The 10 Highest-Paid Chief Human
Resources Officers

July 14, 2020

Erin Lehr

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In the face of a rapidly changing corporate landscape, chief human resources officers (CHROs) are receiving increased attention. CHROs frequently serve as the bridge between management and boards of directors, as they are directly involved in many aspects of governance, including compensation and succession planning. In recent years, events such as the #MeToo movement have shed light on the responsibilities of and pressures faced by top executives in the human resources function. Corporate culture has become a forefront issue not only to a company’s employees, but to its investors as well. Institutional investors, in particular, are pushing for regulations to increase disclosures on human capital management. The current COVID-19 pandemic imposes additional challenges for the chiefs of HR, as they must learn to navigate changing work environments and to ensure the safety of their employees.

Given the current relevance of the chief human resources function, Equilar has composed a study of the highest-paid CHROs in the Equilar 500 index for 2019. The chart below lists the top 10 CHROs, in terms of total reported compensation* for the last year.

Kevin Cox of General Electric Company was the highest-paid CHRO in 2019, receiving a pay package of over $13 million in compensation since his appointment in February 2019. Mr. Cox’s pay package was 56.9% larger than the next highest-paid CHRO and 464.4% larger than the median for all reported CHRO compensation, which was $2,381,842. The magnitude of Cox’s compensation results, in part, from new hire incentives. In addition to his regular annual bonus, Cox received a $1.5 million signing bonus. General Electric also granted him a new hire stock option award with a grant date fair value of $5 million, which will vest in equal annual installments over a three-year period.

This list illustrates a major point of interest relating to the chief human resources function. The CHRO role has historically been occupied in high proportions by women, especially as compared to other C-suite roles. Among the top 10 highest-paid CHROs, women hold seven of the seats and 65.5% of compensation. When looking at all reported CHROs in the Equilar 500, women represent 67.4% of seats and 67.4% of all compensation. Board diversity is an area of great scrutiny in the corporate world today, and with HR teams playing a large role in communicating with and recruiting board members, it’s noteworthy to see gender diversity at the highest level.

Evidently, the responsibilities of CHROs are vast and dynamic in today’s corporate environment. These responsibilities will vary depending on the goals and size of individual companies. The dollars paid per employee in the above list offers a small glimpse into this variation in pay between companies, and of the scope of the HR leader’s domain. Between management of compensation, diversity, corporate culture and all aspects of human capital, the human resources executive will continue to be a key player in the governance sphere.

*Total reported compensation is defined by the sum of salary, bonus, non-equity incentive plan compensation, stock awards, option awards and all other compensation as reported in the summary compensation table.

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