Conference begins

Lamp Lighting

Inaugural Address
Future of Work - Redesigning Work for Cognition, Not Just Tasks
Dr Saundarya Rajesh, Managing Director, Avtar Career Creators Limited

Lightning Talks: The Next HR Stack
1. The Biggest Risk isn’t AI, It is blind trusting AI
Don't believe everything. Question before you click. Spot AI's blind spots. Keep humans in charge. Trust, but always verify. Judgment beats automation. Think beyond the prompt. Use AI, wisely.
Bindu Muralidharan, Head, HR, Merit Data 
2. Unlearning Is the New Upskilling
Ramethy Gajapathi, Associate Director – TA, Moder

3. Unlearning Is the New Upskilling
Arathi L Kurup, Global Lead – DEI, Biocon Biologics

CXO Panel Discussion
Talent Liquidity: The End of the “Employment” Contract 
Preparing for an organization where the boundaries between "full-time employee,” “AI agent,” and “external expert” blur entirely, we begin focusing on “Relationship Lifecycle Management.” This session focuses on how to facilitate a fluid talent ecosystem where people move in and out of the company in a non-linear way. It challenges the fear of turnover by viewing former employees as “Alumni Partners” and current employees as “Mission-Based Contributors,” fundamentally rewriting the psychological contract of loyalty.

Kapil Mahajan, Global CHRO, Aequs Limited

Vieshaka L Dutta, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Lead, Publicis Sapient India and APAC

Dr Vishal Shah, VP- Leadership & Organization Development, Indegene

Karthik Ekambaram, Chief of Sales, Avtar Career Creators Limited (Moderator) 

MyAvtar Career Conference 2026 Awards 

The Awards are to recognize and celebrate individuals and organizations on the following categories:

For Individuals
• Early Career Excellence
• Career Achievers
• Career Icons
• Career Comeback Champions
• Inspiring Second Career Women
• Lifetime Impact Awards

For Organizations & Academic Institutions
• Excellence in Hiring
• Excellence in Talent Development
• Excellence in L&D
• HR Bot of the year

Guest of Honor Address
Dr. T V Rao, Chairman, TVRLS

Chief Guest Address

Rekha Mehrotra Menon, Independent Board Director and Advisor to corporates & startups; ex-Chairperson & Senior Managing Director, Accenture India

SKILLING TRACKS 

Skilling tracks are built as interactive sessions designed to equip individuals with practical tools in the workplace. Each session focuses on building some key skills. These sessions will be hands-on workshops led by subject matter experts to provide actionable insights to elevate every professional’s journey.

Skilling Track:
• Cultural Debt in the Age of Automation
Shalini Seshadri, Head of HR, Paychex India

• Invisible Wellbeing: Preventing Burnout in an Always-On Digital Environment
Ema Acharya, Senior Manager - People Strategy, Publicis Sapient 

• Avtar Certified Career Coach: Curtain Raiser
Dr Nandini Murali, Sr VP – Research & Solutions, Avtar Career Creators Limited 

Skilling Track:
• From Any Career to an HR Career
Swapna Anathakrishna, Director HR & CSR, Honeywell India

• Why Gen Z Is Rewriting Total Rewards  
Irsheta Dasgupta, Senior Analyst, Capco – a Wipro Company 

Panel Discussion  

Would You Rather Work for Miranda Priestly or Play Squid Game?

Miranda Priestly represents a hierarchy-driven culture where one person's judgment defines success. Squid Game represents a rules-driven culture where the system itself creates the pressure, and no single leader can be held accountable. Both are used as extremes to help the audience locate where real workplace practices, past and present, fall between them.

Abhijit S, Social Media Influencer and L&D Professional 

Gireesha D R, Engineering Leader, Trane Technologies  

Ritika Thakur, Senior Director – Strategy CCO, Honeywell Technologies  

Sonali Agarwal, Associate Director- Digital Services, LHT Services India Limited 

Lakshmi Vijaykumar, VP – Marcom & Events, Avtar Career Creators Limited (Moderator)  

Vote of Thanks

Explore & Engage: All Tracks are Now Live. We now open the other tracks – Mentoring & Career