HR tech analysts: forty to follow in 2026

Industry influencers have always carried clout but never more so than in today’s world of socially adept analysts, journalists, and bloggers. Just some of the many benefits that come with following these experts include staying on top of market trends and gaining insight into the customer and competitive landscapes.

In the world of HR and corporate learning tech, we’re lucky to have an extremely strong cohort of analysts to engage with and learn from. These subject matter experts provide technology buyers with the knowledge and insights they need to make more strategic people and technology decisions. They help technology providers to shape their product and GTM strategies - and when a vendor succeeds in converting an analyst into an advocate, the benefits can be significant.

Our 2026 ‘Forty to follow’ list includes some of the leading names in global HR and learning tech, though it’s by no means an exhaustive list. We hope you enjoy their research and expertise as much as we do - happy following!

Matthew Brown
ISG
Location: USA

Matthew is a Top 100 HR Tech Influencer 2025 with 20+ years of leadership at the intersection of HR, learning, product strategy, and organisational transformation. As HCM Research Director at ISG, Matthew’s research and expertise covers payroll management, employee experience, learning management, talent management, and WFM.

Zachary Chertok
IDC
Location: USA

Zachary is the Senior Research Manager for IDC in employee experience (EX). His core research covers all aspects of employee experience management including but not limited to wellness and wellbeing, adaptive and responsive learning and development, recognition, employee engagement, corporate culture, diversity, equity, and inclusion, employee journey mapping, and analytical personalisation. On top of his work for IDC, Zachary also teaches the Columbia School of Professional Studies’ HCM programme.

Dana Daher
HFS Research
Location: Canada

Dana is the Executive Research Leader for HFS Research, and specialises in HR technology, employee experience, automation, GenAI, DEI, and sustainability. She is passionate about the intersection of technology and human behaviour and stays ahead of emerging trends and industry advancements. In her role at HFS, Dana leverages data analysis, strategic thinking, and user-centric design to deliver human-centred technology solutions that empower individuals and create inclusive experiences.

Nikki Edwards
Nelson Hall
Location: UK

Nikki is a Principal Research Analyst at NelsonHall and a member of the HR Technology & Services practice. Her research covers Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO), Managed Service Programmes (MSP), Total Talent, and Learning. Nikki is also an experienced HR practitioner and has a wealth of operational knowledge across talent acquisition, talent development, employee engagement, employee relations, compensation, benefits, payroll, employment law, and HR systems.

Sven Elbert
Fosway Group
Location: Germany

Sven is a Senior Analyst in the HCM and Talent practice at Fosway Group. His primary research covers Cloud HR, talent management and talent acquisition. A primary aspect of Sven’s role includes gathering up-to-the-minute insights from corporate HR buyers, vendors and investors, and distilling these into Fosway’s ongoing research projects. Sven also uses this data and analysis to advise corporate clients across all aspects of next-gen Cloud HCM and Talent Management.

Chief Etheridge
RedThread Research
Location: USA

Chief is a senior analyst at RedThread and leads the production of research deliverables, utilising both qualitative and quantitative methodologies to dissect complex business challenges and provide strategic direction to business and technology leaders. Balancing analytical rigour with client engagement, Chief seeks to continuously elevate business discourse through research.

Ben Eubanks
Lighthouse Research
Location: USA

Ben is Principal Analyst and Chief Research Officer at Lighthouse. He covers HR/talent technology and trends, and has worked as an influencer and analyst for more than thirteen years. Ben’s key research areas include the broad spectrum of technologies that span talent, HR, and learning. He also speaks to 300+ vendors a year - research that has been fundamental to the authoring of his books, Artificial Intelligence for HR and Talent Scarcity. Ben also provides both buyer-side and vendor consulting and advisory services.

Stacia Garr
RedThread Research
Location: USA

Stacia is a principal analyst, researcher and thought leader on talent management, DEIB, people analytics, and HR technology. She is the co-founder of RedThread Research and a frequent speaker and writer whose work has been featured in Harvard Business Review, Fortune, Forbes, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal.

