In this week’s episode, co-hosts Mark Edgar and Naomi Titleman have a discussion focused on the changing role of CHROs and HR in organizations. Key topics discussed include statistics showing CHRO influence declining since pandemic (42% of C-suite executives don't view HR as equal partners, down from 57% in 2021), the importance of redefining HR's purpose as "supercharging human performance" and how AI is transforming HR functions.

We believe that while AI can handle many traditional HR tasks, human HR professionals remain essential for connection, facilitation, and critical thinking. 

You can find the articles referred to here:

Does HR still need humans

https://www.hr-brew.com/stories/2025/08/22/the-chro-s-new-seat-at-the-table-might-be-at-risk

Don’t forget …

To sign up for our weekly newsletter foHRsight at http://www.futurefohrward.com/subscribe.

Follow us on LinkedIn:

• Mark - www.linkedin.com/in/markedgarhr/
• Naomi - www.linkedin.com/in/naomititlemancolla/
• future foHRward - www.linkedin.com/company/future-fohrward/

And on Instagram - www.instagram.com/futurefohrward/

If you are looking for more foHRsight, sign up for our monthly foHRsight newsletter. It’s free and includes access to our quarterly white paper. This quarter’s white paper is about Rethinking Entry-Level work in the Age of AI, produced with Dr. Miranda Rodak from Indiana University’s Kelley school of business - an important topic for HR, Leadership and parents, students and society as a whole! https://www.futurefohrward.com/subscribe

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In this episode is joined by Jeanne Meister who is a future of work strategist and author and Leo Goncalves who is Head of Workforce Solutions at the University of Phoenix. They share insights from their recent combined research on the state of AI in organizations.

You can learn more about their work here:

2025 generative AI Report: Learning Fuels Human + AI Collaboration

How Companies Are Using AI As a New Team Member

And follow them here:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeannemeister/

https://www.phoenix.edu/workforce-solutions.html

Don’t forget …

To sign up for our weekly newsletter foHRsight at http://www.futurefohrward.com/subscribe.

Follow us on LinkedIn:

• Mark - www.linkedin.com/in/markedgarhr/
• Naomi - www.linkedin.com/in/naomititlemancolla/
• future foHRward - www.linkedin.com/company/future-fohrward/

And on Instagram - www.instagram.com/futurefohrward/

If you are looking for more foHRsight, sign up for our monthly foHRsight newsletter. It’s free and includes access to our quarterly white paper. This quarter’s white paper is about Rethinking Entry-Level work in the Age of AI, produced with Dr. Miranda Rodak from Indiana University’s Kelley school of business - an important topic for HR, Leadership and parents, students and society as a whole! https://www.futurefohrward.com/subscribe

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This podcast episode of the features host Mark Edgar interviewing Ben Clarke, who transitioned from a 15-year career as a geologist to becoming an HR professional and executive coach. The conversation focuses on simplifying HR practices.

Ben advocates for HR simplification through building trust and focusing on employee needs. He shares how he restructured an HR team into two parts: a proactive team preventing issues and a responsive team handling immediate needs.

Ben suggests HR teams should focus on "mission clarity" - helping teams establish who they are, what they do, and how they do it.

You can learn more about Ben’s work at his website:

https://benclarkehr.com

Don’t forget …

To sign up for our weekly newsletter foHRsight at http://www.futurefohrward.com/subscribe.

Follow us on LinkedIn:

• Mark - www.linkedin.com/in/markedgarhr/
• Naomi - www.linkedin.com/in/naomititlemancolla/
• future foHRward - www.linkedin.com/company/future-fohrward/

And on Instagram - www.instagram.com/futurefohrward/

If you are looking for more foHRsight, sign up for our monthly foHRsight newsletter. It’s free and includes access to our quarterly white paper. This quarter’s white paper is about Rethinking Entry-Level work in the Age of AI, produced with Dr. Miranda Rodak from Indiana University’s Kelley school of business - an important topic for HR, Leadership and parents, students and society as a whole! https://www.futurefohrward.com/subscribe

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This week co-host Naomi Titleman connects with thought leader and keynote speaker Ron Tite who shares insights from his recent book the Purpose of Purpose.

