ALEXANDRIA, Va. – SHRM, the trusted authority on all things work, workers, and the workplace, today announced that Gretchen Stroud, senior vice president of global human resources at Hilton, will deliver the closing keynote at SHRM BLUEPRINT for Inclusion & Diversity (I&D) 2026.
Her session, “Hospitality as Strategy: What Hilton’s Workforce Research Means for Every Industry,” will take place on Nov. 18 in Nashville, Tenn., concluding SHRM BLUEPRINT, which runs Nov. 15–18 as part of All Things Work 2026.
Drawing on Hilton’s “Blueprint” workforce research, Stroud will examine five trends redefining how organizations lead, retain, and develop talent. These include Mutual Mentorship, Return to Opportunity, AI Anxiety to AI Agency, Chief Host Officer, and the Meaning Multiplier.
Through insights from one of the world’s most recognized hospitality brands, Stroud will explore how HR leaders across industries can apply a hospitality mindset to build workplace cultures that are both human-centered and business accretive.
Following the conference’s unveiling of SHRM’s Civility Premium ROI research, Stroud’s closing plenary will connect workplace culture to commercial outcomes and demonstrate how people strategies can contribute to measurable organizational performance.
As Senior Vice President of Global Human Resources at Hilton, Stroud helps shape the people strategies and services supporting over 500,000 Team Members across the company’s global hotel and corporate operations. Her deep background in hospitality and diverse experiences across business and human resources gives her a distinctive perspective on talent, leadership, culture, and organizational effectiveness.
In her work, Stroud focuses on strengthening leadership pipelines, helping organizations navigate change, and connecting talent and business strategies to deliver meaningful results. She has played an instrumental role in advancing Hilton’s award-winning workplace culture, contributing to the company’s recognition as Great Place to Work and Fortune’s #1 World’s Best Workplaces™ in 2025 as well as being named a great place to work in over 70 countries spanning six continents.
SHRM BLUEPRINT for I&D 2026 is designed to empower business leaders with legally sound, performance ready I&D strategies. Attendees will gain greater clarity on emerging legal boundaries, strategies for mitigating organizational risk, and practical approaches to building inclusion strategies that are legally compliant, workplace unifying, and business accretive.
As a learning path within All Things Work 2026, BLUEPRINT brings I&D professionals together with leaders and HR practitioners around a shared strategy for workforce success. All Things Work also includes the Linkage Leadership Institute and Skills Accelerator, creating an interconnected learning experience focused on leadership development, inclusion strategy, and advanced HR capabilities.
Learn More
Journalists and media are invited to attend All Things Work 2026. Press registration is required. For interview requests and press credentials, please contact press@shrm.org.
About All Things Work 2026
All Things Work 2026 is a unified, immersive experience designed for organizations that view leadership, culture, inclusion, and HR capability as essential performance priorities. The event brings together three interconnected learning paths — Linkage Leadership Institute, BLUEPRINT for I&D, and Skills Accelerator — to help teams strengthen alignment, accelerate execution, and improve workforce performance.
About SHRM
SHRM is a member-driven catalyst for creating better workplaces where people and businesses thrive together. As the trusted authority on all things work, SHRM is the foremost expert, researcher, advocate, and thought leader on issues and innovations impacting today’s evolving workplaces. With nearly 340,000 members in 180 countries, SHRM touches the lives of more than 362 million workers and their families globally. Discover more at SHRM.org.
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