Analyst takeaways: UNLEASH America 2025 raised ‘the bar for what a HR technology conference should be’

A fortnight ago, we were in sunny Las Vegas for UNLEASH America 2025.

Over the three day show, attendees were treated to keynotes from the likes of MIT Professor Max Tegmark, The Algorithmithic Justice League’s  Dr. Joy Buolamwini, and Lenovo’s Chief Security & AI Officer Doug Fisher, as well as thought provoking sessions from HR leaders, analysts, and vendors.

Our analysts are a central part of the success of UNLEASH shows – we were honored that 50 analysts joined us in Las Vegas for this year’s International Festival of HR.

As experts in their fields, as the Editorial team was reflecting on UNLEASH America 2025, we asked our analyst community about their main highlights of the show. What makes UNLEASH America special?

Attendees enjoying the UNLEASH America Happy Hour

‘Real talk met real innovation’ at UNLEASH America 2025

For Al Adamsen, Analyst, Founder and CEO at the Future of Work Project, “UNLEASH America 2025 wasn’t just another event. It was an uncommonly valuable and enjoyable experience”.

“Real talk met real innovation,” adds Adamsen.

“What made the event really shine, even amidst the bright lights of Vegas, was the people.  HR leaders, practitioners, technologists, scientists, strategists all bringing their full, authentic selves to explore the big questions shaping the future of work.”

David Green, Managing Partner at Insight222, agrees.

He shares: “UNLEASH continues to raise the bar for what a HR technology conference should be: thoughtful content, an optimal mix of practitioners and technology firms, and lots of opportunity to learn, network and grow.”

“UNLEASH feels more relatable”; “Other conferences either have a very legacy feel that is out of touch with the way work happens today or they are trying overly hard to be relevant to the point of being crass and over the top,” states Ben Eubanks, Chief Research Officer, Lighthouse Research & Advisory.

“I know how important it is for attendees to find relevant content, valuable networking, and helpful solution providers. UNLEASH is where that happens.”

The quality of the content really stood out for the analyst community; in fact, the quality was so high that David Francis, Global Head of Research at Talent Tech Labs, even stated that our Production Director deserves a raise!

For Eubanks, our UNLEASH attendees get access to “real ideas about what’s coming next with workplace technology and how that will help them to meet the needs of the business”.

Howard Flint, CEO at AMP Strategists, added that UNLEASH America has “a particular community feel which is unique in our industry”.

There’s a “mutual desire by the whole community to learn, explore and discover what can be done and what needs to be done in the area of HR Technology”, and UNLEASH America provides the place for open, candid conversations to occur.

This is crucial because, as Adamsen puts it, “the future is being written right now with every conversation, with every experiment, with every decision”.

Moving beyond the AI hype, and towards real business value in HR

AI took center stage at this year’s International Festival of HR.

Our analysts noticed that the conversations around AI have shifted from previous UNLEASH events.

Speaking to UNLEASH, Madeline Laurano, Founder, Aptitude Research, shares: “In 2024, there was a lot of hesitation—deals stalled, HR teams felt paralyzed by internal stakeholders, and works councils slowed progress.

“This year, it’s a complete reversal.”

There’s been a “massive leap in capability now being offered to HR by advances in AI”  – “the challenge, but also excitement, is in truly understanding the potential available”, Flint from AMP tells UNLEASH.

For Kathi Enderes, SVP of Research at The Josh Bersin Company, UNLEASH America 2025 made it clear that “AI has evolved from a cool tool to experiment to creating real business value; if we focus on the right leadership, talent, and culture.

“The sentiment has shifted from ‘experimentation’ to pragmatic use.”

To this end, UNLEASH America 2025 provided an opportunity for Francis from Talent Tech Labs to get a pulse on the state of agentic AI in HR.

His conclusions are that vendors are in “an arms race of innovation”, but this isn’t just about building agentic AI for building’s sake; “I spoke to talent leaders who told me they were re-evaluating processes in light of new solutions”.

For Insight222’s Green, the highlight of the show was “the general sense of cautious optimism about AI that pervaded throughout the show”.

“Yes, we know that AI is going to be disruptive – to the organization as well as HR itself – but the dual focus of most people I spoke to of using AI to improve business performance while also enhancing employee experience and wellbeing makes me cautiously confident about the future.”

This came to the fore in numerous keynotes, Main Stage panels, breakout HR case studies, and across the Day One summits.

Speaking to UNLEASH, Gartner’s Senior Director Analyst Jackie Watrous highlight was the keynote from Max Tegmark about artificial general intelligence (AGI).

“His talk was highly engaging.

“While it is critical right now for organizations to double down on their near and mid-term investment and adoption of AI as this will drive success over organizations who continue to wait and see, it is important that we start to consider the inevitability of AGI and what impact that will have on society.”

Along a similar vein, Lenovo’s Fisher’s keynote stood out to Green.

Not only did Fisher pull out the importance of trust and governance around AI in HR, but he made the case for why HR leaders need to have a seat at the table.

“I also enjoyed how Doug highlighted the importance of HR and the role it plays in co-creating training, enabling AI-augmented teams, and driving a culture of innovation,” Green tells UNLEASH.

Lenovo’s Chief Security & AI Officer Doug Fisher on the Main Stage.

The beauty of UNLEASH on AI is how candidly speakers spoke – AI was talked about in a “non-hype fashion, trying to demystify and clarify the true opportunities and challenges”. For Brian Delle Donne, CEO & Co-Founder of Talent Talent Labs, that was refreshing.

Showcasing the best and brightest of HR tech

Beyond the keynotes and breakout sessions, UNLEASH America 2025 also hosted two awards during the three-day show.

First up, we had our Startup Award – the longest running in the HR tech industry. Congratulations to HireBrain, which emerged victorious in this year’s competition.

The Startup Award is always a top highlight of UNLEASH show from The Josh Bersin Compay’s Enderes. She regularly sits on the judging panel, and really enjoys learning about innovation in the sector.

Trish Steed, Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer at H3 HR Advisors, also listed the Startup Award as her highlight.

“This session not only highlights some of the most creative, innovative ideas in the industry. It introduces you to people who are passionate about how they are trying to elevate the workplace experience,” Steed tells UNLEASH.

“When I’m listening, I’m thinking about whether I’d spend my budget on the solution”, and Steed was impressed by all five finalists.

The second awards that we hosted on-site at UNLEASH America was the HR Tech Awards, in partnership with Lighthouse Research & Advisory.

Lighthouse’s Eubanks states: “I would be remiss if I didn’t give a shout out to the Best in Class HR Tech Awards session we ran celebrating some of the technology providers that are pushing the boundaries of innovation and value in the market. It was truly incredible to showcase their great work.”

This was UNLEASH’s first year partnering with Eubanks and his team on the HR Tech Awards – here’s to main more. You can find out all about the winners we celebrated at UNLEASH America 2025 here.

Lighthouse’s Ben Eubanks and George Rogers joined on stage for the HR Tech Awards by UNLEASH Founder & CEO Marc Coleman.

Concluding thoughts come from H3 HR’s Steed – “UNLEASH America continues to be a great place for HR professionals to learn, network, and collaborate.”

She calls on all our to mark our calendars from next year’s show – it’ll be at Caesar’s Forum, March 17 to 19. It’s never too early to grab a pass, they’re available now.