You can follow Ron on LinkedIn here:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/rontite/

Don’t forget …

To sign up for our weekly newsletter foHRsight at http://www.futurefohrward.com/subscribe.

Follow us on LinkedIn:

• Mark - www.linkedin.com/in/markedgarhr/
• Naomi - www.linkedin.com/in/naomititlemancolla/
• future foHRward - www.linkedin.com/company/future-fohrward/

And on Instagram - www.instagram.com/futurefohrward/

If you are looking for more foHRsight, sign up for our monthly foHRsight newsletter. It’s free and includes access to our quarterly white paper. This quarter’s white paper is about Rethinking Entry-Level work in the Age of AI, produced with Dr. Miranda Rodak from Indiana University’s Kelley school of business - an important topic for HR, Leadership and parents, students and society as a whole! https://www.futurefohrward.com/subscribe

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This week co-host Mark Edgar connect with Kayla Campbell from Canadian Tire who is writing a book called "The Curiosity Advantage" scheduled for release in all 2026. Kayla explains that curiosity is an innate trait that everyone possesses but often loses with age. She shares practical ways to enhance curiosity:

1. Curious observation - becoming more aware of surroundings
2. Question storming - brainstorming questions rather than answers
3. Internal curiosity - asking questions about oneself for greater self-awareness

In the episode they discuss how curiosity is essential for organizational success, especially with AI adoption, and how it connects to continuous improvement, innovation, and customer understanding. 

You can follow Kayla on LinkedIn here:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kayla-campbell-becurious/

Don’t forget …

To sign up for our weekly newsletter foHRsight at http://www.futurefohrward.com/subscribe.

Follow us on LinkedIn:

• Mark - www.linkedin.com/in/markedgarhr/
• Naomi - www.linkedin.com/in/naomititlemancolla/
• future foHRward - www.linkedin.com/company/future-fohrward/

And on Instagram - www.instagram.com/futurefohrward/

If you are looking for more foHRsight, sign up for our monthly foHRsight newsletter. It’s free and includes access to our quarterly white paper. This quarter’s white paper is about Rethinking Entry-Level work in the Age of AI, produced with Dr. Miranda Rodak from Indiana University’s Kelley school of business - an important topic for HR, Leadership and parents, students and society as a whole! https://www.futurefohrward.com/subscribe

Support the show

We were excited to have Ruth Penfold on the podcast this week. Ruth is a former Chief People Officer who now works with organizations, leaders and women leaders to help them thrive.

Ruth courageously shares how her own experience has informed the work she does and make the compelling case for thinking differently about work using her BLOOM framework.

We share our perspectives on the additional work that needs to be done to support women at work to ensure they can truly bring their full selves to work.

You can learn more about Ruth’s work here:

https://ourtimetobloom.com/about

And follow Ruth on LinkedIn here:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruthpenfold/

Don’t forget …

To sign up for our weekly newsletter foHRsight at http://www.futurefohrward.com/subscribe.

Follow us on LinkedIn:

• Mark - www.linkedin.com/in/markedgarhr/
• Naomi - www.linkedin.com/in/naomititlemancolla/
• future foHRward - www.linkedin.com/company/future-fohrward/

And on Instagram - www.instagram.com/futurefohrward/

If you are looking for more foHRsight, sign up for our monthly foHRsight newsletter. It’s free and includes access to our quarterly white paper. This quarter’s white paper is about Rethinking Entry-Level work in the Age of AI, produced with Dr. Miranda Rodak from Indiana University’s Kelley school of business - an important topic for HR, Leadership and parents, students and society as a whole! https://www.futurefohrward.com/subscribe

Support the show

This week we welcome Julian Chapman to the podcast to share his insights on flourishing at work and leadership. Julian is President of Forrest & Co. a Toronto based consulting company focused on helping to create great places to work that achieve the strategy of the organization.

Julian shared that the Flourishing at Work Concept is part of a broader human flourishing movement aimed at addressing the impact of AI on humanity. He also shared the three key aspects to leadership:

• Authentic leadership (self-awareness)
• Servant leadership (promoting welfare)
• Transformational leadership (developing people)

As someone who worked many years in the military, Julian quoted an old adage from the Canadian military and across the Commonwealth: "Leadership is, know your people and promote their welfare." Julian emphasized this isn't about a welfare state, but rather about doing things that are good for people based on understanding what they need and want. This principlecascades through an organization from top to bottom as a foundation of good leadership.

