HR honchos move to key executive roles
Contrary to the days when key CXO roles in companies were reserved for CTOs or the number crunching CFOs, now it’s HR heads that are holding the reins of a company, thanks to their people skills.
Case in point is Yasho Verma, who was the head of HR and also oversaw the product diversification strategy at LG Electronics. Recently, he moved into the role of the company’s chief operating officer (COO). Similarly, Pranesh Anthapur, who had earlier served as vice president (Global HR) and vice-president (International HR and M&A) for Yahoo Inc, was made the COO of Yahoo India R&D in 2006. These are just two of the many stories in executive hiring, which are pointing to a growing trend when human resource heads are being encouraged to take up bigger roles.
Commenting on this trend, Shekhar Das Gupta, placement head of HireZone, says, “During the mid-nineties there was a tech boom and so technology personnel like Steve Jobs of Apple dominated the higher management. But companies today want HR heads to play a more dominant role.”
Since HR executives have an idea of the function of other departments, the benefits are huge says Ravinder Goyal, director, IACM Smart Learn Ltd. “The major benefit of having a key HR person to lead the organisation is his ability to manage people. He is exposed to the compensation and benefits, he is aware of the financial implications involved in retention of employees, and he is a better judge in a crisis. He can impact productivity in a big way as productivity is directly proportional to the performance of the people and he knows how to get the best performance from everyone,” he says.
Apart from people management skills, there are several other important criteria too, say others. Andrew Rowe, who was the VP-HR of Altas Systems and later became the COO of the company, says, “Due to the economic slowdown, many companies were forced to cut back on roles like chief financial officers (CFOs). And this has paved a way for HR execs to take the lead as firms are now paying greater attention to employee engagement.”
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