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Welcome to this special Best of January issue of Talent Edge Weekly!

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THIS MONTH’S CONTENT

This special Best of January issue includes 20 popular resources from the January issues of Talent Edge Weekly.

They are organized into three sections:

1. Future of Work and Market Trends. Future of jobs, AI in the workplace, skills taxonomy toolkit, employee well-being, working parents, and return-to-office.

2. HR Strategy and Technology. HR goals and objectives, talent philosophy, AI-based HR trends and use cases, and HR tech evaluation.

3. Talent Practices and Tools. Succession planning, leadership development, high-potential identification, internal talent marketplace, internal mobility metrics, aligning learning and development with business objectives, academic degrees in job postings, and keeping candidates engaged between offer acceptance and start date.

This issue has an additional +20 bonus resources, insights on recent job cuts and layoffs, and announcements of Chief HR Officers who’ve moved in and out of the CHRO role in January.

Given the depth of content in this special Best Of the Month issue, you can decide to view this full issue with my complete insights or an abridged version, which just includes links.

FUTURE OF WORK

Future of Jobs Report 2025 | World Economic Forum

A new 290-page report examining how shifts in jobs and skills require changes in workforce strategies.

The World Economic Forum (WEF) new Future of Jobs Report 2025 offers insights from nearly 300 pages. Based on feedback from over 1,000 of the largest employers worldwide, representing 22 industry clusters and more than 14 million workers, the report highlights: 1) Job Growth and Losses: Global macro trends are expected to create 170 million new jobs this decade while displacing 92 million, resulting in a net gain of 78 million jobs (p.18). 2) Fastest Growing and Declining Jobs by 2030: Big Data Specialists, FinTech Engineers, and AI/Machine Learning Specialists lead growth, while Postal Services Clerks, Bank Tellers, and Data Entry Clerks have the greatest decline. 3) Skills Outlook: By 2030, 39% of key skills will change. While this represents significant disruption, it is down from 44% in 2023, possibly reflecting the impact of upskilling and reskilling initiatives. Page 41 highlights which skills are expected to rise in importance. 4) Talent Availability: Supporting employee health and well-being has become the top strategy for attracting talent, rising from 9th place in 2023. Another core strategy is tapping into diverse talent pools, emphasizing the value of a skills-first approach over traditional credentials. With this in mind, I’m sharing my one-page infographic featuring eight often-overlooked talent pools for sourcing talent.

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IMPACT OF AI IN THE WORKPLACE

Workforce Transformation In The AI Era | Oliver Wyman Forum

Ravin Jesuthasan, Rupal Kantaria, and Simon Luong cover an article (starts on p. 34) in this broader report, outlining the implications of AI in the workplace.

This article, starting on page 34 of the Oliver Wyman Forum's The State of Our World 2025 report, provides data with key implications for how AI is impacting the workplace and talent practices. Among the findings: 44% of core skills will be disrupted within five years, and the average half-life of tech skills has declined to just 2.5 years. The impact extends beyond skills to jobs, with 76% of employees reporting changes to their job descriptions due to AI. Roles are evolving so quickly that workers may hold 20 or more jobs in their careers. HR leaders should consider: Where is AI causing the most drastic shifts in roles and skill needs? What are the implications for talent strategies like recruitment, development, and retention? How do we prioritize the greatest risks? What’s our plan to address them in the next 3–6 months? While many questions exist, starting with these can uncover opportunities. As a bonus, I’m resharing two resources: (1) a Deloitte AI Institute report with a framework for determining which tasks are best performed by AI, humans with AI assistance, or humans alone; and (2) an Accenture report categorizing four types of AI impacts on jobs and tasks. Both offer insights to help organizations evaluate AI’s impact on work, skills, and the workforce.

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SKILLS

Global Skills Taxonomy Adoption Toolkit: Defining a Common Skills Language for a Future-Ready Workforce | World Economic Forum

A new 47-page report with a roadmap for implementing skills-based practices.

As organizations implement skills-based talent practices, this new 47-page report outlines a three-step roadmap: 1) identify strategic priorities and talent challenges a skills-based approach can address, 2) assess and define the skills needed, and 3) sustain a skills-first culture with effective governance. Page 12 highlights the importance of securing buy-in from key stakeholders, such as business leaders, by linking a skills-first culture to business goals and demonstrating its value. This point reinforces the need to align skills-based efforts with business priorities and track return on investments—an aspect often overlooked in the rush to adopt skills-based practices. Page 17 covers skills-based hiring, including assessments, proficiency standards, and job description integration. While prioritizing skills over traditional credentials, such as academic degrees, is gaining traction, research shows its impact remains limited. A study of 11,300 roles at large firms found that removing degree requirements from job postings led to just a 3.5 percentage point increase in hiring workers without a four-year degree after one year. However, leading organizations achieved nearly a 20 percent improvement by fostering a culture that actively supports skills-based hiring. These findings underscore that effective skills-based practices require more than rhetoric and technology; they demand cultural and mindset shifts to drive meaningful impact.

