HBS Managing the Future of Work

Judith Wiese, Chief People and Sustainability Officer at Siemens, leads global HR and sustainability with a focus on lifelong learning. She discusses a skills-first learning stack, industrial AI tailored to domain-specific work, and using factories as testbeds. Topics include reskilling strategies, cross-country training differences, and aligning talent, leadership, and organization for human-AI collaboration.

Dana Stephenson, co-founder and CEO of Riipen, builds platforms that connect students, employers, and institutions for short project-based learning. She discusses solving co-op access gaps with flexible projects. She explains platform tools that reduce friction, funding models including credit and stipends, government partnerships, rural and adult reskilling reach, and AI templates to help small employers design projects.

Tom Monahan, CEO of Heidrick & Struggles and longtime leader in executive search and workforce strategy, discusses how AI, LinkedIn, and richer data are changing leadership needs. He talks about the rise of AI-fluent leaders, measuring future impact over past CVs, and managing human, contingent, and digital workers in a volatile world.

Josh Bronstein, Head of Global Talent at Bank of America, leads talent acquisition and development with deep experience in leadership and workforce planning. He discusses building internal careers and keeping churn low. He covers AI and digitization, skills-based hiring, local-market focus, manager-led development, and tools for internal mobility and reskilling.

A fast-paced review of 2025 workforce disruptions and how AI began reshaping jobs and organizations. Discussion of skills-first hiring, occupational churn, and new tools mapping local training and jobs. Stories on gig work trends, hybrid AI adoption in firms, and community factors that shape mobility and opportunity.

Lissy Hu, a physician and entrepreneur with an MD/MBA, founded Careport Health and now leads Ascend Learning. In a compelling discussion, she highlights how AI can combat healthcare labor shortages and enhance workforce training. Lissy explains the innovative Clare AI, providing personalized tutoring for students. She also shares insights on navigating M&A strategies to expand training solutions, discusses the critical role of soft skills in leadership, and reflects on the thrill of building strong teams in a rapidly changing industry.

Helen Russell, Chief People Officer at HubSpot, and John Dick, Chief Customer Success Officer, explore how HubSpot navigates its AI transformation. They discuss integrating AI into customer success to enhance workflows and the employee experience. Helen shares tactics for teaching AI fluency, emphasizing the importance of an explorer mindset. John highlights the collaboration between humans and AI as a power boost for customer interactions. The discussion also covers the evolving roles in a tech-driven workplace and the significance of ethics and privacy in AI use.

Micha Kaufman, Co-founder and CEO of Fiverr, shares insights on the evolving gig economy as influenced by AI. He highlights how AI is revolutionizing talent matching and organizational design while cautioning about its limitations. Kaufman discusses the rise of freelance work post-COVID and the emergence of new roles such as data labeling. He also emphasizes the importance of adapting to AI advancements to avoid displacement, envisions a future where AI enhances human talent, and shares practical leadership lessons in navigating change.

Bei Ling, Senior Vice President and Head of HR at Wells Fargo, brings her vast experience from top banks to discuss transformative culture change. She highlights the importance of restoring psychological safety and trust while navigating a turnaround. With a focus on talent strategy and AI integration, she emphasizes reskilling employees and adapting to a multigenerational workforce. Bei shares insights on attracting external talent and implementing responsible AI, showcasing innovative practices that align with the bank's growth ambitions.

The Managing the Future of Work co-chair and podcast co-host examines AI's implications for HR, spells out the competitive stakes in early adoption, and unpacks the technology's disruptive potential for jobs, organizations, and markets. Also, the rise of the CHRO, skills-based hiring, and more.