You can learn more about the human flourishing movement here:

https://corporates.humanfm.org

And more about Julian’s work here:

https://www.forrestandco.com/

Don’t forget …

To sign up for our weekly newsletter foHRsight at http://www.futurefohrward.com/subscribe.

Follow us on LinkedIn:

• Mark - www.linkedin.com/in/markedgarhr/
• Naomi - www.linkedin.com/in/naomititlemancolla/
• future foHRward - www.linkedin.com/company/future-fohrward/

And on Instagram - www.instagram.com/futurefohrward/

If you are looking for more foHRsight, sign up for our monthly foHRsight newsletter. It’s free and includes access to our quarterly white paper. This quarter’s white paper is about Rethinking Entry-Level work in the Age of AI, produced with Dr. Miranda Rodak from Indiana University’s Kelley school of business - an important topic for HR, Leadership and parents, students and society as a whole! https://www.futurefohrward.com/subscribe

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This week Bianca Baumann joins co-host Naomi Titleman to share marketing strategies to help you thrive in your career.

Don’t forget …

To sign up for our weekly newsletter foHRsight at http://www.futurefohrward.com/subscribe.

Follow us on LinkedIn:

• Mark - www.linkedin.com/in/markedgarhr/
• Naomi - www.linkedin.com/in/naomititlemancolla/
• future foHRward - www.linkedin.com/company/future-fohrward/

 And on Instagram - www.instagram.com/futurefohrward/

Support the show

If you are looking for more foHRsight, sign up for our monthly foHRsight newsletter. It’s free and includes access to our quarterly white paper. This quarter’s white paper is about Rethinking Entry-Level work in the Age of AI, produced with Dr. Miranda Rodak from Indiana University’s Kelley school of business - an important topic for HR, Leadership and parents, students and society as a whole! https://www.futurefohrward.com/subscribe

Support the show

This week co-host Naomi Titleman chats with her former Deloitte colleague Steve Hatfield about the value of wisdom.

Don’t forget …

To sign up for our weekly newsletter foHRsight at http://www.futurefohrward.com/subscribe.

Follow us on LinkedIn:

• Mark - www.linkedin.com/in/markedgarhr/
• Naomi - www.linkedin.com/in/naomititlemancolla/
• future foHRward - www.linkedin.com/company/future-fohrward/

And on Instagram - www.instagram.com/futurefohrward/

If you are looking for more foHRsight, sign up for our monthly foHRsight newsletter. It’s free and includes access to our quarterly white paper. This quarter’s white paper is about Rethinking Entry-Level work in the Age of AI, produced with Dr. Miranda Rodak from Indiana University’s Kelley school of business - an important topic for HR, Leadership and parents, students and society as a whole! https://www.futurefohrward.com/subscribe

Support the show

In this episode, co-hosts Mark Edgar and Naomi Titleman connect to share their insights on the future of the HR operating model. With Moderna recently announcing that they are integrating their HR and Technology teams, organizations are leveraging AI as they look to do more with less. 

Mark and Naomi refer to a couple of articles that you can find here:

https://www.wsj.com/articles/why-moderna-merged-its-tech-and-hr-departments-95318c2a

https://medium.com/the-ready/from-service-to-product-a-smarter-way-for-hr-to-work-7aad883aa4fe

Don’t forget …

To sign up for our weekly newsletter foHRsight at http://www.futurefohrward.com/subscribe. 

Follow us on LinkedIn:

• Mark - www.linkedin.com/in/markedgarhr/
• Naomi - www.linkedin.com/in/naomititlemancolla/
• future foHRward - www.linkedin.com/company/future-fohrward/ 

And on Instagram - www.instagram.com/futurefohrward/

If you are looking for more foHRsight, sign up for our monthly foHRsight newsletter. It’s free and includes access to our quarterly white paper. This quarter’s white paper is about Rethinking Entry-Level work in the Age of AI, produced with Dr. Miranda Rodak from Indiana University’s Kelley school of business - an important topic for HR, Leadership and parents, students and society as a whole! https://www.futurefohrward.com/subscribe

Support the show