Chief People Officer Pathways report 2023
Following the success of our analysis into the most common pathway to the Chief People Officer role released last year, Eton Bridge Partners is delighted to continue to share the findings of research into over 2,500 Chief People Officer appointments.
This year, we have extended our research across the UK and Europe between 2021 to 2022. We hope that the statistics, analysis and conclusions in this report are useful to our C-suite network, as well as to aspiring CPOs when considering their career planning decisions.
We believe there are two key audiences for whom the findings of this report will be of particular interest:
1/ Aspiring Chief People Officers
2/ Companies looking to hire a new Chief People Officer or develop a talent pipeline to the Chief People Officer position over the longer term
Eton Bridge Partners has collaborated with the leading global data company BoardEx, who specialise in relationship mapping and intelligence, to analyse some core data on the profile of Chief People Officers and their career pathway.

Download the Pathways report by filling out this form
Had I known earlier how much my experiences would cause me to be pigeonholed when exploring future opportunities, I would have definitely made different career choices.
Chief People Officer, Technology business Chief People Officer, Technology businessWe are actively looking at ESG as part of our investment strategy, and interestingly [we see that] the role of the Chief People Officer is becoming ever more externally facing as a result.
Chief People Officer, Investment business Chief People Officer, Investment businessReward leadership roles set me up really well for a transition to Chief People Officer roles. In particular: the great grasp of people data analytics that reward roles provide is so essential to modern Chief People Officer roles; the experience, exposure, and confidence in dealing with Boards, investors, and corporate governance, the essential metrics, performance indicators, and financials.
Chief People Officer, Brambles Chief People Officer, Brambles