CHRO Trends 2021

Insights from Fortune 200 Chief Human Resources Officer

changes, demographics, and priorities.

Author:
Zac Upchurch
Chief Operating Officer
Talent Strategy Group
 The Talent Strategy Group CHRO Trends 2021

CHRO Trends
for 2021

I am pleased to present the fourth edition of this Chief Human Resources Officer
report that reviews trends in the Chief Human Resources Officer and Chief People
Officer marketplace and introduces the Fortune 200 new CHROs who came into the
role in 2020.
The Fortune 200 welcomed 27 new Chief Human Resources Officers in 2020, a
turnover of nearly 15%. These new CHROs represent more than 5 million employees
and oversee more than $1.6 trillion in annual revenue.
This new CHRO class continue many trends identified in previous reports such as
a further increase in female representation, a continued strong correlation between
CEO and CHRO turnover, and the trend of organizations selecting outsider CHROs
to fill their top Human Resources role. However, 2020 was also a year of immense
change as companies grappled with a global pandemic and within the United States
social and racial justice campaigns. Responding to these macro events, companies
ushered in new ways of working, more frequent communication and transparency to
employees, and increased focus and accountability to deliver superior business results
through a diverse and inclusive culture. More than ever, the CHRO role was elevated
as one critical to company value creation.
Much like the broader environment, the trends in the CHRO marketplace also
experienced change. Our analysis of the Fortune 200 new CHROs illustrates 7 key
trends in the CHRO marketplace with impacts to current and aspiring CHROs.
I wish to thank the report contributors and I look forward to working with the new
Chief Human Resources Officers and Chief People Officers to advance the field of
Human Resources in 2021 and beyond.

Zac Upchurch
Chief Operating Officer
Talent Strategy Group

CHRO TRENDS 2021 / PAGE 2

 The Talent Strategy Group CHRO Trends 2021

THE TREND

CHRO Turnover
Declines
2020 represented the lowest overall turnover in the Chief Human Resources Officer
role since this report’s inception and a 25% reduction in turnover from 2019. 27 new
Chief Human Resources Officers came into the role of a Fortune 200 organization
in 2020, representing a nearly 15% turnover rate and implying that organizations
replace their CHRO every 6.67 years.1 Turnover within the Fortune 200 was roughly
evenly distributed by the organization’s fortune ranking. The Fortune 50 saw seven
new CHROs, Fortune 51-100 saw six new CHROs, Fortune 101-150 saw seven new
CHROs, and the Fortune 151-200 saw seven new CHROs in 2020.
The Financials sector held the highest absolute number of new CHROs with seven
CHRO changes (out of 36 organizations in the Financial sector within the Fortune
200). Hotels, Restaurants, and Leisure (67%), Aerospace & Defense (50%), and House-
hold Products (50%) represented the highest sector-specific percentage of CHRO turns.
The most frequent starting months for a Fortune 200 new CHRO were February,
July, and August with four new CHROs in each month. The global pandemic did not
appear to significantly impact the starting month for new CHROs. When compared
to the previous three CHRO Trend reports, the starting month for CHROs remained ¹19 companies in the
Fortune 200 did not
mostly constant, though total volume of starts declined in 2020 consistent with the have a verifiable or

lower number of Fortune 200 new CHROs. sitting incumbent

CHRO at the time
The average predecessor CHRO tenure for the Fortune 200 new CHROs was 4.9 of this analysis.

years, a significantly lower tenure than the 6.67 year tenure for sitting Fortune 200 Examples include
Berkshire Hathaway
CHROs. The longest tenured predecessor CHRO was Michael D’Ambrose from and AutoNation.

Archer Daniels Midland, now CHRO at Boeing. The shortest tenured predecessor These 19 companies
were excluded from
CHRO was Darcy Mackay from CBRE, now Group President at CBRE. the analysis.

CHRO Start Month CHRO Turns

Top 2020 CHRO
Turns By Sector
1 4 3 2 0 3 4 4 2 2 1 1 36
31 Financials 7
27
Aerospace and Defense 3

Retailing 3

Technology 3
September

November

December
February
January

October
August
March

June
April

May

July

2018 2019 2020

CHRO TRENDS 2021 / PAGE 3

 The Talent Strategy Group CHRO Trends 2021

THE TREND

Internal Succession
Stabilizes
Since 2017, there’s been a consistent, declining trendline for internal CHRO ses-
sion. In 2017, 70% of CHROs were internal successors compared to 61% in 2018 and
53% in 2019. 2020 saw a stabilization of internal CHRO succession where 14 (52%) of
the Fortune 200 new CHROs were internal CHRO successors.
Internal successors had an average organization tenure of over 20 years prior to
CHRO appointment. 11 (79%) of the Fortune 200 new CHROs had at least 15 years of
tenure in the company prior to being appointed CHRO. The remaining 3 (21%) new
CHROs had five or fewer years of tenure in the organization prior to CHRO appoint-
ment.
Aspiring first-time CHROs overwhelmingly progress to the top HR role through
internal succession. 100% of internal successors were first-time CHROs and internal
successors represented 88% of first-time CHROs in 2020.2

