About this episode
This episode discusses the evolving role of the Chief People Officer and its impact on business success.
The role of the Chief People Officer has evolved far beyond traditional HR. In high-growth, private equity-backed businesses, today’s CPO is a commercial leader responsible for driving growth, enabling strategy, shaping culture, and creating the conditions for long-term business success. In this episode of the People Agenda Podcast Chris Howard and Debbie Mitchell speak to Michelle Wall as she shares how modern people leadership is becoming a key driver of business value rather than a support function. The modern CPO is no longer focused solely on people processes. The role has become a strategic leadership position that drives growth, supports transformation, strengthens culture, and helps organisations create lasting business value. If you want to understand how people leadership is shaping the future of business, listen to this episode of the People Agenda Podcast.
People in this episode
Hosts: Chris Howard, Debbie Mitchell
Guest: Michelle Wall
Topics covered
- Chief People Officer
- people leadership
- business growth
- organizational culture
- strategic leadership
Keywords
- CPO
- HR
- business value
- leadership
- transformation
- culture
- growth
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: LACE Partners
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- What is a CPO? With Neil Morrison, HR Director at Severn Trent · May 28, 2026 · 30 min
- What is a CPO? With Joe Binnion, CPO at Keywords Studios · May 20, 2026 · 27 min
- Are your early careers hiring strategies ready for the AI era? · May 5, 2026 · 23 min
- Who owns agentic AI? With Chris Cherry, Senior Director at Eightfold · April 23, 2026 · 19 min
- What is a CPO? With Keniro Miller, CPO at Ultimate Performance · April 9, 2026 · 28 min
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