Engagedly Names Its 2026 Top 100 HR Influencers

Engagedly has published its tenth annual Top 100 HR Influencers list for 2026, recognizing the people shaping HR practice, leadership and the future of work. This year's list is an unranked cohort: honorees are grouped by the area of their strongest current contribution across ten specialties, from AI in HR to talent acquisition.

Alongside the Top 100, Engagedly names "The Essential 10" — ten globally defining voices recognized separately from the official list for their sustained influence on work, leadership, culture and people practice. They include Lynda Gratton, Patty McCord, Simon Sinek, Marshall Goldsmith, Dave Ulrich and Peter Cappelli.

According to Engagedly, candidates were reviewed for "impact, innovation, recency, professional social presence, published thought leadership, and contribution to the HR community." The list was published on September 4, 2026.

What changed from 2025

DHRMap tracks both years' lists on its people profiles. By our comparison, 24 of this year's 100 honorees were not on Engagedly's 2025 list. The ten specialty groups are evenly sized, with nine to eleven honorees each.

24 honorees also appear on HR Executive's [2026 Top 100 HR Tech Influencers](/news/hr-tech-and-hr-executive-name-the-2026-top-100-hr-tech-influencers) list — among them Josh Bersin, Dave Ulrich, Jason Averbook, Stacia Garr, Steve Boese, William Tincup, Ben Eubanks, David Green and Tim Sackett. Being named on both is a useful signal of who is currently shaping the HR-technology conversation specifically.

The list also comes in a year of change for Engagedly itself, which [merged with Energage in July 2026] and now brands itself "an Energage company"(/news/energage-and-engagedly-merge-to-unite-ai-talent-management-employee-engagement-and-employer-brand).

The full 2026 list

Titles and organizations are shown as listed by Engagedly. Each name links to the person's DHRMap profile.

The Essential 10

• Sol Rashidi — People first AI strategist, educator and author, Author of 'Your AI Survival Guide'
• Lynda Gratton — CEO and Founder, HSM Advisory
• Herminia Ibarra — The Charles Handy Professor of Organizational Behaviour, London Business School
• Patty McCord — Principal, Patty McCord Consulting
• Tsedal Neeley — Professor & Future of Work Expert, Harvard Business School
• Mita Mallick — Workplace Consultant, Executive Coach and Author, Hay House, Inc.
• Simon Sinek — Leadership Expert, Bestselling Author and Founder, The Optimism Company
• Marshall Goldsmith — Executive Coach & Leadership Expert, Marshall Goldsmith Group
• Dave Ulrich — HR Thought Leader, Author and Co-Founder, The RBL Group
• Peter Cappelli — HR and Talent Management Expert, Professor, The Wharton School

AI in HR & Workforce Automation

• Frida Polli — Founder, Scholar and global AI Advisor, Alethia AI
• Jacqui Canney — Chief People and AI Enablement Officer, ServiceNow
• Jamy Conrad — Director of People, UFCU
• Jason Walker — CEO, Central Texas Talent Group
• Josh Bersin — Global HR Industry Analyst, The Josh Bersin Company
• Lydia Wu — Senior Director Analyst, AI in HR and Future of Work, Gartner
• Noelle Russell — CEO and Founder, AI Leadership Institute
• Ravin Jesuthasan — Global Leader, Transformation Services, Mercer
• Rey Ramirez — Founder & Consultant, Thrive HR Consulting

Employee Experience & Wellbeing

• Arianna Huffington — Founder and CEO, Thrive Global
• Craig Forman — Founder and Chief People Scientist, CultureC
• Cruz Imelda Wicks — CEO, Sacramentals
• Erica Keswin — Human Workplace Expert, Author, Keynote Speaker, Erica Keswin
• Gethin Nadin — Chief Advisory Officer, Benifex
• Hollie Castro — Independent Director & Compensation Committee Chair, Groupe Dynamite
• Katelin Holloway — Founding Partner, 776
• Laszlo Bock — Senior Advisor, Anthropic
• Liz Ryan — Founder & CEO, Human Workplace
• Marcus Buckingham — Founder, LoveThat
• Jason Lauritsen — CEO and Executive Advisor, Connected Performance Group

Employer Brand, Culture, & DEI

• Angela Briggs Paige — Chief People Officer, Acelero, Inc.
• Antoinetta Mosley — Founder & Principal Leader, Leadership & Culture Strategy, I Follow the Leader
• Ashley T Brundage — President & CEO, Empowering Differences
• Erika Broadwater Deaver — VP Talent Acquistion Officer, BNP Paribas
• Jörgen Sundberg — Founder and CEO, Link Humans
• Melonie Parker — Vice President, Employee Engagement, Google
• Minda Harts — Author, Speaker and Workplace Consultant, The Memo LLC
• Netta Jenkins — Founder & CEO | Leadership Performance Strategist, Holistic Inclusion Consulting
• Priti Patel — Chief People Officer, G2
• Robin Schooling — Director, Audience and Community, Quotient | HR

HR Tech & Innovation

• Artemiz Güler — Founder, HRTera.co
• Chad Sowash — Workforce strategist and transformational leader, The Chad and Cheese Podcast
• Coreyne Woodman Holoubek — Founder and CEO, Progressive HR
• Gretchen Alarcon — SVP/GM HCM and Pay, UKG
• J. Ofori Agboka — Vice President – People, Experience & Technology (PXT), Amazon
• Jason Averbook — HR Transformation Expert, Author and CEO, Now To Next
• Jeanne Achille — Chief Strategy Officer, The Devon Group
• Oksanna Elchyan — Founder & CEO, About People
• Stacia Garr — Co Founder and Principal Analyst, RedThread Research
• Steve Boese — President and Co Founder, H3 HR Advisors
• William Tincup — Co Founder and Editor at Large, WRKdefined

