The Top 101 Global Employee Engagement & Experience Influencers 2026

Mike Adams

Chief Executive Officer

Purple

Bryan Adams

CEO & Founder | 2x Best-Selling Author | TEDx Speaker

Happydance Careers

Ashraf Al Eid

Founder | Author I KeynoteSpeaker | HR Advisor & Consultant

ASHRAF HR Innovation Strategies Foundation

Marissa Andrada is a Board Director, BizBox Group & Former CHRO Chipotle. Throughout her 30-year career, she has helped iconic brands—including Starbucks, Chipotle, Red Bull, GameStop, Kate Spade and Universal Studios—build cultures that fuel growth, performance, and lasting business success. Having supported more than one million frontline employees, Marissa has become a lifelong student of one simple question: What makes people believe? Her work explores the connection between trust, leadership, culture, and performance; it is grounded in the belief that behind every iconic brand is a culture people believe in—and that you can only grow companies by growing your people. Today, she advises CEOs, executive teams, and boards while speaking globally on leadership, culture, trust, and the future of work.

Marissa Andrada

Board Director, BizBox Group & Former CHRO Chipotle

David Beeney

Founder

Breaking The Silence

Helen Bissett

Founder, Managing Director

H&H Agency

Steve Boese

Co-Founder

H3 HR Advisors

Bruce Bolger

President

Enterprise Engagement Alliance

Dr Juliet Bourke

Human Capital Advisor | Board Member | Professor of Practice

UNSW Business School

Tracy Brower, PhD

VP, Workplace Insight | Author | Senior Contributor at Forbes

Steelcase

Rob Catalano

Chief Engagement Officer & Co Founder

WorkTango Inc.

Srikant Chellappa

CEO and Co-Founder

Engagedly

Angela Cheng-Cimini

CHRO | Board Director | AAPI Champion | Keynote Speaker

The Chronicle of Philanthropy

Dawn Christian

CEO | Executive Coach | Founder | TEDx Speaker

Belong by Dawn Christian

Laura Cooke

Co-Founder & CEO

Positive Foundry

Debra Corey

Chief 'Pay it Forward' Officer | Global Speaker | 6x Best-Selling Author

Step It Up HR

Zech Dahms

President | Employee Experience Expert & Culture Strategist

achieve Engagement

Bruce Daisley

LinkedIn Top Voice on Work & Workplace Culture | 2x Sunday Times Bestseller | Keynote speaker

Eat Sleep Work Repeat

Kara Dennison

Executive Career & Leadership Coach | CEO

Optimized Career Solutions

Joseph Dicianno, Ph.D., MBA

Director, Talent Management and Organizational Development | Author

UPMC

David Ducheyne

Founder and Managing Partner

Otolith

Chris Dyer

Keynote Speaker | Author | Chief Executive Officer

Chris P Dyer | Hopetape

Amy Edmondson

Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management

Harvard Business School

Brian Elliott

CEO | Exec | Speaker & Bestselling Author

Work Forward | Charter

Chester Elton

Partner | Founder | Executive Coach | Keynote Speaker

The Culture Works

Gifty Enright

Director | Tech Leader | Keynote Speaker | Coach

BUSINESSSCOPE CONSULTANCY

Ben Eubanks

Founder | Chief Research Officer | Bestselling Author | Speaker

HR Tech Awards | Lighthouse Research & Advisory

Jenni Field

Founder and Director | Leadership and Communication Consultant | Author | Speaker

Redefining Communications

Craig Forman

Founder & Principal Consultant | Culture Strategist | Keynote Speaker (SXSW 2021/22) | Podcast Host

CultureC Consulting

Anne Fulton

Founder & Chief Executive Officer

Fuel50

Tara Furiani is an executive coach, leadership advisor, author, and creator of Not the HR Lady. After more than two decades in senior leadership, including 15 years as a Chief People Officer & Chief of Staff, Tara now focuses on executive coaching and SAIL for Leaders, an immersive leadership development experience aboard Virgin Voyages. She is also bringing back the popular Not the HR Lady YouTube show and podcast this fall with a new format: out of office and inside workplaces around the world, exploring leadership, culture, and the realities of work where they actually happen. Tara is the author of F*ck Your Office Snacks and has advised CEOs, executives, and leadership teams across entertainment, financial services, hospitality, education, media, and nonprofit organizations. She's a Mom of 5 and working on her 2nd book... Out From the Fluorescent Lights... Please welcome, Tara (Tare-Uh) Furiani (Fury-On-E).