Steve Goldberg
SBG Consulting
Location: USA

Steve is an independent industry advisor, market influencer, and principal analyst for HCM & HR Tech. His 30+ year career on all sides of HR process and technology includes HR exec roles in three different continents, serving as a vendor HCM product strategy leader, and co-founding boutique Recruiting Tech and Change Management firms. Since 2006, Steve has been advising and delivering thought leadership to both HCM solution providers and corporate HR teams.

Roberta Gogos
Lighthouse Research
Location: USA & Europe

Roberta is an experienced work tech analyst and GTM strategist with specialist expertise in corporate learning technology. She has a wealth of industry experience and knowledge having worked in marketing leadership roles for numerous learning tech vendors across Europe and the Americas. Over the past few years, Roberta has split her time between advising vendors on their GTM strategies, and researching evolving buyer needs and market trends.

Sam Grinter
Gartner
Location: UK

Sam Grinter is a Senior Director and Analyst at Gartner. His coverage spans the HCM application market and includes core HR and payroll, workforce management, workforce information management, HCM technology strategy, and HCM application evaluation and selection. He is based in the UK and focuses on the HCM application market in the European and North American markets.

Stacey Harris
Sapient Insights Group
Location: USA

Stacey is Chief Research Officer at Sapient Insights Group and the driving force behind the Annual HR Systems Survey - the industry's longest running survey. Stacey  has been a leading member of the HR practices and technology research community since 2007, focusing on high-impact HR organisations, enterprise HR technology, and key talent management practices. She also co-hosts the popular industry podcast Spilling the tea on HR tech alongside her colleague, Cliff Stevenson.

Dani Johnson
RedThread Research
Location: USA

Dani is Co-Founder and Principal Analyst at RedThread Research. She has spent the majority of her career writing about, conducting research in, and consulting on human capital practices and technology. Dani’s ideas can be found in publications such as Wall Street Journal, CLO Magazine, HR Magazine, and Employment Relations. Her focus areas include organisational learning, change management, strategic direction, culture change, product development, user experience, evaluation and analysis, and consultation.

Kyle Lagunas
Kyle&Co
Location: USA

Kyle is the Co-founder of Kyle&Co - a strategic advisory firm that focuses on the intersection of HR, talent, and technology. As an experienced analyst and strategic advisor, Kyle is widely recognised for his deep industry knowledge, research-led insights, and strategic counsel.

Emily Rose McRae
Gartner
Location: USA

As a Senior Director and Analyst at Gartner, Emily advises CHROs and other C-suite executives on the future of work and workforce transformation. Her core areas of focus include emerging technologies (such as GenAI) and their impact on the workforce, new employment models, evolving employee expectations, flexibility for frontline workers, and the aging workforce. Emily also advises executives on workforce planning, helping them to create enterprise-wide future of work strategies.

Akshara Naik-Lopez
Forrester
Location: USA

Akshara is a Senior Analyst whose research focuses on the Human Capital Management (HCM) and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software market. She is the lead analyst on Forrester’s HCM technologies division and Wave Reports. In her role at Forrester, Akshara provides valuable guidance to technology leaders looking to understand the competitive landscape along with cloud hosting options and software-as-a-service.

George La Roque
WorkTech
Location: USA

George is the Founder and Chief Analyst at WorkTech. He is an experienced industry analyst and advisor, and a founding Member of the Impact WorkTech global community - a vetted and private community where global HR tech industry leaders come together to connect, advise, invest, learn, and grow. George’s specific focus areas include HCM, talent acquisition, talent management, employee engagement, core HR, marketing, sales, GTM strategy, product positioning, SaaS, and Cloud-based solutions.

Madeline Laurano
Aptitude Research
Location: USA

Madeline is a seasoned HR tech expert who prior to founding Aptitude Research, was a principal analyst at Brandon Hall Group, Aberdeen Group and Bersin by Deloitte. Her areas of focus include talent acquisition, employee engagement, talent management, and contingent workforce management.

