With the support of Personio, we’re bringing Disrupt back to Dublin with a format built for action: five-minute lightning talks, auto-advancing slides, and zero fluff.
After years of webinars and multitasking, Dublin gets a night where ideas hit hard, conversations move fast, and the network you build matters.
Ahead of the festive break, Bill Banham sat down with Disrupt Dublin co-organizer Ben Geoghegan to unpack why now is the right moment to relaunch, what makes the format so effective, and how a curated mix of voices can shift the future of work. We spotlight an early lineup featuring leaders from Google, Irish Rail, and Mazars; a chartered psychologist from the Royal College of Surgeons; and founders pushing new recruiting tech. Each speaker brings one tight message and one practical move you can test - no drawn-out slides, no corporate spin, just clear ideas with real outcomes.
We also dig into why the crowd is the secret sauce. Senior HR execs, consultants, operators, and technologists share the floor, cross-pollinating approaches to AI, learning design, leadership, culture, well-being, and hiring. That diversity turns quick talks into immediate experiments: pilots you can run with your team, metrics worth tracking, and conversation starters for your leadership table. Expect energy, focus, and dozens of new connections by the time the Personio-hosted event wraps at 8:30.
If you care about building better workplaces in 2026, this preview delivers the what, the why, and the how. Hit play to hear the format breakdown, the themes to watch, and the speakers to meet. Enjoy the show, then subscribe, share with a colleague, and leave a quick review so more HR pros and people leaders can find us.
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Episode Transcript
Welcome to the HR Chat Show, one of the world's
most downloaded and sharedpodcasts designed for HR pros,
talent execs, tech enthusiasts,and business leaders.
For hundreds more episodes andwhat's new in the world of work,
subscribe to the show, follow uson social media, and visit
hrgazette.com.
SPEAKER_03 (00:24):
Welcome to another episode of the HR Chat Show.
Hello, listeners.
This is your host today, BillBannham.
And in this special eventpreview episode, I'm joined by
my friend Ben Gagan,co-organiser of Disrupt Dublin,
along with yours truly and awonderful chap called Ivan.
In this episode, we're going totalk about why this iconic event
(00:45):
is finally returning to thecapital of Ireland and why now
is exactly the right moment.
After a very long pause, infact, there hasn't been one
since before the pandemic,Disrupt Dublin is back and it's
happening February 26th, 2026,bringing fast, fearless ideas,
unfiltered honesty, and acommunity that's hungry for
(01:06):
fresh thinking about the futureof work.
This is not a traditionalconference listener, though no.
It's a five-minute lightningtalk, auto-advancing slides, no
fluff, no corporate spin, justbold ideas from people who are
actually building what comesnext.
And in this conversation, Benand I will unpack what makes
(01:26):
disrupt different, whatattendees can expect on the
night, why Dublin's HR businesscommunity needs this kind of
space again, and how thisrelaunch sets the tone for
workplace conversations in 2026and beyond.
Ben, how are you doing?
Welcome to the show.
Hi Bill, thanks very much forhaving me.
I know you pretty well.
I I think you're a lovely chap,but maybe our listeners don't,
(01:49):
because it's been a long timesince I've had you on the show.
Why don't you just take a minuteand reintroduce yourself to our
audience?
SPEAKER_02 (01:56):
Yeah, so what's a long time since we chatted on
the podcast?
But um, so Ben Gagan, I used tobe an HR guy in large companies
and I lived in Ireland for along time.
Uh, when I went back toAustralia, I set up my own HR
consulting business.
Um, did that for a long time andenjoyed that and had great
clients and all that sort ofthing.
Over the years, I enjoyed thethe marketing and you know the
(02:18):
business development side evenmore.
And ever since that's what I'vedone.
So um through the Get More HRClients and the podcast, A
Better HR Business, I study howconsulting firms and HR-related
tech firms uh help employers getthe best out of the people and
how they grow their businessesto make that happen.
Um yeah, I'm an Aussie andisland and uh still working on
(02:40):
the TAN.
SPEAKER_00 (02:41):
The HR Chat Podcast is one of the world's most
popular shows, offering insightsand tips from HR pros, business
leaders, industry influencers,and tech experts.
