How does human capital create value in private equity?

What does it take to be a successful HR leader in private equity?

My guest on this episode is David Cohen, Partner, Human Capital at Kelso

During our conversation David and I discuss:

• Why the role of the human capital partner in private equity is to unlock value through people, not to run HR for the firm itself.
• What is takes to be successful as a CHRO in a private equity backed company.
• Why human capital value creation comes down to org design, the right people in the right seats, and senior team performance.
• How the "bullseye" model helps identify the right senior leader for a PE-backed company.
• Why breadth of experience matters more than titles in your 20s and 30s.

Connecting with David Cohen:

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Episode Sponsor:

Next-Gen HR Accelerator - Learn more about this best-in-class leadership development program for next-gen HR leaders

HR Leader’s Blueprint - 18 pages of real-world advice from 100+ HR thought leaders. Simple, actionable, and proven strategies to advance your career.

Succession Planning Playbook: In this focused 1-page resource, I cut through the noise to give you the vital elements that define what “great” succession planning looks like.

In this solo episode, I make the case that being a strategic business partner is no longer enough. I share the shift I believe is coming next, from business partner to business builder, and the three mindset shifts and behaviors that separate the two.

Here are a few key takeaways from the episode:

• Why being a strategic business partner is no longer enough, and what the next evolution of HR asks of us.
• How the move from business partner to business builder is a mindset, not a job title.
• Why execution excellence has become the price of admission rather than the proof that HR is strategic and adding value.
• Why the real AI risk to HR is being bypassed, not being automated.
• Why making fewer, bigger bets turns HR priorities into business priorities.
• How choosing one big goal a year that scares you can change the course of your career.

Why is organizational design much more than org charts and who reports to whom?

How can HR guide, facilitate and drive effective an organizational design process?

My guest on this episode is Amy Kates who is organizational design expert and author of five books on the subject.

During our conversation Amy and I discuss:

• Why the purpose of organizational design is to design human behavior at scale
• Why matrix organizations are set up for good conflict and how best to manage it
• The six business problems that leaders seek to solve through organizational design
• Why organizational design is not about org charts and who reports to whom
• The role that HR leaders should play and not play in the organizational design process.
• Advice for HR leaders who are about to start an organizational design project

Connecting with Amy Kates:

Connect with Amy Kates on LinkedIn

Learn more about Amy’s work at Operating Model & Organization Design LinkedIn page

Episode Sponsor:

Next-Gen HR Accelerator - Learn more about this best-in-class leadership development program for next-gen HR leaders

HR Leader’s Blueprint - 18 pages of real-world advice from 100+ HR thought leaders. Simple, actionable, and proven strategies to advance your career.

Succession Planning Playbook: In this focused 1-page resource, I cut through the noise to give you the vital elements that define what “great” succession planning looks like.

How can workforce readiness become mission readiness?

Why is a people strategy not the same thing as a business strategy?

My guest on this episode is Kathleen McCarthy, EVP and Chief Human Resources Officer, SAIC

During our conversation Kathleen and I discuss the following:

• Why a people strategy is not a business strategy
• Why "progress over perfection" beats waiting for the perfect plan
• How CHROs are shifting from business partners to enterprise capability builders
• Why workforce readiness is a moving target, not a fixed destination
• Why you can't hire your way out of the readiness gap

Connecting with Kathleen:

Connect with Kathleen on LinkedIn

Episode Sponsor:

Next-Gen HR Accelerator - Learn more about this best-in-class leadership development program for next-gen HR leaders

HR Leader’s Blueprint - 18 pages of real-world advice from 100+ HR thought leaders. Simple, actionable, and proven strategies to advance your career.

Succession Planning Playbook: In this focused 1-page resource, I cut through the noise to give you the vital elements that define what “great” succession planning looks like.

How can you think and communicate like an executive?

Why is your strategy only as good as your ability to communicate it?

My guest on this episode is Vicky Zhao, Founder, School of Human Intellect and Speaking With Frameworks.

During our conversation Vicky and I discuss the following:

• Why the clearest idea, not the best idea, is the one that wins
• How the GPS framework (Goal, Problem, Solution) elevates your point of view
• Why the hardest shift is moving from a doer mindset to a leader mindset
• Why you should put the bottom line up front, using the pyramid principle
• Why giving yourself permission to contribute is the first step to showing up like an executive

Connecting with Vicky:

Connect with Vicky on LinkedIn

Subscribe to Vicky’s YouTube channel

Learn more about Vicky’s course, Speaking With Frameworks

Episode Sponsor:

Next-Gen HR Accelerator - Learn more about this best-in-class leadership development program for next-gen HR leaders

HR Leader’s Blueprint - 18 pages of real-world advice from 100+ HR thought leaders. Simple, actionable, and proven strategies to advance your career.

Succession Planning Playbook: In this focused 1-page resource, I cut through the noise to give you the vital elements that define what “great” succession planning looks like.

How can HR use data to drive change?

Why is being “data driven” no longer a nice to have, but rather an expectation for HR leaders

My guest on this episode is Sebastian Wernicke, author of “Data Inspired”

During our conversation Sebastian and I discuss the following:

• How the best data work starts by trying to prove yourself wrong
• Why HR leaders must become critical consumers of data
• How to start with the business problem, not the available data
• Why data-inspired organizations rest on three foundations: data literacy, a digital mindset, and a data culture

Connecting with Sebastian:

Connect with Sebastian on LinkedIn

Learn more about Sebastian’s new book, Data Inspired

Episode Sponsor:

Next-Gen HR Accelerator - Learn more about this best-in-class leadership development program for next-gen HR leaders

HR Leader’s Blueprint - 18 pages of real-world advice from 100+ HR thought leaders. Simple, actionable, and proven strategies to advance your career.