Aspiring first-time CHROs

overwhelmingly progress to the top ²Carmen Fernandez
previously served as a

HR role through internal succession. CHRO for a Marsh and

McLennan Companies
organization, Guy
Carpenter.

Internal CHRO Successors Company Tenure of Internal CHRO Successors

70% ■ 0-9 Years ■ 10-19 Years ■ 20-29 Years ■ 30 to 39 Years

61%
53% 52%

2017 2018 2019 2020

21% 21% 29% 29%

CHRO TRENDS 2021 / PAGE 4

 The Talent Strategy Group CHRO Trends 2021

THE TREND

The Experienced
Outsider
Organizations that go external for a CHRO successor most frequently look to bring
in an experienced CHRO. In 2020, 100% of external successors of the Fortune 200
new CHROs had Human Resources domain experience and 85% of the new CHROs
were previously a CHRO. This is roughly consistent with previous years where in 2019,
82% of new CHROs were previously a CHRO. 2020 examples include:

• Donna Morris joined Walmart as EVP and Chief People Officer in February 2020,
having previously served as CHRO and EVP of Employee Experience at Adobe. Don-
na joined Adobe in 2002 and served across a number of HR domains including Talent
Management, HR Operations, and Employee Experience.

• Jennifer Weber joined Archer Daniels Midland as SVP and Chief Human Re-
sources Officer in August 2020, having previously served as EVP of HR at Lowe’s.
Prior to Lowe’s, Jennifer held a CHRO role at Duke Energy and an SVP, HR role at
Scripps.

• Elcio Barcelos joined U.S. Bancorp as SEVP and Chief Human Resources Officer
in September 2020, having previously served as SVP, Chief People and Places Officer
at Fannie Mae. Prior to Fannie Mae, Elcio held a number of Talent Acquisition and
HRBP roles in companies like DXC Technology, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Wells
Fargo, and Bank of America.

Breaking with the 2019 trend, the majority (55%) of 2020 external CHRO successors
moved to a smaller company than the predecessor company.3 And unlike CEOs where
industry/sector experience is an important consideration to selection of an external
CEO successor, there appears to be limited importance placed on industry or sector
experience when selecting an external CHRO successor. Just 27% of external succes-
sors in 2020 had previous experience in the sector of their new company.

³ Larger in this context

is defined as revenue

27 %
based on 2020 fig-
of external successors in 2020 ures. In 2019, 100%
had previous experience in the of external CHRO
sector of their new company successors moved to
a company that was
larger than the prede-
cessor company.

CHRO TRENDS 2021 / PAGE 5

 The Talent Strategy Group CHRO Trends 2021

THE TREND

CEO Turnover Drives

CHRO Turnover
CEO turnover is a strong predictor of CHRO turnover. An incumbent CHRO is
over 3.5x more likely to experience turnover with the introduction of a new CEO.
The majority (54%) of organizations that brought on a new CEO in 2019 replaced
their incumbent CHRO by the end of 2020. Of those replacements, 85% occurred
within 12 months of the new CEO start date. In fewer cases, the new CHRO starts
a few months before the new CEO as was the case for an additional 8% of organiza-
tions that brought on a new CEO.
Collectively referred to as the “Golden Triangle,” Sandy Ogg of CEO.works calls
out the three most critical roles in creating value as the CEO, CHRO, and CFO roles.
When these roles and its incumbents work well together, value is created. It is there-
fore not surprising to see a correlation of turnover across these three key roles. In just
one in four organizations that brought on a new CEO in 2019 did the incumbents
in the CHRO and CFO roles both remain in their roles by the end of 2020. 25% of
the time, both the CHRO and CFO were replaced by the end of 2020. And in 29% of
the time, just the CHRO was replaced versus in 17% of the time, just the CFO was
replaced by the end of 2020.
An incumbent CHRO and CFO has increased turnover risk when the CEO succes-
sor is external as opposed to internal. 88% of 2019 external CEO successors replaced
at least one incumbent of the ‘golden triangle’ while 69% of internal CEO successors
replaced at least one incumbent of the ‘golden triangle’ by the end of 2020.

