The CHRO/CPO - Contributions to the Board

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. 

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: 

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: 

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.”

We extend our thanks to the valuable contributions made to this report by our network of senior People & Culture leaders. 

Odgers' People & Culture Practice combines extensive knowledge, insight, and networks across the executive and non-executive space, identifying and developing the best talent for leading organisations across the world.

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