N2Growth & Stanford GSB Announce LEADERS40 2021 Top CHRO Award

N2Growth and Stanford Graduate School of Business are pleased to congratulate those individuals named on the 2021 Top CHRO List.

PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 19, 2021 — N2Growth, Inc., a global leadership consulting and executive search firm, announced today this year’s Top CHRO Award recipients. The list comprises the top 40 Human Resources executives from brands located around the world who are reshaping the function as we know it. These are exceptional leaders, paving the way by innovating in their organizations and influencing and shaping those around them in real-time.

“When leaders are so deeply connected to their purpose, the outcome can only be exceptional. Each of our recipients is aware of their own passion and has connected that passion to their organization’s purpose, deepening their commitment and increasing their performance. This is something we should all strive for.” Kelli Vukelic, Chief Executive Officer – N2Growth

N2Growth has compiled and curated the Top CHRO list since 2015 and began partnering with the Stanford Graduate School of Business with the 2020 Top CHRO list. Since our inaugural list in 2015, our firm has continued expanding and refining the list by looking for CHROs who innovate and outperform their peers regardless of current market dynamics. These Human Resources leaders represent the top 40 shaping careers, culture, and talent at the world’s most innovative people-driven companies.

Beth Whited, Executive Vice President & Chief Human Resources Officer of Union Pacific and #1 2021 Top CHRO said, “This is a wonderful recognition for the entire Workforce Resources team at Union Pacific who has relentlessly pursued engagement and inclusion in every interaction in our railroad.”

The 2021 List of Top CHROs is a collection of forward-thinking, future-focused executives. To ensure rigor in our selection process, the 2021 Top CHRO Award is curated by a panel of N2Growth team members and other outside advisory members, and the recipients are considered based on the following criteria:

• Impact, growth, and performance of the organizations they lead.
• Impact on their industry and in the broader communities they serve.
• Those recognized on the Top 2021 CHRO List must be engaged, transparent, and accountable – they must care.
• They are passionate about their people and their well-being.
• An examination of the talent they’ve helped to attract and retain.
• General and specific observations of the culture they’ve had a hand in shaping.
• For members of the 2021 Top CHRO List, DE&I and ESG initiatives are a cornerstone of their work, not an afterthought.
• Take stock of the progressive development plans and programs they’ve made available to the workforce.
• Evaluate the creativity, reasonability, and effectiveness of the compensation programs in existence.
• Look for and find great workforce dynamics, engagement, and satisfaction.
• Build a well-positioned and strong employer brand.
• Include HR’s hand in everything as an enabler and contributor to operations flowing through to customer and client satisfaction.

While the above criteria are certainly not all-inclusive, it does start to paint a picture of the critical roles CHROs play in the success of any business enterprise. To be recognized on the 2021 Top CHRO List, the words leadership, team, succession, purpose, culture, governance, and diversity are not just buzzwords – they represent who a CHRO is, what they believe, and where they work every day. The breadth and depth of the skills and talents possessed by this next generation of CHROs have elevated them from not just having a seat at the table to being a logical choice as a successor candidate to CEO.

On behalf of N2Growth and Stanford Graduate School of Business, congratulations to all 2021 recipients of the LEADERS40, Top CHRO Award. You can view the complete list here.