Audience Q&A – Lessons from Leading Practitioners

Rupert Bader

Former Group Director, Workforce Strategy & Planning · Walmart

Paul Batten

Head of Global People Analytics · Takeda

This short Q&A brings together Rupert Baden, Paul Batten, Antony Ebelle-Ebanda, and Ian O’Keefe following their individual sessions. Each has presented on critical aspects of people analytics, workforce intelligence, finance alignment, and AI adoption. The discussion gives the audience a chance to press deeper into their stories, ask practical questions, and surface lessons that don’t always make it into formal presentations. Expect candid, practitioner-level answers to help you take forward the ideas most relevant to your own challenges.

• Direct follow-up on keynotes and case studies from each speaker.
• Audience-driven questions on finance alignment, hiring transformation, and AI in practice.
• Cross-cutting themes such as governance, adoption, and metrics.
• Comparisons of approaches across industries and geographies.

• Hear unfiltered answers from senior practitioners to common challenges in people analytics and workforce planning.
• Clarify methods for aligning HR with Finance and business stakeholders.
• Understand how leaders approach risk, governance, and compliance in large-scale initiatives.
• Take away practical advice and candid lessons that extend beyond formal slides and frameworks.

Senior leaders are under pressure to deliver measurable value from people analytics, AI and workforce planning, while balancing compliance, financial discipline and adoption. Cross-examining practitioners who have delivered these projects provides clarity on what can realistically be achieved, common pitfalls, and how to translate frameworks into business-ready results.