GURUGRAM, India, Feb. 16, 2026 -- The Economic Times is set to host the 6th edition of the NexTech Human Capital India Summit 2026, India's most influential and future-focused platform at the intersection of human capital, technology and business transformation. Workday has joined forces as a Presenting Partner for the two-day summit that will convene 2,000+ CHROs, CXOs, business leaders, policymakers, technologists and HR innovators, alongside 80+ global and Indian speakers and 100+ HR technology partners, making it one of the largest and most impactful HR gatherings in the country.
Positioned as a definitive forum for shaping India's people and workplace agenda, NexTech Human Capital India Summit 2026 will spotlight how organisations can harness the power of AI, digital intelligence and human ingenuity to build resilient, agile and future-ready enterprises.
Global Icons, CEOs and India's Most Influential HR Leaders on One Stage
The NexTech Human Capital India Summit 2026 will feature an exceptional line-up of globally recognised thinkers, iconic personalities, CEOs and some of the most respected people leaders from India and beyond. Headlining the programme is Dave Ulrich, Professor and Co-Founder of The RBL Group and widely regarded as the world's foremost authority on HR and leadership. He will be joined by Jason Oxman, President and CEO of the Information Technology Industry Council (ITI), bringing a global perspective on technology, policy and workforce transformation.
The summit will also welcome inspirational voices such as Olympic medallist Saina Nehwal and legendary singer and cultural icon Usha Uthup, who will share powerful perspectives on excellence, resilience and sustaining high performance.
Representing the very top of India Inc.'s HR and people leadership community are marquee names such as Rajkamal Vempati, Group Executive, Head – HR, Axis Bank; Amit Chincholikar, Group President – HR, Hinduja Group; Shraddhanjali Rao, Head HR, Google India; Anil Kumar Jadli, Director – HR, NTPC; Mahalakshmi R, Global CHRO, Apollo Tyres; Prateek Dubey, CHRO, Mankind Pharma; Satish Singh, Chief People Officer, PNB Housing Finance; Rajiv Naithani, Chief People Officer, Persistent Systems; KA Narayan, President – HR, Raymond; Manish Patil, Director (HR), ONGC; Raj Dubey, Director HR, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited; Raju Mistry, Former President & Global Chief People Officer, Cipla; and Richard Lobo, Chief People Officer, Tech Mahindra.
The CEO and business leadership cohort features eminent leaders such as Santosh Iyer, MD & CEO, Mercedes-Benz India; Kalyan Chakrabarti, CEO, Emaar India; Dr Sanjeev Rastogi, CEO – GCC, Adani Group; Surendran Chemmenkotil, Managing Director, Metropolis Healthcare Limited; Alok Aggarwal, CEO, Muthoot Homefin (India); and Vishal Sharma, Executive Director & CEO, Godrej Industries.
Adding strong partner and ecosystem perspectives are leaders such as Sunil Jose, President, Workday India; Meenakshi Wadhwa, Head – Enterprise Business, Workday India; Tapan Acharya, Chief Revenue Officer, Keka; Arun Sharma, Partner – Human Capital Advisory Solutions, KPMG; and Charlotte Evans, Director – Global Customer Advocacy, Coursera. The international HR dimension is further strengthened by Reem Algasim, Head of HR, Airbus KSA.
Together, this distinguished line-up underscores NexTech Human Capital India Summit 2026's position as India's most authoritative and influential gathering of HR and business leadership.
Theme: Minds & Machines – Shaping Tomorrow
Anchored under the theme 'Minds & Machines: Shaping Tomorrow', the summit will explore how organisations can design workplaces where human creativity and machine intelligence work in harmony. Key focus areas will include:
- The real-world impact of AI and GenAI on talent, leadership and organisational design
- Building future skills at scale and reimagining learning ecosystems
- Creating human-centric, inclusive and high-performance cultures
- Redefining the CHRO's role as a strategic business leader
Beyond a Conference: High-Impact Platforms & Special Initiatives
NexTech Human Capital India Summit 2026 will be complemented by a series of high-value platforms that deepen engagement and recognise excellence across the ecosystem:
- CXO Circle — an invite-only forum for senior CXOs to engage in closed-door strategic dialogue
- NexTech Leaders League and Learning Leaders League — curated communities for peer learning and domain-specific exchanges
- Mentorship Lab — structured mentorship conversations between senior leaders and emerging talent
- Emerging Leaders League Awards — celebrating outstanding HR leaders under 40 ET Human Capital Awards 2026 — honouring organisations that exemplify excellence in people strategy, culture and innovation
Setting the Agenda for India's Workforce Future
As India continues its rise as a global talent powerhouse, NexTech Human Capital India Summit 2026 aims to serve as a catalyst for ideas, partnerships and actionable strategies that will define the next decade of work.
With its unmatched scale, global speaker line-up and forward-looking agenda, the summit promises to be a must-attend platform for every leader invested in building the future of people and organisations.
Register Now
Registration is now open for HR architects, tech providers, and policymakers.
To view the full agenda and speaker lineup, visit:
https://hr.economictimes.indiatimes.com/nextech
About The Economic Times NexTech Human Capital Summit
The NexTech Human Capital Summit is India's most influential talent platform. Now in its 6th edition, it remains the benchmark for leadership and HR-tech excellence, dedicated to exploring the trends and technologies powering the future of work in the region.
About Workday
Workday is a leading cloud-based software provider specializing in unified Human Capital Management (HCM) and Financial Management solutions for over 10,000 organizations.
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