The Josh Bersin Company has launched a new research initiative, CHRO Insights™, to explore the rapidly evolving role of Chief Human Resources Officers (CHROs) and their impact on business transformation. The study, analyzing over 20,000 CHROs with support from SeekOut, reveals critical trends in CHRO career paths, leadership effectiveness, and the challenges organizations face in HR succession planning.

Key findings include:

• CHROs are now among the top five highest-paid executives in 13% of companies, up from 0.5% thirty years ago.


• 75% of CHROs are hired externally, indicating a lack of confidence in internal succession.


• Four key CHRO archetypes have emerged: Career CHRO, Company CHRO, Business CHRO, and Operations CHRO.


• Business CHROs (from non-HR backgrounds) drive the most organizational change and accelerate HR maturity.


• High-performing CHROs often have backgrounds in psychology, economics, political science, or hard sciences, rather than traditional HR or business degrees.

With AI, global workforce shifts, and organizational restructuring accelerating, CHROs are now expected to lead business strategy, workforce transformation, and HR technology integration.