Chicago CHRO Community
Executive Summit
October 20, 2026 | Chicago Marriott Downtown Magnificent Mile
October 20, 2026
Chicago Marriott Downtown Magnificent Mile
Collaborate with your peers
Get together with Chicago's top CHROs to tackle shared business challenges and critical priorities facing your role today. Participate in this one-day, local program with peer-driven topics and interactive discussions with your true C-level peers.
Join your peers to discuss the most critical issues impacting CHROs today:
Mobilizing Change Ready Leadership in an Uncertain World
Leading Through Change – Building Workforce Resilience and Adaptive Organizations
Guiding an Adaptive Workforce During an Evolution of Workplace Culture
Chicago CHRO Governing Body
The Governing Body Co-Chairs shape the summit agenda, ensuring that all content is driven By CHROs, For CHROs®.
Governing Body Co-Chairs
AJ Brow
White Lodging
CHRO
Kane Calamari
Ace Hardware
SVP & CHRO
Amber Kennelly
William Blair & Company
CHRO
Melanie Tinto
Grainger
CHRO
Randy Yu
Misumi Group
Chief People Officer & SVP HR, Communications, Administration
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 Chicago 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
8:00am - 8:30am Registration & Breakfast
8:30am - 9:15am Keynote
What's Next for the CHRO?
Lilicia Bailey
Sr. EVP & Chief People Officer
CommonSpirit Health
Details coming soon
9:15am - 9:40am Networking Break
9:40am - 10:25am Breakout Session
The Framework Every CHRO Needs
Hosted by Visier
Paul Rubenstein
Chief Evangelist Officer
Visier
CHROs are navigating two transformations: leading enterprise AI workforce transformation with the CEO while reinventing the HR function itself. Drawing on lessons from prior technology shifts and early AI adopters, learn how to meet rising productivity expectations while ensuring people remain the engine of performance, growth, and resilience.
Attendees will gain:
- Clear AI leadership framework for CHROs
- Vision for workforce planning and organization design
- An HR delivery model built to be AI-native
9:40am - 10:25am Executive Boardroom
Rewiring the Organization for Human–AI Collaboration
Hosted by ADP
Katerina Rodriguez
Innovation Leader, Director - Future of Work Strategy
ADP
Win Buren
CHRO
Cook County Health & Hospitals System
Kane Calamari
SVP & CHRO
Ace Hardware
AI investments are outpacing workforce readiness. Skills gaps stall adoption and stifle collaboration between humans and agents. CHROs must collaborate across the organization to align workforce, technology and business strategy to maximize impact.
Join this session to discuss:
- Strategies for reskilling and upskilling the workforce to thrive alongside AI
- Best practices for aligning business units around a unified AI and workforce strategy
- Approaches to redesigning operating models, roles and structures for human-AI collaboration
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
The Generational Advantage: Turning Friction into a Competitive Advantage
Hosted by O.C. Tanner
Organizations with strong generational synergy are 9x more likely to report great work, but only 26% of employees experience this advantage. Generational differences are not obstacles, they’re opportunities often hidden by stereotypes. Drawing on research from the O.C. Tanner Institute on 5,700 employees across 17 countries, this session reveals how to turn generational friction into a strategic advantage.
Join this session to hear new research on:
- Decode generational contracts shaping today’s workforce
- Unlock five drivers of generational synergy
- Align recognition, wellbeing, and technology to generational needs
11:10am - 11:55am Executive Boardroom
Building a Disruption-Prepared Leadership Bench
Hosted by LHH
Aram Lulla
Managing Partner, Executive Search
LHH
Janet Catlett
CHRO
Gibraltar Industries, Inc.
Kim Oren
VP, HR
NCAA
When the unexpected hits, is your leadership bench ready to step up? The core challenge is this: it's hard to prepare for a future no one can predict. How, then, do organizations build a leadership bench that can flex with change they can't anticipate?
Join this boardroom to:
- Identify leadership gaps and succession risks
- Determine what leadership capabilities matter most
- Decide when to build, buy, or borrow leadership talent
11:10am - 11:55am Executive Boardroom
Innovating a Smarter, Simpler Employee Benefit Experience
Hosted by Alight
Karen Frost
SVP, Health & Navigation Solution Leader
Alight
Craig Haydamack
EVP & CHRO
USIC
Benefits complexity is accelerating, employee expectations are rising, and AI is no longer optional. The challenge for CHROs is navigating the growing complexity around choice, multiple providers and varied experiences with speed, clarity, and consistency at scale. We’ll explore how CHROs can balance high-tech innovation with a human touch approach to simplify the complexity with confidence for their people.Join this session to discover:
- Responsible strategies for leveraging unified intelligence to enhance benefits navigation
- Streamlining administration while supporting employees during the moments that matter
- Balancing automation with human expertise anchored in trust, compliance and care
11:55am - 12:30pm Lunch Service
Apply to Participate
Each application is carefully vetted to ensure members meet established criteria, preserving the quality of the network and enabling meaningful, peer‑level discussions among leaders from the world’s leading organizations.
Once you submit your application, a Community Program Manager will schedule a conversation to understand your priorities and interests and complete onboarding, including access to year‑round community events.
Location
Venue & Accommodation
Chicago Marriott Downtown Magnificent MileA block of rooms has been reserved at the Chicago Marriott Downtown Magnificent Mile at a reduced conference rate. Reservations should be made online or by calling 1-877-303-0104. Please mention Gartner CHRO Executive Summit to ensure the appropriate room rate.
Deadline to book using the discounted room rate of $409 USD (plus tax) is September 28, 2026.
Your Community Sponsors
CHRO Thought Leader
Key Sponsors
Program Sponsors
Community Program Manager
For inquiries related to this community, please reach out to your dedicated contact.
