The 2026 Programme

REGISTRATION & NETWORKING

Chair's welcome and opening comments

Darren Sanderson-Williams, General Manager, Specsavers

Retail HR Scene Setter: Putting your own oxygen mask on first - HR in retail in challenging times

The economic headwinds of increasing costs in a flat/declining market means that retail organisations are facing challenges without necessarily communicating them affectively to teams. How can we support leaders to deliver high performance in an era when employees are not always engaged as they fear the unknown with the current economic climate and inevitable job uncertainty.

• Motivating teams in a business where’s there’s limited growth
• Managing change, both rapid growth and down-sizing
• Developing good culture when budgets are being cut
• Engaging your teams with little or no budget
• Ensuring the HR agenda is relevant, current and supported by the SLT
• The importance of brand and vision in a cultural transition - HR as ‘culture agents’

Ryan Cheyne, Interim Group Head of People, VetPartners

Retail HR Insights Panel: Talent retention succession planning - engagement to thrive at work

• Retention - meeting the expectations of new and great talent
• Decreasing the level of staff turnover - particularly at store level
• Incentives and benefits packages fit for an entire workforce
• How can we drive a more flexible workforce?
• Upskilling the workforce – driving internal mobility through re-skilling and continuous learning
• What specific strategies can organisations implement to retain staff?
• Identifying current and future skill gaps across the organisation

Maria Long, Senior HR Business Partner / Head of People, John Lewis Partnership
Emma Driscoll, HR Manager, Rough Trade
Suresh Banarse, Founder, Surety Commercial HR

NETWORKING COFFEE BREAK

Retail HR Perspectives: The future of retail digital transformation - use of AI with the HR function

Streamlined workforce planning, prediction and management are just a few benefits that can be unlocked by clever strategic tools and technology, enabling HR to have the agility to quickly realign as priorities change. With the increase in technology how can we ensure we retain the ‘people / human’ part of the business.

• Utilising technologies to streamline certain functions and ensuring successful roll out
• Why data integrity is crucial - how to ensure AI-driven workforce planning delivers real value
• Implementing a new HR system in a business which isn’t tech savvy
• Engagement with HR / ATS systems
• Effective workforce management and talent development - how can HR utilise AI?
• How to harness your HCM data and enhance the employee experience
• How AI can help enrich retail jobs and act as a staff retention driver

Rosamond de Jonge, Head of HR Shared Services, Centre Parcs
Nicola Kowalczuk, Chief Growth Officer, JD Sports Fashion 

NETWORKING LUNCH BREAK

HR Retail Learning Lab: Lazy or liberated - the hidden human cost of AI in retail

Employees increasingly turn to AI for efficiency and endless ideas. But in our retail teams it carries hidden costs. Emails start to sound generic. Relationships feel thinner. Confidence in our own ability to think, write, and decide has already started to erode.

In this interactive workshop, we’ll explore the impact of AI on human connection and creative confidence, and all this really matters in retail - an industry built on people. Our speaker will focus on where AI helps and where it doesn’t - to co-create a manifesto for using AI in a way that protects and enhances our organisation’s creativity and culture.

Rob Savin, former Marketing Director, Alpkit; Co-founder, Super Infinite

HR Retail Legal Spotlight: Are you ready for the new employment laws - the impact on retail

This session will delve into the details and provide insights into key reforms introduced by the Employment Rights Act 2025, examining their practical implications and how businesses need to adapt. We’ll also explore other significant employment law changes coming into effect this year.

• Employment Rights Act 2025 - key reforms impacting retailers, including changes to unfair dismissal rights, zero-hour contracts, ‘fire and rehire’, collective consultation, and harassment protections
• The cost implications of minimum wage increases and changes to Statutory Sick Pay
• Preparing effectively for these changes - key priorities for your organisation to focus on

Helen Kidd, Employment Partner, Irwin Mitchell

James Lomax, Legal Director, Irwin Mitchell

NETWORKING COFFEE BREAK

Retail Strategy Perspectives - From shop floor to c-suite - recognising the importance of belonging in the workplace

• Aligning with industry standards around DEI / ERG’s with minimal resource
• Managing and developing a multi-generational workforce
• Adapting training and development to meet neurodivergent needs
• How do we remove barriers around disability for employees?
• How can HR leaders create a culture which transcends intergenerational differences
• The power of authenticity and representation

Leanna Brennan, Senior People Partner, Wingstop UK
Chris Shearer-Wright, Senior EDI & Community Partnerships Manager, Oliver Bonas
Jane Cubbin, Diversity & Inclusion Manager, TransPennine Express

Retail Community Panel: How retailers are supporting reorganisation, redundancy and re-engagement through difficult change

Across the retail sector, cost pressure and transformation programmes are driving an unprecedented wave of restructures and redundancies. This highly interactive, Chatham House Rules panel brings together experienced HR leaders to share insight, practical ideas and honest reflection on how retailers can support people well and innovatively - while still protecting performance, reputation and long-term value - alongside supporting the emotional and organisational toil on their own teams. The session will explore:

• How organisations are supporting people at risk or leaving - the role of EAPs, career transition, outplacement and technology
• How to care for and re-engage remaining employees, rebuild confidence and sustain performance with smaller teams
• Why employee experience must be treated with the same discipline as customer experience
• How organisations are reframing roles, re-prioritising work and redesigning ways of working for the next phase of retail
• The work of the Retail Trust and Fashion & Textile Children’s Trust supporting employers and employees through these periods of change

Ellie Thorpe, Head of People Services, Lincolnshire Co-op
Sharon Benson, former Operational Effectiveness Director, Boots 
Lucy Melling, former Director of People Services, Pets at Home
Sarah Day, former Chief People Officer. Stella McCartney
Liz Jewitt-Cross, Founder & Advisory Partner, Future HR & The Coaching Solution

Chair's closing comments