The CEO chooses the CHRO, per the 2024 HR@Moore survey. Our reading is that the board, and in particular the compensation committee chair and the directors involved in CEO succession, also shape the choice; no source states that directly. That makes a CHRO job search different from most: it runs on the CEO's confidence in you, the board's view of how you handle succession and executive pay, and timing set by what is happening at the top of the company. Read those three things, and your search becomes a series of targeted approaches instead of a wait for postings.
This essay sets out who decides, what the public record shows, what the research says boards want, and what a CHRO should do in the first 30 days.
Who decides: the CEO first, the board close behind
The University of South Carolina's 2024 HR@Moore survey of CHROs is direct on this point: its authors write that the CEO decides on the next CHRO, and that visibility to the CEO therefore matters for any internal candidate. The same report says boards hold the legal responsibility for choosing the CEO but also want to know about potential successors to key leaders, and that HR leaders can gain exposure through compensation committee meetings on executive pay and talent reviews. Darla Moore School of Business, Center for Executive Succession, 2024.
Russell Reynolds Associates adds the reason the CEO's role matters: the CHRO is often seen as the CEO's close confidant, so a change in the top seat tends to bring a change in the CHRO seat. Russell Reynolds Associates, Global CHRO Turnover Index, 2026.
| Participant | Role in a CHRO hire |
|---|---|
| CEO | Decides; the hire has to be someone the CEO trusts |
| Compensation committee chair | Works with the CHRO on executive pay and talent reviews, so is a natural voice in the choice |
| Board chair or lead director | Involved where the CHRO will also support CEO succession |
The last two rows are inferences from the sources above, not a measured process. The 2024 Moore survey and the Conference Board report below describe the relationships, not a hiring workflow.
The CEO and board relationship the search turns on
In April 2025 The Conference Board published "CHROs Are Expanding Impact with Corporate Boards," based on a survey of 55 corporate secretaries and interviews with more than 30 US and European CHROs, CEOs and directors. CHRO engagement with the board had increased over the past three years at nearly 70% of the public companies surveyed. Corporate secretaries reported that CHROs attend every full board meeting at 39% of companies and most meetings at 20%. Human capital qualifications among independent directors rose from 16.2% in 2018 to 38.3% in 2024 at S&P 500 companies, so a candidate may well face directors who know the subject. That is our inference, not a finding. The Conference Board, 2025.
The same report names what undermines a CHRO with the board: boards that undervalue human capital expertise, friction over succession planning, CEOs who limit board interactions, and limited commercial and financial acumen. Fortune's account of the research quotes a Conference Board principal researcher saying the CEO can be a blocker to the CHRO being embedded with the board. Fortune, 2025. For a candidate this means you should ask, in every interview, how the CHRO currently engages with the board and who controls that access.
Succession-planning context
CEO succession is now a standing board topic. A 2026 report by The Conference Board with Heidrick & Struggles puts "fortify CEO succession and leadership pipelines" first among the top five governance priorities for 2026, noting that more than 11% of S&P 500 CEOs are aged 65 to 69, up from just over 7% in 2017. Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance, April 2026.
For a CHRO candidate, our inference is that a company with an older CEO or an unsettled succession plan may be seeking a CHRO who has run a CEO succession. Separately, the Moore survey lists experience with CEO succession among the specific skills cited for going outside.
How often search firms run the search
No source reviewed for this page measures what share of CHRO hires are run by retained search firms versus internal teams, so there is no figure here. The research does show why companies look outside. In the Moore survey, 59% of CHROs had entered as direct outside hires and 32% as direct internal promotions from within HR. The most cited reason for going outside was a lack of internal successors (31 mentions), followed by the need for specific experience such as CEO succession or transformational change (18). CEO preference ranked sixth (6 mentions). Moore School, 2024.
Other counts point the other way. Spencer Stuart's 2023 Fortune 500 data, reported by Fortune, show 55 new CHRO appointments, of which 37 were internal and 18 external. Fortune, 2024. Russell Reynolds says most first-time CHRO appointments come from within, while S&P 500 companies are more often looking externally for experienced CHROs. The samples differ: one is a survey of sitting CHROs, one a count of recent Fortune 500 hires, one a global index. Our reading is that these sources do not agree for large US companies: the Russell Reynolds remark about S&P 500 companies is qualitative and carries no figure, while the Fortune 500 count shows 37 of 55 hires were internal. Do not treat any one sample as the rule.
Public signals that a CHRO search is coming
A CEO change. Form 8-K Item 5.02 requires a public company to report within four business days the departure or appointment of its principal executive officer, president or principal operating officer. SEC, Form 8-K. Given the CEO link above, our inference is that a new CEO is the strongest public signal for a CHRO change. Fortune's 2024 reporting says new CEOs often decide they want a different HR leader; no source gives a timing. Fortune, 2024.
CHRO changes in the filing itself. The same item covers any named executive officer, so a CHRO who is named in the proxy statement triggers an 8-K on departure. Many CHROs are not named executive officers, in which case there is no filing and the first signal is a press release or a LinkedIn change. SEC, Form 8-K.
