CPO Pathways Report

• In 2021, 76 percent of CPO positions were held by women, compared to only 17 percent of CFO appointments. This suggests that CPO appointments have become the ‘simple’ way to ease the gender imbalance found in individual boardrooms.
• Achieving internal promotion to CPO is considerably less likely than an external appointment, as 59 percent of CPO candidates were sourced externally, finds this report.
• Experience doesn’t exactly equate to age; the average age of new executive positions has been reducing in tandem over the last three years - the average age for a new Chief People Officer in the UK is now 49.