Contributions To The Board.
From Insight to Influence: How HR Leaders Are Reshaping Boardroom Impact
Today’s HR leaders are not just joining boards, they’re leading them - driving governance, shaping strategy, and elevating culture through deep expertise and bold, future-focused contributions.
Summary:
1. Effective onboarding, role clarity and peer insight help NEDs, especially CPOs, contribute strategically from day one.
2. CPOs bring a strategic, enterprise-wide lens to governance, contributing beyond HR through transformation, risk, and cultural insight.
3. HR leaders shape boardroom dialogue and culture by steering strategy, fostering collaboration, and challenging beyond their remit.
4. HR leaders increasingly chair key committees, shaping strategy and transformation - applying people expertise to elevate board effectiveness.
The remit of NEDs has expanded well beyond traditional HR oversight. Today’s NEDs are expected to contribute across a broad spectrum of strategic, governance, and cultural domains. Their influence extends beyond the boardroom table into committee leadership, organisational transformation, and long-term value creation.
Onboarding and Board Readiness
Effective onboarding and board structure are essential to enabling NEDs to contribute meaningfully from the outset. Janina Kugel emphasised the importance of preparation: “How companies bring Board members up to speed effectively is important to ask before you join a Board, to ensure that you can make the best contribution. Often the Chairs of Boards are thinking about the current Board structures only and not the evolution. Are Boards evolving fast enough? Do they represent diverse experience and state-of-the-art thinking? This is not necessarily valued by all Board Chairs. Thinking can be narrow around traditional business strategy and structures. I believe that Boards in the UK and the US are more open around structure. In the USA, deep experience in compensation is a plus.” Michelle Healy highlighted the value of peer insight and role clarity, particularly for Chief People Officers stepping into Board roles. “As an NED, you have to give a lot, but you also get a lot back. You have to commit fully as it is not a sideshow. To have another Board voice when you are a Chief People Officer is very valuable. Understanding the difference between the role of the executive and the non-executive is absolutely critical. Asking the right questions is a major contribution. I have learned a lot from my Board colleagues. As a Chief People Officer, our core skills are coaching, challenging and probing. We spend our lives listening to others. You are setting up others for success which is a great toolkit for assuming your first Board seat.”
Governance and Strategic Oversight
Dr Chandrasekhar Sripada described the breadth of the NED contribution: “In general, making critical evaluation of company’s performance and providing feedback to the management, working with other Board members in creating strategic directions for the company, pushing for good corporate governance standards and providing coaching and guidance to the CEO and top leaders.” Celia Baxter echoed this perspective, noting: “In my experience the contribution you make as an NED is broad; be that acquisition, integration, new market entry, or succession. You have to demonstrate that you are commercial and interested in business to be credible on the Board.” Katariina Kravi added: “As a member of the board of directors, I participate broadly to all topics, and also chair the people and compensation committee. We also chose the new CEO for the company, and I was actively involved.”
The Strategic Voice of HR
The presence of HR leaders on Boards is no longer confined to functional oversight. Chief People Officers are recognised for their ability to bring a strategic, enterprise-wide perspective to governance. Jacky Simmonds articulated this shift: “I have to understand the risk, liability, and governance models required if I join the Board of a business. As a Board member, you think about strategy, risk, governance, and quality of the people. I have never struggled to be heard, as the contribution I make is business critical.” She added: “The voice of the CHRO is growing. You have a spread of people on Boards, because the goal is to ensure a breadth of perspective and experience. It's the experience and the individual, not just the profession or function from which they come. You must bring a strategic lens on the business and not just operational HR - real OD, change and transformation are key skills for this step to join a Board. The Chief People Officer has an overview of the whole organisation and is the only executive apart from the CEO who brings that lens, which is why they make excellent NEDs.” Janina Kugel reinforced this point, noting: “The role of the independent director is to contribute on the transformation of the culture, how to work collaboratively across practises. Changing an organisation is core to a CHRO responsibility, working closely with the CEO and they bring this skill to the Board as an iNED.”
Shaping Boardroom Dialogue
Beyond governance, HR leaders are also influencing the tone and direction of boardroom dialogue. Jin Montesano described her approach: “I can change the topic, and I can steer the discussion to be more strategic and rigorous. We need to know whether there are going to be risks, so we spend a lot of time on risk, but we often miss the conversation around the growth potential of a strategic decision. This is really where my focus often is. You could say I bring a very different perspective to the Board.” Jun Aoki offered a vivid metaphor to describe the NED’s role: “The role of non-executive directors is like a high-performance braking system for a bullet train travelling at 300 km/h. I believe that my experience of integrating management strategy with HR strategy in different companies of different nationalities will enable me to bring different and unique insight and views for a Japanese prime-listed company supporting the growth and transformation of the business, while acting as a high performing brake when necessary.” Teresa Abecasis reflected on the long-term nature of board service: “A big difference between an executive and an independent is that the NED has a long-term agenda. Not monthly objectives, not looking to be promoted, not to move to another role. Thus, they have a strong capability to work on strategic and transformational issues for the company. Focus on the long term, not moving the company direction from one day to the next. This can be less exciting for some younger people, but in the long term, has a huge impact on the company.” Hanne Blume sees a shift in Board composition in Denmark. A qualified lawyer, she describes the Board agenda today as “more diverse: focussed on talent, remuneration, compliance and ESG. Growth requires broader Board debate which the CHRO is well placed to drive.”