World of work topics coveredinclude HR tech, AI, leadership,
talent, recruitment, employeeengagement, wellness, DEI, and
company culture.
(03:01):
Check out the latest HR chatepisodes on your podcast
platform of choice and read thelatest articles at
hrgazette.com.
SPEAKER_03 (03:09):
And as we record this episode today, uh your boys
are just about to spank Englandin the cricket again.
And that's going to be threegames in a row.
That's the series.
So we're not gonna talk aboutthat beyond that comment right
there because it's not.
I don't even know what you'retalking about, Bill.
But let's let's start the topthen.
(03:29):
Um why was now the right time tobring Disrupt back to Dublin
after such a long gap?
SPEAKER_02 (03:35):
Yeah, wow, it was um that I I went, I attended the
the events and what just beforeCOVID anyway, and kind of kind
of killed it all off, but theywere so good.
Uh, and there wasn't reallyanything like that.
And I don't know, the world justgot so busy and it kind of just
fell away.
But it's such a great uh eventthat I I think it was worth
(03:55):
bringing back, important tobring back.
Um, and also the world wentonline a lot, so there's a lot
of summits and um webinars areeverywhere, and I think people
probably miss that in-personnetworking and learning, you
know, where you can sit in inyour chair and actually ponder
the ideas rather than look atyour phone and and um drink your
coffee and wave at peoplewalking past your desk while
(04:18):
you're on a webinar.
So I think this is such apowerful way of learning and
thinking and and bringing new uhnew ideas, new change to the
industry, to the sector.
SPEAKER_03 (04:26):
Sorry, I miss what you said there.
I was I was looking at my phoneand drinking my coffee.
No, no, no.
Uh let's let's let's let'scontinue to do it.
Um so uh it was really nice toget you over to London for an
event that we did, I think itwas about a year and a half ago,
something like that, at HoltInternational Business School.
Um and you did a fantastic job,and I think everybody had a lot
of fun.
(04:46):
But for listeners who've neverbeen to a disrupt event, how
would you explain the format andwhy do you think it works?
SPEAKER_02 (04:53):
Before I do that, you know, it makes me think uh I
I flew from Dublin to London togive a five-minute speech.
Really, that's what it was.
And I think it was worth it.
That's a funny thing.
I also, once upon a time in myHR career, flew from um the west
of Australia to the east ofAustralia, which is a five-hour
flight for a 45-minute worth of45-minute meeting with a union
organizer to stop a strike.
But anyway, these things areworth it.
(05:15):
Um, it uh the format's amazing.
So for people who don't know thedisrupt talks, um, you've got
five minutes.
That's it, tops.
And the slides move.
Uh, and Bill is very cruel, hemakes them move at fifth uh 15
seconds automatically.
So you don't click the slide.
So it's not one of those thingswhere you say, Oh, I've just got
a few more things before I moveon to the next slide.
Uh uh, it's it's moving on.
(05:37):
Uh and the reason that's soimportant or why it's so
interesting or how it's sodifferent is that it's a bit
like one of those sort ofJapanese haiku poems where
you've only got X number ofcharacters or lines to say what
you need to say.
So you really need to thinkabout what message you're trying
to convey, um, the feelings youwant to convey or get people to
feel, uh, and and do that in away that's engaging um and gets
(06:00):
people thinking and and and alsothinking how they can apply it
to their business, their life,whatever it may be.
Um, so I think that part'sreally good.
That also creates energy.
Um, uh Bill, you've done so manyof these events, you know it,
you've seen the speakers.
When you're under that kind ofpressure, you you step it up a
notch.
And we've all been toconferences where you sit in
there and just bore it out ofyour mind where someone's giving
(06:21):
a 20-minute speech and they'rejust droning through the
PowerPoint slides, and it's ohgosh, when's this gonna end?
You just you don't get that.
You've got people who arebouncing ideas off each other,
and you can go from well-being,uh, mental health issues to AI
tech implementations fiveminutes later.
So I I love that aspect of itfor sure.
