2026 European Summer Summit — Sitges, Barcelona, Spain

Darrell Hughes is Chief People Officer at Ryanair, leading HR, internal communications and recruitment for over 26,000 staff across 90+ European bases, having built his 24-year Ryanair career on HR-focused business and MBA studies.

Julie Devos is a Belgian employment lawyer and senior associate with Claeys & Engels in Antwerp, specialising in various aspects of employment law, and a member of the Antwerp Bar since 2017.

Louise O’Donnell is chairperson of Ireland’s Labour Court, a former Deputy Chair and worker member, and a qualified barrister with extensive senior trade union and industrial relations experience in IMPACT/Fórsa and the Irish civil service.

Alan Wild is Senior Advisor, Global Employee Relations to the Washington DC based CHRO Association and CEO of the consulting company Global Employee Relations Solutions. Alan’s 40 year career in employee relations includes work in the corporate, consulting and intergovernmental world.

Prior to returning to the HR Policy Association Alan was Employee Relations Director for Amazon in Europe and for major operations in the world outside of the US and Canada. At IBM, he was Vice President of Employee Relations and Engagement for the company’s worldwide operations. As a consultant, Alan worked directly with more than 100 of the Fortune 500 companies in the United States and a number of major European, Australian, South African and Japanese enterprises. His firm also worked on assignments for the United Nations, The International Labour Organization, the International Red Cross, the European Commission and the Global Fund. Finally, Alan worked for ten years in the United Nations System, as HR Director and member of the Director General’s senior executive team at the International Labour Organization in Geneva and as CHRO of the International Red Cross. He has represented the business community internationally at the OECD (BIAC), the ILO (as a Governing Body member), the United Nations (through the International Organization of Employers) and the European Union (through BusinessEurope).

Alan has worked, or undertaken significant human resource projects, in more than 90 countries in East, West and Central Europe, North, Central and South America, Africa, the Middle East and throughout Asia. He has lived in various locations in Europe, North America and Africa, spending one third of his working life in each of the US, the UK and Switzerland. Alongside his employment credentials, Alan is author of a number of books in the area of employee relations and business advocacy and taught regularly at major universities in Europe, the United States and Japan. His Podcasts “A Walk on the Wild Side … Managing Employee Relations in Global and Millennial times” were regularly listened to by almost 10,000 employee relations professionals in 70 countries.

Alan was born in the UK and works comfortably in English and French. He lives with his wife Motoko, born in Japan, and their two children, born in Switzerland, and brought up in the United States, and has recently moved to the Cotswolds, England.

Gernot Brenscheidt is a Senior Advisor for European Affairs with more than 20 years of experience in senior HR leadership roles across complex multinational and mid-sized corporate environments. He brings deep operational and strategic expertise across core HR disciplines, with a strong track record of guiding organizations through complex organizational and workforce issues at both national and international levels. Gernot is particularly experienced in working constructively with trade unions and central and local works councils, and is known for fostering trusted, business-oriented relationships that support effective collaboration and sustainable outcomes.

Lisa Salas serves as the Director of European Affairs at the Association, leading and growing a senior-level community of Chief HR Officers and labor relations practitioners focused on navigating Europe’s evolving employment, workforce and societal landscape.

With over 25 years of experience advising executive leadership teams in multinational organizations, she brings deep expertise in:

• European labor relations and social dialogue
• European Works Councils and transnational consultation
• Workforce transformation, restructuring and change
• Navigating regulatory, political and trade union complexity across Europe

Henry D. Eickelberg serves as the Chief Experience Officer of CHRO Association and CEO of HR Policy Global. As the CXO, Henry oversees the business, financial, operational, and strategic priorities of the Association.

Henry also founded and leads the HR Policy Global program which provides HR, ER, and labor relations insights, training, and updates for key international markets for over 120 multinational corporations.

Henry received his J.D. from Penn State Law in 2010 and has an LL.M. in Securities and Financial Regulations from Georgetown University Law Center. Mr. Eickelberg also has an Operations Management Degree from Virginia Tech.

Ani Huang is President, Policy and Practice of the CHRO Association, the only independent organization serving Chief Human Resource Officers and top HR executives of major multinational corporations.

Ani’s reputation and deep expertise in C-suite HR issues make her a trusted resource and confidant for CHROs and rewards executives. She regularly advises top executives and senior policymakers on human capital issues ranging from executive compensation and workforce AI to CEO succession. Her expertise also extends to the CHRO’s evolving role in driving business results by shaping corporate strategy.

As President, Policy and Practice, Ani leads the Association’s value offering to members. In this role, she guides a team of global experts in creating invaluable resources and peer engagement opportunities that CHROs and senior HR executives rely on.

Ani also serves as CEO of the Association’s Center on Executive Compensation. Her leadership established the Center as the top independent resource for CHROs and total rewards executives navigating complex executive compensation and governance challenges.

Before joining the CHRO Association, Ani held senior HR leadership roles including Vice President, Global Compensation and Benefits at Global Payments and HR Advisor at Deutsche Bank.

Ani earned her degree in International Relations from Stanford University and is frequently sought after by executives, policymakers, industry organizations, and the media for her insights on complex workplace issues and the voice of the CHRO.

Gian Luigi Cattaneo is Vice President HR for IBM Europe Middle East and Africa. His areas of expertise are HR Strategy, Employee and Labor Relations, Comp & Benefit, Leadership Development. Gian Luigi has worked in several countries around the world and lived in Italy, Brazil, USA. He is now based in Madrid, Spain.

