From Guardians of the Past to Future Fit: How CPOs Are Shaping Change

The discussion surfaced a set of shared challenges and actionable insights. Many themes were shared, from balancing performance and culture to navigating AI adoption, evolving leadership expectations, and the expanding remit of the modern CPO.

The Performance, Culture and Cost Discipline Nexus

Leaders spoke about the delicate balance between performance, culture and cost discipline. Many are expected to deliver sharper outcomes with tighter budgets while protecting the behaviours that enable performance. The message was clear: cost choices are culture choices. When handled well, they build clarity and trust. When handled poorly, they erode both.

Participants shared practical approaches including:

• • Link investment to a small number of measurable priorities.
  • Communicate trade-offs in plain terms.
  • Close the loop on what changed and why.

These practices build confidence, even when resources are constrained.

Courageous Leadership

Courage was a recurring theme, with Brené Brown’s ideas on clarity, vulnerability and accountability resonating strongly. People need direct, honest communication about what will change and what will not. Leaders set the tone by naming tensions early and modelling the behaviours they expect from others.

The group agreed: courage is not noise. It’s consistent action, fair process and visible ownership of hard calls.

Change Management and AI Inertia

The barriers are often not technical. They’re rooted in trust, role clarity and habit. CPOs are focusing on practical change management:

• • Define use cases that matter.
  • Explain how decisions will be made.
  • Set safe rules for trial and learning.
  • Celebrate small wins to build momentum.

There was strong interest in moving from pilots to scaled routines. The advice is to pair AI initiatives with process redesign and skills building. Without this, tools sit unused and scepticism grows.

Guardians of the Past and Future Fit

A strong idea emerged around recognising guardians of the past, those who protect what has worked. While intentions are often good, legacy assumptions can block progress.

Future-fit organisations retain strengths and retire what no longer serves. This requires clear criteria:

1. 1. What still gives us an edge?
   2. What now slows us down?

Leaders must invite challenge and make it safe to let go.

The CPO as Chief Reputation Officer

Reputation is now a daily part of the CPO remit. People issues influence brand perception, customer trust and regulatory confidence.

Several leaders described the CPO as a guardian of reputation, bringing judgement to the line between what is possible and what is right. Especially in how data is used, how change is communicated, and how organisations respond when things go wrong.

Architect of Operations and the Operating Model

The group also framed the CPO as an architect of operations. Structure, decision rights and ways of working are central to performance.

CPOs are shaping operating models with business leaders, focusing on:

• • Clear accountability.
  • Fewer handoffs.
  • Stronger cross-functional routines.

This is a practical organisational design that enables teams to move faster and reduce rework.

The New CPO Portfolio

The scope of the CPO role continues to expand. Many described a portfolio that now includes sustainability, purpose, reputation, project delivery and governance, alongside core people leadership.

It increasingly resembles general management, stretching from board level risk to day-to-day execution. The common thread: judgement and the ability to connect people's decisions to business outcomes.

Skills for What Comes Next

There was strong alignment on the skills that matter most:

• • Curiosity to test assumptions and learn fast.
  • Commerciality to link people choices to value and risk.
  • Cross-functional breadth beyond HR, including data literacy, product thinking and program delivery.
  • Advocacy and influence to shape decisions with executives, boards and external stakeholders.

Despite different organisational contexts, the challenges are familiar:

• • Hold performance standards while protecting culture.
  • Reduce cost without losing capability.
  • Move from AI interest to AI impact.
  • Honour what worked while designing for what’s next.

What stood out was a shared sense of responsibility. CPOs are expected to bring clarity to complexity, act with courage, and keep people at the centre of change. Influence depends on credibility, timing and simple follow-through.

Thank you to our guests for their contribution to a thoughtful discussion. To access the full summary or continue the conversation, please contact event hosts: Karen Chiew, Wendy Di Blasio or Alistair Clark.

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