SHRM’s Executive Network, HR People + Strategy and Willis Towers Watson undertook a global research initiative to explore the rapidly changing role of the Chief People Officer from February through August 2019. The participating organizations from North and South American, Asia Pacific and EMEA range from mid-sized start-ups to large multinationals across a wide span of industries including financial services, consumer goods, hospitality, real estate, health care and pharmaceuticals, food and beverage, high tech, energy, manufacturing, retail and the public sector. Over 500 leaders, including 230 CPOs and 300 CEOs, other C-suite executives, board members and academics participated in the study. The three key components of the study included: in-depth interviews with CPOs, CEOs, corporate board members, other C-suite executives and academics; an online survey of CPOs, CEOs, board members and other C-suite executives; CPO focus groups.