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EMPLOYEE WELLBEING

Thriving Workplaces: How Employers Can Improve Productivity and Change Lives | McKinsey Health Institute

A new report on employee wellbeing, including key metrics to help build a strong business case for well-being investments.

In the previously mentioned World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025, it was noted how employee health and well-being have become the top strategy for attracting talent, rising from 9th place in 2023. A new report by the McKinsey Health Institute offers additional insights, including key drivers organizations can use to calculate their investment in well-being and its returns. These include employee output (higher productivity, reduced absenteeism, and lower presenteeism), talent management optimization (improved retention, stronger attraction, and reduced attrition), and healthcare cost savings (lower expenses tied to a healthier workforce). As organizations build the business case for well-being investments, Exhibit 11 provides sample metrics, definitions, and key performance indicators to support decision-making. The report also includes case studies showcasing how organizations are implementing various well-being strategies. As a bonus, I am resharing my playlist of five resources for enabling employee wellbeing.

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WORKING PARENTS

Parents Are Minimizing Work Relationships to Make Time for Childcare | Harvard Business Review

Covers research on the strategies working parents use to balance family and work commitments.

Balancing work and caregiving responsibilities is a significant challenge for many working parents. To manage their time effectively, parents often adopt strategies like declining lunch invites, skipping team social hours, or steering conversations away from non-work topics. While these tactics help them meet both professional and personal obligations, they can also lead to unintended consequences, such as weaker workplace relationships and a diminished sense of belonging. With more organizations implementing return-to-office mandates, this balancing act is likely to become even more challenging. This article offers suggestions for both parents and managers to navigate these dynamics. For instance, one recommendation mentioned for managers is to focus on results rather than hours worked: “Focusing on how well your employees are performing — rather than the hours they put in — will help you to reward parents instead of dinging them for making time for their kids.” In my view, managers and leaders can also help by addressing ineffective ways of working in the organization, such as excessive or inefficient meetings. With this in mind, I am resharing my template to help organizations identify and address these ineffective ways of working, which can not only ease the pressures on working parents but also enhance overall organizational effectiveness.

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RETURN-TO-OFFICE

12 Return-to-Office Updates | Brian Heger

My one-page cheat sheet summarizing a segment of organizations who’ve made recent RTO updates.

Here is my cheat sheet featuring 12 examples of organizations that announced return-to-office (RTO) updates between October 2024 and January 2025. Among the most recent updates: 1) JPMorganChase, the largest U.S. bank with 316,000 employees globally, will require hybrid workers to return to the office five days a week starting in March. 2) WPP, the global advertising and communications company, will implement a four-day office workweek beginning in April for its 100,000+ employees worldwide, emphasizing the importance of in-person collaboration to creativity. 3) Sullivan & Cromwell, the prominent law firm, updated its guidance to express a preference for attorneys to work on-site Monday through Friday during business hours, underscoring the firm's belief in the value of in-person collaboration, though not as a formal mandate. As organizations continue to think through their RTO decisions, I am resharing this web page of resources from the October 2024 Remote Work Conference hosted by Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR) and the Hoover Institution. It includes the recorded presentations and slides used during the conference and has been made available by conference organizers Nick Bloom and Steven Davis.

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HR GOALS

2025 HR Goal Setting Template | Brian Heger

My template to help teams establish goals and track metrics, with sections for both what will be accomplished and what won’t be prioritized.

Here is my template to help set HR goals and track progress throughout the year. It is divided into two sections: 1) HR Goals and Objectives—focusing on what will be achieved, and 2) What HR Won't Do—outlining work that may have been a priority in the previous year(s) but is no longer relevant for 2025. In my view, being clear about what won’t be done is invaluable, as lingering tasks or outdated priorities can unintentionally carry over into the new year, distracting teams from focusing on what matters most. For example, an HR organization’s new operating model might eliminate investing time and resources in individual leadership development programs by business units/functions, shifting instead to company-wide programs. Metrics to ensure alignment with this shift could include no new local programs added and a 10% increase in company-wide program utilization. By monitoring both what will and won’t be done, HR teams can better position themselves to execute the most important initiatives and priorities. While this template is tailored for HR, it can be easily adapted by any function, business unit, or team to drive 2025 objectives.