Fiona Leteney
Fosway Group
Location: UK

Fiona is a Senior Analyst and the primary lead on Fosway Group’s annual Learning Systems research. Her focus lies in gathering vendor, customer, and market insights - and distilling them into reports, papers, analysis, and briefings. With this wealth of market information, Fiona also helps corporate clients to accelerate their decision-making across all aspects of next generation learning.

Anita Lettink
HRTechRadar
Location: The Netherlands

Anita is an HR tech analyst, keynote speaker, podcast guest, and author. She is also the founder of HRTechRadar. As a leading authority on the Future of Work, Payroll, HR technology, Equal pay, and Pay transparency, Anita contributes to publications all over the world, sharing her latest thinking on work and the workforce. She is also a recognised author, having written Equal Pay for Equal Work, What’s up with my pay? and How to select your next payroll.

Bo Lykkegaard
IDC
Location: Denmark

Bo is Associate Vice President for IDC’s enterprise-software-related expertise centres in Europe. His team focuses on business applications, customer experience, business analytics, and artificial intelligence. Bo’s specific research areas include market analysis, competitive analysis, thought leadership, and custom market models.

Holger Mueller
Constellation Research
Location: USA

Holger is VP and Principal Analyst for Constellation Research. He specialises in enterprise software trends with a focus on Next Generation Apps, Human Capital Management, and the Future of Work. In his role at Constellation, Holger provides strategy and counsel to C-suite leaders, investment analysts, venture capitalists, sell-side firms and technology buyers.

Ivan Öz
IDC
Location: Czech Republic

Ivan is the Research Manager for Human Capital Applications and Agents Research Service at IDC. He leads global research projects to assess how companies and employees use HR and payroll technology, and has a special focus on AI and workforce strategy. As part of his consulting work, Ivan also provides vendors and buyers with strategic advice to support product and positioning decisions.

Helen Poitevin
Gartner
Location: France

Helen is a Distinguished VP Analyst in Gartner’s Digital Workplace Applications Team where she focuses on why and how AI is transforming work and employee experience. She leads cross-functional research around Human Capital in the AI age and advises clients on how to build an AI-ready workforce, how to navigate conversations about workforce productivity, and how to shape and support employee experience in the digital workplace.

David Perring
Fosway Group
Location: UK

As Chief Insights Officer at Fosway Group, David explores the experiences of practitioners and suppliers to understand the realities of what's happening in HR and corporate learning. His main focus lies in developing Fosway's depth of insight across HCM, Talent Management, Learning and Performance Management, to inform strategic and pragmatic advice for leading corporates and suppliers.

Elizabeth Rennie
NelsonHall
Location: UK

Liz is NelsonHall's HR & Talent Transformation Research Director, with global responsibility for HR research and client support. Her focus areas are payroll transformation and broader HR transformation, including multi-process HR services and technologies. Liz is a leading voice on how HR can be reimagined globally, blending the human touch with automation and AI, revolutionising experiences, and offering new ways of working to drive improved outcomes - both at an enterprise and individual level.

Michael Rochelle
Brandon Hall Group
Location: USA

Michael is Chief Strategy Officer at Brandon Hall Group and serves in a variety of roles, overseeing research and advisory support for organisations and solution providers. He is also one of the company’s principal analysts and covers learning and development, talent management, leadership development, HR, talent acquisition, and DEI.

Matthew Shannon
Deloitte
Location: USA

Matthew is Deloitte’s programme lead for Human Capital Ecosystems & Alliances, and specialises in solution provider market research and third-party relationship advisory. Covering robust segments of the HR technology market, Matthew has evaluated hundreds of providers across talent acquisition, performance management, leadership development, people analytics, compensation, talent mobility and marketplaces, and contingent workforce management.

Brent Skinner
HR.com
Location: USA

As the HR tech analyst and executive community lead at HR.com, Brent covers payroll, HRIS and workforce management. He is an HR.com podcast host, and writes for the organisation’s magazines and blog, as well as moderating virtual events. Brent also leads the ‘Future of Payroll and Workforce Management’ online community at HR.com.

