Hanson Search specialises in Chief People Officer Executive Search, advising on senior people and culture appointments across London, Europe, the USA and the Middle East. We partner with FTSE 100 boards, sovereign-backed entities, private equity sponsors, global agencies and high-growth scale-ups on the senior CPO hires that shape culture and long-term commercial value.

The CPO remit has expanded dramatically. Today, a CPO is expected to lead on AI-led workforce transformation, hybrid working models, ESG and human capital disclosure, DEI strategy, leadership development and global mobility, often at the same time and across several jurisdictions. Consequently, the senior people talent pool capable of operating at this level is small, and its strongest candidates are rarely on the open market.

Our CPO search team works alongside colleagues in corporate affairs, public affairs, investor relations and communications. As a result, we deliver integrated senior leadership search for clients whose people and reputational functions increasingly intersect at board level.

Senior People Roles We Recruit

Our Chief People Officer Executive Search mandates span the full senior people leadership bracket. We place Chief People Officers, Chief Human Resources Officers (CHROs), Group HR Directors, Heads of Talent, Heads of Leadership Development, Heads of DEI, Heads of Reward and Heads of Employee Experience. Equally, we lead retained CPO and CHRO searches for senior appointments in organisational development, talent acquisition, employer brand, learning and people analytics.

Sectors We Cover for CPO and CHRO Search

Senior people leadership hiring looks different in every sector. Our consultants cover financial services and asset management, technology and digital, energy and sustainability, healthcare and life sciences, consumer and FMCG, professional services and the wider international employer community.

What Makes the Senior Chief People Officer Mandate Distinctive in 2026

The CPO brief has changed more in the past five years than in the previous twenty. Several structural shifts now define the senior remit.

Firstly, AI is reshaping the workforce. CPOs now own the strategy for human-AI collaboration and the role redesign that follows. Secondly, human capital disclosure has moved from voluntary reporting to mandatory regulation, with CSRD and SEC requirements placing people data squarely within board-level reporting. Thirdly, hybrid and distributed working have permanently altered the senior people brief, requiring leaders who can design culture across geographies and time zones. Fourthly, private equity has professionalised its approach to portfolio talent, hiring senior CPOs into portfolio companies with sharper links to value creation and exit narrative.

Consequently, the strongest CPO candidates today combine traditional HR expertise with commercial fluency, data literacy, technology understanding and the leadership presence to advise CEOs and boards at moments of consequence.

How Hanson Search Approaches Executive Search

A senior consultant owns every Chief People Officer Executive Search end to end. There are no handoffs to junior researchers, so every client gets the same senior judgement from first brief to final appointment.

Three principles anchor every CPO search we deliver. Firstly, we map the market exhaustively across in-house people functions, financial services, regulated industries, private equity portfolio companies and the wider international community. Secondly, we benchmark every shortlisted candidate against four dimensions sophisticated clients prioritise: people and talent track record, commercial and stakeholder fluency, leadership credibility at board level, and the cultural intelligence to operate inside the specific business. Thirdly, we prioritise diverse and inclusive shortlists on every mandate. Our B Corp certification reflects a settled commitment to responsible search at the top of the market.

Speak to Our Chief People Officer Executive Search Team

For a confidential conversation about a CPO or CHRO appointment, our team welcomes a direct introduction. We advise on senior people and culture appointments across FTSE 100 corporates, financial services institutions, private equity portfolio companies, sovereign-backed entities and the wider international employer community.

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