The future of work with David D'Souza

David’s question is - are you redesigning or just reacting?

This session brings together senior HR and business leaders to explore how AI, capability and leadership are reshaping the workplace and what that means in practice.

Agenda:

15:30 – Arrival, Coffee, Tea & Cake

Informal networking on arrival. A chance to reconnect with peers, meet new faces and settle in before we begin.

16:00 – Welcome

Welcome from Denise McMurray, Chair of CIPD Devon and Cornwall

Prompt start at 16:00.

Denise will set the context for the evening and outline why the future of work is not a distant concept, but a current leadership responsibility.

16:15 – Interactive Exercise

Leadership in an AI World
Led by Oliver Thompson, Lead Facilitator – Development Programmes, Smart Working Revolution.

This session will be a practical exercise exploring what leadership actually looks like as AI reshapes organisations.

•How leadership behaviour must evolve in an AI-enabled organisation. Faster decisions, clearer accountability and far less management theatre.
• Leading teams through uncertainty. Maintaining trust, judgement and psychological safety while work, roles and expectations shift.
• Avoiding technology-led leadership. Ensuring strategy, people and culture shape the adoption of AI, not the other way round.
• What strong leadership looks like when machines can analyse……but leaders still have to decide.

In short: if you shift the strategy, you must shift the system. Expect an hour of lively discussion, practical thinking and a few of Olly’s signature “aha” moments! This is about stretching leadership thinking, not sitting through slides for the sake of it.

17:15 – Refreshment Break

A short break before the keynote session.

17:30 – 18:30

The Future of Work
with David D’Souza

In this engaging and thought-provoking session, David will explore the forces reshaping work and what they mean for leaders and people professionals today.

• The real impact of AI and automation on jobs and skills. What is genuinely changing and what is simply hype, illustrated with real organisational examples.
• The productivity challenge of the next decade.How organisations improve performance without sacrificing wellbeing or burning out their people.
• Trust, ethics and leadership accountability in a world where technology can scale decisions faster than governance.
• Preventing a widening opportunity gap. Ensuring transformation creates access and capability, not inequality.
• What forward-thinking organisations must prioritise now to build resilient, future-ready workplaces.

With David’s trademark humour, sharp evidence and practical insight, this session will challenge assumptions and give CIPD leaders a clearer sense of the choices they need to make next.

18:30 – 19:00

Networking & Catch-ups

An opportunity to continue the conversation, connect with peers and reflect on practical next steps.

Speakers Bios:

Oliver Thompson is Lead Facilitator at Smart Working Revolution and a specialist in neuroscience-based leadership and NLP.

He works with boards and senior teams to strengthen decision-making, communication and behavioural alignment during periods of change. His focus is on how the brain responds under pressure, how habits shape culture, and how leaders can consciously influence performance rather than react to it.

Oliver combines applied neuroscience, behavioural science and practical commercial insight to help organisations embed change — not just talk about it. He is a dynamic speaker known for translating complex theory into clear, usable leadership action.

David D’Souza

David D’Souza is Director of Profession at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, the professional body for HR and people development.

He is a leading voice on the future of work, workforce transformation and the ethical integration of technology into organisations. David works at the intersection of policy, practice and leadership, advising government bodies on how AI, skills evolution and shifting labour markets are reshaping the employment landscape.

Known for cutting through hype, he brings evidence-led insight and practical challenge to leaders navigating complexity, capability gaps and organisational change.

Event details:

The Future of Work with David D’Souza

Hosted by the CIPD

Date: 29 April 2026
Venue:Sandy Park Conference Centre

Sandy Park Way Exeter, Devon EX2 7NN

Please note:

1. Reminder emails will be sent to you the day before, with a further reminder on the day of the event.

2. Photography and video production may be taking place at the event, and these images may be used in the CIPD newsletters.

3. By attending the event, you are giving your consent for your image to be used on any CIPD promotional materials.

4. As we are supplying refreshments, if you can no longer attend, please cancel your place either on Eventbrite, responding to this email.

5. This event may include an external speaker who has prepared their own presentation. Any views or opinions expressed by the speaker are their own and do not reflect those of the CIPD.

6. If you require any reasonable adjustments to enhance your experience, please get in contact with us by responding to this email and we will do our best to accommodate.

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Host or Publisher CIPD Devon and Cornwall Branch