Galderma’s Bold Blueprint for HR Leadership

As a function, Human Resources is increasingly intertwined with core business strategies and decisions. At Galderma, however, this evolution doesn’t come at the expense of its fundamental purpose: people. This balance is at the heart of Allison Pinkham’s approach as Chief Human Resources Officer, and it resonates throughout every aspect of her leadership.

We recently sat down with Allison for a thought-provoking conversation about what it means to lead HR at the intersection of strategy, innovation, and human connection. From piloting AI-powered coaching tools to embedding leadership capabilities throughout succession planning, her approach challenges convention. In her words, the future of HR is a blank canvas—one that can shape business impact, strengthen strategy, and elevate the employee experience.

I’m fortunate to be one of only four members on the executive committee, where we deliberate on multiple end to end business topics: everything from product launches to regional dynamics and the broader business landscape. Being part of this forum allows me to connect the dots from the overarching business objectives back to HR strategy, which is essential.

Since I started my career in business, marketing, and IT systems consulting, I’ve always focused on tying HR initiatives to real business outcomes. When we discuss challenges and objectives at the ExCo level, I ensure our HR strategies are aligned and measurable—using clear, quantifiable metrics to show how HR contributes to solving those challenges.

One example is our leadership development program. I’m not a fan of ‘check-the-box’ initiatives where companies launch something for the sake of saying they are doing a program or two but not designing or tying it to real impact—that’s a big pet peeve of mine. So, we designed a targeted leadership development program for our general managers that tracked GM participation with year-over-year growth in EBITDA and net sales. Though it is very difficult to define a causal relationship with these types of programs we have seen a very strong correlation since we launched the program which indicates that the program was meaningfully contributing to business results. That’s why we’ve continued to invest in the program and expand it beyond GMs to other priority functions.

Not only am I deeply involved, I’d say it’s one of my core responsibilities to lead this. Succession planning is truly a mission-critical objective for any CHRO.

For C-Suite succession planning, we take a very structured and practical approach. One of my prior managers told me when I was early in my career that “simplicity equals sustainability” and I truly believe that. The fancier people make succession programs the less ‘real’ they are and end up becoming a check the box activity or just names on a piece of paper. For our approach, we identify the top five skills and capabilities that are absolutely essential, tangible, hands-on, and critical for success in the role. We spend a good amount of time on prioritizing these because they form the foundation of the success profile, and everything stems from that: the development of successors; recruitment of future talent; and even the growth of current incumbents. We evaluate all candidates against those five core capabilities.

This framework then cascades down to the next leadership level, creating a clear blueprint for what’s valued and what ‘good’ looks like at Galderma. These same five capabilities are also embedded into our GM leadership development program “Leadership for Growth”, so everything is connected. It ensures we’re developing our people in the right way and giving them the clarity and structure they need to grow into and succeed in future roles. 

In addition to our focused succession planning and development, which we cascade down to the next level of talent we have also implemented what we call ‘stay dialogues’ with our top talents. These are comprehensive conversations between the manager, HRBP and employee covering everything from what barriers or frustrations are they facing in their current roles that we can support in mitigating, what excites them about their roles that they would like to leverage even more, and ultimately where do they want to grow in their careers and how can we help them get there. We also create customized succession development paths for them where we walk through the five core skills and capabilities based on their career goals, identify gaps, and create concrete action plans to accelerate readiness for future roles.

These dialogues are tailored to our top 100 talents and focus on building the skills needed for future roles, not just preparing for a specific title.

One of Galderma’s strengths is that we offer unique development opportunities across three business lines: pharmaceuticals; aesthetics; and consumer. That breadth gives employees hands-on experience in diverse areas which usually you could only get at three different companies however we have the ability to offer this broad development and far-reaching impact, all within one company. We also use our size to our advantage. We don’t have large L&D budgets like other large pharma or consumer companies so we need to be very thoughtful on where we invest our money to ensure we are getting that return on investment and we double down on the 70% part of development which is on the job experiences to provide employees with these amazing career journeys and experiences they can only get at a company of our size and breadth of business lines.

Galderma is also investing in AI upskilling. We provide licenses and training to help employees use AI to boost productivity and prepare for future roles. Additionally, we are tapping into the coaching capabilities offered through AI to further develop our managers in everyday business situations.