Leadership Development

• Adam Grant — Organizational Psychologist & Professor, The Wharton School
• Amy Edmondson — Professor, Psychological Safety Expert & Author, Harvard Business School
• Christopher McCormick — CEO, Visionary Consulting
• Daneal Charney — Leadership Coach & Founder, FIVEX
• David Rock — Co-Founder and CEO, NeuroLeadership Institute
• Jacob Morgan — Founder Futurist & Employee Experience Expert, Future of Work Leaders
• Liz Wiseman — Executive Advisor and CEO, The Wiseman Group
• Michael Bungay Stanier — Author and Founder, MBS.Works
• Tanvi Mittal — Future of Work Advocate, VLink Inc.
• Tasha Eurich — Principal & Organizational Coaching Leader, The Eurich Group

Learning, Skills & Career Development

• Dr. Angela Duckworth — Psychologist & Professor, University of Pennsylvania
• Erik van Vulpen — Co-Founder & People Analytics Leader, AIHR
• Garry Ridge — Workplace Culture Coach, Leadership Advisor & Founder, The Learning Moment
• Heather Whiteman — People Analytics Expert & VP, Society For People Analytics
• Julie Develin — Senior Partner, Human Insights, UKG
• Kathi Enderes — Senior Vice President, Research and Global Industry Analyst, The Josh Bersin Company
• Riina Hellström — Founder, Agile HR Community
• Trisha Steed — Co Founder and Chief Strategy Officer, H3 HR Advisors
• Whitney Johnson — Leadership Development Expert, Talent Coach & Founder, Disruption Advisors

Organizational Development

• Brené Brown — Leadership Expert & Professor, Brené Brown Education and Research Group
• Catherine Mattice — Founder and CEO, Civility Partners, Inc
• Erica Dhawan — Founder and CEO, Cotential
• Frances Frei — Professor & Leadership Expert, Harvard Business School
• Katy George — Corporate VP, Workforce Transformation, Microsoft
• Kevin Oakes — Founder and Chief Strategy Officer, The Institute for Corporate Productivity
• Kyle Lagunas — HR Technology Analyst, Future of Work Expert & Founder, Kyle and Co
• Misty McCraw — People Development Advisor & Founder, PeoplePro HR Solutions
• Prof. Dr. M. Amr Sadik — Group Chief Human Resources Officer, KataKit

People Analytics & Workforce Strategy

• Al Adamsen — Leadership Advisor, Organizational Transformation Expert & Founder, Future of Work Advisors
• Alexis Fink — Workforce Analytics Expert & Founder, Propeller Insight, LLC.
• Ben Eubanks — HR Tech Analyst & CEO, Lighthouse Research and Advisory
• David Green — People Analytics Expert & Co-Founder, Insight222
• Javier Calzolari — People Analytics Educator & Founder, RecursosHumanos.com
• Karin Kimbrough — Chief Economist, LinkedIn
• Keith McNulty — People Analytics Scientist & Head of Talent Assessment, Citadel
• Dr. Serena H. Huang — AI & People Analytics Expert & Founder, Data With Serena
• Stela Lupushor — People Analytics Leader & Chief Reframer, Reframe.Work Inc.
• Stephanie Murphy, Ph.D. — People Analytics Leader & Founder, Society for People Analytics

Talent Acquisition

• Glen Cathey — HR Technologist & SVP Talent Advisory & Digital Strategy, Randstad
• Greg Savage — Recruitment Expert & Founder, Savage Recruitment Academy
• Hung Lee — Talent Acquisition Expert & Editor, Recruiting Brainfood
• Katrina Collier — Recruitment Expert, Author & Keynote Speaker, Katrina Collier Limited
• Kyle Samuels — Founder and CEO, Creative Talent Endeavors
• Lou Adler — CEO, Performance Based Hiring Learning Systems
• Meghan M. Biro — Founder & Talent & HR Visionary, TalentCulture
• Sam Neo — Founder & CEO, Stories of Asia
• Stacy Zapar — Talent Acquisition Expert, Founder & Community Lead, Tenfold and Fraud Squad
• Tim Sackett — HR & Talent Technology Analyst, Recruiting Executive & Co-Founder, HR Tech 100 Fund

Talent Management

• Amy Cappellanti Wolf — EVP and Chief People Officer, Dayforce
• Anna A. Tavis — People Strategy Scholar & Department Chair, New York University
• Claude Silver — Workplace Culture Leader & Chief Heart Officer, VaynerX
• Danielle Farage — Workplace Futurist and Gen Z Expert, Danielle Farage LLC
• Edie Goldberg, Ph.D. — Talent Management Expert, HR Strategist & Founder and President, E. L. Goldberg and Associates
• Jonathan D. Reynolds — Hiring Expert, Leadership Speaker and CEO, Titus Talent Strategies
• Kris Dunn — HR & Talent Acquisition Leader & CHRO, United States & Canada, Marriott International
• Natasha Lakhani — SVP of People and Talent, Super.com
• Paula Caligiuri, Ph.D. — Organizational Psychologist, Co-Founder and President, Skiilify
• Steve Cadigan — Founder and Talent Advisor, Cadigan Talent Ventures
• Tara Hsu — Talent Acquisition Leader & Recruiting Strategy Expert, Marvell Technology

Source: [Engagedly — 2026 Top 100 HR Influencers](https://engagedly.com/resources/top-100-human-resources-influencers/top-100-human-resources-influencers-2026/). Browse more HR leaders on [DHRMap People](/people).