An incumbent The Golden NEW

CEO
Triangle

3.5x 54
CHRO is over

%
ED

RE
P
AC

of organizations that
LA
PL

CE

more likely brought on a new

RE

to experience CEO in 2019 replaced

turnover with the their incumbent
introduction of a CHRO by the end
CHRO BOTH REPLACED CFO
new CEO of 2020
29% 25% 17%

CHRO TRENDS 2021 / PAGE 6

 The Talent Strategy Group CHRO Trends 2021

THE TREND

Female CHROs
Dominate
The female CHRO continues to be a beacon for female representation within lead-
ership teams. Over three-fourths (78%) of the Fortune 200 new CHROs were female.
Overall, the Fortune 200 CHROs are 70% female and 30% male. This represents the
largest overall female representation in the CHRO role since this report’s inception.
Leadership teams with a female CHRO had more balanced gender representation
than leadership teams with a male CHRO. On average, the leadership teams of the
Fortune 200 new CHRO companies were 70% male and 30% female.4 If the CHRO is
male, the leadership team skews towards increased male representation at 75%. This
is contrasted to if the CHRO is female, the leadership team has higher than average
female representation at 31%.
Driving the increase in female CHRO representation is the shift of outgoing male
CHROs for an incoming female CHRO. Just over half of the time (58%), an outgoing
CHRO was replaced with an incoming CHRO of the same gender (male for male or
female for female). An outgoing male CHRO was replaced with an incoming male
CHRO 22% of the time while an outgoing female CHRO was replaced with an incom-
ing female CHRO 76% of the time.

⁴ Based on leadership
team designations
displayed on compa-
ny websites.

Leadership Team Gender Representation CHRO Replacement by Gender

LEADERSHIP TEAM LEADERSHIP TEAM

Female Male
69% CHRO CHRO
75%
Male Male

22% 76%
vs

31% 25%
Female Female
78% 24%

CHRO TRENDS 2021 / PAGE 7

 The Talent Strategy Group CHRO Trends 2021

THE TREND

The Educated, Deep

HR Leader
The Fortune 200 CHRO is educated, with depth in the Human Resources domain,
and likely was appointed CHRO from a top Human Resources Business Partner role.
96% of the Fortune 200 new CHROs had a bachelor’s degree or equivalent and 56%
held at least one graduate degree. The most common undergraduate degree for the
Fortune 200 new CHROs was Psychology at 22%. This is followed by Business Admin-
istration/Management (19%) and Industrial & Labor Relations (11%). The University
of Michigan graduated the most Fortune 200 new CHROs from undergrad at 7%. An
MBA was the most prevalent graduate degree for the Fortune 200 new CHROs with
15% of CHROs holding an MBA. Columbia University graduated the most Fortune
200 new CHROs from graduate school at 7%.
Deep experience in Human Resources was an increased priority for CEOs selecting
a new CHRO. Since this report’s inception, the percent of CHROs with limited to no
experience in Human Resources prior to taking on the Chief Human Resources Officer
role has been steady at ~20%. In 2020, 93% of Fortune 200 new CHROs had depth in
Human Resources.
The pathway to the CHRO role runs almost exclusively through a top Human Resourc-
es Business Partner role. 42% of the Fortune 200 new CHROs were in an HRBP role
prior to being tapped for the top Human Resources job. An additional 42% previously
served as a Chief Human Resources Officer or Chief People Officer. Just 12% of Fortune
200 new CHROs served in a Center of Excellence (COE) immediately prior to their ap-
pointment, a mix of talent, compensation, and Human Resources operations roles.

93 %
Role Prior to CHRO Appointment of Fortune 200 new
CHROs had depth in
Human Resources
42% 42%

CHRO Educational Background

12% Bachelor's Degree

4%
96%
HRBP Center of CHRO Business Advanced Degree
Excellence Role
(Talent,
Compensation,
HR Operations)
56%

CHRO TRENDS 2021 / PAGE 8

 The Talent Strategy Group CHRO Trends 2021

THE TREND

The CHRO’s
“Second Act”
Outright retirement is a rarity for outgoing Chief Human Resources Officers
where 27% of outgoing Fortune 200 CHROs retired without plans to continue
employment elsewhere. A surprising 50% of outgoing CHROs moved into a new
CHRO role or equivalent, the majority of which (55%) moved to a smaller company
as measured by the company’s market capitalization. An additional 16% serve on
Board(s) and/or are independent consultants. 2020 examples include:

• Brent Hyder, previously Chief People Officer of Gap, Inc. (Fortune 199), joined
Salesforce (Fortune 190) as the President and Chief People Officer.

