Top 17 CHROs to Follow for Strategic HR Insights in 2026
The best CHROs to follow are shaping how organizations hire, retain, and lead people through constant change. If you're looking to sharpen your people strategy, learning from these leaders gives you a real edge. I've rounded up the CHROs worth your attention—each one brings sharp thinking and practical insight you can actually use.
Top 17 CHROs
Below are the profiles of the top CHROs, covering who they are and the impact they've made in this space.
Nickle LaMoreaux
Nickle LaMoreaux is IBM’s SVP and Chief Human Resources Officer, shaping workforce strategy after decades in HR, rewards, software, and enterprise transformation work.
She has helped steer IBM through major workforce and…
Nickle LaMoreaux is IBM’s SVP and Chief Human Resources Officer, shaping workforce strategy after decades in HR, rewards, software, and enterprise transformation work.
She has helped steer IBM through major workforce and business changes, including the Red Hat acquisition and managed infrastructure separation. Her work now explores how AI changes jobs, skills, hiring, and HR itself, giving her CHRO perspective a strong future-of-work dimension.
Donna Morris
Donna Morris is Walmart’s Executive Vice President and Chief People Officer, leading global people strategy after a long career spanning HR, employee experience, and technology at Adobe.
At Walmart, Morris oversees people…
Donna Morris is Walmart’s Executive Vice President and Chief People Officer, leading global people strategy after a long career spanning HR, employee experience, and technology at Adobe.
At Walmart, Morris oversees people strategy for a workforce of more than two million associates. Her agenda combines career pathways, skills-based development, digital employee tools, wellbeing, and talent strategy, showing how HR leadership operates at enormous organizational scale.
Francine Katsoudas
Francine Katsoudas is Cisco’s Executive Vice President and Chief People, Policy & Purpose Officer, bringing three decades at the company to its people, policy, workplace, and social impact agenda.
Her unusually broad…
Francine Katsoudas is Cisco’s Executive Vice President and Chief People, Policy & Purpose Officer, bringing three decades at the company to its people, policy, workplace, and social impact agenda.
Her unusually broad remit connects workforce leadership with government affairs, sustainability, workplace resources, learning, and digital impact. Across Cisco, she has led organizational transformations, developed leaders, and helped shape an employee-first culture.
Jim Link
Jim Link is Chief Human Resources Officer at SHRM, where he leads people strategy after senior HR roles across Randstad, Porsche Cars, General Electric, and the Pillsbury Company globally.
Link brings an…
Jim Link is Chief Human Resources Officer at SHRM, where he leads people strategy after senior HR roles across Randstad, Porsche Cars, General Electric, and the Pillsbury Company globally.
Link brings an operator’s perspective to SHRM’s wider work on workers and workplaces. His experience includes leading HR transformation at Randstad, while his work at SHRM spans human capability, workforce change, talent, and the future of work.
Gloria Chen
Gloria Chen is Adobe’s Chief People Officer and Executive Vice President, Employee Experience, drawing on more than 25 years at Adobe across strategy, sales operations, support, and HR.
Chen leads Adobe’s global…
Gloria Chen is Adobe’s Chief People Officer and Executive Vice President, Employee Experience, drawing on more than 25 years at Adobe across strategy, sales operations, support, and HR.
Chen leads Adobe’s global people and workplace strategy, including talent, culture, and employee experience. Her background outside traditional HR—including strategy, sales operations, customer support, and engineering—gives her a cross-functional view of how people strategy supports business transformation.
Amy Coleman
Amy Coleman is Microsoft’s EVP and Chief People Officer, leading global HR after 25 years in roles spanning corporate functions, engineering, sales, marketing, and strategy.
Coleman’s Microsoft career has included employee engagement,…
Amy Coleman is Microsoft’s EVP and Chief People Officer, leading global HR after 25 years in roles spanning corporate functions, engineering, sales, marketing, and strategy.
