Flagship certification · APF-CPC™
The credential that makes people leaders agentic-ready.
Coaching mastery, AI-governance fluency and agile People Operations design, in one live three-day program for the leaders who will run the human-AI workforce.
- Length
- 3 days live · 24 hours
- Format
- Live cohort, instructor plus executive coach
- Capstone
- Your PeopleOps Transformation Roadmap
- HRCI 24 CPE
- ICF 5 CCE
- CLU™ renewal
- Countries with APF™ certified professionals
- 60+
- Organizations worldwide hold ICF ACTC accreditation
- <20
- HRCI recertification credits per cohort
- 24
- Alumni cohort rating, 2024–2026 intakes
- 4.9
Why now
HR was built for a world that no longer exists.
Every HR function is now an AI-augmented function. AI agents already screen candidates, rate performance, forecast attrition and recommend pay, with or without your explicit governance.
APF CPC™ treats the coach role as it now is: a human accountable for decisions across five generations and a growing agentic workforce. It is not a traditional HR certification with AI bolted on. It is a ground-up rebuild of what “PeopleOps coach” means.
By 2030, your workforce has six members: Boomers, Gen X, Millennials, Gen Z, Generation Alpha, and AI agents. APF CPC™ is built for the coach expected to lead all six.
AI agents are already in your workflow
Your ATS screens candidates, your HRIS flags flight risk, your LMS recommends learning. CPC installs the governance so a human leader, not a model, stays accountable for decisions about people.
Five generations, plus AI, on one team
Generation Alpha arrives fluent in AI tools; Boomers hold memory no model can replicate. CPC teaches the multi-generational and agentic design to serve both.
Coaching is now the competitive edge
When AI automates coordination, the human advantage is coaching: developing people, building psychological safety and leading adaptive teams.
Boards are asking CHROs hard questions
Since the EU AI Act, boards expect the People function to show its AI governance with data, not narrative. CPC builds that analytics literacy and HARI L™ readiness.
Three days. Four modules. One capstone.
Live and instructor-led, in small cohorts with an executive coach alongside, so you leave with a practice, not a slide deck.
Module 1
Foundations and 2026 context
Why APF™, why now. The six-member workforce and the coach’s role in it.
- APF™ manifesto and principles
- Human-AI workforce architecture
- The coach’s accountability model
- Opening coaching lab
Module 2
Culture, climate and systems
Reading organizations as living systems, and designing interventions that compound.
- Systems thinking for HR
- Culture diagnostic toolkit
- Psychological safety at scale
- Multi-generation and AI team design
Module 3
Design thinking and PeopleOps
Turning employee experience into an iterative design practice with measurable outcomes.
- Discover, frame, prototype
- Employee journey mapping
- AI-augmented experience moments
- Metrics that matter
Module 4
Coaching mastery and governance
ICF-grade coaching applied to the realities of leading human-AI teams.
- Coaching competencies and ethics
- AI governance literacy
- Coaching the AI-accountable leader
- Building a coaching culture
Capstone
Roadmap defense
Present your PeopleOps Transformation Roadmap, sit the written assessment and earn the CPC™. Certification is never issued on attendance alone.
- Live roadmap presentation
- Written assessment
- Peer and instructor review
- Digital badge issued
- 24 hours
- Live contact time
- 14–18
- People per cohort
- 1 : 9
- Coach to participant
- EN · ES
- Languages
- AMER · EMEA · APAC
- Time zones
What you’ll be able to do
Design for a workforce that includes AI agents
Keep human judgment at the center while AI handles routine coordination, so People Ops leads the shift instead of cleaning up after it.
Run the Agile PeopleOps Framework™ day to day
Principles, roles, ceremonies and artifacts that turn team performance into a compounding practice, not a one-off initiative.
Diagnose culture with a systems lens
Read culture as the product of structure, incentives, AI-mediated workflows and leader behavior, and intervene where it actually shifts.
Make PeopleOps an engine for innovation
Apply design thinking from discovery to scale across hiring, onboarding, development, feedback and exit.
Build and defend a transformation roadmap
Prioritize initiatives, sequence talent solutions and present them as if to your board: the exact muscle you will use on Monday.
Coach every stakeholder
ICF-accredited techniques for CHROs, executives, managers, employees, and leaders accountable for AI decisions about their teams.
Embed a coaching culture at scale
Build a continuously learning organization: the capability that grows more valuable as AI takes on more tasks.
Who it’s for
Built for leaders who own the people agenda.
APF CPC™ is for senior HR, People Ops and business leaders who are already accountable for outcomes, and for the consultants and coaches who serve them.
It assumes fluency in the basics, so the 24 hours go to what moves the needle.
CPC is not
- An HR 101 course or career starter
- A technical AI engineering or ML program
- Compliance training for the EU AI Act
- A self-paced course: it is a live, coached cohort
CHROs and C-suite
Leave with the governance language and a board-ready roadmap.
VPs and directors
Leave with a redesigned PeopleOps function blueprint for your division or region.
HR business partners
Leave coaching business leaders more effectively, and sitting higher at their table.
HR managers and PeopleOps leads
Leave with an APF-grounded operating model you can run on Monday.
Consultants and executive coaches
Leave with a globally recognized credential and a proven framework to offer clients.
Entrepreneurs and founders
Leave with the method to scale culture deliberately from 20 people to 2,000.
The CPC + HARI L™ pathway
CPC makes you HARI L™ ready.
HARI L™ (Human · Agile · Responsive Intelligence for Leaders) is the first individual AI governance assessment, and boards are starting to ask CHROs to take it.
CPC graduates are pre-qualified to book a facilitated HARI L™ session and arrive already fluent in its six governance dimensions.