• Diane Gherson, previously Chief Human Resources Officer of International

Business Machines (IBM, Fortune 38) serves on two boards: SemperVirens Venture
Capital, a fund that invests in workforce, healthcare, and financial technology com-
panies, and Ping Identity. Diane additionally joined the faculty of Harvard Business
School.

• Dawn Rogers, previously of Pfizer (Fortune 64) serves as Managing Director to

American Securities portfolio companies on HR and organizational design.

73% of outgoing
Fortune 200 CHROs
have a “Second Act.”

CHRO TRENDS 2021 / PAGE 9

 The Talent Strategy Group CHRO Trends 2021

CHRO Class of 2020

Insider/ CHRO
Company Name CHRO Title Outsider Gender Prior

Walmart Donna Morris EVP, Chief People Officer Outsider Female Yes

Fannie Mae Jeffery Hayward EVP, Chief Administrative Officer Insider Male No

International Business Machines (IBM) Nickle LaMoreaux SVP, CHRO Insider Female No

Raytheon Technologies Dantaya Williams EVP, CHRO Outsider Female No

Boeing Michael D'Ambrose EVP, HR Outsider Male Yes

Freddie Mac Angela Locke INTERIM, CHRO Insider Female No

Lowe's Janice Dupré EVP, HR Insider Female No

Archer Daniels Midland Jennifer Weber SVP, CHRO Outsider Female Yes

Lockheed Martin Greg Karol SVP, HR Insider Male No

Goldman Sachs Group Bentley de Beyer Head of Human Capital Management Outsider Male No

Pfizer Payal Sahni Becher EVP, CHRO Insider Female No

Tyson Foods Johanna Söderström EVP, CHRO Outsider Female Yes

Honeywell International Karen Mattimore SVP, CHRO Insider Female No

Travelers Diane Kurtzman EVP, CHRO Insider Female No

U.S. Bancorp Elcio R.T. Barcelos SEVP, CHRO Outsider Male Yes

Starbucks Angelia Lis EVP, Chief Partner Officer Insider Female No

Duke Energy Ronald Reising SVP, CHRO Insider Male No

Qualcomm Heather Ace EVP, HR Outsider Female Yes

CBRE Group Tara Dresen Head of People Outsider Female Yes

Baker Hughes Deanna Jones CHRO Outsider Female Yes

McDonald's Heidi Capozzi EVP, Chief People Officer Outsider Female Yes

AECOM Shirley Adams CHRO Insider Female No

Kimberly-Clark Sandi Karrmann SVP, CHRO Outsider Female Yes

Cognizant Technology Rebecca Schmitt Chief People Officer Outsider Female Yes

Marsh & McLennan Carmen Fernandez Chief People Officer Insider Female No

XPO Logistics Josephine Berisha CHRO Insider Female No

Gap Sheila Peters Chief People Officer Insider Female No

CHRO TRENDS 2021 / PAGE 10

 The Talent Strategy Group CHRO Trends 2021

CONCLUSION

About the Research

We produced this information by analyzing the Fortune 200 organizations (based
on the 2020 Fortune 500 list) and publicly available information for Chief Executive
Officers, Chief Financial Officers, and Chief Human Resources Officers. We addition-
ally spoke with many Chief Human Resources Officers and their teams within the
Fortune 200 to validate data where publicly available information was not available.
In total, 181 organizations had a sitting, identifiable CHRO at the time of this re-
port. The trends highlight those 181 organizations of the Fortune 200.
Some organizations, such as Berkshire Hathaway, do not have a sitting Chief Human
Resources Officer. In those situations, we did not include the company in the
analysis.

About the Author and Talent Strategy Group

Zac Upchurch
Chief Operating Officer, Talent Strategy Group
[email protected] @ZacUpchurch zupchurch

Zac directs the daily operations of the Talent Strategy Group, including strategy,
research, and finance across all lines of the TSG business. He frequently consults
with the Boards and Executive Teams of the world’s most advanced organizations on
Human Resources and Talent Management with a focus on the intersection of people
and organizations, and enabling the full potential of both. Zac graduated Summa
Cum Laude from Arizona State University with a Bachelor’s of Science in Economics.
He can be reached at [email protected].

The Talent Strategy Groups helps the world's highest performing organizations
transform Human Resources and their ability to grow talent. Our advisory services
include HR strategy, organization design, HR leader assessment, and HR process design.
We partner with private equity firms on deal generation, due diligence, and value creation
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public and private programs. We advise public and private companies, NGOs, and public
sector organizations across geographies and industries. More information is available at
www.talentstrategygroup.com.

CHRO TRENDS 2021 / PAGE 11