The transition
The hardest part of becoming a CHRO is changing who you are in the room.
Senior HR leaders are promoted for functional excellence, then judged by the CEO and the Board on business judgment, courage and influence.
Business fluency
Reading the P&L, capital allocation and strategy as a co-owner, not a service provider.
Boardroom presence
Handling the NRC, CEO succession, executive pay and investor questions with authority.
Leadership under pressure
Crisis calls, conflict with the CEO, ethical grey zones and the loneliness of the seat.
Who should attend: HR Heads and senior HRBP leaders one to three years from the top job, and first-time CHROs in their first two years, with enterprise-wide or large business-unit HR scope.
What you will gain
Six capabilities the seat demands.
One running case company, Meridian Group, means your decisions compound across the days. Every role-play is scored on business logic, influence, ethics and composure.
- Turn strategy and the P&L into three to five people priorities a CEO and CFO will fund.
- Hold a credible Board or NRC conversation on succession, executive pay and culture risk.
- Lead the people side of a crisis in the first 24 hours: decisions, communication and care.
- Manage the CEO relationship, including disagreement, with candour and trust.
- Build a modern HR function: operating model, talent, analytics and AI-enabled HR.
- Name your own derailers and carry a panel-reviewed 100-day CHRO Agenda home.
What is covered
Five lenses a CHRO is judged on. Each one practised live.
Self
The shift from function head to enterprise leader. Presence, derailers and your readiness profile. Your own 100-day CHRO agenda.
Practised throughIn-tray simulation, readiness 360, agenda review
Business
Reading the P&L as a co-owner. Where people cost and capability move EBITDA and ROCE. Turning strategy into people priorities a CEO will fund.
Practised throughP&L lab, strategy sprint, CEO Hot Seat
HR function
The modern HR operating model, skills-based organisation design, people analytics and AI-enabled HR.
Practised throughDesign workshop on AI and HR
Board
The NRC agenda, CEO succession, executive pay, culture risk and people disclosures.
Practised throughNRC masterclass, Boardroom Live, succession case
Crisis
The people side of a crisis in the first 24 hours: decisions, communication and care. Ethics, candour and when to hold the line.
Practised throughWar-Room, media interview, ethics debrief
How you will learn
About 70% experiential.
No capability is covered only by a lecture. Chatham House rule throughout; feedback stays in the room.
Simulation
One running case company, Meridian Group, so decisions compound across the days.
Live role-play
Senior leaders play the CEO, CFO and directors, then score you.
Masterclass
Firesides and case discussions under the Chatham House rule.
Coaching
Psychometrics and a 360, debriefed by a certified coach.
Peer trios
Formed at the start, they coach each other for 90 days after.
Panel review
Your 100-day agenda, tested by a three-person panel.
Beyond the residential
A journey that runs from January to May, so the learning sticks.
- By 7 JanSponsor callYour CEO or CHRO sets two development goals with us.
- By 21 JanDiagnosticsPsychometrics and a 360 with 10 to 12 raters.
- By 4 FebPre-readThe Meridian Group case pack and annual report.
- 18 to 21 FebThe residentialFive lenses, practised live over 3.5 days.
- Next 90 daysFollow-throughCoaching trios, two 1:1 sessions and a clinic.
- 22 MayDay-90 reviewProgress review and a sponsor summary.
Admission
Apply yourself, or nominate a leader.
Every seat needs sign-off from the candidate's CEO or CHRO. Sponsor calls must finish by 7 January 2027, so early applications get first consideration.
- Programme fee
- ₹2,50,000
- GST at 18%
- ₹45,000
- Total per participant
- ₹2,95,000
Includes: three nights' stay, all meals, psychometrics and 360, residential coaching, two 1:1 coaching sessions, a clinic, the Day-90 review and the HR Today certificate.
No payment is due now. HR Today issues the invoice once the seat is confirmed.