Tara Furiani

Executive Coach | Keynote Speaker | Host of Not the HR Lady | People, CoS & DEI Consultant

Not the HR Lady

Chuck Gose

Founder | Co-Host of Frequency | Championing Internal Communicators

ICology

Adam Grant

Organizational psychologist at Wharton, #1 NYT bestselling author

host of the TED podcast WorkLife

Risha Grant

CEO & Award Winning Entrepreneur | Global Keynote Speaker | Personal Culture & Leadership Expert | Best-Selling Author

Risha Grant

Anita Grantham

Operating Partner

PHX Ventures

Erin Grau

Co-founder & Chief Operating Officer | Head of Operations & Managing Director

Charter | The San Francisco Standard

Mark Green

Founder

Change Rebellion

Dr. Jerry Gule is a Director and Executive Coach at Gule Executive Coaching (Pty) Limited and has a passion for leadership development, people development, transformation, and mainstreaming of persons with disabilities in the economy.   He is a seasoned Executive Coach with over 30 years of professional experience, during which time he was in different leadership roles such as GM Marketing Competency Centre, GM HR & Transformation, Senior Manager: HR Consulting Services, Senior Manager: Development Programmes, Training Manager and Lecturer, Adult & Management Education. In 1991, after doing his studies and research work on international education and leadership,  he was conferred with a Doctor of Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.  

Dr. Jerry Gule

Director | Coach | Chairperson of Boards

Gule Executive Coaching

Lance Haun

Practice Lead, Research & Insights

Rep Cap

Lizzie Henson

Founder & Director | Chief People Connector

HR Ninjas

Julia Hobsbawm OBE

Founder & CEO | Consultant | Author

WORKATHON

Christie Hoffman

Founder | Get OUT of Reactive HR

Corporate Christie

April Homer

Partner & Chief People Officer | Wellbeing & Performance Coach

Cooper Parry

Angela R. Howard

Founder | Culture Executive & Community Builder

Call for Culture

Nicky Hoyland

Chief Innovation Officer

Auspicious Group

Minola Jac

Global Change & Transformation Lead | Change Enthusiast | Author "Everyday Inspiration for Change (EIFC)"

Syngenta Group

Samara Jaffe

Co-Founder & GM | Connector & Bridge Builder | Board Member | Advisor

Transform Media

Emma Jordaan

CEO | Cultural Intelligence Expert | Author of Dubai Decoded | Trainer | TEDx Speaker | Podcaster

Infinite Consulting

Manmohan S. Kalsy

Chief Human Resources Officer

Inbrew Beverages Private Limited

David Kasperson

Co-Author | Director of Speed of Trust Speaking & Business Development

Franklin Covey

Jill Katz

Chief People Officer & Founder | Top Leadership Voice - LinkedIn | HR & People Strategy Advisor

Assemble HR Consulting

Georgina Kelly

Founder | HR Most Influential #3 2025, #2 2024 #14 2023

GK HR Networks

Ali Killaly

Founding Director | Executive Coaching and Career Counselling for Parents and Workplaces

Workpants | Inspiring Workplaces

Jessica Kriegel

Chief Strategy Officer | Podcast Host | Keynote Speaker | Author

Culture Partners

Jason Lauritsen

Keynote Speaker | Author | Advisor | Co-Founder & Leadership Trainer

www.JasonLauritsen.com | Check-In To Thrive

Josh Levine is a work futurist, author, and educator recognized as one of North America’s leading voices on organizational culture. He has spent nearly two decades helping leaders design cultures that drive engagement, retention, and performance. His clients include global technology firms, nonprofits, and Fortune 500 corporations navigating growth, transformation, and IPO preparation. Josh integrates design thinking and business strategy to develop frameworks that align people and purpose. Levine is the author of Great Mondays: How to Design a Company Culture Employees Love, which BookAuthority listed as one of the best culture books of all time. He has written for Forbes and Fast Company and appeared on APM’s Marketplace.

Josh Levine

Culture & Change Architect

Great Mondays

Chris Littlefield

Founder | Keynote Speaker on Employee Appreciation and Workplace Culture

Beyond Thank You

Meghan M. Biro

Founder | HRTech Evangelist | Author | Analyst | Speaker

TalentCulture | Host of #WorkTrends Podcast

James Malia

President - UK & Europe

Prezzee

Scott McInness

Founder & Director | Keynote Speaker | Host of the Building Better Cultures Podcast

Inspiring Change

Riaz Meghji

Human Connection Speaker | Author | Moderator

Riaz Meghji Inc.

Ryan McGrory

Founder | Managing Director (Australasia) | Experience and Wellbeing Advisor

exsona | Inspiring Workplaces | Workpants

Rachel Miller

Founder | Author | Keynote Speaker

All Things IC

Tshepo Yvonne Mosadi

Chief People Officer

Daybreak

Jennifer Moss

International Speaker, Journalist, Author

Jennifer Moss Inc.

