Who’s Speaking at HR Retail Africa 2027

Shikara Ramfol

Shikara Ramfol is a People and AI leader with over 13 years of experience across the HR landscape. As Global Head of People Intelligence & AI Enablement at Smollan, she leads the organisation’s global People Intelligence capability, bringing together people, data, technology and AI to rethink how the People function works and delivers value.

Starting her career in traditional HR, Shikara’s journey into technology began with a simple curiosity: surely there’s a smarter way to do this? That curiosity grew into a passion for building. Today, she works across AI, automation and People Intelligence, turning everyday HR challenges into practical solutions and helping teams move from talking about the possibilities of AI to actually using them.

Shikara holds two Master’s degrees and has continued to stretch beyond her traditional HR roots through studies in AI Engineering, Machine Learning Engineering, Full Stack Development and coding. She is also a proud woman in STEM and is passionate about seeing more women step confidently into technology, AI and leadership. Her own journey from HR into the technical world has reinforced her belief that careers do not have to follow conventional paths, and that curiosity and a willingness to learn can open doors into entirely new spaces.

A lifelong learner and naturally curious problem-solver, Shikara is happiest when experimenting with a new idea, challenging an old process, or figuring out how something can be done differently.

And when she isn’t thinking about People, AI or her next build, there’s a good chance you’ll find her gaming. An avid video game enthusiast, Shikara loves getting lost in a great game — perhaps unsurprisingly, another world where curiosity, problem-solving and figuring out the next level come naturally.

At the heart of her work is a simple philosophy: AI shouldn’t make HR less human. It should give us more time to be human.