Invitation Only
Executive Roundtable | HFS Research
Who's in Charge When AI Runs Your Business?
Accountability, risk and control in AI-enabled partnerships
Date: Tuesday, 8 December 2026Time: 12:30 PM - 5:00 PM GMTVenue: The Dorchester, London
Hosted by HFS Research in collaboration with Cognizant
The Conversation
Your suppliers are no longer selling tools. They're offering to own outcomes.
Most suppliers pitching AI into your organisation now offer to take ownership of a process, a decision or a result, rather than providing a tool for someone else to run. That shift is forcing leadership teams to rethink accountability, operational control and business performance.
When an AI agent approves the wrong supplier, wrongly rejects a claim or misroutes a citizen's case, who is liable? Once the system is live, who runs it day to day? And where will the people with real domain expertise end up sitting: inside your organisation, with a BPO partner, or with whoever built the platform?
This invitation-only HFS Research roundtable, conducted in collaboration with Cognizant, brings senior executives together under the Chatham House Rule to work through these choices, drawing on new HFS research and the experience of leaders navigating them now.
Key Discussion Themes
What we will explore
Where liability sits
How responsibility is shared when a partner runs an AI-enabled process for you, and what needs to be explicitly agreed rather than assumed.
Risk and operational ownership
Aligning accountability, operational responsibility and decision-making authority as you structure partnerships for 2027 and beyond.
Expertise you must retain
Which domain knowledge can sit with partners, and which capabilities are essential to preserve control and competitive advantage.
Constraints on investment
How compute costs, energy and data sovereignty are shaping AI strategy today, and what could change by the end of 2027.
What You Will Leave With
Practical clarity for the year ahead
A first look at new research
New HFS findings drawn from peers across UK&I, ahead of publication.
Clearer priorities
What to retain, and what to ask partners about accountability, liability and performance before committing.
A broader view of trade-offs
How compute, energy and data sovereignty could shape your AI investment decisions.
Fresh peer perspectives
Candid discussion with C-suite and senior executives facing the same choices.
Featured Participants
Who you will hear from
HFS Research
David Cushman
Executive Research Leader, Roundtable Lead
HFS Research
Sudip Roy
Practice Leader
HFS Research
Uma Estelle Sarkar
Research Analyst
HFS Research
Steve Dunkerley
HFS OneCouncil Leader
HFS Research
Agenda
The afternoon
12:30 PM
Arrival and Networking Lunch
Welcome and informal introductions with fellow senior leaders.
1:30 PM
Welcome and Opening Remarks
HFS Research and Cognizant set the scene for the afternoon.
1:45 PM
Opening Perspective
A first look at new HFS research drawn from peers across UK&I, ahead of publication.
2:15 PM
Roundtable Discussion, Part One
Liability, risk ownership and who runs the operation day to day.
3:15 PM
Break
3:30 PM
Roundtable Discussion, Part Two
Retaining critical expertise and the constraints shaping AI investment.
4:15 PM
Closing Reflections
Key takeaways on what to retain and what to expect from partners.
4:30 PM
Networking Reception
Continue the conversation before close at 5:00 PM.
Indicative agenda, subject to change.
Who Attends
C-suite leaders and their direct reports
Business operations leaders
Senior executives across operations, finance, people and procurement.
Technology, AI and data leaders
CIOs, CTOs, Chief AI Officers and Chief Data Officers shaping AI partnerships.
Direct reports to the C-suite
Senior leaders accountable for AI-enabled processes and partner performance.
Attendance is by invitation and subject to approval. Seats are limited to encourage open discussion among peers.
Venue
The Dorchester
53 Park Lane, Mayfair, London W1K 1QA
One of London's most celebrated five-star hotels, overlooking Hyde Park on Park Lane in the heart of Mayfair.

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