ERE Summit brings Ford, Wells Fargo and CVS Health to San Diego

ERE Media will host its Recruiting Innovation Summit in San Diego on Nov. 9-11, 2026, with talent acquisition leaders from major employers comparing what is working, what is not, and how AI is changing recruiting. The event adds a new invitation-only Executive Forum for senior TA leaders and expands its sponsor lineup.

Why it matters: - Talent acquisition teams are moving from AI experimentation to operational decisions about what to automate, what to keep human and what technology to buy. - The summit brings senior recruiting leaders from Ford Motor Company, Wells Fargo, CVS Health, Expedia Group, Pinterest, Roblox and others into the same room to compare approaches. - ERE Media is also adding a new closed-door Executive Forum, signaling stronger demand for peer-level strategy discussions, not just conference presentations.

What happened: - ERE Media announced the ERE Recruiting Innovation Summit for Nov. 9-11, 2026, in San Diego. - The event will be held at Hyatt Regency La Jolla at Aventine, 3777 La Jolla Village Drive. - Juicebox is the Gold Sponsor. - Tenzo AI, Built In, AcquireROI, AppVault, Cadient, Metaview and Braintrust AIR are Silver Sponsors. - John Baldino, president of Humareso, and Jackye Clayton, founder of Who Do I Work For, will host the opening day. - Kyle Lagunas, founder and principal analyst of Kyle & Co, will lead a new Executive Forum for senior talent acquisition leaders.

The details: - The main program starts Tuesday, Nov. 10, with sessions on AI implementation, operating models, employer brand, sourcing, candidate fraud, recruiting technology and human judgment. - Lagunas will open with “Motion Isn’t Momentum: Where AI Is Taking Talent Acquisition,” using survey data from more than 350 senior HR and talent leaders, a benchmark of 12 AI interviewers and years of practitioner analysis. - Amy Richman, vice president of talent acquisition at CVS Health, will discuss turning strategy into an operating model. - Jeff Battinus of ChenMed will share lessons from early AI adoption in healthcare. - Leaders from Pinterest, Roblox and Radiology Partners will discuss employer brand in the age of AI and radical transparency. - On Wednesday, Jim Shultman, VP of global talent acquisition operations at Thales, will deliver the keynote “If You Don’t Change, You’ll Get Changed.” - Melissa Thompson of Ford Motor Company, Dani Monaghan of Expedia Group, Joanna Clark of Wells Fargo and Gerry Crispin of CareerXroads will join a session titled “Unfiltered: A Conversation on the Future of Talent Acquisition.” - The Executive Forum is scheduled for Monday, Nov. 9, from 1 to 5 p.m. - The invitation-only session will be limited to senior talent acquisition executives and held under Chatham House rules. - Applications will be reviewed to keep the room focused on leaders who own hiring strategy, technology decisions and operational outcomes. - The Executive Forum will apply Kyle & Co’s AI Momentum Model to talent acquisition for the first time. - The model is based on research from more than 350 senior HR and talent leaders and evaluates seven momentum drivers, including AI literacy, governance and risk orientation. - Forum participants will tackle two questions: what AI should own in recruiting and what technology organizations should keep, consolidate or stop buying as platform capabilities overlap. - Early-bird pricing runs through Sept. 30. - In-person registration is $1,399 for one or two attendees, with team discounts available. - Virtual registration is $399 for one or two attendees, with team discounts available. - Event information and agenda are available in the ERE Recruiting Innovation Summit materials. - Executive Forum details are listed in the RIS Executive Forum materials.

Between the lines: - ERE is positioning RIS as a working summit for operators, not a broad AI hype event. - The emphasis on office hours, roundtables and peer conversation suggests attendees want direct comparison of real recruiting decisions. - The Executive Forum’s Chatham House rules and application review point to sensitive conversations about governance, consolidation and risk. - Lagunas’ quote frames AI as a tool that can speed up bad processes as easily as good ones.

What's next: - Qualified RIS attendees can apply separately for a seat in the Executive Forum. - The main summit and forum will move the recruiting conversation from AI potential to operating decisions, vendor choices and organizational redesign. - ERE Media says the agenda will continue with office hours, an Ask Me Anything Lounge, roundtables, networking breaks and a reception.

The bottom line: - RIS 2026 is built for talent leaders who want practical answers on AI, operating models and recruiting technology from peers facing the same pressure.