SPEAKER_03 (06:41):
Uh I was very proud of myself.
I did a super geeky, I meansuper geeky uh disrupt talk in
Cambridge recently, about amonth ago, as we record this, on
um HR lessons we can take fromsci-fi.
And I opened my talk with umwith a terrible joke, as I
always like to do.
Um how many ears does CaptainPicard have?
(07:03):
Three, a left ear, a right ear,and a final frontier.
So that was the start of my talkthere.
Um you can so you can tell howseriously I take these things.
Um let's talk about the speakerlineup for Dublin, Ben.
What excites you most about themix of voices?
We've got some really impressivespeakers already confirmed.
Um, so from global brands likeGoogle to Irish institutions and
(07:26):
founders.
Can you maybe walk us through uhsome of those speakers and um
what's exciting you?
SPEAKER_02 (07:32):
Yeah, I mean, it's it's we're still putting
together the speaker list, butthere's already a collection of
amazing um people with ideas andthe speaking ability anyway, but
the the things that they'veachieved and and will be
achieving in the future.
So it's gonna be reallyexcellent.
We've got Kelsey Cates there,she's the global head of
learning um experiences atGoogle, um, Elizabeth Buckley,
(07:53):
HR director at um For Mazars,John Kennedy from Irish Rail.
Um we've got Dr.
Mary Collins, um, she's uh acharter psychologist at and
she's at the Royal College ofSurgeons.
Um Simon Peter Hague, afascinating guy.
Uh I know you know him from theuh, I think it was the London
event years ago, but wonderfulspeaker and really great ideas
(08:15):
and so on.
Um, Ivan Stepanovich, uhco-founder of Teladria, an
amazing um you know recruitmenttech company that's that's
making waves.
And then possibly we'll evenhear from one Bill Bannham,
editor of the HR Gazette and theHR Chat podcast.
Um, maybe we'll get his CaptainPicard joke.
We don't know.
So brace yourselves for that.
(08:37):
But like I said, there's stillum delicate negotiations
underway for other speakers aswell.
But I love the fact that they'rejust so varied.
You've got tech, you've gotprofessional services, you've
got individual thought leadersand um you know consultants,
you've got psychologists.
Um it's it's just such a greatmix.
And like I said, with that theformat, you know, you're going
from one thing to another thingto another thing, it's very
(08:59):
disruptive, which is um perfect.
SPEAKER_03 (09:03):
Yeah, I'd say if it's disruptive, it's it's it's
in line with the brand.
Um, listeners, I'm just a backupspeaker.
People don't need to hear fromme, but you know, if if we don't
have enough speakers or wheneveranybody drops out, I'll be ready
there with a corny joke.
Uh and I find there we go.
I look forward to it.
So, Ben, yeah, when when thefolks walk out of Disrupt after
(09:26):
the final networking session, sothings are due to wrap up about
8.30, I think, at the Personiooffice.
And thank you to Personio forbeing on the show.
I'm just gonna say, yeah,Personia, yeah.
Um uh they've been they've beenvery gracious hosts.
It's gonna be a fantastic event,it's a great venue.
Um, so when people do leaveafter the final networking
session, around 8.30, what whatwhat do you hope that they're
(09:48):
saying to themselves and sayingto their colleagues uh as
they're walking out of thatdoor?
SPEAKER_02 (09:53):
I harp on about it, but that format, that
five-minute format, I think theaudience picks up on that, the
energy that comes throughthrough and the ideas, the
crafting, and and even thetension of having to craft
something in such a shortpresentation.
So there's an energy that comesthrough the audience.
So the speakers and the audiencenetwork bounce ideas really
quickly, but um, they always,from my experience from
(10:14):
attending the events and alsospeaking, um, and the networking
at uh breaks and afterwards, Ithink they take away there's a
lot of connections made, justyour classic networking that
happens, but probably on a on abigger scale.
Um, but because there's so manyvaried ideas and formats thrown
at you so quickly, your brain isjust firing off, all the
synapses are firing.
And so I think they're thinkingof different ways that they can
(10:37):
implement what they've learned,or it's got them thinking,
they've been hearing aboutconcept A, but that triggers
concept B in their mind.