Succession Planning Playbook: In this focused 1-page resource, I cut through the noise to give you the vital elements that define what “great” succession planning looks like.

Why should HR think of themselves as the business instead of supporting the business?

How can AI amplify human potential and performance?

My guest on this episode is Vicki Walia, Chief People and Experience Officer at Prudential Financial

During our conversation Vicki and I discuss the following:

• Why HR leaders need to see themselves as part of the business, not partners to it.
• How AI can amplify human potential and performance.
• How Vicki thinks about the AI "time dividend” and who should get the benefit.
• Why a high performance culture starts at the individual level.
• Why clarity, tools, and candid feedback are the three ingredients teams need.

Connecting with Vicki:

Connect with Vicki on LinkedIn

Episode Sponsor:

Next-Gen HR Accelerator - Learn more about this best-in-class leadership development program for next-gen HR leaders

HR Leader’s Blueprint - 18 pages of real-world advice from 100+ HR thought leaders. Simple, actionable, and proven strategies to advance your career.

Succession Planning Playbook: In this focused 1-page resource, I cut through the noise to give you the vital elements that define what “great” succession planning looks like.

How can the power of the pause make you an even more effective HR leader?

Why do HR leaders need to have a point of view and the courage to share it?

My guest on this episode is Michael Fraccaro, Former CPO at Mastercard, Senior Advisor at Egon Zehnder

During our conversation Michael and I discuss the following:

• Why your credibility as a CHRO is built on your understanding of the business, not HR
• How the power of the pause transforms decision quality
• Why culture is a leadership behavior, not a program
• How courage, not technical knowledge is the real differentiator for HR leaders who want to move from good to great
• Why the CHRO pipeline challenge is less about technical skills and more about mindset, grit, and learning agility

Connecting with Michael:

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Episode Sponsor:

Next-Gen HR Accelerator - Learn more about this best-in-class leadership development program for next-gen HR leaders

HR Leader’s Blueprint - 18 pages of real-world advice from 100+ HR thought leaders. Simple, actionable, and proven strategies to advance your career.

Succession Planning Playbook: In this focused 1-page resource, I cut through the noise to give you the vital elements that define what “great” succession planning looks like.

How can you build an AI-Ready workforce?

Why is AI a leadership issue and not a technology issue?

My guest on this episode is Charlene Li, author of “Winning with AI,” speaker, and disruptive leadership expert

During our conversation Charlene and I discuss the following:

• Why AI-first is the wrong frame for most organizations, and how AI-ready puts your people and strategy back at the center
• How AI fluency differs from AI literacy
• Why tools, training, and time are the three T's every leader needs to invest in
• How to think about agentic AI through four practical questions
• Why automating existing processes is not enough and we use AI to rethink the work itself

Connecting with Charlene:

Connect with Charlene on LinkedIn

Learn more about Charlene and her book, “Winning with AI”

Episode Sponsor:

Next-Gen HR Accelerator - Learn more about this best-in-class leadership development program for next-gen HR leaders

HR Leader’s Blueprint - 18 pages of real-world advice from 100+ HR thought leaders. Simple, actionable, and proven strategies to advance your career.

Succession Planning Playbook: In this focused 1-page resource, I cut through the noise to give you the vital elements that define what “great” succession planning looks like.

How can HR leaders learn to sell without selling?

Why should every HR leader think of themselves as a salesperson?

My guest on this episode is Brendan McAdams, B2B Sales Coach & Consultant and author of ‘Sales Craft’

During our conversation Brendan and I discuss the following:

• Why every HR leader is already in sales, whether they call it that or not
• How sales is really the work of helping someone make a better decision that is right for them
• Why status quo is often the strongest competitor to any HR initiative, and what to do about it.
• How surfacing objections out loud ("killing the deal") builds trust and accelerates real buy-in
• Why "if we do this, who loses?" is one of the most useful questions an HR leader can ask

Connecting with Brendan:

Connect with Brendan on LinkedIn

Learn more about Brendan’s company Kiinetics

Download Brendan’s Stakeholder Meeting Prep Worksheet

Episode Sponsor:

Next-Gen HR Accelerator - Learn more about this best-in-class leadership development program for next-gen HR leaders

HR Leader’s Blueprint - 18 pages of real-world advice from 100+ HR thought leaders. Simple, actionable, and proven strategies to advance your career.

Succession Planning Playbook: In this focused 1-page resource, I cut through the noise to give you the vital elements that define what “great” succession planning looks like.

How can organizations use executive assessments to make better decisions?

Why do you need to build your Executive Assessment fluency to have more impact as an HR leader?

My guest on this episode is Mina Morris, Managing Director and Head of Assessments at Accenture

During our conversation Mina and I discuss the following:

• Why executive assessment should start with business strategy, not tools, models, or methodologies.
• How using multiple data sources creates a more complete and accurate view of executive talent.
• Why executive assessment should be the start of the development conversation, not the end.
• How executive assessment helps organizations identify “diamonds in the rough” within their leadership pipeline.
• Why executive assessment without development is just measurement.

Connecting with Mina:

Connect with Mina on LinkedIn

Episode Sponsor:

Next-Gen HR Accelerator - Learn more about this best-in-class leadership development program for next-gen HR leaders

HR Leader’s Blueprint - 18 pages of real-world advice from 100+ HR thought leaders. Simple, actionable, and proven strategies to advance your career.

Succession Planning Playbook: In this focused 1-page resource, I cut through the noise to give you the vital elements that define what “great” succession planning looks like.