Sejal Patel D.
Ayar Labs
“We quickly realized that if you didn't focus on the people, the change management, and the competencies, strategy wasn't going to see the light of day.”
Sejal Patel D. has been named to the Talent 100, Class of 2026, the annual award recognizing up to 100 leaders in each category of talent acquisition. Honorees are nominated by peers or found by committees that look for excellent work wherever it happens, then chosen for the depth of their craft and their impact on hiring. This is Sejal's story.
For Sejal Patel D., Chief People and Operations Officer at Ayar Labs, a career in human resources did not begin in HR at all. Her professional journey started in management consulting and corporate strategy, where she worked alongside organizations to develop growth plans, transformation initiatives, and long-term business strategies. Over time, though, she noticed a recurring challenge: even the best strategies struggled to succeed when organizations overlooked the people responsible for executing them.
“We quickly realized that if you didn't focus on the people, the change management, and the competencies, strategy wasn't going to see the light of day.” That realization became the foundation for a career dedicated to helping organizations align business performance with people performance.
Navigating the Intersection of SaaS and AI
As organizations continue adapting to rapid technological change, Sejal believes talent leaders are operating at a unique inflection point. “We're in an interesting evolution between a SaaS-driven world and an AI-driven world.” Over the last decade, organizations have invested heavily in software platforms designed to improve efficiency, automate workflows, and streamline recruiting and people operations. Now, artificial intelligence is beginning to reshape many of those same processes.
Sejal sees the current environment as both exciting and challenging. The rapid emergence of AI has the potential to automate many repetitive and manual tasks that organizations historically relied on software solutions to solve, even as businesses are still determining how these technologies fit into existing workflows and operating models. Combined with the workforce disruptions created by the pandemic, hiring surges, economic uncertainty, and changing business priorities, the result has been a period of significant adjustment across the talent landscape. “It's been a little choppy.” For leaders, the challenge is not simply adopting new technology but understanding how to integrate it thoughtfully into the future of work.
Advice for Talent Leaders in 2026
As organizations continue preparing for an AI-enabled future, Sejal believes talent leaders must think like business leaders first. Her advice heading into 2026 centers on workforce planning, business discipline, and long-term organizational sustainability. “We are always, foremost, business leaders.” She encourages organizations to remain intentional about growth, ensuring hiring decisions align with business performance, revenue expectations, and future workforce needs. For Sejal, effective workforce planning is not simply an HR responsibility; it is a business imperative.
At the same time, she believes HR leaders have a unique role to play in helping organizations navigate the broader implications of artificial intelligence. “The AI conversation isn't just about technology.” While the tools themselves will continue evolving, Sejal sees the larger challenge as one of mindset, adoption, and organizational change. In many ways, HR leaders are becoming stewards of how work itself evolves, and the organizations that succeed will be those that help employees adapt to new ways of working while maintaining strong cultures, clear communication, and a thoughtful approach to change management.
By combining business discipline with a deep understanding of people and organizational transformation, Sejal Patel D. represents the kind of forward-thinking HR leader helping shape the future of work.
The Talent 100 exists to celebrate the people shaping the future of how the world hires, and few embody that better than Sejal. We are honored to welcome Sejal Patel D. to the Talent 100, Class of 2026, and grateful for the experience, perspective, and craft they bring to this community. Congratulations, Sejal. Welcome to the Talent 100.
About the Talent 100
The Talent 100 is an annual list spotlighting the leaders who push HR and talent acquisition forward, organized by Noon AI. Honorees are selected through peer nominations and independent selection committees. Selection is entirely merit-based, with no fees or pay-to-play requirements.