Brian Sommer
TechVentive
Location: USA

Brian is a seasoned IT market influencer, journalist and analyst. As the Founder of advisory firm, TechVentive, Brian specialises in guiding organisations through HR and ERP digital transformation projects.

Erin Spencer
Deloitte
Location: USA

Erin is a senior research analyst at Deloitte. Working on the Market Insights team, Erin’s research focuses on HR technology and the evolving solution provider landscape. She also provides data-driven insights and consulting services to both clients and vendors.

Cliff Stevenson
Sapient Insights Group
Location: USA

Cliff is the Director of Research and Principal Analyst at Sapient Insights Group where his human capital research focuses on talent acquisition, data and analytics, performance management, retention, and attrition. Cliff collaborates with the Sapient research team to translate data, findings, and industry knowledge into valuable research publications. He is also responsible for leading the creation and publication of the company's Annual HR Systems Survey.

Betsy Summers
Forrester
Location: USA

Betsy is a Principal Analyst on Forrester’s Future of Work team, specialising in human capital management (HCM). With a wide range of HCM experience including research, strategy, design, and delivery, Betsy has been both a practitioner and a strategic partner to heads of HR, talent, and learning. At Forrester, she helps leaders in employee experience, talent management, HR, and IT to connect talent strategy to business outcomes - and ultimately to vendor and technology selection.

John Sumser
HRExaminer
Location: USA

John is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of HRExaminer, a weekly online magazine that covers the intersection of people, tech, and work. He is also widely respected as an independent analyst, and conducts deep HR technology research to identify and explain rapidly evolving trends. John is also a multiple podcast host and author.

Pete Tiliakos
Independent Analyst
Location: USA

Pete Tiliakos is an independent HR tech analyst and strategic advisor who co-hosts the popular HR & Payroll 2.0 podcast. He is also Chief Payroll Champion at Payroll Influences – a virtual payroll boardroom dedicated to fostering a deeper understanding of the critical payroll profession.

With more than thirty years’ experience in HR and payroll technology, services, and transformation, Pete is a recognised expert and researcher across the global payroll, EOR, and HR tech marketplace.

Katy Tynan
Forrester
Location: USA

Katy is a VP and Principal Analyst at Forrester, and works at the intersection of people and technology. With a strong focus on leadership and organisational development, Katy supports CIOs, CMOs, and CHROs as they work to optimise customer experience through a highly engaged, inclusive workforce. Katy has also authored numerous books and publications, and has a deep expertise in the practice of leadership at all levels of the organisation.

DeeAnna Warrington
NelsonHall
Location: USA

DeeAnna is a Principal Research Analyst at NelsonHall and a member of the HR Technology & Services practice. She is an HR business operations and HR technology specialist with 15 years’ of experience spanning finance, insurance, healthcare, retail, and real estate. At NelsonHall, DeeAnna has global responsibility for HCM technology, workforce management, and health & welfare administration.

David Wentworth
Brandon Hall Group
Location: USA

David is the Managing Director for Learning and Talent at Brandon Hall Group. He works with both learning leaders and technology providers to understand the challenges of learning and the best ways to solve them. David describes his mission as helping L&D leaders to evolve from service providers to strategic business partners by making sense of the tech, data, and behaviour change that actually moves the needle.

David Wilson
Fosway Group
Location: UK

David is the Founder and CEO of Fosway Group where he leads on research, analysis and insight for next generation HR, talent and learning. David also works with corporate clients to understand the challenges they face, and their real experiences with next gen strategies, systems and suppliers.

Mackenzie Wilson
Deloitte
Location: USA

Mackenzie is the HR Technology Research Lead at Deloitte. She is passionate about using technology to improve people’s experiences at work, and advises solution providers and global organisations that want to improve how they find and engage talent. Mackenzie’s research areas include talent attraction and engagement, learning and development, platform configuration and optimisation, and radical process innovation.

Is your HR or learning tech company ready to engage the analyst community and promote your product in the minds of the industry’s brightest influencers? Get in touch here, we’d love to help.

Want to learn more about the why, when, and what of analyst relations first? Read our article in Startups Magazine.