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Elevating HR & Talent Leadership: How Strategic CPOs are Driving Value Creation

by Eric Walczykowski​, Alexandra Bossetta, Loreal Shea

December 17, 2024,,
Elevating HR & Talent Leadership How Strategic CPOs are Driving Value Creation

By now, it is no secret that talent leaders have become instrumental to value creation in private equity-backed software companies.

Looking back at the last year, the market for HR & talent executives has evolved significantly, driven by strategic elevation of the role, changing compensation dynamics, and key organizational challenges such as M&A or international expansion.

I recently sat down with Alex Bossetta, Partner, and Loreal Shea, Senior Principal, in Bespoke's Talent Practice, to discuss the transformation of talent leadership, rising Chief People Officer appointments, AI adoption trends, and the growing importance of HR executives in driving organizational success.

Be sure to watch the full conversation here. Below is a summarized Q&A of my conversation with Alex and Loreal.

ERIC: 2024 has been an active year for talent leaders. What trends are you seeing in the talent leader market?

ALEX: For the first time last quarter we have seen a significant increase in step-up candidates taking C-level talent roles. This includes VPs moving into their first C-suite position and talent roles being elevated to C-level with direct board exposure, rather than reporting through COO, CFO, or president structures. It is encouraging to see. 

ERIC: What kind of compensation trends has your team seen across the CHRO role?

LOREAL: We are definitely seeing some strategic shifts within CHRO compensation. Although the volume of CHRO hires is still low compared to other C-suite functions there has been a 10% increase in average compensation since last summer.

Alex + Loreal

The Evolving Role of HR: Insights on C-Level Trends, AI, & Global Expansion

ERIC: It’s a sign of a tight talent market which suggests compensation levels are going to change. How do you anticipate new starts and new platforms impacting the people leader role into 2025?

ALEX: Getting the right people in the right roles is critically important. As we talk about new platform acquisitions to grow the business through M&A, I think organizational design from the beginning and being able to iterate it along the way is incredibly important.

We hear from executives that they are spending a lot of time onsite with the companies they are acquiring to understand where the talent is and who it is we want to retain. They need to evaluate the acquisition strategy and create a plan to fill any gaps that will take the team to the next level.

ERIC: One theme we've seen in new platforms is international expansion. How can a talent leader make an impact on international strategy?

LOREAL: International expansion adds complexity across HR functions, from talent acquisition to facilities and legal compliance with visas and workers unions, for example.

Historically, HR has been internally focused. But growth of remote work and international expansion has upended traditional functions of HR. HR leaders need to orchestrate this new ecosystem, thinking beyond the traditional internal customer, their employees, and focusing on the end customers, their investors, and relationships beyond their organization.

Tailored Talent - Loreal Alex (2)
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ERIC: HR and Talent Leaders have become some of the biggest early adopters of AI. Tell me about that trend and how HR leaders use AI.

ALEX: Research suggests about 80% of tech HR teams now use AI, primarily in recruiting - from resume screening to interview assistance and candidate communications.

It is being leveraged to ensure a great candidate experience. It's streamlining high-volume hiring processes and beginning to assist with compliance and legal documentation making them more easily digestible, though this requires careful oversight.

ERIC: Talent leaders will be crucial in driving organizational AI adoption in 2025. Beyond implementing technology, they'll need to manage change and screen for AI adaptability in new hires. The increasing importance of talent strategy likely means more companies will elevate the role to Chief People Officer level.

Tailored Talent - Loreal Alex
WATCH THE INTERVIEW

The talent leadership market continues to evolve, making it crucial to hire strategic executives who can drive organizational transformation. The elevation of talent roles to the C-suite, coupled with increasing compensation and expanded responsibilities across M&A, international operations, and AI adoption, signals the growing importance of this function.

Learn More About the People & Talent Leadership Practice

Bespoke Partners has been a leader in HR executive recruiting for software and SaaS firms for over 10 years.

The quality of our placed candidates stands out, with $4.8 billion in enterprise value created and our placed candidates’ leadership in more than 7 successful company exits.

50+

Number of People and Talent Executive Placements

7+

Number of Exits assisted

$4.8B

Enterprise Value Created

9.8

client satisfaction

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Average days to close

Learn more about our People & Talent leadership practice

Learn More About Bespoke’s Deep Expertise in Software Executive Recruiting

Bespoke's deep expertise in software executive recruiting, combined with its data-driven approach and extensive network, positions us as a trusted partner in helping clients build world-class talent leadership teams.

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Authored by:

  • Eric
    Chief Executive Officer

    Eric is passionate about building high-performing teams that value doing their best, working together, overcoming adversity and learning.

    As a proven growth executive, Eric has served as CEO, President, Board Member, Investor and Advisor for technology companies that achieved over $4.5B in successful exits.

    Eric brings to Bespoke Partners significant professional services experience from Deloitte and Andersen, as well as the high-growth client executive perspective for private equity-backed technology companies.

    Eric earned an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and a BS in Business from Fresno State University.

  • Partner, People & Talent and GTM Expert

    Alexandra serves as Partner at Bespoke in our CEO, Board, and P&L Practice. She leads executive recruitment and assessment for high-growth, PE-backed and public software organizations and has extensive experience placing leaders in CEO, President/ COO, Sales and Marketing, and HR Talent leadership roles. During her tenure, she has successfully completed over 160 career placements including multiple team builds with top tier sponsors like Thoma Bravo, Apax, Francisco Partners and more.

    Prior to joining Bespoke in 2019, Alexandra worked as a Team Lead at GLG in the firm’s fastest growing segment, where she supported private equity and venture capital firms in research, deal origination and due diligence efforts. Alexandra obtained her Master of Arts in Human and Organizational Learning from George Washington University. During this time, she was also the full-time Program Director for the GW School of Business’ social entrepreneurship initiative, Lemonade Day, empowering youth across all 7 wards of DC to learn the fundamentals of entrepreneurship. Alexandra was born and raised in New Orleans then attended Louisiana State University where she earned her Bachelors of Arts.

  • Senior Principal

    Based in the Austin office, Loreal joined the Bespoke team as a Principal in April 2022. Prior to joining Bespoke, Loreal was a luxury travel advisor with Rudi Steele Travel for 9 years. In this role, Loreal strived in a fast-paced environment serving the travel needs of her high-net-worth client base. Loreal wore many hats in this role, operating her own business as an independent contractor that excelled in client services and relationships.

    After growing up in rural Pennsylvania, Loreal slowly made her way to Texas stopping first in North Carolina, where she attended Wake Forest University. Loreal graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and a minor in Political Science.

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