AI is reshaping the workplace faster than most organizations can adapt and HR leaders are being asked to hold the center. As agentic AI moves into day-to-day operations and traditional junior and middle-management roles begin to disappear, many organizations risk losing the leadership pipeline that has historically produced future executives. At the same time, pressure to cut costs is colliding with the need to invest in people, capability and culture. For Chief People Officers, the challenge is bigger than AI adoption. It’s about protecting trust, maintaining accountability and ensuring employees still feel confident about where they fit in the future of work. This session will explore how HR leaders can put the right governance and guardrails around AI while balancing innovation with fairness, transparency and workforce confidence. We’ll also examine how DEI strategies must evolve in an AI-enabled workplace and what organizations can do now to build resilient, human-centred leadership models that can withstand continuous change. Key Takeaways: - How to implement practical governance and guardrails for agentic AI while maintaining trust, accountability and workforce confidence - Strategies for rebuilding leadership development pathways as AI reshapes junior and middle-management roles - Balancing cost optimisation with long-term investment in culture, DEI and sustainable workforce growth