Setting the pace for the TechHR Conclave, the opening session saw visionary leaders Rudy Karsan, GM, Kenexa & Smarter Workforce, IBM, Debjani Ghosh, VP, Sales and Marketing Group, MD, South Asia, Intel Corporation and Frank Ricciardi, VP & GM, Asia-Pacific at Cornerstone OnDemand connecting technology with the current, future, strategic, functional and operational aspects of the HR domain.

Rudy had a very optimistic view of the future and said that innovation was happening on a daily basis, one just needed to ride the waves. Debjani talked about the progression of moving from a good company to a great company. She stated that the three things world leaders were depending on to bring that about were globalization, economic volatility and disruptive innovation. Business leaders now consider good people as the most serious aspect of business. Debjani also debated if HR was ready to handle this new condition. This would require meaningful business discussions with analytics to measure every aspect of people management. In the future, HR could lead the transformation by adding value to the business. She stated that technology will not only take HR to the next level, but transform it. Frank stated that companies need to move away from automation and process and focus on the people. It was the need of the hour to embrace consumerism of the enterprise and create a common and easy platform. He however stressed that the need of the hour was to put people at the center.