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TALENT MANAGEMENT

What’s Your Talent Philosophy? An Updated Version | Talent Strategy Group

A newly refreshed version of the groundbreaking article on developing an organization’s talent philosophy.

In my 2016 article Linking Talent Strategy with Business Strategy, I noted that HR practitioners spend significant time creating and implementing talent practices and processes (supported by technology) to enable business strategy. However, before this work begins, it’s critical to articulate the organization's talent philosophy—a set of guiding principles that define how it manages talent to achieve its strategy. As Marc Effron emphasizes in his newly updated article, it is the executive leadership team—not HR—that should create and agree on the talent philosophy. His article provides guidance on helping the executive team align on key elements such as Performance—What are the consequences of higher or lower employee performance over time? Behaviors—How much do behaviors matter, and at what thresholds do we start to care? Differentiation—How should we allocate our company’s resources and rewards across varying levels of performance and potential? Transparency—How open should we be with employees about their performance, behaviors and potential to advance? Accountability—To what extent should managers be responsible for increasing the quality and depth of their teams? As an HR leader, how confident are you that your executive team has a clearly defined and aligned talent philosophy? How many of these five questions would they answer the same way? Understanding this is critical, as the talent practices, processes, and technology we implement in 2025 and beyond must align with this philosophy to achieve the intended talent outcomes.

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AI IN HR

10 HR Trends As Generative AI Expands In The 2025 Workplace | Fortune

A new article by Jeanne Meister on how AI is changing the workplace, including its impact on reskilling.

In Jeanne Meister’s new Forbes article, she outlines 10 HR trends reshaping the workplace as generative AI becomes a cornerstone of business operations. The trends range from the impact of AI on entry-level positions to how it can be used to upskill employees and create new opportunities. Regarding the latter, Trend 3, Generative AI as an Opportunity to Upskill and Reskill Workers, highlights IKEA’s approach to solving the business problem of managing customer inquiries efficiently by utilizing AI. By deploying an AI bot to handle 47% of inquiries, IKEA freed up 8,500 customer service agents to be reskilled into virtual interior design consultants, unlocking a $1.4 billion revenue stream. This example underscores the importance of first identifying the business problem to solve or the opportunity to create organizational stakeholder value rather than starting with AI in HR use cases. With this as the backdrop, I’m resharing a People + Strategy article by IBM’s Chief HR Officer, Nickle LaMoreaux, where she addresses how IBM began its AI in HR journey and achieved quick wins, including the introduction of AskHR, a digital assistant that now answers 94% of HR FAQs globally, reducing task completion time by over 75%.

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AI IN HR

How HR is Using Generative AI | i4cp

A one-page reference with AI use cases across eight HR areas. Includes my bonus template for evaluating which use cases an HR team might pursue.

AI continues to demonstrate significant potential to enhance HR capacity. According to a BCG analysis, AI could boost HR productivity across the value chain by up to 30%. As HR leaders determine which AI initiatives might unlock the most value for organizational stakeholders, this one-page reference by i4cp outlines use cases across eight HR domains, from talent acquisition to talent development. I recommend starting by identifying the business problems you’re addressing and using the cheat sheet to explore how AI can help solve them. To assist further, I’m resharing my editable template to help you think through AI in HR areas you might want to pursue based on various factors. Based on your assessment of these factors (the color coding should help to interpret your assessment across the use cases), there is space to generate ideas on potential next steps. If you missed it, check out i4cp’s 2025 Priorities and Predictions report, which provides strategic guidance drawn from the expertise of CHROs and senior leaders representing HR, talent, DEI, total rewards, and people analytics. i4cp has made this report ungated for Talent Edge Weekly readers!

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HR TECHNOLOGY

Who’s Making Your Talent Decisions? | MIT Sloan Management Review

A new article that explores why HR tech can fall short of expectations. I reshare my cheat sheet to navigate some of these challenges.

