Why Boards Are Talking About People More, but Hiring HR Leaders Less
Despite heightened economic uncertainty, the HR job market is improving – albeit inconsistently – and becoming increasingly strategic across both public and private equity–backed companies. While AI continues to dominate conversations, particularly around workforce productivity and automation, the deeper trend is a renewed focus on leadership readiness.
In public companies, this reflects a push for leadership continuity and risk management amid rapid transformation.
In private equity portfolios, these same efforts are now viewed as core to value creation – ensuring that leadership depth, not just financial engineering, drives sustainable performance and desired exits.
The numbers tell a fascinating story. While CHRO representation on Russell 3000 boards has fallen to just 1.2% in 2024 (down from 2.6% in 2022), something unexpected is happening: 25.5% of newly appointed directors now explicitly list “human capital qualifications and skills” on their CVs.
Meanwhile, 69% of CHROs report significantly deeper engagement with their boards over the same three-year period.
This isn’t a contradiction. It’s a market in transition.
Organizations are recognizing that talent, culture, and retention have become board-level imperatives. But they’re addressing this challenge differently than before. Rather than recruiting experienced CHROs to the boardroom, companies are distributing human capital expertise across their director base, whilst elevating HR’s strategic voice in board conversations. Perhaps most tellingly, private equity firms are leading this shift.
They’re building human capital expertise into their investment theses earlier than ever, engaging talent specialists during pre-deal due diligence and even before exclusivity agreements. For these sophisticated investors, understanding a target company’s people risk is now as critical as understanding its financials.
We unpack what these shifts mean for the C-suite and the boardroom across the regions and sectors we work with.
Plus, we have an exclusive interview with Annmarie Neal, Chief People Officer at Zendesk, to discuss how leadership is evolving, why AI demands a new organizational architecture, and what skills define competitive advantage in the years ahead.
Read the full report below.
If you have any questions about these insights, please get in touch with:
Matt Healey
Partner
Global HR Practice, North America
M: +1 508 451 3946
E: mhealey@hiec.com