Achal Khanna is the CEO of SHRM in India, Asia Pacific & MENA region. SHRM is the world’s largest professional association devoted to human resource & people management. With 340,000+ members in 183 countries, it is the world’s largest HR professional association, impacting the lives of 362 million workers every day.

Achal is responsible for building SHRM APAC & MENA brand, expanding its business, and developing professional relationships with government agencies as well as other HR and business associations.

Dedicated to promoting women’s empowerment, improving work culture, and nurturing leadership development, she works closely with individuals and organizations to advocate for inclusive workplaces where everyone can thrive and contribute meaningfully. Recognized with the prestigious “Best Women Executive in India” award, she continuously strives to push boundaries and overcome challenges.

With over three decades of proven leadership, she has consistently demonstrated the ability to navigate complex business landscapes with clarity and finesse. As Managing Director of Kelly India Operations, she led high-impact strategic initiatives with precision and purpose. During her tenure as Vice President at GE, she championed business growth and innovation through transformative strategies. As Country Manager at Polaroid India, she spearheaded market expansion, reinforcing the brand’s presence in a competitive landscape. Her earlier roles at DuPont, ITC, and the Cosmo Group have further enriched her perspective, providing her with deep, cross-industry insights that continue to shape her holistic and future-focused leadership style.

She is a member of SHRM’s global executive team and also serves as an independent director on the boards of select public and private companies in India.

She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and a Master’s in English Literature, along with an MBA from New Delhi. Additionally, she has completed the Management Development Program (MDP) at IIM Ahmedabad.

Sid Ahmed Benraouane, is a globally recognized expert in AI governance, ethics, and strategy, I bring over 20 years of experience advising senior leaders in the government and private sector across the US, Europe, and the Middle East. He specializes in crafting and implementing legislative frameworks for AI management systems, risk management, AI trustworthiness, and AI maturity assessment, ensuring organizations navigate the complexities of emerging technologies while maintaining ethical integrity. As a member expert of the USA Working Group 1 at ISO, he contributed to developing many AI standards (42001 Management System, 42005 Impact Assessment, and others). Before that, he led an ISO country Working Group in charge of developing ISO 56001:2024 Innovation Management System.

From guiding the Dubai Government in building its foresight and innovation ecosystem to coaching organizations on AI management systems, He empowers leaders to make data-driven, future-focused decisions. His expertise ensures that organizations remain agile, accountable, and prepared for the transformative impact of AI and emerging technologies.

Business leaders seeking ISO certification, conformity assessment, or guidance on how to put together an AI Governance framework that is complaint with the EU AI Act, and the new ISO Standard 42001 AI Management System, can find step-by-step guidance in his recent book on AI Management Systems ISO 42001 published in 2024 by CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group.

Pallav is a distinguished leader with nearly two decades of expertise in industries like HCM, SaaS/PaaS, HR outsourcing, and recognition and rewards. His deep knowledge in HR technology, Rewards and Recognition programs makes him a sought-after speaker in the HR space. With a strong foundation in consulting, recognition strategy, and HR solutions, Pallav is known for simplifying complex products and translating them into actionable insights for entrepreneurs, HR leaders and professionals. 

His ability to demystify HR technologies, particularly in the recognition and rewards domain, empowers organizations to optimize their HR strategy and boost workforce engagement. Pallav’s extensive experience, combined with his impactful skills, makes him a valuable voice at industry events. He highlights how cutting-edge technologies, and strategic frameworks can streamline HR processes and elevate employee recognition initiatives.

Shilpa specialises in designing and implementing strategic human resource initiatives that drive organisational growth and enable transformational change. She has over 25 years of working experience in private and government organisations. Working and living in the UK, India, Caribbean, Southeast Asia, and the UAE has given her a rich understanding of cultural nuances and values. Experiences across diverse geographic locations has enriched her regional business insights, enabling me to deliver contextually relevant, best -in-class HR practices and create greater value for organisations.

She has been working for over a decade, as a Consultant Advisor, with the HR department in Ras Al Khaimah Government, UAE. She advises the Government on designing policy, strategic HR processes and systems aligned with national priorities, building leadership pipelines, and fostering a high -performance culture. With extensive expertise in succession and talent management strategies, leadership assessments, and delivering impactful development interventions, she enables current and future leaders to thrive. Recognised for providing strategic counsel to executive leaders, she leads transformative HR practices that drive sustainable organisational performance.

Mark C. Thompson is a world-renowned authority and top speaker on Leadership, Driving Change and Innovation, and Sales Growth through Customer and Employee Engagement. He consults for Fortune 500 and Global Fortune 1000 companies, advising top leaders in organizations worldwide as well as the executive teams who are leading high growth startup companies in Silicon Valley today. Forbes called him one of “America’s Top Venture Investors with the ‘Midas Touch’”.

Thompson was recently featured as one of the “World’s Top Executive Coaches” by the American Management Association and #1 thought leader on Innovation and Engagement. He was named one of the “Top 30 Communications Professionals for 2015” by Global Gurus.

