ILR News Center

New executive program focuses on developing top HR talent

ILR School Executive Education and the Cornell Center for Advanced Human Resource Studies (CAHRS) are partnering with the National Academy of Human Resources (NAHR) to offer a new executive program - Preparing for the Top Seat: The Modern CHRO and Strategies for Success.

The new program focuses on improving the overall HR talent pipeline inside organizations and better preparing top HR leaders to move into a future Chief Human Resource Officer (CHRO) role.

The inaugural, two-module program is scheduled for April 2-3, 2008 and October 7-9, 2008 in New York, NY.

"Our research about and hands-on experience with today’s CHROs tells us they are leaders, coalition builders, functional experts, internal consultants, and strategic business and finance analysts," according to Patrick Wright, director of Cornell CAHRS and the William J. Conaty GE Professor of Strategic Human Resources.

Wright adds: "Success in that role is at the heart of building competitive advantage in the modern, idea- and technology-driven global marketplace. Yet, too many firms find their CHRO role difficult, if not impossible, to fill with internal candidates."

The Preparing for the Top Seat program is designed to bridge that talent gap by helping nominated attendees build a more complete understanding of the modern CHRO and learn strategies for success in that role. Its content is appropriate for named successors to the CHRO, as well as for the pool of candidates who have potential to hold a future CHRO role.

Program sessions center around highly respected, experienced CHROs — each of whom will work with attendees to rigorously examine the pressures and challenges they face, and develop effective strategies for dealing with them. Programs are limited to 20 participants, creating an intimate environment for candid discussions with some of the world's leading HR executives, including:

• J. Randall (Randy) MacDonald, Senior Vice President of Human Resources, IBM Corporation
• Eva Sage-Gavin, Executive Vice President, Human Resources and Communications, Gap, Inc.
• Elease Wright, Senior Vice President, Human Resources, Aetna Inc.
• Dave Pace, former Executive Vice President, Partner Services, Starbucks Corporation
• Ken Carrig, Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer, SYSCO Corporation
• William J. (Bill) Conaty, retired Senior Vice President of Human Resources, General Electric
• John Murabito, Executive Vice President, Human Resources and Services, CIGNA Corporation
• Mike D'Ambrose, Senior Vice President Human Resources, Archer Daniels Midland

"Our partnership with Cornell CAHRS and the ILR School provides program attendees access to world-class HR executives and leading-edge academics in our profession," said NAHR President Charlie Tharp. "This combination of talent brings a selective and truly unique learning experience to rising HR leaders and their organizations."

Applicants must be nominated to attend this program by their senior human resources officer. Companies may nominate no more than two candidates, and application is for both sessions of the program. This initial program is appropriate for HR employees of larger, for-profit U.S. corporations. Future programs will likely include information more suitable to other corporate forms or countries/regions.

Visit our web site for detailed program and application information, as well as the nomination submission form.

The Cornell Center for Advanced Human Resource Studies (CAHRS) is a partnership between industry and academia devoted exclusively to excellence in global human resource management. CAHRS' corporate partners represent more than 60 of the world's highest-performing firms.

Cornell ILR Executive Education translates research done by ILR's world-class faculty into strategic HR practitioner training. ILR Executive Education offers open-enrollment courses, customized HR development programs, and multi-company learning consortiums.

NAHR honors HR professionals who have distinguished themselves through their leadership in the field. Election to NAHR is considered the highest honor of the HR profession.