Stop reacting to market disruptions and start outrunning them. The ATD Houston 2026 Annual Conference gives you the blueprint to build a resilient workforce that thrives under pressure. Whether you lead an enterprise team, design instructional content, or manage talent systems, this event delivers practical strategies you can use immediately.

The Conference Experience

You will start the day with an exclusive morning workshop led by Marc Effron, one of the top authorities in talent management. He will share direct, data-driven approaches to building high-performing talent.

In the afternoon, the concurrent sessions move away from traditional, siloed topics into a progressive workforce lifecycle model. You can customize your learning track across three distinct phases:

READY (Assessment & Strategic Alignment): Discover how to map your current business needs and accurately forecast the skills your organization requires next.

BUILD (Design & Accelerated Deployment): Learn production methods to create quality learning programs and roll them out quickly to your teams.

MAINTAIN (Sustainability & Operational Excellence): Find out how to measure business outcomes, scale your efforts, and ensure long-term performance.

Between sessions, you can visit the expo to test new tools and connect with peers during dedicated networking blocks. You will walk away with new community connections and a clear plan to protect your organization against future disruptions.

Bring your team!  Contact presidentemeritus@tdhouston.org for special team discount for 4+ people from the same organization.

Morning Workshop: Building Great Talent Managers: The 4+2 Model

Description: There’s not a secret to growing better talent faster, there’s a process. In this 3-hour highly interactive and practical workshop, you’ll learn about and assess your organization’s talent production line – the disciplined process for producing talent. You’ll learn where most organizations go wrong and how the best thrive. You’ll also become a better talent-building HR leader with the 4+2 Model. This model from Marc Effron’s Talent Management Institute at the University of North Carolina details what differentiates the best talent-builders in HR. You’ll leave with a focused action plan for optimizing how your organization (and you) build better talent faster.

Marc Effron, President, The Talent Strategy Group

As one of the world’s top advisors on human resources and talent management, Marc helps the world's premier companies, NGO’s, foundations and governments to elevate the quality and impact of their talent. He leads transformational HR projects globally in industries ranging from pharmaceuticals to consumer products to technology.

Marc co-authored the Harvard Business Review Publishing best-selling book One Page Talent Management, often called the “talent management bible.” His most recent book, 8 Steps to High Performance, also from Harvard, is quickly reaching best-seller status. He has written more than 50 articles on HR and talent topics.

Marc conducts original research on key HR topics each year including recent reports on High Potential Development, The State of Performance and Potential and the Who Are We report about the HR profession.

Marc co-founded the Talent Management Institute at the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School in 2011. It’s the world’s most popular executive education program on talent with more than 7,000 graduates and taught at locations around the globe.

His prior experience includes roles as VP Talent Management for Avon Products, Global Leadership Consulting Head for Aon Hewitt, SVP Leadership Development for Bank of America and a Congressional Staff Assistant.

Marc has been published in or heard on Harvard Business Review, Fast Company, Financial Times, the BBC, Bloomberg Radio, Inc., New York Post, and some of the world’s most popular podcasts.

Marc earned a M.B.A. from the Yale University School of Management and a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Washington.

What to Expect

• Come ready to participate, learn, listen and network!
• A light breakfast, hot lunch, and snacks will be included throughout the day. If you have dietary restrictions, please email 
• Wear comfortable clothing whether it is jeans or business - we want you to just be you!
• Ample onsite parking will be provided without cost.

APTD/CPTD Certification

This program is eligible for 5 APTD and CPTD recertification points from the ATD Certification Institute. The amount indicated is the maximum number of recertification points a participant can receive for this program. 

Visit https://www.td.org/ci-recertification for more details about the APTD and CPTD recertification policies