Reinventing Talent Management: How CHROs Are Driving Innovation Across Global Organizations

We all know that the job of the Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) now stretches far beyond managing the traditional responsibilities of the function. Today’s CHROs are architects of culture, builders of systems, and drivers of innovation—charged with creating workplaces where people can thrive in a way that’s in concert with the business.

Across industries, HR leaders are pioneering new approaches that combine human-centric culture with cutting-edge technology. As several CHROs recently told us as part of our CHRO Voice interview series, innovation in talent management is less about keeping up with trends and more about building systems that enable people at all levels to thrive in their roles.

As we heard from many CHROs, the foundation of talent management begins with culture. For Abigail Charpentier, CHRO of Aramark—a company of 260,000 employees—sustaining a “people-first” approach requires both creativity and precision. “We are heavily involved in all areas of the business, believing that a growth mind-set across the company drives real differentiation,” Charpentier said. Her team has rebuilt leadership development programs from the ground up, relaunching in-person learning experiences after years of virtual training. The Talent Accelerator Program—a capstone-based, eight-month journey for emerging leaders—illustrates how culture and career development can reinforce each other.

Culture can also help organizations stay true to their vision and purpose, even amid times of major change. Mark Anthony Group’s Chief Transformation & People Officer Heather Ray shared that during a period of major growth, the company hired hundreds of leaders. Many of those new employees wanted to replicate programs that they had seen be successful in their previous roles. Ray explained that it was crucial that Mark Anthony stayed true to its entrepreneurial culture to critically evaluate what was right and what would fit. 

“Shaping talent and culture is not just about structure or technology but about sparking real transformation within your organization,” she shared. “True progress comes from building momentum and engagement that people genuinely want to be part of. That’s how you achieve lasting results.”

At Aimbridge Hospitality, Ann Christenson oversees a workforce of more than 40,000 associates. Her focus is clear: Give people an opportunity to focus on their careers, not just their jobs, at the company. “I often say Aimbridge is the land of opportunity,” she noted. “This is a place where you can start in a frontline role and grow into senior leadership. You can make an entire career here.”

To deliver on that promise, Christenson’s team invests in leadership development, skills training partnerships, and career mobility resources. She has also introduced “market connects,” regional gatherings that combine strategy sessions with recognition and training, designed to make large-scale operations feel intimate and connected.

And when technology can unlock new ways of working, Aimbridge experiments boldly. Its “Shift Marketplace” app lets associates bid on open shifts, trade schedules, and receive digital tips—essentially a “gigification” of hotel work, as she explains. “It’s introduced an unprecedented level of control for our associates,” Christenson said.

Marriott International, with over 800,000 associates worldwide, has long been synonymous with a people-first ethos. But EVP and CHRO Ty Breland emphasizes that the model must evolve with workforce expectations.

Two priorities stand out: flexibility and leadership. At the property level, Marriott introduced scheduling flexibility, allowing associates to swap shifts or select integrated jobs that combine multiple responsibilities. “I never want one of our associates to miss a doctor’s appointment with one of their children,” Breland explained. The impact is already visible in higher engagement and customer satisfaction scores.

On leadership, Breland notes that it is not confined to titles. “We want every associate to wake up every day feeling that they can be the leader they want to be,” he said. Marriott’s Elevate program, which accelerates non-management associates into managerial roles, is one example of how that philosophy is scaled. Within the first month of launch, 12% of participants had already been promoted.

Across leading organizations, innovative talent strategies are reshaping how companies engage, develop, and empower their workforce at every level. For Mondelēz International, EVP and Chief People Officer Stephanie Lilak sees the company’s global footprint as a built-in development tool. “Being a global organization gives us the chance to give people multi-country, cross-border experiences and let them immerse themselves in different cultures, businesses, consumers, and retailers,” she said. “That’s a whole other level of learning for people.”

Mondelēz’s Match and Grow program uses AI to connect employees with short-term projects and stretch assignments across the business. Combined with mentorship matching and cross-border experiences, the company is turning scale into a developmental advantage.

Technology is also helping to personalize the employee experience, making internal systems as seamless as consumer apps. For Lilak, this dual focus on growth opportunities and digital enablement is central to keeping talent engaged in a highly competitive market.

Galderma’s CHRO, Allison Pinkham, is testing a different kind of innovation: AI-powered coaching. The tool acts as a “coach in your pocket,” supporting mid-level managers in real time as they prepare for performance conversations or navigate challenges. “It’s been a great example of innovation born out of necessity,” she said. “As a lean organization, we’re constantly looking for smart, scalable solutions that meet employees where they are.”

The experiment is part of a broader framework that ties leadership development directly to business outcomes. In one case, Galderma linked its general manager leadership program to EBITDA growth, building a strong correlation between talent practices and performance.

Succession planning is a critical piece of every HR leader’s job. Today, as talent becomes more fluid and competition for top performers ratchets up, CHROs must focus on not only establishing robust pipelines of talent but also bringing succession planning conversations into the day-to-day thinking of the business.

At Nordson Corporation, CHRO Sarah Siddiqui has made succession planning an everyday discipline. “To me, what good looks like is when you don’t need a separate talent review but instead, talent becomes part of the operating system—just like your monthly sales forecast,” she said.

By weaving talent conversations into business reviews, Siddiqui ensures the pipeline of leaders is continuously assessed, reducing the risk of disruption when critical roles open up. She is also exploring how AI can surface hidden skills within the organization to strengthen internal mobility.

“We want to reduce our dependence [on external hires] and really focus on growing from within,” she explained.

Taken together, these stories reveal a clear evolution: CHROs are not building HR programs for their own sake—they are re-engineering the function to deliver measurable business results. The urgency is different now. The environment is demanding real outcomes—faster skill development, stronger engagement, and visible ROI on talent initiatives.

Whether through digital marketplaces, cross-border assignments, or AI-powered development tools, innovation is no longer a side project—it’s becoming the operating model. Technology is an enabler, but the true shift lies in how people leaders are using it to reshape how work gets done and how value is created.