HCI Talks · Leadership Roundtable

Are CHROs Ready for the Next AI Talent War?

Speakers wanted: an HCI Leadership Roundtable for CHROs, GCC leaders and talent heads, hosted by Bhaskar Anand, on Thursday 19 November 2026, 6:00 to 6:45 PM IST, online on Google Meet. Six speaker seats, free, by selection. India's GCCs are no longer hiring for cost. They are hiring for capability, and the capability in shortest supply is AI. Demand for AI-fluent talent is growing several times faster than overall GCC hiring, and that gap is the new talent war. In this roundtable six practitioners debate the decisions that actually move the needle: build, buy or borrow AI skills; whether 3 to 4 times salary premiums are a market reality or a failure of planning; who should own AI capability, HR, the CTO or every line manager; whether Tier-2 cities ease the war or simply move it; and the one talent metric a CHRO should take to the board. Who can apply: speakers must be registered members of HCI Local. Not a member yet? Join HCI Local at hcitalks.com/local first, then request your seat with the same email address. Bring one real decision you made, what happened, and what you would do differently. No vendor pitches. We select for a range of experience: at least two CHROs, one GCC site leader, one voice from a non-metro hub, and no more than one person per company. Everyone who requests a seat hears back within three working days. Read the full HCI Talks Leadership Brief, including the ten-question CHRO readiness check, at hcitalks.com/knowledge.