About this event
Performance. Productivity. Trust. Wellbeing.
Join us at the CIPD Thrive Conference 2026 on 15 October at Aviva Stadium, Dublin.
The CIPD Thrive Conference brings together business leaders, HR professionals, academics and organisational experts to explore the relationship between performance, productivity and people.
Focusing on trust, leadership, organisational effectiveness and wellbeing, the conference will showcase the latest research, real-world case studies and practical frameworks that help organisations improve productivity, strengthen engagement, build trust, develop capability and achieve sustainable business results.
Delegates will leave with evidence-based insights, actionable tools and measurable examples they can apply within their own organisations.
Secure your place today and join a community of people professionals and business leaders committed to creating thriving workplaces and sustainable organisational performance.
Group booking offer: Receive a 15% discount when booking four or more places.
Interested in sponsoring a roundtable? Contact us at events@cipd.ie.
Conference programme
Opening remarks and framing
8:30 - Registration, breakfast and networking
9:15 - Opening remarks and framing
📌 The Thrive Equation: Performance, productivity, trust and wellbeing
Speaker: Meg Dunphy, Policy, Content and Engagement Lead, CIPD
Thrive opens by exploring one of the most business-critical conversations facing organisations today: how to improve performance and productivity while building trust and supporting employee wellbeing. Meg Dunphy sets the strategic context for the day ahead, highlighting how trust, wellbeing, performance and productivity work together, rather than compete, and why getting the balance right is critical to sustainable operational success.
Morning sessions
📌 9:20 - Research panel: Performance by design
Speakers:
- John Kennedy, Chair CIPD in Ireland
- David Barrett, Founder/CEO, Welliba
- Maeve Gaffney, Business Analyst, Welliba
- Dr. Colin Hughes, Head of Graduate Business, TU Dublin
This panel will present findings on what drives sustainable business performance in practice. Drawing on research, data and practitioner insight, this session examines the factors most closely linked to productivity, organisational performance and long-term value creation.
📌 9:55 - Keynote session: The Leadership Multiplier: Trust, safety and sustainable success
Speaker: Aoife O'Brien, Leadership and culture strategist, author of “Thriving Talent” and podcaster
Trust is no longer a ‘soft’ issue. In a climate of pace, uncertainty and rising expectations, it is a core condition for productivity, learning and performance.
In this keynote, Aoife O’Brien explores how psychological safety, accountability and everyday management behaviours influence people's ability to contribute and grow. Leave with practical insights on building manager confidence, strengthening leadership capability and creating healthy, high-performing teams.
📌 10:30 - Break and Thrive Marketplace
Networking and refreshments
📌 11:05 - Panel: The people advantage; from strategy to results
Speakers:
- Amy Martin, EDI leader, John Sisk
- Maurice Kelly, People Director, Tesco Ireland and Northern Ireland
- David Buggie, Senior Academic Practitioner, IMI
Chair: Joyce Rigby Jones, Chair, CIPD Ireland Board of Directors
This panel explores how strategic people decisions translate into stronger organisational performance. Drawing on experience leading inclusion, culture, leadership and transformation initiatives at scale, our speakers will share practical lessons on improving retention, engagement and business outcomes, and what it takes to build high-performing organisations that deliver sustainable results.
📌 11:45 - Fireside conversation: From CPO to CEO: Seeing business through a people lens
Speaker: Jean O’Sullivan, CEO, Bus Éirean
Chair: Meg Dunphy, Policy, Content and Engagement Lead, CIPD
Drawing on her experience as both a CPO and CEO, Jean O'Sullivan shares her perspective on the relationship between organisational capability and business performance. This conversation explores how culture, leadership and workforce capability contribute to resilience, adaptability and sustainable growth. Gain insight into what business leaders value most from HR and the role the profession can play in shaping strategic decisions and organisational success.
📌 12:15 – Lunch
Networking and Thrive Marketplace
Afternoon sessions
📌 13:25 - The Thrive exchange: Facilitated roundtable expert-led conversations.
Topics:
- AI, workforce transformation and work design
- Commercial impact, risk and organisational performance
- Evidence, insight and measurement
- Manager capability and leadership confidence
- Sustainable performance and human sustainability
- Trust, culture and employee voice
- Wellbeing, health and attendance
Chair: Linda Waters, Senior Employer Solutions Manager, CIPD
What does Thrive look like in practice? Continue the conversation and turn insight into action at The Thrive Exchange. Join a facilitated discussion with peers facing similar organisational challenges and opportunities. Guided by the themes explored throughout the day, participants will explore workforce transformation, leadership, organisational performance, employee experience and future capability, sharing practical ideas that can be applied within their own context. Insights from these discussions will help inform the Thrive Report and contribute to a shared evidence base for the profession.
📌 14:20 – Break and Thrive Marketplace
Networking and refreshments
📌 14:40 - Panel: Beyond efficiency: How AI can create better work and better outcomes
Speakers:
- Will Fitzgerald, Associate Director, Scientific & Capability, Novartis
- Declan Fitzgerald, Founder, Hireovate
- Cleo Mc Cormack, Human & AI Transformation, Future of Work Thought Leader
Chair: Linda Waters, Senior Employer Solutions Manager, CIPD
AI is transforming how work is designed, delivered and measured, but the opportunity extends far beyond efficiency. This panel explores how organisations are using AI to redesign work, strengthen capability, improve decision-making and unlock new sources of value.
Hear from senior practitioners on where AI is creating genuine business impact, how roles and skills are evolving, and why organisational adaptability is becoming a greater differentiator than technology itself. Discover how HR can support responsible AI adoption that builds trust, develops capability and helps organisations innovate and perform in a rapidly changing environment.
📌 15.00 - Mind Health - Supporting minds, strengthening workforces: The next frontier
Speaker: Sinead Proos, Head of Health & Wellbeing, Laya Healthcare
📌 15:20 - Closing keynote: The future we choose
Speaker: Dr Brian Pennie, Psychologist, neuroscientiest & speaker
Drawing together the day's themes, this closing keynote challenges delegates to consider the choices that will shape the future of their organisations and the profession. Reflect on the evidence, insights and conversations from throughout the day and leave with fresh perspectives on leadership, adaptability, resilience and the role people professionals can play in helping organisations navigate change and create lasting value.
📌 15.55 - Conference Close: Closing Reflections
Speaker: Linda Waters, Senior Employer Solutions Manager, CIPD
A final opportunity to reflect on the day's key insights, themes and takeaways.
Please Note
Cancellations MUST be notified in writing.
No refund can be made for cancellations received after 1 October 2026. A substitution may be made at any time.
CIPD reserves the right to cancel or reschedule the event or change its associated programme or substitute a speaker. In the event of cancellation, liability is limited to the amount of registration only.
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