The proxy statement. Item 407 of Regulation S-K requires a company to describe the compensation committee's scope of authority and any role executive officers play in setting pay. Most companies must also name the committee's members, in the committee report and the interlocks disclosure; smaller reporting companies are exempt from both. eCFR, 17 CFR 229.407. Item 401 requires a list of executive officers with five years of business experience each. eCFR, 17 CFR 229.401. Item 101 requires the annual report to describe human capital resources and the measures management focuses on. eCFR, 17 CFR 229.101. Read the human capital paragraph. This is inference: a company whose language has become sharper on workforce measures may be signalling what the next CHRO will be asked to do.
Tenure. Russell Reynolds reported that the average tenure of outgoing CHROs was 5.2 years in 2025, and that 155 CHROs were appointed to public companies globally that year, up from 124 in 2024. Russell Reynolds Associates, 2026. Spencer Stuart's Fortune 500 data show CHRO turnover peaked at 28% in 2020 and was about 11% in 2023, with average tenure around 4.5 years. Fortune, 2024.
What appointing boards look for
The research converges on business competence. In the Moore survey, business acumen and strategy was the trait cited most often both as what separates great CHROs from good ones and as what the CEO sought at hiring. CHROs rated business acumen and business strategy as the weakest areas of other current CHROs on the Gartner model they used, and said new CHROs are least prepared to be the board's leader on human capital and for business strategy. Moore School, 2024.
Egon Zehnder's 2018 paper "Which CHRO is Right for Your Company?" reports that boards and CEOs increasingly ask about appointing a CHRO whose background lies in business, not human resources, and concludes that a non-functional CHRO carries high risk and potential for high return in certain circumstances. Egon Zehnder, 2018. The paper is eight years old; our reading is that the Moore results show the issue remains.
Career paths in and out of the role
Into the role: Russell Reynolds counted 60% of 2025 CHRO appointments as first-time CHROs, against 65% in 2024. Moore found the most useful preparation for successors was exposure to the board, cross-functional roles, executive compensation experience and strategic leadership. Out of the role: none of the sources opened for this page tracks where CHROs go next, so this essay makes no claim about it.
Positioning: the bio and LinkedIn
Search firms and boards read a CHRO profile for four things. Put them first.
- The CEO relationship. Who you reported to, how many CEOs you served and whether you ran a CEO transition, stated as facts.
- Board and committee work. Which committees you presented to, the compensation and succession topics you led, and your role in executive pay design.
- Business outcomes. Measures the business cared about, such as workforce plans tied to a strategy or an acquisition integrated, not HR activity metrics.
- Scope. Employee numbers, geographies, M&A and restructuring history.
Titles vary, so use both "chief human resources officer" and "chief people officer" where they are accurate for you. The guide to getting found by executive recruiters covers search terms in detail.
How a CHRO target map is built
- The CEO. Names come from the company site and the 8-K record. A CEO who started in the past year is the first target.
- The compensation committee chair. Named in the proxy statement.
- The board chair or lead director, where succession is live.
- Search firms that publish CHRO research, plus those named in recent HR appointments.
- Triggers. An older CEO, a new CEO, an acquisition, a restructuring.
Many senior roles are filled without a public posting; the evidence review separates what is measured from what is repeated. The handbook explains the difference between a reverse recruiter and a recruiter, how the work is done, and confidential searching while employed, which matters for a CHRO who has board visibility.
The first 30 days of a CHRO search
- Days 1 to 5. Check confidentiality and non-solicit terms with an employment lawyer. If you were part of a leadership change, see the first 30 days after a layoff.
- Days 3 to 10. Write the bio around the CEO and board points, then check it against the proxy language your target companies use.
- Days 7 to 15. List companies with a CEO who started in the past year, or where succession is on the board's agenda. Take CEO changes from 8-K Item 5.02 filings.
- Days 10 to 20. Name the compensation committee chair at each, from the proxy.
- Days 15 to 25. Contact the search consultants who place HR leaders in your sector.
- Days 20 to 30. Reach the CEO and committee chair through people who know them. Rehearse your account of a succession or compensation decision; executive interviews above VP and board and CEO interviews cover the format. If you are over 50, read the executive job search after 50.
Related searches: the CFO job search and the CMO job search.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who hires a CHRO?
The CEO. The 2024 HR@Moore survey from the University of South Carolina's Center for Executive Succession states that the CEO decides on the next CHRO. Our reading is that the board, and in particular the compensation committee, influences the choice because the CHRO works with it on executive pay and talent reviews; the survey does not say so, so this is inference.
How long does a CHRO stay in the role?
Russell Reynolds reported that outgoing CHROs had an average tenure of 5.2 years in 2025. Spencer Stuart reported an average of around 4.5 years for Fortune 500 CHROs, as reported by Fortune in 2024. The figures differ because they measure different groups.
Are CHROs hired from inside or outside?
It depends on the sample. The 2024 Moore survey found 59% of CHROs were direct external hires and 32% direct internal. Spencer Stuart counted 37 internal and 18 external among 55 new Fortune 500 CHROs in 2023. Russell Reynolds found most first-time CHROs came from within.
What do boards want from a CHRO?
Business acumen and strategy lead the Moore findings, and a CHRO who can serve as the board's leader on human capital. The Conference Board's 2025 report lists commercial and financial acumen as a gap that can limit CHRO engagement with the board.
How can I tell a CHRO search is coming?
Watch for a change of CEO, which a public company must disclose on Form 8-K Item 5.02 within four business days. In our reading, a new CEO is the clearest signal, because Russell Reynolds describes the CHRO as often the CEO's close confidant. A named executive officer's departure is also filed on an 8-K.
