In businesses where the product is delivered by people, the Chief People Officer is a commercial hire, not a back-office one. Here is how to approach it.
When to hire one
The trigger is usually scale outpacing informal practice. When hiring needs to happen at volume and to a standard, when founder-led culture needs to be made deliberate and durable, and when the organisation needs designing for where it is going, a senior people leader earns a seat on the executive team.
Hire a partner, not an administrator
The most common mistake is hiring a policy-and-process HR leader when the business needs a strategic partner. A strong CHRO shapes the decisions that determine whether a business can execute its strategy — who leads it, how it is structured, what culture it runs on. Look for someone who thinks commercially and challenges the CEO, not just someone who runs the HR function.
The profile that delivers
Strong people leaders combine command of talent, leadership development, reward, and organisational design with genuine commercial judgement and the credibility to partner with founders and the board. In beauty and consumer businesses, the ability to attract creative and commercial talent across very different markets matters greatly.
How the search works
Define whether you need a builder for a scaling business, a transformer for change, or a steady operator — they are different. A retained search matches the person to that mandate.
Hiring a Chief People Officer?
We recruit CHROs and senior people leaders across beauty and consumer businesses.
Explore HR & People Executive Search →Frequently asked questions
When does a company need a Chief People Officer?
When informal, founder-led people practices can no longer carry the organisation — when hiring must scale, culture needs to be deliberate, and the business needs designing for its next stage.
What makes a great CHRO hire?
Genuine commercial partnership and the credibility to challenge the CEO — not just HR administration — plus command of talent, culture, reward, and organisational design.
Related: What Does a Chief People Officer Do? · Beauty CHRO & People Search · How to Scope an Executive Search
