The CHRO role has seen monumental shifts in the last 3 decades

Executives sitting around conference table (Credit: Getty Images)

Good morning and welcome back!

Here’s a history lesson to kick off the new year. Today’s C-suite structure can be attributed to GM, which created the concept about a century ago. My colleague Paige McGlauflin chronicles the C-suite’s history in a recent piece and explores how the CHRO function has evolved since its inception some 30 years ago. The C-suite, as we know it, was essentially the brainchild of Alfred P. Sloan, the former president and chairman of General Motors. Troubled by GM’s “lack of cohesive leadership,” Sloan drafted a corporate hierarchy that would eventually place a central figure at the top, alongside more junior-level figureheads to oversee specific functions. The CHRO role soon became one of those executive positions.