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AI as the New HR Thought Partner - Live at Transform 2026
About this episode
Transcript
About this episode
In this special live episode of the Future Proof HR podcast, recorded on the floor at Transform 2026 in Las Vegas, Thomas Kunjappu caught up with Jenn Congdon, SVP and Chief People Officer at M Financial Group, for a candid conversation about where AI is already delivering value for HR teams and where the function is headed next.
M Financial Group is an insurance, reinsurance, and wealth management organization built around a community of member firms, with a mission centered on helping those firms succeed, thrive, and realize their full potential.
They got into how Jenn is using AI to prepare for board and committee meetings by stress-testing presentations through the lens of each stakeholder, why she sees AI as a thought partner rather than a replacement for people, and what she would wave away if she had a magic wand: the fragmented, multi-source data problem that keeps HR from making truly business-driven decisions.
Topics Discussed:
Using Microsoft Copilot to pressure-test board presentations and anticipate hard questions
Why HR's AI progress often lags behind product and technology teams, and how to close the gap
The vision for AI-powered self-service that handles repetitive HR questions at scale
Why AI should eliminate non-value-add work, not the human judgment behind it
The data consolidation challenge: pulling insights from 15 different sources into one place
What it means for AI to be a responsible thought partner for HR leaders
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About the guest
Jennifer (Jenn) Congdon
Jennifer (Jenn) Congdon is the SVP and Chief People Officer at M Financial Group, an insurance, reinsurance, and wealth management organization built around a member firm community. With more than 30 years of HR experience, Jenn has built her career at the intersection of business strategy and people leadership, holding senior roles at Ecobat, Watts Water Technologies, Xylem, Rexnord, and Honeywell.
She also founded a consulting practice specializing in human capital strategy, executive coaching, change management, and organization design. Known for driving large-scale change quickly, Jenn brings a business-first lens to HR and believes the function is at its best when it enables people, process, and performance to move together toward a common goal.
Jennifer (Jenn) Congdon is the SVP and Chief People Officer at M Financial Group, an insurance, reinsurance, and wealth management organization built around a member firm community. With more than 30 years of HR experience, Jenn has built her career at the intersection of business strategy and people leadership, holding senior roles at Ecobat, Watts Water Technologies, Xylem, Rexnord, and Honeywell.
She also founded a consulting practice specializing in human capital strategy, executive coaching, change management, and organization design. Known for driving large-scale change quickly, Jenn brings a business-first lens to HR and believes the function is at its best when it enables people, process, and performance to move together toward a common goal.
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The leading podcast for the future of HR
The leading podcast for the future of HR
The future of HR is being shaped by real operators doing the work.
If you’ve led change, navigated challenges, or learned valuable lessons in people operations, we’d love to hear your perspective.
Apply below to be considered as a guest on the show.
The future of HR is being shaped by real operators doing the work.
If you’ve led change, navigated challenges, or learned valuable lessons in people operations, we’d love to hear your perspective.
Apply below to be considered as a guest on the show.