HR technology can be a critical enabler of talent practices and business performance. However, a 2025 Gartner report (see p. 20) reveals that 55% of surveyed HR leaders believe their HR tech solutions fail to meet current and future business needs. And 51% agree that they cannot measure the business value delivered by their HR technology. As highlighted in a new MIT Sloan Management Review article, numerous factors can contribute to HR tech falling short of expectations. Yet, many of us have also been part of successful HR tech implementations that met or exceeded their intended outcomes. While several factors influence the success of HR tech implementations, a critical one is clearly defining the technology’s purpose, desired outcomes, required capabilities, and alignment with the overall business strategy, tech ecosystem, and culture. To support this effort, I’m resharing my one-page cheat sheet, featuring questions to help HR leaders evaluate HR technology across four areas: 1) business needs, 2) vendor evaluation, 3) cost and ROI, and 4) security and compliance. While not exhaustive, this cheat sheet provides a good starting point for further evaluation and discussion.

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SUCCESSION PLANNING

11 Succession Planning Questions Worksheet | Brian Heger

Provides an editable template with 11 questions for thinking through an organization’s succession practices.

According to Gartner’s 2025 Top 5 Priorities for HR Leaders Report, only 23% of HR leaders are confident that their organizations have rising leaders capable of meeting future needs. In my view, succession planning (SP) is a key factor contributing to this gap. As the start of the year is an opportune time to reevaluate key talent practices, including SP, here is my one-page worksheet with 11 sample SP questions designed to help organizations assess various aspects of their SP practices. While not exhaustive, these questions provide a strong foundation to build upon. Sample questions include: Scope. Based on our SP purpose, what is the scope of our SP? Do we focus on roles at certain levels, critical roles regardless of level, or something else? Role vs. Pool. Are there areas where SP will be based on ‘successor pools’ —where similar roles are grouped together and share a talent pool of potential successors? If so, what are they? Development. If a successor is on multiple succession plans, how do we determine what plan takes priority in terms of successor development?  For each question, there is an editable comment box where you can track notes. If you find value in resources like this and are an internal HR practitioner, you will want to get on the waiting list for my new invitation-only community for internal HR practitioners launching soon—Talent Edge Circle.

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SUCCESSION PLANNING

9 Trigger Events that Prompt a Reevaluation of Succession Plans

My one-page cheat sheet with nine sample trigger events that may necessitate a more immediate review and adjustment to succession plans.

I recently shared my template to help leaders and practitioners evaluate when to update succession plans to keep them relevant and effective. While reviewing plans at least annually is a good practice, certain trigger events may necessitate a more immediate reassessment. These reviews ensure succession plans stay aligned with evolving business needs and future challenges. To support proactive succession planning, I’ve identified nine sample triggers that might prompt a reevaluation. A few include: Shift in business strategy—a new strategic direction may require different leadership capabilities; Cultural or organizational transformation—changes in culture, mission, or ways of working may necessitate new leadership skills; Successor turnover—departures create gaps that require reassessing readiness and pipeline strength. This list is not exhaustive and can be used as a starting point. Since every business is unique, some triggers may be more relevant than others, and I encourage organizations to tailor the list to their needs. To support this, I’ve included an editable text box in the PDF so you can document notes on how specific triggers might signal a need to review your current succession plans.

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LEADERSHIP

Global Leadership Forecast 2025 | DDI

A new 25-page report highlights 10 key insights into various aspects of leadership, including retaining leadership talent. I share my bonus template on employee retention.

This new report by DDI shares findings from its Global Leadership Forecast 2025, the largest and longest-running global study on leadership. Based on a survey of 11,000 global leaders—including 2,000 HR professionals—the 25-page report highlights 10 key insights, each with a “where to focus” section outlining potential actions. A key finding concerns the retention risk of high-potential (HiPo) individual contributors. While HiPo leaders’ departure intentions have remained steady the past few years at 10%, HiPo individual contributors show a sharp rise—from 13% in 2020 to 21% in 2024. These employees were nearly four times more likely to leave if their manager didn’t provide regular growth opportunities. As we are now in the second month of the year, many workers—HiPos and beyond—are reassessing their employment, especially with upcoming bonus payouts that could trigger departures. To help managers proactively identify and act on critical retention risks, I’m resharing my template, which prompts key questions: Is this person a high performer? A high-potential? Do they hold a critical role? How would their departure impact the organization? Managers can list employees, check relevant criteria, and determine any follow-up actions to mitigate retention risk. While templates aren’t necessary, simple tools like this can help managers thoughtfully evaluate retention risk and take action where needed.

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HIGH-POTENTIAL IDENTIFICATION

An Alternative Path to Unlocking High-Potential Talent: Universal Models Beware | Consulting Psychology Journal

A new peer-reviewed article that challenges the conventional approach to high-potential identification (podcast summary of article provided).