Janis is Senior Director Global Labor & Employee Relations at Wella Company, where he leads a global Center of Excellence and oversees labor relations and employee representation strategy worldwide. Previously, he served as Head of Labor Relations & HR M&A at Siemens Energy, responsible for European co-determination, collective bargaining, and the integration of Siemens Gamesa. He brings extensive international experience from roles at Goodyear and DB Schenker and began his career as a labor law attorney at CMS Hasche Sigle.

David Fortney represents employers in employment and labor matters and hosts a podcast, DC Insider—Employer Update. Recent projects include: representing and counseling employers addressing Trump Administration new policies and Executive Orders, representation of employers in a wide range of EEOC, DOL and DOJ investigations and related matters; DOL audits -- Wage & Hour on FLSA and prevailing wage matters; regular interface with senior leadership and staff for Federal agencies; and, conducting sensitive workplace investigations.

He is a co-founder of Fortney & Scott, LLC with a broad-based practice representing and counseling employers in employment and labor matters, including equal employment opportunity requirements, wage and hour matters, federal contractor’s obligations, collective bargaining, and workplace health and safety.

David has been widely recognized for his professional accomplishments, including being named one of the leading employment lawyers in Washington, D.C. by the CHAMBERS USA survey of America’s Leading Lawyers for Business from 2005 through the present. He was selected for inclusion beginning in 2009 in The Best Lawyers in America, Washington D.C.’s Best Lawyers, and Super Lawyers. He was also awarded an AV rating (the highest level) by Martindale-Hubbell.

Before co-founding the firm, he previously served as the chief legal officer of the U.S. Department of Labor in Washington, D.C. during President George H.W. Bush’s term. As Acting Solicitor of Labor, David was responsible for enforcing over 140 laws regulating the nation’s workplaces and managing an agency with 800+ attorneys and support staff. Additionally, he advised Secretaries of Labor Elizabeth Dole and Lynn Martin and the Department of Labor agencies on a broad range of legal, policy, legislative, regulatory and enforcement issues.

David has testified before the U.S. Congress on several occasions and a state legislative committee on wage and hour matters. He is also a frequent lecturer and writer on employment-related topics and has appeared on CNN, CBS and Fox News.

David is a Partner at Lewis Silkin LLP in London. He specialises in collective employment law, with a particular focus on European Works Councils. He also has extensive experience advising on trade union recognition, industrial action and business reorganisations by employers with recognised trade unions.

José Miguel Mestre Vázquez joined Sagardoy in 2007 after two years of practice at another firm specializing in labor law, as well as completing an international placement at a U.S. law firm. José Miguel is a lawyer with a strong international profile, recognized for his negotiation skills and creative approach to addressing challenges and resolving conflicts. Currently, he complements his legal practice by teaching at various universities and actively participating in professional organizations such as the National Association of Labor Lawyers (ASNALA) and the EELE. He is also a member of the organizing committee for congresses held by the Ius Laboris alliance, of which Sagardoy is a founding member.

Additionally, he has been a member of the Barcelona Bar Association (ICAB) since 2005 and has served as the coordinator of the Aranzadi Social Forum in Barcelona since 2022.

Wilma B. Liebman was designated Chairman of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) by President Obama on January 20, 2009. She has served on the Board since November 14, 1997. She was first appointed by President Clinton and confirmed by the Senate to a five-year term that expired on December 16, 2002. She was reappointed by President Bush and confirmed by the Senate to a second term that expired on August 27, 2006 and to a third term that expired on August 27, 2011.

Prior to joining the NLRB, Ms. Liebman served for two years as Deputy Director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS). She acted as the chief operations officer of this federal agency, overseeing arbitration, alternative dispute resolution, international affairs and labor-management cooperation grants programs. In addition, Ms. Liebman advised the FMCS Director on issues involving major labor disputes and participated in significant negotiations as needed.

From 1994–1996, Ms. Liebman served as Special Assistant to the Director of FMCS. In this role, she was a key member of the Mediator Task Force on the Future of FMCS, an 18-member employee group charged with articulating a vision and recommendations to lead the Agency into the 21st century.

Prior to joining FMCS in January 1994, Ms. Liebman was Labor Counsel for the Bricklayers and Allied Craftsmen from 1990 through 1993. She served as Legal Counsel to the International Brotherhood of Teamsters for nine years and as staff attorney with the NLRB from 1974 to 1980.

Ms. Liebman is a past elected member of the Executive Board of the Industrial Relations Research Association and of The College of Labor and Employment Lawyers.

A native of Philadelphia, PA, Ms. Liebman holds a B.A. from Barnard College in New York City and a J.D. from the George Washington University Law Center.

Tom Hayes is a Senior Advisor of CHRO Association and HR Policy Global. He has been involved in industrial relations since 1972, first as a trade union official and then as a personnel director. In 1983, he began to work as an industrial relations and training consultant. In the early 1990s, the scope of the consultancy was expanded to take in European issues. He has been deeply involved with European Works Councils since the early 1990s. He has assisted in the negotiation of EWC agreements in a large number of major international companies and continues to support management in the effective operation of these EWCs. He advises a large number of transnational corporations on European employee relations strategy.

Tom has a BA from University College Dublin in History and Politics. He lectured for several years on European industrial relations in the National College of Industrial Relations in Dublin and has been a guest lecturer in University College, Dublin, Galway University, Nottingham Trent University and Leicester University. He is the co-editor of Practical Employment Law, a guide to Irish labour law and is co-author of Dismissal Law in Ireland. He is co-author, with Alan Wild, of the BEERG/HR Policy publications on the recast European Works Council Directive and global collective bargaining trends in 2009.