The morning started with a welcome from Achal Khanna, CEO of SHRM APAC & MENA. Speaking on the theme “Celebrating Work,” she encouraged everyone to look at work not just as a daily routine but as something that brings people together and gives them meaning.
Image Source: SHRM
The first day of the SHRM India Conference 2025 opened with a sense of purpose, turning Taj Palace into a lively hub of conversations about the future of workplaces. More than 2,400 people attended the conference in person, while another 2,100 joined online.
The morning started with a welcome from Achal Khanna, CEO of SHRM APAC & MENA. Speaking on the theme “Celebrating Work,” she encouraged everyone to look at work not just as a daily routine but as something that brings people together and gives them meaning.
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Singer Esther Lalduhawmi Hnamte, joined by a young choir from Ragaaz Studios, presented “A Whole New World.”
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The highlight of the day came soon after: the keynote session by Johnny C. Taylor, Jr., President and CEO of SHRM. In his address, he shared the viewpoint of a global CEO who believes that the workplaces of tomorrow need to be inclusive, purpose-driven, and flexible.
Later, a fireside chat brought together Partha Neog of Vantage Circle and Manu N. Wadhwa of Sony Pictures Networks. Their discussion focused on how AI and digital tools are transforming employee recognition.
Throughout the day, several reports and studies were launched. One major release was “Driving Enterprise Productivity with Agentic AI,” created by SHRM India in partnership with Quantiphi and Google Cloud. This report explored how companies can use AI not just for automation, but to make smarter decisions and enable employees to do their best work.
Another big release came from Keka, the “Inside India’s HR Pay Pulse” report, launched by Achal Khanna and Tapan Acharya. It offered a closer look at how compensation patterns are changing across India. The LinkedIn-SHRM Playbook, titled “Talent Strategy Playbook: The Future Starts Now,” also made its debut.
Speaking about the success of Day 1, Achal Khanna shared an important message: the future of work is not a fight between people and technology. It is about blending AI, empathy, and purpose to create workplaces where everyone thrives.
The day also featured several panel discussions. A special session with Richard Rekhy from Grant Thornton Bharat and Sanjeev Jain from Wipro brought CXOs together to talk about the “new code of work.”
Another major attraction of the day was the set of Masterclasses and Learning Tracks. These sessions gave participants hands-on knowledge about AI, leadership, talent development, and skill transformation. Experts like Shaakun Khanna explored how agentic AI can uplift HR functions, while Sandeep Alur from Microsoft spoke about building “AI-First HR.”
Additional sessions by O.C. Tanner, CFA Institute, ZingHR, Avvanz, Hogan Assessments, and others covered everything from culture building to leadership challenges, AI adoption, social media in hiring and public sector talent strategies.
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