AI Fluency with S&P Global’s Chief People Officer - 2026 Next Practices Weekly

Next Practices Weekly welcomed Girish Ganesan, Chief People Officer at S&P Global, for a forward-looking discussion on what it truly takes to build an AI-fluent workforce. Rather than positioning AI as a standalone technology initiative, Ganesan shared how S&P Global is embedding AI into its broader business transformation strategy - equipping employees with both technical AI capabilities and the uniquely human power skills that will define future success. Throughout the conversation, he emphasized that organizations must balance rapid technological advancement with curiosity, trust, continuous learning, and human judgment to create sustainable business value.

Hosted by i4cp's Beverly Parnell and Tom Stone, the discussion explored how HR leaders can lead enterprise-wide AI transformation by redefining workforce readiness, evolving learning strategies, and preparing leaders and employees alike for new ways of working. Attendees left with practical insights for building AI confidence across the organization, fostering a culture of experimentation, and ensuring that human capabilities remain a competitive advantage in an increasingly AI-enabled workplace.

Key Topics Discussed

• Building AI Fluency as a Business Transformation - Not a Training Initiative
  Ganesan challenged organizations to move beyond viewing AI as another learning program. Instead, he encouraged HR leaders to treat AI adoption as an enterprise transformation effort that aligns workforce strategy, leadership, culture, and business outcomes.
• Balancing AI Skills with Human Power Skills
  S&P Global's AI learning curriculum intentionally combines technical AI literacy with critical human capabilities including judgment, curiosity, adaptability, collaboration, and influence. These skills help employees apply AI responsibly while preserving trust and strengthening decision-making.
• Creating AI Confidence Across the Workforce
  Rather than attempting to turn every employee into an AI expert, S&P Global has focused on creating AI confidence for everyone. Enterprise-wide learning, accessible AI education, and practical experimentation are helping employees embrace AI regardless of role or technical background.
• Culture as the Foundation for AI Adoption
  Successful AI implementation depends less on technology than on organizational culture. Ganesan emphasized that curiosity, continuous learning, integrity, and respect enable employees to embrace change while maintaining the human-centered values customers and colleagues expect.
• Turning Experimentation into Enterprise Value
  Through initiatives such as enterprise hackathons, dedicated AI leadership within HR, and cross-functional collaboration, S&P Global is moving beyond AI pilots toward measurable business impact. HR plays a central role in helping scale successful use cases across the organization while supporting long-term workforce transformation.

Resources Shared

• Designed for Disruption – Download the Report: Future-ready organizations don’t just adapt - they’re built for disruption. Explore the agility routines driving performance in this latest research from Institute for Corporate Productivity. Access the Designed for Disruption report(opens in a new tab)

To ensure open discussion, this event was exclusively for HR practitioners. Vendors and consultants were not permitted to attend.