More than 270 participants attended Workforce Asia Summit 2026, organised by Sentiva, at The Forum, Cinnamon Life. Delegates rated it 4.7 out of 5. A common thread ran through the day: AI should inform workforce decisions, and people should make them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Four keynote speakers set the tone. Yohan Liyanage, Founder and CEO of Sentiva, opened with “Coming Clean on AI in HR: Hard Truths, Untapped Potential”. Dr CJ Meadows of S P Jain School of Global Management examined work in the age of AI. Anish Lalchandani, Global Head of Talent Management at A.P. Moller \u2013 Maersk, spoke on skills-based organisations. Zu Hui Yap of Montfort Care argued that the future of work is about solving what matters, not about jobs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Speakers covered AI’s role in HR, the shift to skills-based organisations and what talent management should look like next.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“AI is a paradigm shift for knowledge work, including HR. So, we need to rethink the work itself, not just do the same work faster,” said Yohan Liyanage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Two case studies kept the discussion practical. Suresh Muttiah, Group CHRO at Aitken Spence PLC, showed how the group uses AI in talent acquisition at scale, with Rukshan Salgado of Sentiva. Oshana Dias, COO, and Andrea Jayatilleka, Founding Director of Smart Quest, covered how leadership development and capability building drive organisational change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thushara Jayawardana, President of the Association of Human Resource Professionals (AHRP), also addressed delegates. Kaushal Mendis, CEO of ARA and Managing Director of M\u014cVA, moderated the panel “Rethinking Talent: What Will Great Talent Management Look Like Next?” with Ruwindhu Peiris (Grant Thornton Stax), Chethana Liyanage (Capital Maharaja Group), Azadeh Entezami (Coach Masters Academy) and Ruwani Alwishewa (Great Place to Work Sri Lanka).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Eight in ten respondents said they plan to return in 2027. Delegates described a well-organised summit with valuable insights and a strong platform for connecting HR leaders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
About Sentiva<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sentiva builds AI software for HR teams, including Sentiva Talent for recruitment, designed so that evidence, control and final decisions stay with people. <\/p>\n\n\n\n