SHRM India’s UnConference26 to Gather 800+ HR Leaders for Participant-Led Future of Work Summit

For HR practitioners seeking fresh approaches to workplace transformation, SHRM India’s UnConference26 promises a radical departure from lecture-based conventions. With over 800 HR leaders, 100 CXOs, and a speaker roster that includes a former cricket captain alongside private equity and pharma executives, the event’s participatory design challenges the profession to learn not just from talking-head keynotes but from direct, cross-industry dialogue.

SHRM India announced the full speaker line-up for UnConference26, its first-ever participant-led gathering set for July 15–16, 2026 at the Hyderabad International Convention Centre (HICC) Novotel. According to the organization, the event will bring together over 800 HR and business leaders, more than 100 CXOs, 80+ industry experts, and 50+ innovation partners, making it one of the largest and most diverse HR summits in the country this year. The announcement signals a deliberate pivot by SHRM India—the Asia-Pacific and MENA arm of the world’s largest HR professional society—toward experiential, peer-driven learning formats at a time when the post-pandemic workplace is evolving rapidly.

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SHRM India announced the full speaker line-up for UnConference26, its first-ever participant-led gathering set for July 15–16, 2026 at the Hyderabad International Convention Centre (HICC) Novotel.

The timing is significant. India’s corporate landscape is grappling with the return-to-office debate, the integration of AI across HR functions, and a growing emphasis on employee well-being and culture as competitive differentiators. Traditional conferences, with their one-to-many lecture models, have struggled to keep pace with the demand for actionable, immediately applicable insights. UnConference26 is positioned as an antidote. Its philosophy—“less presentation, more participation”—borrows from the unconference movement that originated in the tech community, where attendees set the agenda and the value lies in peer exchange rather than polished slide decks. By adopting this format at scale, SHRM India is testing whether a Fortune 500–grade audience will embrace unstructured, participant-driven dialogue over curated keynotes.

The speaker roster reflects a deliberate cross-pollination of disciplines. Alongside HR and business heavyweights like Achal Khanna, CEO of SHRM APAC & MENA, and Shiv, Operating Partner at Advent Private Equity and Chair of SHRM India Conferences, the list includes unconventional voices: former Indian cricket captain Krishnamachari Srikkanth and Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Co-Chairman G.V. Prasad. The inclusion of elite sports leadership and pharma executives signals an intent to draw lessons from high-performance, high-stakes environments outside the HR echo chamber. This aligns with broader industry thinking that the future of work will be shaped as much by behavioral science, sports psychology, and design thinking as by traditional HR frameworks.

The conference’s structure reinforces the participatory ethos. The 30+ immersive learning experiences span Hot Seat spotlight sessions, Lighthouse Talks drawing from unexpected disciplines, impact addresses, masterclasses, workshops, mentoring pods, and curated networking moments. The format deliberately moves beyond passive listening, aiming to create what the organizers call “space for curiosity, experimentation, fresh thinking, and meaningful dialogue.” For HR leaders in India, who often lament the gap between conference takeaways and on-ground implementation, this design promises a more immediately applicable learning model. The choice of Hyderabad as the venue is also strategic, positioning the event in the heart of India’s rapidly expanding tech and pharma corridor, where talent challenges are acute and innovation in people practices is a boardroom priority.