Anam Irfan

Shaping Business Success through People Innovation

Anam Irfan

Chief People Officer

Bytespark.ai

With a career built at the intersection of business transformation and human capital innovation, Anam Irfan stands out as a next-generation HR leader. As Partner & Chief People Officer at Bytespark.ai, she draws from over 16 years of experience with global giants like Majid Al Futtaim (Carrefour), ENEC, and Tenaris, shaping organizations where people strategy drives business success. Anam’s passion lies in redefining HR, not just managing it. She excels in architecting ecosystems that deliver tangible impact, from leading total rewards transformations for 37,000 employees to embedding digital-first HR practices that enhance business agility. Known for her bold, data-driven, people-centered solutions, Anam fosters growth, resilience, and innovation. Her leadership philosophy blends empathy, financial/commercial insight, and an unwavering commitment to transformation as an ongoing discipline. Whether managing M&A integrations or future-proofing cultures, her work is defined by strategic vision and executional excellence. Born in Karachi and raised in the UAE, Anam combines a global perspective with strong local roots. Holding a master’s degree in international management from the UK, she remains a dedicated lifelong learner. Outside of work, she finds balance in reading, writing, and spending time with her family, including her son, who inspires her sense of purpose. At Bytespark.ai, Anam is co-creating the future of work, ensuring innovation, human connection, and business success are seamlessly integrated. With TradeFlock, she discusses more about her work and life.

What’s one bold decision you made that other doubted but turned out right?

At Majid Al Futtaim, my boldest decision was reimagining how digital talent grows and develops. When everyone else followed rigid career ladders, we took a radical approach with our eCommerce and digital teams, especially engineering and product. We abandoned conventional thinking and built a modular career framework where employees choose their own journey, managerial, specialist, or project-focused. Many doubted this shift, arguing that traditional structures provided clarity and predictability. I was convinced that real transformation required more than incremental changes. The sceptics were silenced by the results: employees gained unprecedented clarity, direction, and ownership over their professional development. A powerful growth mindset surged through our teams as the conversation shifted from “What should my next title be?” to “How can I create meaningful impact?” Looking back, I’m proud we stopped asking what a title should be and started asking what truly serves our business, talent, and future. Sometimes the boldest leadership means questioning familiar answers.

How do you design rewards that reflect performance, purpose, and potential?

For me, rewards should reflect not just past performance but future potential. At MAFR, I redefined rewards by incorporating impact metrics, values alignment, skill growth, and future readiness. We shifted from linear career ladders to career lattices, recognizing initiative in cross-functional roles and leadership potential. The message was clear: rewards are investment in growth. This philosophy now drives our solutions at Bytespark.ai, helping organizations uncover and nurture talent through technology that goes beyond just a CV.

Which HR practice is outdated, and what would you replace it with?

The traditional annual performance review is obsolete. In today’s fast-paced, hybrid, and skill-fluid world, it no longer captures the dynamic evolution of talent or business priorities. I’d replace it with a real-time, AI-powered talent intelligence platform. This system would continuously collect feedback, analyze productivity trends, and forecast skill gaps, aligning with both personal growth and business objectives. HR should empower people to evolve as quickly as the businesses they support, making performance continuous, contextual, and personalized for a more agile workforce.

What makes the UAE a unique innovation hub, and what can global HR leaders learn from it?

The UAE is a unique testing ground for innovation, offering a hyper-diverse, fast-paced, and digital ecosystem. Its ability to adopt new work models like gig work and AI in HR at an unmatched speed makes it a global benchmark. HR leaders worldwide can learn from the UAE’s balance between agility and compliance, diversity and cohesion, and ambition and inclusion. In the UAE, people innovation isn’t just an aspiration, it’s essential for survival, shaping the future of work.

What’s next for you, and what’s the next mountain you want to climb?

After my journey at Majid Al Futtaim, I’ve embraced entrepreneurship as Partner & Chief People Officer at Bytespark.ai, a recruitment platform reshaping hiring with speed, intelligence, and heart. My belief in HR as a catalyst for transformation is now being built from the ground up, humanizing hiring through technology.Professionally, I aim to create solutions that help organizations grow with purpose and individuals with clarity. Personally, I plan to stay curious and bold. I’m also launching a podcast to share insights on rewards, culture, e-commerce, and AI in HR, inspiring real change.