Up Next @ Work

In this episode of Up Next at Work, Jeanne Achille welcomes Dr. Thomas Otter, General Partner at Acadian Ventures and a longtime leader in HR technology, product development, and venture capital. Drawing on three decades of experience, including leadership roles at Gartner and SAP SuccessFactors, Thomas shares his perspective on the innovations, emerging markets, and entrepreneurial ideas that will shape the next generation of workplace technology.

While artificial intelligence dominates the conversation, Thomas challenges leaders to look beyond the hype and focus on the bigger opportunity: rethinking the relationship between people and technology. He argues that the future of work needs more than smarter software. It needs a renewed focus on human ingenuity, thoughtful work design, accountability, and the real problems organizations are trying to solve.

Key Highlights:

Connect with Thomas on LinkedIn and subscribe to his Substack, Work in Progress, for more insights.

In this powerful episode of Up Next @ Work, Jeanne Achille sits down with employment lawyer, writer, and HR thought leader Heather Bussing for an unusually personal conversation about recovery, resilience, and the workplace.

Marking National Recovery Month, Heather reflects on 31 years of sobriety, sharing her deeply candid story of addiction, from early experiences of abandonment and grief to self-medicating with drugs and alcohol, navigating the pressures of a demanding legal career, and ultimately, finding a path toward recovery. Heather and Jeanne also explore the workplace's role in recognizing addiction and recovery and offering people the support they need.

Key Highlights:

For more information about Heather and her work, follow her on LinkedIn and subscribe to her Substack.

What does it take to build a workplace where people - and the business - can actually thrive through transformation?

In this episode of Up Next @ Work, Kate Achille joins Eric Knauf, author of The 56% Solution and founder of BelongHQ, to consider why human infrastructure might be the missing link in successful organizational change.

Eric explains how the experience sparked his initial research and led him to identify (and quantify!) the five pillars of belonging. Kate and Eric's conversation also examines why these factors matter to the C-Suite, how they can help organizations assess their transformational readiness, and why companies rushing into AI may be skipping a critical first step: ensuring their people and managers are prepared for change.

Key Highlights:

Follow Eric on LinkedIn, learn more at BelongHQ.com, or pick up a copy of The 56% Solution: How Belonging Infrastructure Transforms Performance.

On this episode of Up Next at Work, Kate Achille sits down with Chris Harvey, Chief Research Officer at HR Technology Advice, to unpack the changing HR tech landscape, the often-overlooked factors that determine technology success, and what founders can learn from the unconventional business strategies of pirates.

The conversation explores the HR tech trends shaping 2026, including the growing importance of EOR solutions for global hiring and the challenges mid-market organizations face when evaluating HCM suites.

Chris also reveals the story behind his book, Blackbeard’s Laws for Founders, and how the pirate offers surprisingly relevant lessons for today’s tech founders, from defining ICP to knowing when to walk away from a deal.

Key highlights:

To learn more about Chris' work, visit the HR Technology Advice website and connect with him on LinkedIn.

In this episode of Up Next at Work, Katie Achille sits down with Chris Havrilla, Chief Advisor & Analyst at AI Alchemists, to explore what organizations need to rethink as AI becomes increasingly embedded in workforce decisions. With experience across the enterprise buyer, technology vendor, and analyst worlds, Chris explains why traditional governance models are no longer enough – and why companies need to start architecting consequences rather than inheriting them.

Their conversation considers “systems of consequence,” the widening gap between AI adoption and accountability, and what happens when decisions are made at machine speed and scale. Chris shares guidance for organizations building “consequence architecture,” including how to map

Key highlights:

To learn more about Chris' work, visit AI Alchemists, follow her Substack, or connect with her on LinkedIn.

In this episode of Up Next @ Work, Kate Achille returns to talk to industry analyst Pete A. Tiliakos about why payroll is so often misunderstood, undervalued, and left out of strategic conversations - and what Pete is doing to try to shift that narrative. Pete shares how his career journey, from auditing payroll data in the U.S. Marine Corps to leading HR transformations at major organizations, shaped his mission to elevate the profession.

The conversation also dives into the 2026 Payroll Profession Confidence Index (PPCI), an open-source research initiative designed to give payroll professionals a collective voice.

Key highlights include:

To learn more about Pete's work, visit payrollinfluences.com, connect with him on LinkedIn, listen to his podcast HR & Payroll 2.0, and take 10 minutes to complete the 2026 Payroll Profession Confidence Index.

What happens when organizations rush to adopt AI before fixing the processes underneath? Jeanne Achille is joined by Jay Polaki, CEO and Chief Gecko at HR Geckos, to talk about why the real risk begins there.

In this episode, Jeanne and Jay discuss why successful AI adoption starts with clarity, rather than tools. Drawing on more than 25 years of HR leadership experience, Jay explains why organizations need to rethink workflows, governance, and human decision-making before expecting AI to deliver transformational results.

Episode highlights include:

Listen in to learn more about Jay Polaki and HR Geckos, and be sure to follow Jay on LinkedIn for her thoughts on AI, HR ops, and more.

You might not realize that you’ve been a follower of Lance Haun for years. Founder of Beacon Turn, he’s a researcher, writer, and advisor to B2B companies focused on work tech and leadership.

A featured contributor to Reworked, he’s considered one of the leading market insights pundits in how work gets done. Jeanne persuaded Lance to join her on the latest episode of Up Next @ Work to discuss the industry, life as a girl dad, and what’s next on his horizon. According to Lance, good work starts with the right question, not the perfect answer. Our perfect podcast is presented here for your listening pleasure.

Connect with Lance on LinkedIn and subscribe to his Substack.

Elaine Orler has been designing and implementing global Talent Acquisition and Recruiting solutions as a practitioner and a consultant for more than 25 years. Her hands-on approach has enabled multi-national organizations to transform and optimize complex recruiting strategies and processes through contemporary technology-driven talent acquisition practices.

In this episode of Up Next @ Work, Jeanne Achille and Elaine discuss the evolution of talent acquisition technology and how those products come to life. As one of the founders of Talent Board and the Candidate Experience Awards – as well as an entrepreneur and founder of Talent Function – Elaine has more street cred in the recruiting space than others aspire to. Listen in as they discuss:

Connect with Elaine on LinkedIn to follow along with the Match2 journey.

What do electrical engineering and HR technology have in common? More than you might realize!

As we kick off the next season of Up Next @ Work, Jeanne Achille chats with Opal Wagnac, the global head of market positioning and strategy at Darwinbox.

No doubt Opal is already familiar to many listeners, as her previous roles include SVP at iSolved and VP at UKG. Opal brings fresh solutions to old problems and has her eye on the new challenges brewing over a very near horizon. You’ll enjoy Opal’s thought leadership as much as we enjoyed speaking with her, and yes, AI is mentioned.

Connect with Opal on LinkedIn.