Coleman’s Microsoft career has included employee engagement, workplace policy, enterprise crisis response, and HR partnerships across major business functions. As CPO, her remit centers on culture, talent, employee experience, operational excellence, and supporting a large global workforce through change.
Lisa Britt
Lisa Britt is SVP and Chief Human Resources Officer at Thermo Fisher Scientific, leading global HR strategy after senior people roles at Nexeo Solutions and Covidien globally.
Britt oversees HR strategy and…
Lisa Britt is SVP and Chief Human Resources Officer at Thermo Fisher Scientific, leading global HR strategy after senior people roles at Nexeo Solutions and Covidien globally.
Britt oversees HR strategy and operations for a global science company, with work spanning talent, inclusive culture, wellbeing, and organizational performance. Her long HR career across health care, chemicals, and life sciences gives her experience building people systems in complex multinational businesses.
Stephanie Kramer
Stephanie Kramer is Chief Human Resources Officer of L’Oréal USA, bringing two decades of business and people leadership across beauty brands, general management, marketing, and HR strategy.
Kramer’s path to HR leadership…
Stephanie Kramer is Chief Human Resources Officer of L’Oréal USA, bringing two decades of business and people leadership across beauty brands, general management, marketing, and HR strategy.
Kramer’s path to HR leadership includes running brands and businesses, giving her a commercial lens on talent, learning, rewards, and employee experience. She also wrote Carry Strong: An Empowered Approach to Navigating Pregnancy and Work, extending her work into the intersection of careers, parenthood, and workplace support.
Betty Larson
Betty Larson is Merck’s EVP and Chief Human Resources Officer, bringing more than two decades in health care and prior people leadership at GE HealthCare and BD globally.
Larson leads Merck’s global…
Betty Larson is Merck’s EVP and Chief Human Resources Officer, bringing more than two decades in health care and prior people leadership at GE HealthCare and BD globally.
Larson leads Merck’s global HR function and has emphasized leadership development, talent growth, culture, and employee wellbeing. Her earlier CHRO and CPO roles at BD and GE HealthCare add experience guiding people strategy through large, highly regulated healthcare organizations.
Alim Dhanji
Alim Dhanji is TD SYNNEX’s Chief Human Resources Officer and Executive Vice President of Corporate Affairs, with 25+ years across HR, operations, M&A, adidas, Equinox, and enterprise transformation.
Dhanji combines HR leadership…
Alim Dhanji is TD SYNNEX’s Chief Human Resources Officer and Executive Vice President of Corporate Affairs, with 25+ years across HR, operations, M&A, adidas, Equinox, and enterprise transformation.
Dhanji combines HR leadership with responsibility for corporate affairs, communications, citizenship, real estate, and security. His work emphasizes culture, management effectiveness, transformation, and the future of work, backed by operating experience that includes serving as president of adidas Canada.
Joy Rothschild
Joy Rothschild is Chief Human Resources Officer at Omni Hotels & Resorts and a longtime hospitality leader. Her career spans hotel operations, associate services, employee relations, and talent.
Rothschild’s HR approach is…
Joy Rothschild is Chief Human Resources Officer at Omni Hotels & Resorts and a longtime hospitality leader. Her career spans hotel operations, associate services, employee relations, and talent.
Rothschild’s HR approach is closely tied to hospitality operations and the connection between associate and guest experience. Her work has included employee recognition and empowerment programs, culture building, talent development, and rebuilding workforce momentum through major disruptions.
Mary Beth DeNooyer
Mary Beth DeNooyer is Chief Human Resources Officer at Keurig Dr Pepper, with nearly 30 years in food and beverage and prior HR leadership at Pinnacle Foods, Hillshire Brands, Sara Lee, and…
Mary Beth DeNooyer is Chief Human Resources Officer at Keurig Dr Pepper, with nearly 30 years in food and beverage and prior HR leadership at Pinnacle Foods, Hillshire Brands, Sara Lee, and Pepsi.
DeNooyer leads a broad HR portfolio spanning recruitment, talent management, organizational development, rewards, labor and employee relations, and inclusion. Her career across major food and beverage businesses brings deep experience building HR processes for complex public companies.
