The CPO role has evolved

For years I have argued that HR leaders should have a seat at the top table and in many organisations, they now have it. The question is now whether the role has fully caught up with the expectations that come with it.

Across the UK, that expectation has shifted decisively and being an HR expert is no longer enough. The Chief People Officer is now expected to operate as a business leader first, with HR expertise as a given rather than a differentiator.

That shift is not theoretical. It is playing out in how organisations are structured, how decisions are made, and where accountability now sits.

The data tells a more interesting story than the headlines

The scale of the profession alone tells part of the story. Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development represents more than 160,000 members, reflecting the breadth and maturity of HR in the UK.

At the same time, the remit of senior HR leaders has expanded significantly. From ownership of gender pay gap reporting to direct accountability for workforce strategy, culture, and increasingly elements of ESG and reputation, the CPO role now sits much closer to the centre of business performance than it did even five years ago.

Overlay that with the impact of AI and workforce transformation, and the role becomes more complex still. HR is no longer simply managing people. It is shaping how work is designed, how technology is integrated, and how organisations remain competitive.

This is not evolution at the margins, it is a fundamental redefinition of the role.

The uncomfortable gap

And yet, in many boardrooms, there remains a disconnect.

The expectation of the CPO role has moved faster than capability in some cases. Technical HR excellence is still essential, but it is no longer what differentiates a top-tier CPO. The differentiator is commercial judgement, the ability to understand value creation, and the confidence to influence decisions that extend far beyond the people agenda.

The strongest CPOs I work with do not lead with policy, they lead with impact. They understand the business as well as any CFO or COO, and they are prepared to challenge, not just support.

From support function to value driver

The language of HR as a “support function” no longer reflects reality. In practice, the CPO role now spans workforce strategy, leadership capability, organisational design, risk, governance, and culture, all of which sit directly on the critical path to performance.

The boundaries have dissolved and what remains is a role that is central to whether a business succeeds or fails.

Why this matters now

This shift is being accelerated by three forces that are not going away:

1. Economic pressure is forcing sharper decisions on productivity and cost.
2. Technology is reshaping how work is done and what capability is needed.
3. Leadership itself is becoming more complex, requiring far greater alignment across the executive team.

In that context, HR expertise is the entry point because business leadership is the requirement.

Where this leaves the role

At Friisberg, I am seeing this play out very clearly in how clients define their needs. They are not asking for functional excellence alone, they are asking for leaders who can shape outcomes, challenge thinking, and bring genuine commercial perspective into the room - that is a different profile and often a different career path.

The reality I see

I sit in boardrooms where the gap is obvious, not because HR lacks capability, but because the expectation of the role has outpaced how it is still sometimes defined.

Equally, I sit with exceptional CPOs who are already operating at that level, influencing strategy, shaping decisions, and quietly becoming some of the most critical voices in the business.

The difference between those two groups is not technical skill, it is how they see their role.

The question I would leave you with

I no longer think the question is whether HR has earned its seat at the table because I think that argument has been won.

The real question is whether you are using that seat to shape the direction of the business, or simply to respond to it, because from where I sit, the organisations that will outperform over the next decade will not be the ones with the best HR functions, they will be the ones where the CPO is one of the most commercially influential people in the room.