In the first quarter of 2025, 53 chief human resources officers departed their roles globally. This is the highest single-quarter exit total recorded in six years of tracking by Russell Reynolds Associates (RRA). Big firms like CSX, Everest Group and DHI Group have all announced new heads of HR this year.
For a function that spent much of the past decade running on all cylinders to manage change, the data raises a new question: Has the CHRO role become one of the most volatile positions in the C-suite precisely at the moment it has become one of the most consequential?
The answer, according to the firm’s latest Global CHRO Turnover Index, is complicated. The numbers tell a story of a role under serious pressure, but also one that some organizations are rethinking from the ground up.
Turnover is accelerating, not stabilizing
The 2025 Q1 spike was part of an elevated post‑2021 pattern, according to RRA data. CHRO turnover has been climbing since the post-pandemic surge of 2021, and it has not returned to the relatively stable levels of 2019 and early 2020. Across the nearly 1,900 companies tracked by Russell Reynolds, spanning major global indices such as the S&P 500, FTSE 100 and ASX 200, departures have consistently outpaced historical norms.
What makes the current moment distinct is the combination of volume and velocity. Companies are not just losing CHROs at higher rates. They are also replacing them faster, often with candidates who have never held the role before. In Q4 2025, more than half of all incoming CHROs globally were first-timers stepping into the position for the first time in their careers.
One of the most consistent findings in the data is the increasing predictability of CHRO tenure. Outgoing CHROs globally have averaged roughly 4.5 to 5.5 years in the role across nearly every quarter in the dataset. That consistency suggests structure rather than situation is driving exits at that inflection point.
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The external hire surge raises pipeline questions
Russell Reynolds found that over half of incoming CHROs in recent quarters have been external appointments. In late 2025, global external appointments reached about two‑thirds (65.6% in Q4). That climbing figure represents a meaningful departure from the traditional model of promoting a seasoned internal HR leader into the top role.
External hiring at this rate can signal several things simultaneously: boards and CEOs who want a fresh strategic perspective, internal pipelines that are not producing ready-now candidates or simply a talent market where the perceived risk of promoting from within feels higher than the cost of a search.
The concern is cyclical. When organizations default to external hiring, they underinvest in developing the internal leaders who could step into the CHRO seat. That underinvestment then justifies the next external search, and so on. Breaking the cycle requires deliberate succession planning that treats the CHRO pipeline with the same rigor applied to CEO or CFO succession.
Read more | Beyond ‘a seat at the table’: CHROs now hold strategic cards
First-timers need more than a job description
The first-timer finding deserves particular attention. When more than half of incoming CHROs have never held the role before, organizations face a compounding risk: high turnover at the top combined with an inexperienced successor. That is not an indictment of the individuals being hired, but it does place the burden of onboarding squarely on the organization.
At many organizations, HR leadership requires more than traditional domaine expertise. After all, this is 2026. In a recent interview with HR Executive, Joey Price, president and CEO of Jumpstart HR, offered a clear vision for the CHRO of the future. “You are a data analyst, you are tech-fluent and you continue to develop those people skills,” he said.
Few companies have formal onboarding programs designed specifically for C-suite leaders, and the CHRO seat is no exception. New HR chiefs are often expected to hit the ground running on compensation cycles, organizational design challenges and compliance demands before they have had time to build internal relationships or understand the informal power structures they need to navigate.
Technology sector churn is worth watching
Across industry sectors, technology stands out for elevated and persistent CHRO turnover throughout 2025. Outgoing rates in tech have often been at or near the top of those in consumer, financial services, industrial and healthcare sectors.
Given that technology companies are simultaneously leading the adoption of AI-driven workforce tools, managing significant headcount reductions and navigating rapid organizational redesign, the pressure on HR leaders in that sector is arguably higher than anywhere else.
The irony is that the companies building the tools meant to make HR more strategic are the ones churning through their HR leaders at the highest rates.
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