Culture, Collaboration and Challenge
The ability to influence boardroom culture and foster effective collaboration is increasingly recognised as a core strength of HR leaders. Isabel Barros highlighted the importance of interpersonal competencies alongside technical expertise: “In the companies where I am on the Board, these topics, talent, HR, people, culture, are quite on top of the agenda. So I am very much engaged to contribute. Also, by my personal characteristics, collaboration, proactivity, my personal competences are important, perhaps even more important than the technical skillset. I also bring my attitude of collaboration and being able to build bridges.” Camilla Grönholm described her active engagement with management and board colleagues: “I contribute by engaging with management and involving myself in critical business issues where my experience, competence and strengths brings value (including ad hoc projects, meetings or sparring). In the boardroom I am not shy to ask questions, challenge or ‘say what needs to be said’. I do not limit myself to an HR angle. I can also play a key role supporting the Chairman to develop the Board composition and dynamics to get the most out of the excellent players we have.” Mikko Pelkonen noted the particular value of his experience in smaller and less mature organisations: “Diverse business and functional background in global companies, as well as long exposure to corporate governance of listed companies, helps to contribute within smaller and less mature companies.”
Committee Leadership and Governance Depth
Many HR leaders are also stepping into significant committee leadership roles, bringing a governance lens to areas such as remuneration, succession, and organisational integrity. Emmanuel David outlined the breadth of his responsibilities: “In my role as Chairman NRC, I have successfully overseen the recruitment of Independent Directors, CEO hiring, and Internal Auditor selection, while leveraging psychometrics for informed choices.
I guided whistle-blower investigations to uphold governance standards and collaborated on demergers, M&A activities, and compensation reviews including Chairman’s pay and ESOPs. I also simplified Board evaluations, offered counsel on sensitive matters, and promoted ESG awareness among Board members.”
Kevin Henry, who serves on both the Compensation and Audit Committees at SAIA, contributes to core governance while also addressing broader enterprise risks and opportunities, including geopolitical volatility, ESG, post-pandemic talent disruption, and DEI. Sandee Hurse brings a distinctive perspective to the boardroom, shaped by her early career in financial planning and analysis. “In Board meetings, often dominated by those with deep financial expertise, I am the one to raise questions about culture, leadership dynamics, and talent risk.” She also provides the Chair with insights into CEO performance, leadership gaps, and the behavioural dynamics that influence governance outcomes.
The Strategic CHRO/CPO Skillset
The evolving role of the Chief People Officer, in many markets, is increasingly recognised as central to board effectiveness, with many HR leaders contributing far beyond their functional remit. Anita Belani described her approach: “I contribute to strategy and engage with the company based on my skills and expertise. I have led several initiatives outside of the core Board role for almost all the companies in different capacities. Also, I lead the NRC in most of the Boards besides other committees as a chair or member; I play a critical role in this capacity as well.” Gautam Chainani emphasised the direct link between human capital and business outcomes: “Bringing a perspective of the strong linkages of human resources and business impact. As the Chair of NRC, I play an active role in shaping the HR strategy for the business. In M&A situations, I help define the synergies and roadmap for talent and culture integration.” Aparna Sharma highlighted the importance of representation and advocacy: “I contribute my HR expertise and actively participate in strategic discussions, going beyond merely attending board meetings to engage in hands-on involvement with the companies. I advocate for the inclusion of women on Boards, emphasising the valuable representation that women with HR backgrounds provide.” Gajendra Chandel described his boardroom philosophy as one rooted in transformation and future orientation: “I strive to turn ambition into architecture. Whether it’s recalibrating growth strategy, strengthening Board and even CXO leadership, or holding the mirror to legacy mindsets - I bring an outside-in perspective that’s strategic, human, and future-facing.” David Rodriguez, Chair of the Compensation Committee at American Woodmark, has become a key advisor to the CEO and a respected voice on ESG, DEI, succession, and the company’s overall “human fabric.”
Angie Risley reflected on the broader leadership value of the CPO role:
You join the Board with your business knowledge, and as a true business leader rather than a functional practitioner only. I believe as a Chief People Officer, you have huge strengths to offer including organisational change, culture, ESG, and strategy. As the RemCo Chair at IHG Hotels and Resorts and Senior Independent Director at Smith & Nephew, my role is all about relationships. Normally Chief People Officers are really good at relationships, influencing, and achieving alignment. There is therefore a strong link between the role of a SID and CPO.
The route to chairing the Board is therefore undoubtedly opening up for Chief People Officers.
Jacqui Welch shared her decision to initially join the audit committee rather than the compensation committee, viewing it as a strategic move to broaden her business acumen: “To influence and grow beyond your functional expertise, you must demonstrate your value across the full Board skills matrix. The CHRO role is an ‘enabling function.’ Unlike others around the boardroom table who may have ambitions to be CEO, I am perfectly content contributing from my area of expertise - supporting the business and Board on people matters. CHROs must declare their strengths with humility and operate honourably with their ambitions.”
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