Many organizations conduct a talent review process—where one goal is to accurately identify (and develop) employees with the greatest potential to move into more complex roles. However, accurately assessing potential is not easy. A new study challenges the conventional approach, which often relies on universal measures of potential and focuses on vertical advancement. The research finds that context-specific methods are more effective, as each organization has a unique success profile shaped by industry, strategy, and culture. Also, viewing potential through a framework for lateral moves (not just upward moves) not only improves opportunities for employees but also helps organizations with their talent management. The study underscores the need for organizations to develop internal models of potential aligned with their values and business context. While you will need an account to download the research paper, here is a podcast episode that summarizes the article. Thank you to John Golden, Ph.D, one of the paper’s authors and VP of People Sciences & Organizational Capability at T-Mobile, for providing the podcast summary link. As a bonus, I am resharing my HiPo identification playlist with five additional resources.

Link to register for the article

INTERNAL TALENT MARKETPLACE

8 Questions for Identifying Projects for an Organization’s Internal Talent Marketplace | Brian Heger

My one-page worksheet to generate ideas on sources of projects to supply an organization’s internal marketplace.

Many organizations have shifted their focus from simply setting goals for 2025 to identifying the strategies and resources needed to achieve them. Critical to this effort is bridging talent gaps that impede the successful execution of key objectives. Rather than defaulting to adding new roles or more people to meet talent needs, another approach is leveraging an organization’s internal talent marketplace—particularly for matching employees to short-term projects that tap into their skills, expertise, and interests. This strategy unlocks capacity within the existing workforce by quickly allocating talent where and when it’s needed most. To help organizations identify project opportunities for their internal talent marketplace, I’ve developed a one-page template with eight sample questions, such as: “What upcoming initiatives align with our strategic goals but lack dedicated resources?” and “Are there recurring pain points or inefficiencies that could be addressed through short-term projects?” By considering these and similar questions, organizations can tap the full potential of their existing talent while accelerating the achievement of 2025 priorities and objectives.

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INTERNAL MOBILITY

9 Internal Mobility Metrics | Brian Heger

My PDF with sample metrics to measure progress in internal mobility. Includes a worksheet to identify metrics.

Internal mobility—the movement of employees across different roles and career opportunities within an organization—is a key talent strategy component. Measuring its impact is essential to maximizing return on investment. My PDF includes nine example metrics to help organizations assess different aspects of internal mobility, each featuring a definition, its significance, and a supporting practice. For example, the “Time-to-Fill for Internals” metric tracks the average time to fill a position with an internal candidate compared to external hiring. This is important because faster internal hiring processes reduce productivity gaps, minimize disruption, and showcase the organization’s ability to mobilize talent quickly. A sample practice to enhance effectiveness is streamlining the internal application process by reducing approval requirements and shortening interview stages without sacrificing quality. The final page of the PDF includes a worksheet for identifying key metrics—whether from this list or new ones—to track as part of your strategy. If you find these resources valuable, you will want to join the waiting list for Talent Edge Circle, my upcoming invitation-only community for internal HR practitioners.

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LEARNING & DEVELOPMENT

Connect Your Learning Programs to Your Company’s Strategy | Harvard Business Review

Highlights five tactics for aligning learning and development initiatives with organizational strategic priorities.

Chief Learning Officers (CLOs) and their teams understand the importance of aligning learning and development (L&D) programs with organizational strategic priorities to drive measurable business impact. Yet, making this connection is often challenging. This new article highlights five L&D practices from interviews with CLOs who’ve made meaningful progress in achieving this alignment. The article features examples from companies like Standard Chartered, PwC, Nestlé, Novo Nordisk, and L’Oréal. One practice involves designing workplace learning around strategic priorities rather than individual roles. Novo Nordisk exemplifies this by focusing on enterprise-wide initiatives, such as digitalization. Previously, such training would have been developed for individual functions, but the current program covers organizational-wide topics like digital enablers, patient profiles, digital marketing, and automation in production. This approach has improved digital acumen by 46% and increased digital experiments by 85%, which the company views as proxies for business impact. Another practice is shifting from participation-based to outcome-based KPIs. For example, Nestlé measures the impact of its leadership program on performance, promotions, and turnover, with results showing that participants often move into more complex roles within two to three years, and their teams achieve higher promotion rates. As a bonus, I’m resharing this BCG article, which includes a section on metrics for assessing the impact of learning programs.

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SKILLS-BASED HIRING

9 Questions for Evaluating if Degrees Are Required for a Role | Brian Heger

My cheat sheet provides 9 questions to evaluate whether an academic degree is essential for job selection.