Charlotte Levert
Charlotte Levert is Ericsson’s Senior Vice President and Chief People Officer, an executive team member with 15+ years in HR leadership across Ericsson, Tieto, and GE HealthCare worldwide.
Before becoming CPO, Levert…
Charlotte Levert is Ericsson’s Senior Vice President and Chief People Officer, an executive team member with 15+ years in HR leadership across Ericsson, Tieto, and GE HealthCare worldwide.
Before becoming CPO, Levert led people strategy for Ericsson’s Cloud Software and Services business and Managed Services. Her experience centers on leadership, culture, inclusion, and guiding talent in large technology organizations undergoing continuous business and organizational change.
Jess Johannson
Jess Johannson is Chief Human Resources Officer at Canada Goose, leading HR across corporate, manufacturing, and retail teams after people roles at Tucows, Capgemini, Brookfield, and Johnson Controls.
Johannson’s remit spans talent…
Jess Johannson is Chief Human Resources Officer at Canada Goose, leading HR across corporate, manufacturing, and retail teams after people roles at Tucows, Capgemini, Brookfield, and Johnson Controls.
Johannson’s remit spans talent acquisition, employee experience, training, and global policy across a workforce that includes offices, factories, and retail. Her career across technology, engineering, renewable energy, and manufacturing gives her a varied view of building workplace experiences across operating environments.
Arvind KC
Arvind KC is OpenAI’s Chief People Officer, bringing engineering and people leadership experience from Roblox, Google, Palantir, and Meta to the challenge of scaling a fast-growing AI company.
KC’s combination of technical…
Arvind KC is OpenAI’s Chief People Officer, bringing engineering and people leadership experience from Roblox, Google, Palantir, and Meta to the challenge of scaling a fast-growing AI company.
KC’s combination of technical and people leadership is central to his remit: building hiring, onboarding, development, systems, and policies while adapting roles and skills as AI changes work. His experience at Roblox also joined people and systems leadership, connecting organizational design with technology.
Denise Haeggberg
Denise Haeggberg is Chief Human Resources Officer at Marriott Vacations Worldwide, bringing 20+ years in vacation ownership and prior talent leadership across Marriott, Vistana, and Starwood.
Haeggberg moved into the CHRO role…
Denise Haeggberg is Chief Human Resources Officer at Marriott Vacations Worldwide, bringing 20+ years in vacation ownership and prior talent leadership across Marriott, Vistana, and Starwood.
Haeggberg moved into the CHRO role in 2026 after leading global talent management. Her career centers on organizational effectiveness, talent, culture, and transformation in travel and vacation ownership, pairing deep industry knowledge with long-term experience developing people systems through corporate change.
Desiree Bacher
Desiree Bacher is Linde’s SVP and Chief Human Resources Officer, a company veteran whose career spans finance, shared services, communications, AI, digitalization, and HR.
Bacher brings an unconventional route into the CHRO…
Desiree Bacher is Linde’s SVP and Chief Human Resources Officer, a company veteran whose career spans finance, shared services, communications, AI, digitalization, and HR.
Bacher brings an unconventional route into the CHRO role, having led finance, shared services, communications, AI, digitalization, and procurement. That cross-functional background gives her people leadership a strong operational and transformation lens while her remit connects HR with technology and communications.
Selection Methodology
I selected the leaders on this list based on their relevance, demonstrated expertise and impact, professional credibility, and ongoing contributions to the field.
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I look for evidence such as leading meaningful initiatives or delivering notable results within their organizations, developing influential ideas or practices, publishing research or educational resources, speaking or teaching, and other contributions that demonstrate impact within their work or the broader field.
Additional Resources
Keep learning from HR leaders with these resources for networking, staying informed, and exploring new ways to work:
- Connect with peers through CHRO communities focused on people leadership.
- Find ideas for your reading list in our CHRO newsletters guide.
- Explore flexible leadership roles in our roundup of fractional CHROs and their work.
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