What is a CPO, and how is the role changing as organisations face relentless transformation?
- Explores what a CPO is and how the role links to business strategy.
- Discusses metrics, talent and credibility in the C-suite.
- Examines how AI is reshaping workforce and people decisions.
Moving beyond traditional HR definitions
Creating the conditions for people to perform
Joe describes the CPO as being accountable for creating the environment in which people can perform at their best, particularly in a creative, people-powered organisation. At Keywords Studios, with over 12,000 people across multiple countries and brands, this means balancing global consistency with local autonomy, while keeping the focus firmly on talent and capability.
People strategy versus business strategy
A central theme of the conversation is the relationship between people strategy and business strategy. Joe is clear that if HR is positioned purely as a functional cost centre, it loses influence. Instead, the CPO must align people decisions with commercial outcomes, using metrics that resonate with CFOs, divisional leaders and the wider C-suite.
The impact of AI on the CPO role
The episode also tackles one of the biggest questions facing HR leaders today: the impact of AI. The discussion explores how AI is beginning to influence workforce planning, skills and task design, and whether elements of the CPO role itself could one day be automated. Rather than offering simple answers, the conversation highlights the need for judgment, empathy and clarity about where human intervention still matters.
Why this matters for senior leaders
For senior HR, payroll, change and transformation leaders, this episode provides a realistic, experience-led view of the CPO role, grounded in the challenges organisations are facing right now.
