50 Heads of HR
from leading Asian and global companies
20 Heads of Executive Education
from top business school
Since 2017, MERIT has been a unique forum for HR and L&D directors of companies from different industries and Executive Education leaders to learn, share challenges and explore solutions together within an international professional community in a focused, highly interactive environment.
The MERIT Summit is a learning showcase, an ideas conference, and a hands-on strategy session with experts and peers, enabling participants to develop a culture of learning, innovation, and growth in their organisations.
Further to our mission to empower people and organisations The MERIT Awards have been designed to award impactful transformational initiatives in the corporate and higher education sectors.
Speakers
PROGRAMME AT A GLANCE
• Powerful Keynotes by academic and corporate leaders with a strategic vision to help organisations and people thrive in an ever-changing world.
• Interactive Workshops to dive deeper into key topics such as psychological safety, emotional intelligence, people analytics and sustainable careers.
• Unconference and Peer Consulting – participant driven formats to discuss ideas and find solutions to current challenges.
Sponsors
Bring your brand and expertise into the spotlight. Explore the MERIT Sponsorship advantage.
More than ever, organisations face relentless change driven by technology, geopolitical uncertanties, societal shifts, and the evolving needs of individuals. HR, L&D and Higher Education leaders must align strategy, people, and organisational priorities while addressing tensions between tradition and innovation, stability and adaptability, performance and well-being.
Strategy-People-Organisation: The Never-Ending Transformation Cycle
08:15 – 09:00
REGISTRATION AND COFFEE
09:00 – 09:20
WELCOME & OPENING NOTES
Chris Pether, Summit Chairperson, Managing Director, PeopleSmart
Christophe Coutat, CEO & Founder, Advent Group
Dr. Nicolas Péjout, Executive Vice-President, emlyon business school
09:20 – 09:50
The Future Directory: an antidote to the strategic void
Thomas Gauthier, Professor and Associate Dean for Anthropocene, emlyon business school
09:50 – 10:20
Reframing Culture to Drive Organizational Impact
Dr. Marcus Collins, Marketing Professor, Ross Business School, University of Michigan
10:20 – 10:50
COFFEE BREAK
10:50 – 11:20
11:20 – 11:40
MERIT Awards Shortlist – Organisational Development
ÖBB Infrastruktur #sheconnect - Katarina Roder & Andreas Beer
KCLyceum: Making the World a Better Place One Leader at a Time - Dr. Tim Sellick
11:45 – 12:35
UNCONFERENCE, PEER CONSULTING
12:35 – 13:35
NETWORKING LUNCH
13:40 – 13:50
13:50 – 14:20
PANEL: Responsible Leadership - Balancing People and Business Needs
Christophe Vanden Eede, Global Head of Talent Management, bpostgroup
Xavier Dupont, CEO, Antell
Alexia Ceppi, Head of Learning & Development Retail Operations International, Swatch
Fanny_Heyndrickx, Global Human Resources Manager, BASF
Moderated by: Vlad Bog, Global Managing Partner, Talent Chess Game
14:20 – 15:00
MERIT Awards Shortlist – People Development
Cambridge Judge Business School: Executive Coaching - Kal Sandhu & Martin Saunders
Leonardo SpA: Springboard Women's Development Programme Isobel Nash & Sam Jenkins
King's College London and ChangeSchool: T-Level Professional Development: A movement for change Viren Lall
IE School of Science & Technology: Sustainability Datathon - Elisa Ruiz
15:00 – 15:30
COFFEE BREAK
15:30 – 16:30
MASTERCLASSES & WORKSHOPS
Room B2-111: 1) Masterclass: Coping with AI Implementation
Dr. Guillermo de Haro, Vice Dean, IE University School of Science & Technology
Room B2-110: 2) Interactive Workshop: Words are Events: how we speak about change matters more than we know
Minola Jac, Global Change and Transformation Lead, Syngenta Group
Room B2-112: 3) Interactive Workshop: Leading Transformation in Complex Times
Els Van de Water VP Head of People, Philips
Matthew Farmer, Managing Director, Emerging World
16:30 – 17:15
MERIT Awards Shortlist – Leadership Development
Ivey Executive Education: Holcim Advanced Leaders’ Program - Bryan Benjamin