Numerous headlines highlight the shift toward skills-based hiring, where organizations prioritize skills over traditional credentials like academic degrees. But does removing degree requirements actually increase the hiring of candidates without degrees? A Harvard Business School and Burning Glass Institute report analyzing 11,300 roles found that firms saw only a 3.5 percentage point increase—less than 1 in 700 hires last year. However, 37% of firms classified as Skills-Based Hiring Leaders achieved nearly a 20% increase. This gap suggests skills-based hiring has potential but requires a thoughtful, intentional approach. To support this effort, here’s my infographic with 9 sample questions, including "What essential skills are needed for this role, and can they be acquired outside a formal degree?" "How quickly do required skills for this role evolve, and does a degree ensure up-to-date knowledge?" and "Are there successful employees in similar roles without the specified degree?" While skills-based hiring involves more than just reconsidering degree requirements, critically evaluating questions like these can help organizations make more informed decisions as they become more skills-based.

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TALENT ACQUISITION

Secure Candidate Commitment With Postacceptance Engagement | Gartner

Provides tactics on keeping candidates engaged during the waiting between offer acceptance and start date.

Engaging candidates after they accept a job offer is a critical yet often overlooked aspect of the hiring process. According to Gartner, the average time between a candidate’s offer acceptance and start date is 28 days, leaving a window during which candidates may remain open to other opportunities. In fact, Gartner research reveals that in the past year, one-third of surveyed candidates backed out of an accepted offer. Without proper engagement during this period, organizations risk losing top talent. This article outlines tactics for keeping candidates engaged between offer acceptance and the start date. One notable practice highlighted is a “calendar of connections” strategy, where targeted touchpoints—such as providing role information, sharing informal career insights, and connecting candidates to their onboarding manager—are delivered weekly leading up to the start date. Organizations that use the postoffer period to reinforce candidate commitment and enthusiasm can significantly reduce dropouts, helping new hires build stronger connections to the organization and make a faster impact in their roles. How can your organization enhance its postoffer engagement strategy to ensure candidates remain committed and excited about joining your team?

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JOB CUTS AND LAYOFF TRACKER

Here is my tracker, which includes announcements from a segment of organizations that have announced job cuts and layoffs since the start of 2023.

A few firms that announced job cuts in January include:

• Ally Financial (NYSE: ALLY). The digital-only bank is cutting hundreds of jobs, less than 5% of its 11,000 employees, as it exits mortgage origination and explores options for its credit card business.

• BP (NYSE: BP). The British oil and gas giant announced it will cut 5% of its global workforce, eliminating nearly 4,700 employee roles and 3,000 contractor positions as part of a cost-cutting initiative to restore investor confidence.

• Meta (NASDAQ: META). The social media company announced it will cut approximately 5% of its workforce by letting go of low performers as part of efforts to "raise the bar" on performance management.

• Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT). The tech giant announced performance-based job cuts affecting about 2,280 employees, less than 1% of its 228,000-strong workforce.

• Wayfair (NYSE: W). The online retailer is exiting operations in Germany, affecting 730 employees, with half expected to relocate.

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CHIEF HR OFFICER MOVEMENT

81 Chief HR Officers were hired, promoted, and/or resigned in January. A few headlines include:

• Caterpillar Inc. (IRVING, TEXAS) [NYSE: CAT]—the world's leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment—announced that Chief Human Resources Officer Cheryl H. Johnson will retire on April 30 after an impactful eight-year tenure at the company. Caterpillar has initiated a search for her successor.

• Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts (TORONTO, CANADA)—the world's leading luxury hospitality company—has appointed Keisha Smith as EVP and Chief People and Culture Officer, effective January 6, 2025. Smith was most recently the Chief People Officer at Tory Burch, a role she held from August 2018 to June 2024. Smith also serves as an Independent Director on the Human Capital Committee for Unity Software.

• HP Inc. (PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA) [NYSE: HPQ]—a global technology leader—announced the appointment of Carol Surface as Chief People Officer, effective March 24. Surface joins HP from Apple, where she served as Chief People Officer for under two years. She brings over 20 years of experience leading HR functions at companies, including Medtronic and Best Buy.

• International Paper (MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE) [NYSE: IP]—a global producer of sustainable packaging, pulp, and fiber-based products—announced the appointment of Joy Roman  as SVP, Chief People and Strategy Officer, effective February 1. Roman, who will report to Chairman and CEO Andy Silvernail, joins International Paper from Berry Global, where she served as Chief People & Strategy Officer.

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