11am Thursday 5th february 2026
As we move into 2026, organisations are navigating a powerful combination of forces: rapid AI adoption, unsustainable healthcare cost trends, tightening regulation, a more demanding workforce and people working longer than ever. Together, these forces lead to one core Board‑level question: Is our workforce strategy genuinely enabling our business strategy?
Drawing on Aon’s data and client experience, this webinar will explore five forces that will shape human capital in 2026 – and what leaders can do about them:
- The AI Playbook – Hiring for Skills and Reskilling for Impact
- Rising Healthcare Costs Are Unsustainable
- Confident Decisions Require Connected Intelligence
- Pay Transparency Is No Longer Optional
- Smart Retirement Solutions to Power People and Performance
In this webinar, you will:
- Gain a forward‑looking view of the five key human capital forces for 2026
- See how data and analytics can connect AI, health, rewards, pay and retirement decisions
- Take away practical ideas to balance performance, cost, risk and employee experience in your organisation
Guest: John McLaughlin, Chief Commercial Officer Talent, EMEA
I have worked for Aon (previously cut-e) in a variety of roles over the past 12 years in 5 countries across 4 continents. Currently, I lead our Human Capital Solutions commercial team in Europe with a focus on enabling our clients to drive better decision making through human capital data to drive performance while managing risk.
Guest: David Kirk, Growth Technology Leader UK, Aon
International sales executive and manager with extensive hunter and consultative sales experience in new markets. David has spent his technology sales career sourcing, managing and negotiating large complex deals with some of the world’s leading organisations whilst building and leveraging deep long-term strategic C-level relationships. Working both directly and collaboratively with partners. David’s experience investing and working in early stage startups has also provided him with extensive leadership, recruitment and management experience internally and externally, matched to his natural entrepreneurial nature. David has studied and implemented the MEDDIC Qualification and Challenger Sales Methodologies throughout his career on a personal and organisational level.
Guest: Louisa Blain, Head of Insurance UK, Aon
Louisa Blain is a senior human capital leader with over 25 years’ experience shaping workforce and culture transformation for insurers and wider financial services organisations. As head of Aon’s Human Capital Insurance business, she works in close collaboration with C‑suite leaders to connect strategy with how work really gets done – from operating model and workforce design to talent, leadership, culture, employee experience and people analytics. Drawing on deep international experience, she helps clients tackle the people issues defining the sector today, including digital transformation, new operating models, evolving regulation, skills shortages and changing workforce expectations. An authentic, pragmatic voice in the market, Louisa is passionate about the people agenda and the insurance sector, bringing clear strategic thinking and real client experience that help organisations – and the market – move forward.
Host: James Marsh
James is an organisational learning and development specialist and has worked as an HR manager, consultant, in-house recruiter and trainer with expertise in both management strategy and HR policies and processes. A former editor of HRreview, James then spent seven years at specialist retailer Planet Organic as the architect of their learning strategy and apprenticeship programmes before moving to Guardian News Media in June 2022. He has continued to work closely with HRreview as a podcast presenter and the regular chairperson of their award winning webinar series, InsideHR.