I wonder if we could take adifferent approach in our
organization, or maybe they'veheard from someone who's
explained how they'veimplemented change or created a
whole new culture in a place,and they think I could, I could
do that with my leadership team.
Um, because there's a lot ofsenior HR leaders um talking and
(10:58):
and attending.
Um, so there's a I personallyfind it exciting because it's a
big impact to create change in alot of large organizations,
which has a natural flow andeffect.
Um, so all sorts of things, butyeah, always a positive um
people come away with verypositive feelings and and uh and
outcomes.
SPEAKER_03 (11:17):
You mentioned there in in your answer, Ben, that um
uh people come away with ideasto help change, for example, um
initiatives within medium andlarge size organizations.
I I'd add to that, yeah, that isthe core of the audience.
But uh another reason why thesedisrupt events are fairly unique
is it is a community and we dohave uh consultants involved,
(11:37):
vendors involved, uh folks fromother areas, operations,
marketing, and whatnot mightmight want to come along as
well.
Um by the way, I should justcave out that listeners by
saying um the capacity is 120.
So if we can't get you in thistime, apologies in advance, but
we have big plans for Dublinover the next 12 months, so it
will happen.
Um, but I mean that's that'sinteresting, isn't it?
(11:58):
Because you know, some eventsit's just those very senior HR
folks from big organizations,say, or other events it's more
um maybe just recruiters or orvendors and whatnot.
Having that kind of mixture interms of the demographics there,
what what does that do in termsof being able to build
conversations, create newconnections, build out your
(12:19):
network?
SPEAKER_02 (12:20):
I think it's just so powerful because, for instance,
if you're in a largeorganization, then there's a
culture within that organizationand it's the way we do things
around here.
But um, there are always littlepockets where they are willing
to experiment.
I always say to companies, youknow, it's best to try and get a
project or a pilot thing goingif you want to implement some
(12:41):
change and see how that can rollout to the wider organization.
But when you've got thesedifferent people at different
levels, uh sectors, even if it'sfrom um the world of AI or
leadership development orworkplace well-being or just HR
um, you know, management areas,all of those things have
cross-fertilizationopportunities and ways of
(13:02):
sharing ideas.
You don't just have to bespeaking about one pure subject
to another person on the sametopic to learn from it.
I I think that's the power ofit, having the the different
connections and levels and andsubject areas.
It all creates that energy thatpeople, you know, it gets their
mind racing.
SPEAKER_03 (13:20):
You get my mind racing, Mr.
Oh, thank you, Bill.
Hey, listen, we've got to wrapup.
Uh, you and I have got to jumponto a onto a um an organizer's
call to talk about disruptbefore we um before we do that.
How can folks connect with you?
So do you want to share yourLinkedIn details, uh, your email
address, maybe, uh, your URL?
Are you super cool and all overInstagram and TikTok and places?
(13:42):
Let us know more.
SPEAKER_02 (13:44):
Yeah, yeah.
Look, just just search TikTokfor dancing videos of me.
They're they're amazing.
Um, but if you're not intothose, then LinkedIn is is my
number one spot, Ben Gagan.
Um, there's three G's in Gagan,so good luck spelling it.
But anyway, um, and then the thepodcast is a better HR business,
and you'll find that on thegetmorehr clients.com forward
(14:04):
slash podcast.
And um, you may even find awonderful interview with one
Bill Bannham there.
SPEAKER_03 (14:10):
Excellent.
Before we wrap up, just want tojust want to say, Ben, uh huge
respect for you.
I've known you now for a numberof years.
You're you're a genuine,authentic, really nice guy.
Um, and I appreciate your timetoday.
Thank you.
Thanks, Bill.
You too.
Thank you.
And listeners, as always, untilnext time, happy working.
SPEAKER_01 (14:28):
Thanks for listening to the HR Chat Show.
If you enjoyed this episode, whynot subscribe and listen to some
of the hundreds of episodespublished by HR Gazette?
And remember, for what's new inthe world of work, subscribe to
the show, follow us on socialmedia, and visit hrgazette.com.
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