▲ Learning curve
Faster to capable
The time to reach reliable, competent performance collapses. A recent hire can deliver what once took years of tenure to develop.
01Programme
Two days, one big picture
Tentative programme: session order, titles and panel line-ups may change.
Thu 26 Nov · Full day · HKU iCube, Central
The Research Day
A full day of scholarship on how AI is rewriting organizations, work and management. Rigorous, evidence-led, and open to anyone who wants to think deeply, whether you publish research or run a company.
Morning
Opening & research keynotes
Welcome from CAMO Director Jin Li, then headline talks on the great compression.
All day
Research showcase 11 talks
Presentations from scholars across Hong Kong, the US and Europe. See the full roster below.
Fri 27 Nov · HKU iCube & HKU Rayson Huang Theatre
The Industry Day
Inside the AI-redesigned firm: company cases, four keynotes, two academic–industry roundtables and new AI & Organization Index findings.
Day 2 Highlights · Where Research Meets the Boardroom
Inside the AI-Redesigned Firm
Six company cases explore who does the work now, and how AI is rewiring organizational structure and process.
View talks & speakers
Who Does the Work Now? How AI Is Rewriting the Job
Leila Zhang, CTO, Yum China (C-Smart); Elmer Liu, VP, iKang; Michael Keppe, Director, Impala Services.
Flatter, Faster, Smarter? Rewiring Structure and Process with AI
Lu Xiao, EVP, Decathlon China; Aiken Yuen, Senior Advisor to CEO, Yum China (KFC); Kui Wang, CFO, Qimao & Tapread.
AI and Organizational Transformation
Jin Li and Pascal Hua explore how AI is reshaping firms, followed by an academic–industry roundtable on leading through the AI shift.
View talks & speakers
The Great Compression 2.0: How AI Is Reshaping the Firm
Jin Li — Director, HKU CAMO; Zhang Yonghong Professor in Economics and Strategy.
Beyond the Pilot: What It Really Takes to Transform an Organization with AI
Pascal Hua — Head of Consulting, Deloitte China. With the Deloitte-HKU Lab for Organizational Transformation.
The Transformation Roundtable: Leading Through the AI Shift
Moderator: Matthias Fahn, Associate Director, HKU CAMO.
- Sarena Lin — Former Chief Transformation Officer, HKJC and Bayer
- Juergen Rahmel — HSBC
- More industry leaders to be announced
Awards and Announcements
HKU-Deloitte AI & Org Transformation Award and the CAMO Corporate Alliance announcement.
AI and Talent Management
Danielle Li and Evan Guo examine AI’s impact on the workforce and job market, with a roundtable on hiring, growing and keeping talent.
View talks & speakers
Who Wins When AI Joins the Workforce?
Danielle Li — David Sarnoff Professor of Management of Technology, MIT Sloan School of Management.
AI and China’s New Job Market
Evan Guo — Chairman, Zhaopin Group.
The Talent Roundtable: Hiring, Growing and Keeping People in the Age of AI
Moderator: Yanhui Wu, Head, Lab for the Future of Work and Well-being, HKU CAMO.
- Doreen Yin — Group Senior Director, Organization & Talent Development, Ant Group
- Ying Huang — Director of Human Resources, HKUST
- Steven Ng — APAC Head of Learning & Development, Baker McKenzie
The 2026 AI & Organization Index
Where Does AI Really Stand? Jie Gong, Associate Director, HKU CAMO, presents new results from HKU CAMO in partnership with Zhaopin Group.
Programme is tentative. Session order and panel composition are subject to change.
Explore the six industry cases ↓
Reserve your seat
One pass, both days
Register for either day or all of it
▲ The full schedule will be shared soon. Registered attendees will be notified first.
Industry Day · Nano cases
AI in Practice: Six Industry Cases
Click a card to read the case in advance
Redesigning Jobs
#Content Management #Impala Services
From Content Creation to Content Management – Scaling Technical Writing at Impala Services
Michael KeppeDirector of Impala Services
#C-Smart #Yum China
The C-Smart Agent: A New Service Model at Yum China
Leila ZhangCTO of Yum China
#Healthcare #iKang
AI Didn’t Replace the Radiologist. It Replaced the Junior One
Elmer LiuVP of iKang
Redesigning Structure & Process
#KFC #Yum China
Scaling Managers with AI at KFC China
Aiken YuenSenior Advisor to CEO of Yum China
#Sporting Goods Retail #Decathlon China
Compressing Coordination with AI at Decathlon China
Lu XiaoEVP of Decathlon China
#Qimao #Digital Reading #Tapread
Tapread: From R&D Queue to Business Flow
Kui WangCFO of Qimao & Tapread
02Speakers
Who's in the room
Prof. Alan Benson
Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota
Prof. Florian Englmaier
Department of Economics, LMU Munich
Prof. Matthias Fahn
CAMO & Management and Strategy, University of Hong Kong
Prof. Guido Friebel
Human Resources, Goethe University Frankfurt
Prof. Jie Gong
CAMO & Economics, Management and Strategy, University of Hong Kong
Prof. Hyunjin Kim
Strategy, INSEAD
Prof. Rem Koning
Business Administration, Harvard Business School
Prof. Danielle Li
MIT Sloan School of Management
Prof. Kelly Shue
School of Management, Yale University
Prof. Xin Tong
CAMO & Economics, Innovation and Information Management, University of Hong Kong
Prof. Yanhui Wu
CAMO & Economics, Management and Strategy, University of Hong Kong
03About the festival
The great compression is here
Ask executives whether AI matters, and nearly all say yes. Ask whether their AI investments have paid off, and the room goes quiet. The usual explanation blames the technology: not accurate enough, not reliable enough, not yet ready. The evidence points elsewhere. The technology is largely ready. The organization is not.
For two centuries, firms raised productivity by dividing work into specialties and layering supervision on top to coordinate it. That logic breaks once one AI-augmented person can carry what used to take a chain of specialists. Bolting AI onto the old organization chart wastes most of what the technology offers; the gains go to firms willing to redesign.
"AI compresses skill, incentives, and teams into one pattern: it makes good cheap, and better expensive."
Prof. Jin Li
Director, HKU Centre for AI, Management and Organization
Zhang Yonghong Professor in Economics and Strategy, HKU Business School
The compression is already underway. Whether you research the change or you are running an organization living through it, 大壓縮 2.0 is where the conversation happens.
04Looking back
From 1.0 to 2.0
The Great Compression began as a live conversation at the CAMO Conference 2025, to a full room. Edition 2.0 raises the stakes: an index of the change, and two days of evidence behind it.
05Venues
See you in person
07Join us
Be in the room on 26–27 Nov
It is a rare occasion to gather leading scholars from top universities and institutes in Hong Kong, on this one focused question. The exchange is built to produce new evidence and direction, cross-referenced against how AI is actually reshaping practice, the clearest read yet on what this new era is really setting.
Register to attend
Registration is by session, and seats are limited. Choose the research day, the industry day, or all of it: places are allocated first come, first served.
Reserve your seatFrequently asked
Which day is for me?
Both days welcome everyone. Day one goes deep on the research and rewards anyone who wants the evidence in detail; day two turns to practice, cases and panels. Most attendees will want some of each.
Can I attend only one day or one session?
Yes. You can register for a single day or the whole event, though seats are limited and allocated first come, first served.
What language is the event in?
Sessions are held primarily in English.