Gethin Nadin

Chief Innovation Officer | Award-Winning Psychologist | 2x Bestselling HR Author | International Speaker

Benifex | Zellis

Dr. Amanda Nimon-Peters

Professor of Leadership

Hult International Business School

Misty J. Oratokhai Esq.

Chief Operating Officer

National Children's Center

Jody Ordioni

Chief Brand Officer and President

Brandemix

Carina Parisella

Chief People Officer

Andromeda Robotics

Joanna Parsons

CEO | Top 10 LinkedIn Creators in Ireland

The Curious Route

Advita Patel

CIPR President 2025 | Director

CommsRebel | A Leader Like Me

Dan Riley

Co-Founder | Keynote Speaker

RADICL

Russell Robinson

Founder | Associate Professor

Amplified Research | American University

Enrique Rubio

Founder | Head of Global Community

Hacking HR | Transform

Steph Ryter

Creative Culture Leader

Arity

Asif Sadiq

Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer

Warner Bros. Discovery

Alexandra Samuel, Ph.D

AI & Workplace Speaker | Wall Street Journal & Harvard Business Review Contributor | Author

Lavin Agency | Host of Me + Viv

Céline Schillinger

Founder, CEO | Author of 'Dare to Un-Lead'

We Need Social

Lars Schmidt

Vice President, Talent Acquisition & Innovation | Bestselling Author

Fruitist

Marcel Schwantes

Leadership Coach, International Speaker, author of Humane Leadership

Alex Seiler

Founder | Chief People Officer

Alex Seiler LLC

Vanessa Shaw

Coach, Executive & Board Leadership

Momentous.work

Hannah Irfan Siddiqui

Founder & Managing Principal | Organizational Culture Consultant | Speaker

Kaleidoscope-DEI-Consulting

Gregory F. Simpson

Managing Director

Agent in Engagement

Brett Smyth

CEO & Founder

The Engage Group

Dan Sodergren

Keynote & TedxTalk speaker on the future of work Expert &

guest on national TV / radio and podcasts

Tracie Sponenberg

Founder, Chief People Officer & Keynote Speaker

Tracie Sponenberg LLC, DisruptHR

Mildred Talabi

Director | Personal Branding Coach, Speaker & Trainer | 4 x Author

Talabi Enterprise

Gustavo Tavares

Human Capital, Head of Talent Solutions | Latam Ambassador & Judge

Aon | Inspiring Workplaces

Bruce Temkin

Chief Humanity Catalyst | Keynote Speaker

temkinsight

Perry Timms

Founder and Chief Energy Officer, Keynote and TedX Speaker, 3x Author

PTHR

Hassan Tirmizi

OD&D Maverick | Global HR Thought Leader | People & Culture Architect

Ebrahim Khalil Kanoo B.S.C (c)

Sean Trainor

Chief Executive Officer | Senior Communication Advisor

Salient Communication Group

Kristina Vaneva

Head of EX, Engagement and Internal Comms

Beyond Employee Engagement Consultancy

Karin Volo (Chief Joy Bringer / CEO of Evoloshen) is an international bestselling author of AI Dystopia or Utopia: The Choice Point for Humanity Is Now and an expert in engagement, culture transformation, and AI consulting. With over 20 years working with Fortune 500 and scale-up companies globally, she specializes in building trust-based cultures, leadership development, and helping organizations navigate the human side of AI adoption.

Karin is a Certified AI Consultant, Certified C-IQ™ Coach, and named one of the Top 50 Most Influential Women in AI by Citiesabc & Businessabc and a Top 150 Women B2B Thought Leader by Thinkers360. Evoloshen is one of the Top 10 Organizational Development Companies in Europe. Her purpose is bringing joy to the workplace.

Karin Volo

CEO | AI Consultant | Chief Joy Bringer | Speaker & International Bestselling Author

Evoloshen

Jeff Waldman

Founder & Principal | Unmuted Podcast | SocialHRCamp | Speaker

ScaleHR

Dr. Nika White

President and CEO | Speaker/Facilitator | Best Selling Author

Nika White + Company

Melody Wilding

Best-selling Author & Executive Coach

Keynote Speaker

Gamiel Yafai MBE

Founder & CEO | Author | Global DEI & TEDx Speaker

Diversity Marketplace

Heather R. Younger

2x TEDx International Female Keynote Speaker | Author | LinkedIn Learning Instructor

Employee Fanatix

Hebba Youseff

Chief People Officer

Workweek