Payroll Congress 2026 – AI, Global Payroll, and the Future of the Profession with Nick Day and Natalie Lloyd #238
Nick Day and Natalie Lloyd are joined on The Payroll Podcast by Danny Gillespie, General Manager of Global Payroll, Deel, Stanislava Susla, CEO at XperienceHR, Kira Rubiano, Partner at Payroll Minds, Kristi Smith, Head of People Operations, Dynatrace, Susan Baptista, Payroll Woman of the Year, American Payroll Association, Michael Chen, CEO at BIPO and Dale Wethered, Payroll Professional and Speaker.
Title: š Payroll Congress 2026 – AI, Global Payroll, and the Future of the Profession with Nick Day and Natalie Lloyd #238 š
Hosts: šļø Nick Day, CEO of specialist Payroll Recruitment Agency, JGA Recruitment Group
šļø Natalie Lloyd, Head of Brand & Partnerships,Ā JGA Recruitment Group
Episode Overview:
š In this insightful episode of The Payroll Podcast, hosts Nick Day and Natalie Lloyd sit down with Danny Gillespie, Stanislava Susla, Kira Rubiano, Kristi Smith, Susan Baptista, Michael Chen, and Dale Wethered to get honest answers from the people living these challenges right now.
Key Topics Discussed in this Episode:
- The Global Payroll Acceleration: Danny Gillespie unpacks how Deel and the EOR model have transformed global expansion from a months-long entity-formation process into something companies can stand up in days, fundamentally changing how payroll leaders think about international growth.
- AI as the New Excel: Dale Wethered argues that agentic, ring-fenced AI will become as foundational to payroll in five years as Excel is today, while stressing that PII security and proper change management are non-negotiable as the profession adopts it.
- Culture as a Leadership Skill, Not Just a Global Payroll Concern: Kira Rubiano makes the case that cultural awareness shapes how every team communicates, delegates, and trusts, whether payroll is local, multi-state, or fully global, and challenges leaders to rethink the idea of “culture fit” entirely.
- From Invisibility to Influence: Kristi Smith frames change management as the steering wheel behind any AI strategy, urging payroll leaders to design transformation around elevating their people into strategic advisors rather than simply cutting headcount.
- Community as the Profession’s Real Advantage: Across nearly every conversation, from Sue Baptiste’s decades of volunteering to Stanislava Susla’s first Congress experience, guests return to the same idea: the relationships, mentorship, and shared understanding built at Congress are something no platform or AI tool can replicate.
Useful Links From This Episode:
- š¤ Danny Gillespie’sĀ LinkedIn Profile
- š¤ Stanislava Susla’sĀ LinkedIn Profile
- š¤ Kira Rubiano’sĀ LinkedIn Profile
- š¤ Kristi Smith’sĀ LinkedIn Profile
- š¤ Susan Baptista’sĀ LinkedIn Profile
- š¤ Michael Chen’sĀ LinkedIn Profile
- š¤ Dale Wethered’sĀ LinkedIn Profile
- š¤ Natalie Lloyd’sĀ LinkedIn Profile
- š¤ Host Nick Day LinkedIn Profile
- š¢ JGA HR Recruitment
- š§ Check out our sister podcast, The Payroll Podcast
HR LEADERS – I CALL YOU ALL TO ACTION! š¢
If you have any HR or L&D that require the support of a specialist HR recruitment agency, please contact JGA Recruitment Group! We can also support executive coaching and consulting services supporting HR leaders towards transformative leadership and sustainable growth. Contact Nick at nick@jgarecruitmentinc.com or call at 01727800377.
Remember:
š Thank you for tuning in to The HR L&D Podcast. Stay tuned for our next episode, where we continue to dive into the fascinating world of HR and learning & development! š§š
