Susan Youngblood

AI workforce strategy

AI value is won or lost in the people layer

I advise CEOs, CHROs and boards on AI adoption and human capital strategy. Former CHRO, with senior roles at IBM, BNY Mellon and LSEG/Refinitiv. Operating Advisor at Bessemer Venture Partners.

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Portrait of Susan Youngblood

Where I have led, advised and taught

  • IBM
  • BNY Mellon
  • LSEG/Refinitiv
  • Bessemer Venture Partners
  • Cornell
  • Columbia
  • Harvard

What I do

Turning AI investment into workforce results

I work with leaders who have the technology in place and need the organization to deliver on it.

  • Board and CEO advisory

    Workforce strategy for enterprise AI: where value sits, what to measure, and which decisions belong at board level.

  • Upskilling that moves ROI

    Most poor AI returns trace back to failed upskilling. I design programs tied to how work actually changes.

  • CHRO strategy

    Positioning the CHRO to drive enterprise AI strategy, with the technical and implementation fluency the role now requires.

  • Portfolio company support

    As an Operating Advisor at Bessemer Venture Partners, I work with portfolio leaders on AI adoption and human capital strategy.

My approach

Implementation first, title second

I lead with what I have built and run. At Refinitiv, I led the workforce transformation for an AI-enabled implementation.

That experience shapes my view: the technology is rarely the constraint. Adoption, skills and change management decide the outcome.

  • Grounded in enterprise implementation
  • Measured against business outcomes
  • Built for executive and board audiences

Featured keynote

The Future of Work: Shaping What's Next

Keynote for Cornell University's Future of Work event, Ithaca, NY, April 2026.

I spoke to more than 500 IT professionals on how AI is reshaping work and what leaders need to do to capture its value.

View the event

Speaking

Recent speaking engagements

Upcoming

  • Transform HR Conference. Speaker. Las Vegas, NV, April 2027

Universities

  • Harvard Business School, Women Executives on Boards. Led two real-time AI board crisis simulations with 200+ directors and executives. Cambridge, MA, October 2026
  • Cornell University ILR School. Panelist, AI and the Future of Work. October 2026
  • Cornell University AI Strategy Club. 90-minute presentation, "AI Is Everywhere. Value Is Not." October 2026
  • Harvard University Alumni AI Network. 90-minute presentation, "AI Is Everywhere. Value Is Not." October 2026
  • Columbia University. Guest lecturer, graduate course "AI, HCM and the Future of Work." October 2026
  • Cornell University Institute for Compensation Studies Executive Forum. Panelist, AI and Total Rewards. NYC, June 2026

Industry and executive forums

  • QS Back to School Summit. Panelist, "The New Talent Playbook: Workplace Learning in the Age of AI." NYC, September 2026
  • Challenger, Gray & Christmas AI Summit. AI subject matter expert and discussion leader. July 2026
  • The Learning Forum CHRO AI Summit. Directed a full-day, closed-door executive session on AI strategy and workforce transformation for CHROs. NYC, June 2026
  • The Conference Board People Analytics Council. AI subject matter expert and discussion leader, Future Workforce Strategy & Planning. NYC, May 2026
  • Eightfold Infinite Workforce Summit. Speaker at Eightfold's signature client event. Napa, CA, May 2026
  • Engagedly People and Strategy Summit. Keynote. Nashville, TN, November 2025
  • The Conference Board AI Leadership Summit. Speaker. NYC, November 2025
  • The Conference Board People 2030. Speaker. NYC, October 2024

Podcasts

Listen

  • The TechWolf Podcast

    October 2026. Listen

  • Mercer: New Shape of Work

    "The Realities of HR's Role in AI." December 2024. Listen

  • Money Without Math

    "Embrace AI for Career Growth." May 2025. Listen

  • Learning & Development Transformation

    "Preparing the Workforce for AI and Automation." August 2024. Listen

  • We Need to Talk About HR

    "AI's Impact on the Workforce: Navigating Change." Listen

  • Wealth Actually

    "AI and Human Resources," for family office, board and high-net-worth audiences. Listen

Cited expertise

Research and articles featuring my insights

  • Bessemer Venture Partners

    Sole expert source for The AI Upskilling Guide for Executives. Read

  • Stanford University and Darden

    The Future Is Now report, drawing on 15 C-level HR, learning and technology leaders. February 2026. Read

  • Heidrick & Struggles

    AI Focus: Leveraging your culture to accelerate AI enablement. Read

  • The Job newsletter

    Interviewed for "Build, Don't Buy." Read

About Susan

I spent my corporate career as an HR executive and CHRO, with senior roles at IBM, BNY Mellon and LSEG/Refinitiv. Today I advise CEOs, CHROs and boards on AI workforce strategy and serve as an Operating Advisor at Bessemer Venture Partners.

I lecture at Cornell, Columbia and Harvard on AI and the future of work, and I am an angel investor.

Service

  • Executive Committee, Cornell ILR Alumni Board
  • President's Council for Cornell Women
  • Former Division I women's tennis coach, Cornell

Planning your AI workforce strategy?

I take a small number of advisory engagements with CEOs, CHROs and boards.

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Contact

Get in touch

For advisory, speaking and board inquiries, email me directly.

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