Practical strategies, tools and peer-led sessions to transform your talent reviews, succession planning and leadership development
August 27, 2026 | Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, USA
HRCI and SHRM Pre-Approved for 6 ongoing educational hours
Talent Review – Succession Practitioners’ Collaboratory 1-Day Event
August 27 @ 8:00 am - 5:00 pm CST
Join HR leaders, talent practitioners and leadership development professionals on August 27, 2026 for a one-day, SHRM and HRCI Pre-Approved conference on talent review, succession planning and leadership development.
Learn from highly experienced talent review-succession practitioners and consultants. Hear from an employment law attorney about legal considerations pertaining to internal talent selection and development. Enjoy networking with other talent review-succession professionals, gaining ideas for best practices as well as pitfalls to avoid!
Conference Hosts
Doris Sims Spies — Founder, Talent Benchstrength Solutions
Author, The Talent Review Meeting Facilitator’s Guide. Doris brings 20+ years of experience designing and facilitating talent reviews, succession and high potential programs first as a practitioner, and then as a global consultant.
Doris will share a summary of learnings from her decades of global work focusing specifically on talent reviews, succession and high potential leadership programs.
Susan Steinbrecher — Founder, Steinbrecher Group
Author and practitioner focused on heart-centered leadership, coaching senior leaders and building scalable development systems.
Susan will provide practical guidance on selecting executive coaches, interview 360 processes for senior leaders, and assessment instruments for leadership development.
Venue: Aloft by Marriott Dallas Euless
Date and Time: August 27, 2026 • 8:00 AM – 4:45 PM
Location: Aloft by Marriott Dallas Euless • 1301 Chisholm Trail, Euless, TX 76039
Why should you attend?
Hear from multi-year experienced talent-review and leadership development practitioners and leaders in talent review-succession best practices
Obtain legal clarity from an employment law attorney about internal talent selection, movement and development issues
Learn about tools and processes for talent calibration, leader assessment and high potential development.
Network in small groups with other talent review-succession practitioners and experts throughout the conference
Discover AI, analytics and online functionality to track and measure succession plans
Gain new ideas from other HR leaders and solution providers who will present real-world talent review-succession real-world strategic decisions for various organizations and interactive practitioner corners.
Featured Additional Speakers with More to Come!
Christie Newkirk — Employment Law Partner, Carrington Coleghman
Christie will lead a legal Q&A session covering legal issues concerning retirements, talent profile photos, internal job postings, assessment instruments and compliance considerations.
Nicole Krause – Head of Talent and Learning, Cooper Companies
Nicole has implemented and enhanced talent review-succession and leadership development strategies across different profit and non-profit organizations. She will share insights and her decision-making processes she has led over the years to customize talent and leadership programs to meet organizational culture and business needs of very different organizations.
MeLinda “MeL” Drake McCall, Chief People and Culture Officer, Netsurit
MeL leads the people strategy at Netsurit, named as a Fastest Growing Company and as a Workplace Culture Winner. Netsurit’s culture focuses on “Supporting the dreams of doers “where each employee is encouraged to create an annual Dream Book visualizing their top 10 personal goals. MeL will discuss the intersection of an intentional culture, employee career development, talent and succession, and talent development.
Jessica Cavett, Vice President Talent and Learning, CBRE
Jessica has extensive experience developing the strategy, tools and processes for talent review-succession planning and leadership development across multiple organizations, including large global companies. Jessica will share best practices and lessons learned across her career, as well as tips and techniques for effective talent review-succession meeting facilitation.
Pricing & Registration
- Early Bird Rate: $449 (available through July 24, 2025
- Standard Rate: $495 (after early bird deadline)
- Two-Attend-for-Less Rate: $395 per attendee (both registrants must register together)
Register Now: https://talentbenchstrength.com/event/talent-review-succession-practitioners-collaboratory-1-day-event/
Payment & Policies
Accepted payment: Visa, MasterCard, American Express, invoice for corporate PO’s upon request (Contact Us)
Cancellation Policy
If you find you can’t attend this event after registering, you can 1) substitute another attendee from your organization, or 2) apply your payment to a future event, consulting time or private training events for your organization.
Venue Information
Aloft by Marriott Dallas Euless
1301 Chisholm Trail, Euless, TX 76039
Phone: (817) 571-4211
Doors open at 7:30 AM for registration and breakfast. The program runs 8:15 AM – 4:45 PM with breaks and a vendor champions luncheon included.
Full day highlights — practical, tightly timed sessions plus Q&A time:
7:30–8:00 AM — Registration & Networking Breakfast
8:00–8:15 AM — Conference Introductions
8:15–8:45 AM — Keynote: Talent Review–Succession Best Practices & Pitfalls (Doris Sims Spies)
8:45–9:30 AM — Talent Review Strategy, Tools & Results (Practitioner Corner)
9:45–10:15 AM — Employment Law Q&A: Talent Questions Answered (Christie Newkirk)
10:30–11:15 AM — Coaching & Developing High-Potential Leaders (Susan Steinbrecher)
11:15–12:00 PM — Identifying & Developing Successors & High Potentials (Practitioner Corner)
12:00–1:00 PM — Vendor Champion Luncheon (Networking Lunch Event)
1:00–2:00 PM — Using AI to Enhance Succession, Coaching & Development (Vendor Session)
2:00–2:45 PM — Talent–Succession Results & Lessons Learned Across Organizations (Practitioner Corner)
3:15–4:00 PM — Talent Benchstrength Networking Board Game (interactive small-group exercise) Continued — full one-page landing page (complete)
Frequently Asked Questions
Practical talent-review best practices, succession planning, high-potential identification and development, employment-law considerations, AI use-cases for succession, coaching methods, and peer casework.
HR leaders, talent-review and succession practitioners, talent or organizational development professionals, learning and development managers and executives.
Yes, this 1-day event is HRCI and SHRM Pre-Approved event provides 6 ongoing educational hours to attendees who attend for the entire conference. Partial educational hours will not be provided.
Two-Attend-for-Less rate is available at $395 per attendee when registering two attendees together. For larger groups or nonprofit requests, contact us for pricing.
Yes — registrations are transferable at any time. Email or Contact Us to notify us of the new attendee.
The Aloft by Marriott Dallas Euless provides free on-site parking and is ADA accessible. A parking garage is available behind the hotel.
The Aloft hotel is located in a shopping, restaurant and movie-theatre walkable complex so you will not need a car to get around. The hotel is approximately 8 miles from the DFW airport, so a ride-share will be needed to arrive at the hotel.
