Internal CHRO Successions Dropped Considerably in 2024

The recently released Talent Strategy Group’s 2025 CHRO Trends report, which tracks CHRO demographics, shows changes in turnover and internal succession, but consistency in the prevalence of female CHROs and preferred work experience.

What they’re saying: In 2024, 30 companies hired new CHROs. While new appointments had decreased since 2021, they rebounded 36% in 2024. So far in 2025, approximately 22 CHROs have been newly appointed.

• 82% of CHROs moving to new companies transitioned to companies ranked higher in the Fortune 200.

Internal candidate succession: Starting in 2021, the number of new CHRO appointments drawn from internal candidates steadily increased to a high of 73% in 2023. In 2024, however, the internal succession rate dropped to 53%.

Impact of CEO turnover: CEO turnover is a major driver of CHRO changes. Within the first year of a new CEO’s tenure, 52% of CHROs also turn over. Of the CHROs that turn over:

• 20% were replaced after the new CEO was named but before the start date.

• 32% turned over by the end of the first year.

Continuing trends: The number of women appointed to the CHRO position continues to rise with women accounting for 80% of all 2024 hires. This represents the highest annual hire rate since the report began in 2017. Overall, a consistent 69% of all Fortune 200 CHROs are female.

• 93% of new hires have prior HR experience.

• Human Resources Business Partner remains the most common path to CHRO with two times the number of appointees coming from a business partner background.