The Human Resources Committee (HRC) has become one of the most demanding seats on the board. The work is highly scrutinized, emotionally charged, and offers no clear playbook. In a recent Institute of Corporate Directors webinar, two senior Chief Human Resource Officers (CHROs) and a leading independent HRC advisor unpacked what board directors and HR committee members should focus on, and how a stronger partnership with the CHRO can elevate decision-making. Three strategic themes stood out.
1. The CHRO is becoming an enterprise steward
Moderator Ryan Resch, Senior Partner at Southlea Group, opened by describing how the CHRO now operates at “a unique intersection of the business strategy, the performance that we want to achieve, how we manage the talent in the organization, and how do we build the ties to compensation.” That shift is reshaping the committee’s agenda.
Ferio Pugliese, SVP and Chief Corporate Officer at Capital Power, said the committee is moving “from the simple oversight of compensation plans… less of a compliance gatekeeper… towards this enterprise-level stewardship around culture, succession, and how you align executive incentives, all in service of the strategy and long-term value creation.”
That means treating talent and culture as continuous work, not annual checkpoints. Kirsten Olsen, CHRO at Superior Plus, was direct: “The historical practice of talking about it once a year isn’t really fit for purpose in the world we live in anymore. I think it needs to be on the quarterly agenda for every meeting.” She framed culture as ongoing by nature, “like a spool of thread… something you can’t ever complete.”
2. Anchor compensation and succession in the business
Executive compensation and CEO succession attract the most external pressure and the most internal discomfort. The panel’s advice on both was consistent: start from what is right for the corporation, then manage the explanation and the emotion.
On compensation, Pugliese cautioned committees not to let proxy advisors set the design. “Say on pay is a signal, it’s not a verdict,” he said. Design the plan to fit the strategy first; engineer the disclosure second. Amanda Waldie, Managing Partner and CEO of Southlea Group, noted a real shift in the boardroom over the past year, with more “appetite at the board to be more bespoke and innovative,” designing precisely for the business rather than matching peers.
On CEO succession, which Waldie called “absolutely currently the top of most boards’ lists,” the panel urged directors to normalize the conversation. Succession planning starts the day a CEO is hired. Olsen reframed it as “scenarios, options, potential paths of action,” not transition. Waldie put it most plainly: “Don’t make it weird. It’s just something we need to talk about on a regular basis.”
3. The HRC Chair and CHRO Relationship is critical
The throughline of the discussion was the partnership between the HRC chair and the CHRO, analogous to the audit chair’s relationship with the CFO. Pugliese described it as “candid, frequent, and strategic,” with a realistic cadence of 12 to 24 touchpoints a year. Trust is non-negotiable: “Our currency is on trust, transparency, ethics, principles, integrity. Without that, you’re broke.”
Olsen reinforced the CHRO’s role as connective tissue across the CEO, board chair, HRC chair, and independent advisors, ensuring everyone is “operating from the same fact base.” She went on to state that it is important for the HRC to provide the CHRO with the opening to be candid by prompting with some direct questions. For directors, the takeaway is clear: a high-quality CHRO, given regular access and protected in-camera time, materially improves the committee’s ability to fulfill its expanding mandate.
In Summary
The role of the HRC has expanded well beyond compensation oversight, and the standard for effective stewardship has risen with it. Directors are now expected to engage substantively on topics such as talent, culture, and succession; to design compensation that fits the business rather than the benchmark; and to invest in a candid, frequent, and strategic partnership with the CHRO. Committees that rebalance their agendas accordingly, anchoring decisions in what is right for the corporation and treating the CHRO as a true strategic partner, will be best positioned to meet their mandate and support long-term value creation.
About The Author
Ryan Resch, Senior Partner
Ryan serves as a founder and Senior Partner of Southlea, a company under the GECN Group.
With over 20 years of experience, he has consulted for complex organizations across North America on executive and employee compensation, including the related governance aspects. He frequently acts as the designated compensation consultant for either the human resources committee or management. Before establishing Southlea, Ryan held positions at Willis Towers Watson in Toronto and Vancouver, where he managed numerous significant client relationships within the practice.
He utilizes his extensive knowledge to unite stakeholders and facilitate impactful change that aligns with essential business, performance and talent objectives. Renowned for his innovative and fresh perspectives, he leads Southlea’s research and intellectual capital development initiatives, providing fresh insights on topical executive compensation and talent issues to support effective Human Resources Committee decision making.
Ryan collaborates with a diverse range of organizations, including publicly traded companies, privately held firms, joint ventures, and government entities across various sectors such as financial services, energy, industrial, and technology.
Ryan earned a Master of Business Administration in Management and Organization Studies from Simon Fraser University. He has also completed the Institute of Corporate Directors’ Director Education Program and holds the ICD.d designation.
Ryan is the Global Chair of the GECN Group and past Chair of the GTA Chapter of the Institute of Corporate Directors. He regularly presents and authors articles on relevant compensation and governance topics for platforms such as the World Economic Forum, NASPP, The Corporate Board, and Equilar.