Learn about HARI L™
Complete APF CPC™
3-day live cohort and capstone roadmap defense
Earn the credential
Digital badge, 1-year APF™ membership, alumni community
Book a HARI L™ session
Half-day, ICF-coached: 30 questions across 6 dimensions
Get your Leadership Card
A personal governance score, benchmarked against the global average of 52
Everything the credential includes.
One program fee. No upsells during the cohort.
APF CPC™ certificate and digital badge
Verifiable and shareable on LinkedIn. Issued after a successful capstone defense.
1-year APF™ membership
Community portal, Labs and research programs. Renews at $700 a year, or free through CLUs.
24 HRCI general CPE credits
Toward aPHR, PHR, PHRca, SPHR, GPHR, PHRi and SPHRi recertification.
5 ICF CCE units
Continuing Coach Education toward ICF credential renewal, at no extra cost.
20% off ICF-accredited pathways
Alumni pricing on APF CCP™ (ICF Level 1, ACC) and APF CPTC™ (ICF ACTC).
APF™ research access
Contribute to and draw from APF™ Workforce Research with alumni in 60+ countries.
Community and the APF app
Weekly practice calls, monthly guest sessions and private forums.
Continuous Learning Units (CLU™)
Earn CLUs through labs, mentoring or writing, and use them to keep your credential current.
International Coaching Federation
ICF Advanced Certification in Team Coaching (ACTC)
APO holds ICF ACTC accreditation, which fewer than 20 organizations worldwide hold.
HR Certification Institute, approved provider
24 HRCI general CPE credits per cohort
Approved for 24 recertification credit hours toward aPHR, aPHRi, PHR, PHRca, SPHR, GPHR, PHRi and SPHRi.
People who chose to lead differently.
CPC alumni in 60+ countries, from HR managers to CHROs, on what the credential changed.
The program doesn’t just give you knowledge. It requires you to demonstrate practical understanding by developing a live PeopleOps Transformation Roadmap and presenting it to the instructor.
Prasad KamathFounder and CEO · India
My entire PeopleOps team took APF certification programs, and it gave us a common knowledge base we could apply immediately. We recommend the entire pathway.
Natalia B. GomezHead of People Operations · Colombia
The CPC content was designed very thoughtfully, around the transformation the PeopleOps function needs right now. It is exactly the credential I was looking for.
Dr. Venkataramanan C, PhDDirector · India
A well-structured program with a robust, integrated approach to business agility from a human capital perspective. Rich, well-researched content, and Lakshmi is an excellent facilitator.
David MuiCEO · Hong Kong
The program areas, explanations and videos deepened my knowledge, and the capstone was crucial for applying the learning and the mindset.
Boglarka ZerinvaryTrainer and partner · Germany
Beyond expectation. It showed me the difference between knowing agile and understanding it. Great material and an excellent coach.
Laura OrellanaFounder and CEO · Argentina
Alumni lead People functions at McKinsey & Company · Deloitte · IBM · Siemens · Cognizant · Red Hat · Allianz · MassMutual · Discover · James Cook University
Your next three days could change the next four years.
Small cohorts of 14–18 in three time zones. Early registration saves 15%.
Americas
10am–4pm ET · 3 days
Enroll for the next cohortEurope, Middle East and Africa
10am–4pm CET · 3 days
Enroll for the next cohortAsia Pacific
10am–4pm SGT · 3 days
Enroll for the next cohort
Questions
Not answered here? Message our admissions team and a certified APF trainer will reply within one business day.
How is APF CPC™ different from SHRM-CP or SPHR?
SHRM and HRCI certifications validate HR knowledge against a codified body. APF CPC™ validates your ability to run a People function in an AI-augmented, multi-generational workforce, and to coach leaders through that change. It complements them (CPC earns 24 HRCI CPE credits) but measures practice, not recall.
Do I need prior coaching experience?
No. CPC teaches coaching competencies from the ground up. You do need 2+ years of HR or People Operations experience, or equivalent consulting or coaching experience, so the program can focus on mastery rather than orientation.
What is the capstone, and is there an exam?
Both. You sit a written assessment on APF™ principles, governance, systems thinking and coaching, and you present a live PeopleOps Transformation Roadmap to your instructor and cohort. You need to pass both.
What if I can’t attend all 3 days live?
CPC is a live cohort, so full attendance is expected. If an emergency stops you attending a day, you can move your seat to the next cohort at no cost. We hold your place and payment for up to 12 months.
Does the credential expire?
It stays current through Continuous Learning Units (CLUs), earned in APF™ Labs, mentoring, writing or community sessions. CLUs convert to renewal fees, so engaged alumni keep it current at no extra cost. Standard annual membership is $700.
How does CPC relate to HARI L™ and the other APF certifications?
CPC is the flagship foundation. From CPC you can progress to APF CPTC™ (ICF ACTC team coaching) or APF CCP™ (ICF Level 1, ACC). CPC also makes you HARI L™ ready.
What is included in the fee?
Three days of live instruction with an ICF-credentialed trainer, an assigned executive coach, the written assessment, capstone review, digital badge, 1-year APF™ membership, 5 ICF CCE units, 24 HRCI CPE credits, community access and APF™ research participation. No upsells during the cohort.
Can my employer pay? Is there team pricing?
Yes. Most alumni are employer-sponsored, and we provide a business-case template for your L&D team. Teams of 4 or more can have a private cohort with organization-specific content, an internal capstone defense and volume pricing.
Lead the human-AI era.
The people leaders entering 2030 with an ICF-recognized coaching credential and AI-era fluency are deciding now. CPC gives you both in three days, with peers who become your practice for the next decade.