HARTMANN Group & CONTRAS: Dare to Lead - Elena Ivanushkina & Kirsten Hein
Pertamina International Shipping: Next Wave & Navigator - Dewi Husain & Khairul Zainuddin
Cemex EMEA CoachUp! - Digital Coaching Experience - Carlos Delgado & Carolina Martinez
17:15 – 17:45
Leading in a Polycrisis
Sam Ray, Head of CCL’s Next Gen Leadership Practice in EMEA, Center for Creative Leadership
18:00 – 19:00
COCKTAIL RECEPTION @ emlyon
20:00 – 22:30
GALA DINNER @ Sofitel Bellecour (optional, extra charge)
08:30 – 09:00
WELCOME COFFEE
09:00 – 09:05
09:05 – 09:35
09:35 – 10:15
MERIT Awards Shortlist – Innovation in Higher Education & Learning
IE School of Politics, Economics, and Global Affairs: Ocean Conservation Partnership - Borja Santos
Ecole Polytechnique: Executive Master - Aleksandar Protic
Make Real and London Business School: AI for Storytelling - Sophie Costin & Jade Mountain
IU International University of Applied Sciences: SynteaNEXT - Quintus Stierstorfer & Mark Zakhvatkin
10:15 – 10:45
CLO Panel: The New L&D Mandate - from Training Provider to Transformation Partner
Patrick Benammar, Learning & Development Vice-President, Renault Group
Beatriz Palaric, Head of Global Learning & Development, Opella
Marie_Deschamps, Head of ENGIE University, Group Learning & Development Director, ENGIE
Moderated by: Evgeny Lukin, Director Executive Education & Development, Rennes School of Business
10:45 – 11:05
COFFEE BREAK
11:05 – 12:05
WORKSHOPS
Room B2-110: 1) Preserving Personal Ecology: an Imperative for Corporate Leaders
Dr. Tessa Melkonian, Professor of Management & Organizational Behavior
Room B2-112: 2) Embedding AI in the Workplace
Martin Barner, Head EX & HR Transformation, Sandoz
Room B2-111: 3) Designing a Future-Ready Organization: Strategic Transformation for HR Leaders
Nicolas Rolland, Group HRVP HR Performance, Analytics & Digital, HR & AI, ENGIE
Evgeny Lukin, Director Executive Education & Development, Rennes School of Business
12:05 – 12:35
The Great Decoupling: Re-imagining Work, Workers, and Workplaces
Navarun Bhattacharya, Principal Talent Management / PXT, Amazon
12:35 – 12:50
MERITS AWARD CEREMONY
12:50 – 13:00
SUMMIT WRAP-UP
13:00 – 14:00
NETWORKING LUNCH
Strategy-People-Organisation: The Never-Ending Transformation Cycle
08:15 – 09:00
REGISTRATION AND COFFEE
09:00 – 09:20
WELCOME & OPENING NOTES
Chris Pether, Summit Chairperson, Managing Director, PeopleSmart
Christophe Coutat, CEO & Founder, Advent Group
Dr. Nicolas Péjout, Executive Vice-President, emlyon business school
09:20 – 09:50
The Future Directory: an antidote to the strategic void
Thomas Gauthier, Professor and Associate Dean for Anthropocene, emlyon business school
09:50 – 10:20
Reframing Culture to Drive Organizational Impact
Dr. Marcus Collins, Marketing Professor, Ross Business School, University of Michigan
10:20 – 10:50
COFFEE BREAK
10:50 – 11:20
11:20 – 11:40
MERIT Awards Shortlist – Organisational Development
ÖBB Infrastruktur #sheconnect - Katarina Roder & Andreas Beer
KCLyceum: Making the World a Better Place One Leader at a Time - Dr. Tim Sellick
11:45 – 12:35
UNCONFERENCE, PEER CONSULTING
12:35 – 13:35
NETWORKING LUNCH
13:40 – 13:50
13:50 – 14:20
PANEL: Responsible Leadership - Balancing People and Business Needs
Christophe Vanden Eede, Global Head of Talent Management, bpostgroup
Xavier Dupont, CEO, Antell
Alexia Ceppi, Head of Learning & Development Retail Operations International, Swatch
Fanny_Heyndrickx, Global Human Resources Manager, BASF
Moderated by: Vlad Bog, Global Managing Partner, Talent Chess Game
14:20 – 15:00
MERIT Awards Shortlist – People Development
Cambridge Judge Business School: Executive Coaching - Kal Sandhu & Martin Saunders
Leonardo SpA: Springboard Women's Development Programme Isobel Nash & Sam Jenkins
King's College London and ChangeSchool: T-Level Professional Development: A movement for change Viren Lall
IE School of Science & Technology: Sustainability Datathon - Elisa Ruiz
15:00 – 15:30
COFFEE BREAK
15:30 – 16:30
MASTERCLASSES & WORKSHOPS
Room B2-111: 1) Masterclass: Coping with AI Implementation
Dr. Guillermo de Haro, Vice Dean, IE University School of Science & Technology
Room B2-110: 2) Interactive Workshop: Words are Events: how we speak about change matters more than we know
