Prepare your organisation for the future of work and identify skills that the company will need in the future, along with developmental approaches to close any gaps.
- Participate in discussions on how to meet the challenges brought forward by new hybrid work environments and an increasingly diverse workforce
- Tips to get the most out of your people and set leaders up for success
- Prepare your HR function to deliver great business impact and lead your organisation through uncertainty
- Build a company culture that is able to withstand disruption and enable strategic transformation
- Virtual experience: connect with other attendees, speakers and exhibitors/sponsors. The virtual platform will allow attendees to organise one-on-one meetings, exchange business cards/contact details during the event as well as participate in online discussions and share resources.
Who should attend?
- HR Directors
- HR Business Partners
- Human Resources Managers
- HR Officers
- Talent Directors and Managers
- HR Consultants
REGISTRATION FEES (excl. VAT)
Option A: 8 March 2022 | Workshop 1 or 2 R2 800 excl. vat
Option B: 9-10 March 2022 | Two day conference R7 500 excl. vat
Option C: 8-10 March 2022 | Three days R8 800 excl. vat
Option D: 9 March 2022 only – Day one only R3 850 excl. vat
Option E: 10 March 2022 only | Day two only R3 850 excl. vat
By registering for this event I confirm that I am aware that my data will be shared with the partner of this conference (i.e. Sponsors) for the purposes specified in the privacy policy.
(Privacy Policy)
Hourly Schedule
Day 1 - 9 March 2022
- 08:50 - 09:00
- Welcome and opening of conference
- 09:00 - 09:45
- The Post Pandemic Boom: Step From the Now into the Next
- Abdullah Verachia, Global Future Strategist and CEO, The Strategists
Speakers:
Abdullah Verachia
- 09:45 - 10:30
- Building a Future-proof Organisation. Prepare your people for unpredictable changes
- Ceri Mongie, Country Manager, SHL South Africa
Speakers:
Ceri Mongie
- 10:30 - 11:00
- Morning break
- 11:00 - 11:45
- How AI can make work more human and build an agile workforce
- Zoë Vince, Director: HR Transformation, Oracle
Speakers:
Zoë Vince
- 12:00 - 12:45
- Breakaway 1 | How can we build skills and leaders for the future now!
- Anita Carollisen, Chief Executive: People Support, Pep AND Suhail Ramkilawan, Senior Solutions Architect, SHL AND Alison Boruchowitz, Head of People and Organisation SA, Puma Group AND Jon Foster-Pedley, Dean and Director, Henley Business School SA
Speakers:
Alison Boruchowitz, Anita Carollisen, Jon Foster-Pedley, Suhail Ramkilawan
- 12:00 - 12:45
- Breakaway 2 | Increasing Social Capital – Through Employee Engagement, Experience and Belonging (Case study)
- Dr Thuli Tabudi, Group Human Resources Executive, The Spar Group
Speakers:
Thuli Tabudi
- 12:45 - 13:45
- Lunch break
- 13:45 - 14:30
- Breakaway 1 | Creating a culture of care: improving mental health and wellbeing at work
- Navlika Ratangee, Managing Director, ICAS (Editor of Improving Mental Health in the Workplace)
Speakers:
Navlika Ratangee
- 13:45 - 14:30
- Breakaway 2 | In search of diversity, equity, belonging and inclusion: Nurturing inclusion & psychological safety in your organisation
- Dr Preeya Daya, Academic Director, Achievement Awards Group and Senior Lecturer at Allan Gray Centre (Editor of 12 Lenses into Diversity in South Africa)
Speakers:
Dr Preeya Daya
- 14:30 - 15:00
- Afternoon break
- 15:00 - 15:45
- The social economics of work and productivity *** International Speaker***
- Yves Morieux, Managing Director and Senior Partner, Boston Consulting Group
Speakers:
Yves Morieux
- 15:45 - 16:30
- The HR leaders’ role in leading digitalization and accelerating a work from anywhere future
- Duncan Roberts, Manager: Centre for the future of work EMEA, Cognizant
Speakers:
Duncan Roberts
- 16:30
- Wrap up of conference day 1
Day 2 - 10 March 2022
- 08:50 - 09:00
- Welcome back
- NATASHA WINKLER-TITUS, Founder, SigniFYER, Organisational Psychologist (HPCSA/SIOPSA Past President 2020/21), Snr. Lecturer at Stellenbosch University Business School
Speakers:
Dr Natasha Winkler-Titus
- 09:00 - 09:45
- How we build teams that move at the speed of culture
- Theresa Cook, Head of Talent Development EMEA, Tik Tok (International Speaker)
Speakers:
Theresa Cook
- 09:45 - 10:30
- Discussion | The changing HR agenda: How HR is taking the lead in building and championing the future of work
- Jasmin Pillay, HR Director, Microsoft AND Hope Lukoto, Chief HR Officer, BCX AND Athol Swanepoel, HR Director (East and South Africa), Nestle AND Avanthi Maharaj, HR Lead, Google SA
Speakers:
Athol Swanepoel, Avanthi Maharaj, Hope Lukoto, Jasmin Pillay
- 10:30 - 11:00
- Morning break
- 11:00 - 11:45
- Breakaway 1 | Performance management and targets for the ‘new normal’
- Lindiwe Sebesho, Executive Head: Human Capital and Reward Lead, Barloworld
Speakers:
Lindiwe Sebesho
- 11:00 - 11:45
- Breakaway 2 | Create more meaningful engagement and experience: How to shape the future employee experience in the work from anywhere age
- Tshepo Yvonne Mosadi, HR Director, Heineken
Speakers:
Tshepo Yvonne Mosadi
- 12:00 - 12:45
- Breakaway 1 | From best practices to digital next practices - Is HR still relevant?
- Thami Msubo, GenGM, Group HR Services, Toyota South Africa Motors
Speakers:
Thami Msubo
- 12:00 - 12:45
- Breakaway 2 | Investec hybrid working model: how we go about building a human centric, future-proof organisation?
- Lesley-Anne Gatter, Head of People and Organisation, Investec
Speakers:
Lesley-Anne Gatter
- 12:45 - 13:30
- Lunch break
- 13:30 - 14:15
- Breakaway 1 | Talent mobility as a strategic imperative
- Michele Seroke, Chief People Officer, Motus
Speakers:
Michele Seroke
- 13:30 - 14:15
- Breakaway 2 | Agile HR and Agile Leadership in the workplace
- Anja Van Beek, Agile Talent Strategist – Leadership Expert and Executive Coach
Speakers:
Anja Van Beek
- 14:15 - 15:00
- Breakaway 1 | Data-driven and digital working in HR
- Erik van Vulpen, Founder, Academy to Innovate HR (AIHR)
Speakers:
Erik van Vulpen
- 14:15 - 15:00
- Breakaway 1 | The new HR capability model
- Wilhelm Crous, Managing Director, KR AND Sthembiso Phakathi, Director: Human Capital, Deloitte AND Dr Shirley Zinn, Professor Shirley Zinn, Director on Boards and Author of Swimming Upstream
Speakers:
Prof Shirley Zinn, Sthembiso Phakathi, Wilhelm Crous
- 15:00 - 15:15
- Quick break
- 15:15 - 16:00
- Growing ecosystem thinking at RMB: Key insights from our journey thus far
- Dr Ilka Dunne, Global Head of Leadership and Culture, RMB
Speakers:
Dr Ilka Dunne
- 16:00
- Wrap up and close of conference




























