Strategic HR
Adam Mesh on rethinking leadership, talent, and work in the age of AI
As the world marks International HR Day, Adam Mesh shares why empowering teams, enabling collaboration, and authentic human-centric leadership are critical to business success.
For a leader whose philosophy is deeply rooted in the belief that leadership is about supporting the team rather than sitting above it, Adam Mesh, Chief People Officer at Equiniti (EQ), offers a refreshing perspective. While organisations are often seen as pyramids with leaders at the top, he views leadership differently, by flipping that pyramid upside down.
For Mesh leadership is about supporting people: removing obstacles, enabling teams to take ownership, helping individuals grow in their careers, and creating an environment where they can do their best work.
Leading a global people function, his focus remains on empowering teams, encouraging collaboration and ideas, and ensuring employees feel motivated to contribute meaningfully. He believes that when leaders create the right conditions for success, both people and the business thrive together.
Fittingly, as organisations around the world mark International HR Day 2026, Mesh’s insights arrive at a moment when the role of HR leadership is becoming more strategic, human-centric, and business-critical than ever before.
In this exclusive conversation, Mesh shares insights on how leadership, talent strategy, and employee experience are being reshaped in a rapidly evolving world of work. From the growing influence of AI and people analytics to the enduring importance of culture, inclusion, and human connection, the discussion offers a grounded perspective on what it takes to build resilient, future-ready organisations.
How digital-first work is reshaping global talent practices
Talent strategies today are increasingly becoming a blend of traditional approaches and digital-first practices, especially as AI continues to reshape the workplace.
At Equiniti, AI is being used across talent acquisition to improve sourcing, screening, and identifying the best candidates more efficiently. Embracing these technologies is important for organisations looking to attract, develop, and retain top talent.
At the same time, leadership decisions around hiring and development still rely heavily on human judgment. Cultural fit, alignment with organisational values, adaptability, and a growth mindset are qualities that technology alone cannot fully assess.
That’s why the future of talent management will continue to be a balance between AI-driven insights and traditional, human-centric evaluation methods, combining analytics and automation with the personal connection and judgment that remain critical to building strong teams.
EQ’s intersection of global strategy and local capability
EQ India will continue to play an even bigger role in Equiniti’s growth journey. Today, more than half of the company’s workforce is already based in India, with a significant shift of work moving from the U.S. and U.K. operations over the years.
The organisation sees India’s strong talent pool, particularly in technology and AI capabilities, as central to its next phase of growth. These capabilities will not only strengthen operations but also help drive innovation and future readiness across the business.
While Equiniti India has traditionally supported the company’s U.S. and U.K. operations, the recent acquisition of Notify, a 1,000-employee company spread across 20 locations, has expanded the organisation into a far more globally distributed workforce.
Going forward, India is expected to play a key role in supporting this broader global ecosystem, leveraging its deep talent and technical expertise to enable the company’s continued success.
From roles to skills: redefining workforce planning
The rise of generative AI is pushing organisations to rethink workforce development, and at Equiniti, the focus is on upskilling employees at every level. The company is rolling out “AI for Everyone” learning programmes alongside more advanced AI training to help employees use technology to innovate, improve efficiency, and strengthen a customer-first approach.
At the same time, the organisation believes traditional human skills remain equally important.
Communication, collaboration, customer-centricity, and a growth mindset continue to be core capabilities the company wants to strengthen, regardless of how technology evolves.
Alongside AI upskilling, Equiniti is also placing greater emphasis on talent management and career development. The focus is on understanding employees’ aspirations, building programmes around skills development, and creating clearer pathways for career growth so employees can reach their full potential within the organisation.
Making employee experience organic
Employee experience is not about ping pong tables, office perks, or company merchandise, although those things can certainly add value. The real foundation of a strong employee experience comes from delivering the core elements that make a meaningful and fulfilling career journey.
First, employees want career growth. They want to see a future within the organisation, develop new skills, and feel that their leaders understand and support their aspirations.
Second, meaningful work matters. People want to contribute to work that has purpose, creates impact, and helps customers and the broader organisation succeed.
And finally, culture plays a critical role. Employees want to feel heard, treated fairly, and part of a collaborative environment where they can genuinely make a difference.
These are fundamentally human and timeless aspects of employee experience. While technology and AI will continue to evolve, the importance of growth, purpose, fairness, and culture is unlikely to change.
Balancing analytics and human judgement in HR
Both people analytics and human judgement are equally important. Too often, HR is still seen as a “soft” function rather than one driven by analytics and business data. But an effective people function needs to be just as data-driven as finance, using hard numbers and insights to support business decisions.
At Equiniti, the company is strengthening this capability by investing in people analytics leadership and building more robust employee dashboards and data systems. The goal is to equip business leaders with meaningful workforce insights so they can make informed decisions around talent, performance, and business growth.
At the same time, data alone is not enough. The real value of the People function lies in helping leaders interpret that data and make balanced decisions that are right for employees, customers, and the business overall.
Alongside analytics, HR’s role is to provide strategic counsel, context, and guidance to ensure those decisions drive long-term organisational success.
The future of leadership: what works and where leaders still fall short
This ultimately comes back to balancing technology with human connection. In today’s global and AI-driven environment, organisations need to embrace new ways of working, adapt to evolving technologies, and understand the opportunities AI can bring to the workplace.
At the same time, with Equiniti now operating across more than 20 countries, it’s equally important to recognise and appreciate the diversity of experiences, perspectives, and cultures within a global workforce.
Alongside embracing innovation, the organisation also believes in holding employees accountable not only for business outcomes, but for how they achieve them, how they collaborate, support one another, and bring their best selves to work every day.
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