Minola Jac, Global Change and Transformation Lead, Syngenta Group
Room B2-112: 3) Interactive Workshop: Leading Transformation in Complex Times
Els Van de Water VP Head of People, Philips
Matthew Farmer, Managing Director, Emerging World
16:30 – 17:15
MERIT Awards Shortlist – Leadership Development
Ivey Executive Education: Holcim Advanced Leaders’ Program - Bryan Benjamin
HARTMANN Group & CONTRAS: Dare to Lead - Elena Ivanushkina & Kirsten Hein
Pertamina International Shipping: Next Wave & Navigator - Dewi Husain & Khairul Zainuddin
Cemex EMEA CoachUp! - Digital Coaching Experience - Carlos Delgado & Carolina Martinez
17:15 – 17:45
Leading in a Polycrisis
Sam Ray, Head of CCL’s Next Gen Leadership Practice in EMEA, Center for Creative Leadership
18:00 – 19:00
COCKTAIL RECEPTION @ emlyon
20:00 – 22:30
GALA DINNER @ Sofitel Bellecour (optional, extra charge)
08:30 – 09:00
WELCOME COFFEE
09:00 – 09:05
09:05 – 09:35
09:35 – 10:15
MERIT Awards Shortlist – Innovation in Higher Education & Learning
IE School of Politics, Economics, and Global Affairs: Ocean Conservation Partnership - Borja Santos
Ecole Polytechnique: Executive Master - Aleksandar Protic
Make Real and London Business School: AI for Storytelling - Sophie Costin & Jade Mountain
IU International University of Applied Sciences: SynteaNEXT - Quintus Stierstorfer & Mark Zakhvatkin
10:15 – 10:45
CLO Panel: The New L&D Mandate - from Training Provider to Transformation Partner
Patrick Benammar, Learning & Development Vice-President, Renault Group
Beatriz Palaric, Head of Global Learning & Development, Opella
Marie_Deschamps, Head of ENGIE University, Group Learning & Development Director, ENGIE
Moderated by: Evgeny Lukin, Director Executive Education & Development, Rennes School of Business
10:45 – 11:05
COFFEE BREAK
11:05 – 12:05
WORKSHOPS
Room B2-110: 1) Preserving Personal Ecology: an Imperative for Corporate Leaders
Dr. Tessa Melkonian, Professor of Management & Organizational Behavior
Room B2-112: 2) Embedding AI in the Workplace
Martin Barner, Head EX & HR Transformation, Sandoz
Room B2-111: 3) Designing a Future-Ready Organization: Strategic Transformation for HR Leaders
Nicolas Rolland, Group HRVP HR Performance, Analytics & Digital, HR & AI, ENGIE
Evgeny Lukin, Director Executive Education & Development, Rennes School of Business
12:05 – 12:35
The Great Decoupling: Re-imagining Work, Workers, and Workplaces
Navarun Bhattacharya, Principal Talent Management / PXT, Amazon
12:35 – 12:50
MERITS AWARD CEREMONY
12:50 – 13:00
SUMMIT WRAP-UP
13:00 – 14:00
NETWORKING LUNCH
Stay tuned for updates
Speakers Lyon , June 2025
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Founded in 1872 by the Lyon Chamber of Commerce at the initiative of silk entrepreneurs, emlyon business school is one of the oldest management schools in Europe. It belongs to the top 1% of business schools worldwide, holding a triple accreditation from EQUIS, AACSB, and AMBA. emlyon business school welcomes 9,260 students of 130 nationalities across four global campuses (Lyon, Shanghai, Paris, and Mumbai). The School relies on a Faculty of 174 international research professors and a network of 220 academic partners worldwide to offer excellence in learning and global exposure. It has a community of 48,000 graduates in more than 130 countries. |
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As a Mission-driven company since 2021, emlyon's purpose is to: "provide lifelong training and support to enlightened people who effectively change organizations to build a society that is fairer, show solidarity for others and respect the planet." |
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FREE INVITATION
- A limited number of complimentary passes will be offered to HR Corporate VP/Director level (decision-maker) and will include: attendance to all sessions, refreshments, lunches and networking breaks.
Conference pass
Regular rate price EUR 1950
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All tickets include full access to all conference sessions, lunches and refreshments throughout the summit and social activities.
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