October 20th 2026
MaRS Waterfront, Toronto, Canada
The conversations your feed doesn't have.
One curated day with the People leaders actually shaping how work works. Application-only. HR, Talent Acquisition and People Ops leaders from across North America, in one room.
Our 2026 Attendees
Felix Health
•
Gorgias
•
Jane App
•
Shinydocs
•
ZayZoon
•
7shifts
•
Iversoft
•
Felix Health • Gorgias • Jane App • Shinydocs • ZayZoon • 7shifts • Iversoft •
This room is for you ifChief People Officers & founders
Setting people strategy at the top, and looking for peers who operate at the same altitude.
Heads of People & HR leaders
Running the function day to day, and ready for tactics you can use the moment you're back at your desk.
Talent Acquisition leaders
Owning how great teams get built, in a market that keeps rewriting the rules.
People Ops & Culture leaders
Designing the systems and the culture, and shaping what work feels like for everyone else.
YOU’RE PAST THE THEORY STAGE
The Summit is built for senior People professionals who own outcomes, not job titles on a badge. Every attendee is reviewed, so the room stays small, senior and worth your day.
what the day looks likeA DAY BUILT TO BE USEFUL
No keynote theatre, no vendor pitches from the stage. A tight, curated program of real talks, honest panels and conversations that go somewhere.
Breakfast and coffee
Doors open. Grab a coffee and a proper breakfast, settle in, and find a few faces before the first session.
Opening main stage panel
What the best CEOs now expect from their CPO. Moderated, no slides, no decks. The expectations landing on People leaders right now, said out loud.
AI builder breakouts
Every room is hands-on. You leave having built something real, not just watched a demo. Pick the track that matches how comfortable you are with AI.
Little to no hands-on AI yet. Start from the basics and build your first working thing.
Comfortable with the tools. Go deeper and build AI into how you already work.
Already building with AI. Push further and ship something more ambitious in the room.
Lightning talks
Member submitted and community voted. Five minutes each, high energy, one powerful idea you can take straight back to work.
Lunch
Seated and unhurried, with no programming. The conversations that matter most tend to start here.
Second main stage panel
Rethinking Hiring, Performance & Compensation for an AI-Enabled Workforce. A candid look at what holds up, what gets rebuilt, and what People leaders own now.
Breakout sessions, three tracks
Our deep dive topics, in smaller rooms built for real conversation. Pick the track closest to the work in front of you.
A deep dive into the People challenges shaping the year.
A deep dive into hiring and talent in an AI-shaped market.
A deep dive into presenting complex ideas with clarity and confidence.
Lightning talks, round two
More five minute sparks from the community. Short, sharp, and built to leave you with one clear takeaway.
Cocktail hour
A proper wind-down before dinner. Loosen the lanyard.
Intimate dinners
Small curated tables across the city's best rooms, matched by who you should actually meet.
WHAT YOU TAKE HOMEUSEFUL BY MONDAY
You're giving up a day out of office. You should leave with more than inspiration.
Something you actually built
In the AI builder breakouts you make a working tool or workflow yourself, not watch a demo. You leave with the thing, ready to use.
Tactics worth stealing
Lightning talks are member submitted and community voted. Two rounds across the day, each a five minute idea you can put to work the week you're back.
A sharper read on the AI shift
Two main stage panels: what CEOs now expect from their CPO, and how hiring, performance and compensation get rebuilt for an AI-enabled workforce. Leave seeing what's coming sooner.
Peers worth keeping
Deep dive breakouts, small group time and curated dinners, built so you leave with a handful of senior relationships, not a stack of cards.
"Practical tactics we can actually use, and inspiring ideas that will stick with me long after today."
What 2025 attendees said.
"Just WOW for The People People Group. Yesterday's Summit was one of the best I've been to. The right mix of content-filled sessions and networking breaks where we could dive deep with each other on key topics."
"The past two days reminded me why I love this work. Real, unfiltered conversations, surrounded by peers who care deeply about building better workplaces."
"There's something powerful about gathering a room full of folks who care deeply about people and culture, and then giving them a place and a platform to connect, debate, and spark new ideas."
"Everything I love about this HR community. Progressive, curious, and not afraid of a little healthy debate. The conversations were honest and forward-looking, focused on what it really means to lead People and Culture in a changing world."
"I feel full and energized from the Summit. A day full of HR practitioners coming together to share best practices, mistakes made, lessons learned, and practical resources."
"Inspired and re-energized. It felt great to attend the Summit at the MaRS Waterfront Innovation Centre in Toronto. It was energizing to be surrounded by so many passionate people and culture professionals."
From the 2025 Summit
2025 Summit Sponsors
FAQs
-
The Summit is curated for senior People leaders, including CPOs, Heads of People, Talent, and Ops who are driving real change inside modern organizations.
-
Get in touch with us by clicking here.
-
All tickets are final sale and non-refundable.
-
Yes, pending approval. We aim to maintain the integrity of the attendee mix.
-
Not this time. The value of the Summit is in the in-person connections and off-the-record conversations.
-
Yes, coffee, lunch, snacks, and refreshments are provided.
-
We’ve got you. If you’re excited to attend but need company approval or support to cover your ticket, we’ve created a ready-to-use email template and a short business case guide to help you make the ask.
The Day Fills Fast.
We review every application on a rolling basis.
The 2025 Summit sold out. Spots for 2026 are already moving — and we'd rather you didn't miss it.