Formerly Charles Schwab’s Chief of Staff and Chief Customer Experience Officer, Thompson was the Executive Producer of Schwab.com which today has assets over $2.4 Trillion. He is a co-founder of Sir Richard Branson’s Entrepreneurship Centres and an advisor to Virgin Unite Entrepreneurs. He has recently been asked to join The World Bank Advisory Council as their key authority on growth and innovation.

Thompson is a founding advisor of the Stanford Realtime Venture Design Lab, and is a visiting scholar at his alma mater, Stanford University. He has served as faculty at the World Economic Forum and World Business Forum, is a member of the Clinton Initiative, and an executive coach for TED Fellows.

Thompson is a New York Times bestselling author, an executive coach, a venture capitalist and an Innovation Leadership columnist for Forbes.com, Inc.com and FastCompany.com. His books include: ADMIRED: 21 Ways to Double Your Value; Now Build a Great Business; and Success Built to Last – Creating a Life that Matters. His most recent bestseller ADMIRED is a primer on how the “Most Admired Companies” achieve long-term success and growth as well as research on the qualities that are common to the World’s “Most Admired Leaders” and most important to their most engaged employees.

Among Thompson’s passions are music and Broadway. He serves as a founding Board of Directors member for Smule, the top music app company on iTunes. As a Broadway producer, his plays have earned five Tony Awards and ten nominations, including Peter and the StarCatcher with Disney, and StickFly with Alicia Keys.

SHRM’s announcement of Mark C. Thompson as CEO Academy’s new Chief Executive Officer

Mark C. Thompson: Currently serving as the chairman of the Chief Executive Alliance, a CEO community for C-level peer coaching and leadership development, Mr. Thompson brings over three decades of experience in C-Suite leadership. He has coached executives in world-class organizations, from Pinterest co-founder Evan Sharp and World Bank CEO Dr. Jim Yong Kim to visionaries such as Richard Branson, Charles Schwab, and Steve Jobs. Thompson, previously Schwab’s chief of staff, chief customer experience officer, and executive producer of Schwab.com, will assume the role of CEO for CEO Academy.

Ben Renshaw is one of today’s foremost leadership thinkers. Speaker, Executive Coach and Author, Ben’s innovative work with leading organizations, senior executives and entrepreneurs has brought him international acclaim. Formerly a classical violinist, Ben now plays a different tune, getting the best out of people. He writes about how to lead and be successful in today’s volatile world and is the author of eleven popular books including How to be a CEO, LoveWork, Being, Purpose, LEAD and SuperCoaching.

Ben’s signature keynotes include Leading with Purpose, and Performance with Purpose. As an executive coach and leadership consultant Ben has worked with clients including Allen & Overy, Aman Resorts, Barclays, Britvic, BT, Choice Hotels, Diageo, Entrepreneurs Organization, Ghirardelli, Government Communication Services, Heathrow, Heinz, Henley Business School, Imperial Business School, Inspired Villages, Intercontinental Hotels Group, KPMG, Lindt Canada, M&S, National Highways, P&G, Sainsbury’s, Sky, Transport for London, UBS, Unilever, Virgin Media and Warner Bros.

Dr. Fermin Diez has ample experience in human resources, which includes consulting, corporate, academic, and board roles in 40 countries in all continents.

As a consultant he has advised major multinationals, large local companies and public sector organisations at the Board and C-Suite levels in topics related to Total Rewards, Executive Compensation, Sales Compensation, Human Capital Strategy and .HR Analytics.

As an HR leader, he has been Regional Head of HR for two large MNCs in AsiaPac and in Latin America. He is the former Deputy CEO and Group Head of Human Resources for Singapore’s National Council for Social Service, where he is still active as a Senior Advisor.

As an academic, he has won awards as an Adjunct Professor at the National University of Singapore, at Singapore Management University and at Nanyang Technological University. He has written three books: ‘Human Capital and Global Business Strategy’, ‘The Remuneration Handbook: International Edition’ and ‘Fundamentals of HR Analytics’. He currently blogs about ChatGPT for HR and on the Future of Pay.

Fermin is also a recognized HR thought leader and was named as a Top HR Influencer in Asia. He is a frequent speaker at regional and global fora on topics related to compensation, strategic HR, talent management and development, career planning, HRTech, public sector HR practices and HR Analytics. He is chief content facilitator for TR2050, a global think tank devoted to finding better ways to pay employees to support the future of work. Most recently, he shared the stage with Prof Dave Ulrich and Dr Max Blumberg on a three-day workshop on HR Transformation.

He also serves, or has served, on Boards and HR Committees for Organizations in Singapore and abroad. Fermin is also a former member of the Board of Directors of the Institute of HR Professionals, where he Chaired the Assessments and Insights Committee and as the Dean of HR Education. He currently sits on the Singapore HR Institute Council and Exco and is a Governing Council member of the Singapore Institute of Directors.

Fermin obtained his PhD from Singapore Management University, his MBA from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania and his undergraduate degree in Psychology from the University of Michigan.