Absolutely. We take different approaches across regions, as some markets are more advanced in this area than others. In JPAC, our Asia Pacific region, I have to give a special shoutout to this region. They’re really at the forefront of pressure-testing new technologies, using data analytics, and exploring predictive insights. What’s especially effective is how they engage employees who proactively want to get involved. In other regions, we also see more traditional programs evolving in different ways to make them more impactful and efficient. Operating with lean resources forces us to be intentional about where we invest—and that drives innovation.

We’re currently testing an AI coaching tool, and it’s been really exciting. Every time we demo it, people are genuinely amazed by how powerful it is. We’re still in the proof-of-concept phase, but the data we’ve gathered so far has been incredibly promising.

This tool is especially valuable for our mid-level managers who may not have immediate access to an HR business partner. It supports them in real time, whether they’re preparing for a difficult performance conversation or just want to think through a strategy or approach. We call it a ‘coach in your pocket’, someone they can turn to for guidance, to role-play scenarios, or to reflect on challenges in a safe, supportive way.

It’s been a great example of innovation born out of necessity. As a lean organization, we have to be thoughtful about where we invest. We’re constantly looking for smart, scalable solutions that meet employees where they are without requiring significant resources but focusing on the areas that will have the biggest impact. Like the proverb says “Necessity is the mother of invention" 

To be an effective CHRO today, I see several core capabilities that are essential for driving business impact and leading with purpose:

• One of the most critical and often misunderstood skills is business acumen. This to me means truly understanding a company’s P&L, knowing what drives the business, and identifying the levers that impact both revenue and the bottom line. Everything we do in HR should ultimately tie back to business value.
• Another key capability is discernment—knowing where to focus. Being lean forces us to prioritize and avoid spreading ourselves too thin. If you launch something in year one, you need to carry it through in years two and three to fully embed it into the organization’s DNA vs. jumping to some other new ‘flavor of the month’ that sounds good at the time.
• Resilience is also essential. CHROs need to be agile, curious, and open to learning. The pace of change is fast, and sticking to old ways doesn’t work. You have to grow, adapt, and bring your team along.
• Humility matters too. You might think what you’re rolling out is great, but you have to be open to feedback and constantly ask how to improve. That mindset of continuous learning and evolution is something CHROs should embrace.
• I’d also emphasize the importance of understanding technology, especially AI. CHROs need to roll up their sleeves and learn how it works because it’s shaping the future of work. It’s amazing how much I still leverage my prior IT systems experience today.
• And finally, CHROs must have a strong human quality. We’re the People function. Yes, we need to be strategic, business-focused, and data-driven, but we also need empathy and connection. That’s what makes HR truly special.

Something I wish I had done earlier is to get an MBA right out of the gate. I gained my business knowledge through hands-on experience in marketing and management consulting, however an MBA probably would have helped accelerate my business acumen even faster early on in my career. Technology is another critical area. I built my technology foundation at Accenture in IT systems consulting, but for those without that background, I recommend gaining hands-on tech experience or certifications.

It’s also important to have a role in the business at some point. If you want to be a CHRO, you need to lead something from a business perspective to truly understand how it operates and how to connect that with your HR expertise. Walking in others’ shoes is key as well as seeing things from a business lens. Additionally, you should have experience in at least two of the three core areas: a COE role, an HR business partner role, and HR services. That broader perspective is invaluable.

Lastly, I’m a big believer in having a global mindset. In addition to leadership roles where I oversaw the US, Europe, Asia, Middle East and Latin America I also studied abroad in Switzerland, lived and worked in Germany, and now live and work in Switzerland again. For any CHRO in a global company, having lived and worked abroad provides a much deeper understanding of different perspectives and multi-regional considerations and helps you lead with a truly global approach.

The future is incredibly exciting. It’s a great time to be a CHRO. The role now spans everything from strategy to execution; it's truly end-to-end. Expectations are high, but that’s what I love about it. I often say HR is a function like any other, and we have a real opportunity to demonstrate our impact on the business, especially when we use the right metrics to show the value we bring. Today, that expectation isn’t a ‘nice to have’; it’s essential.

We now also have the opportunity to leverage emerging technologies to make HR even more effective. It feels like we’re working with a blank canvas where we can design the future of the HR function in a way that drives business impact, strengthens the strategy, and enhances the employee experience. That blank canvas creates space for innovation. It’s about figuring out the best approach to shape what’s next that will truly impact your organization, and that’s what makes this moment so energizing.