The next generation of HR leaders may never have studied human resources. According to Simon Fenwick, global head of talent acquisition at Fisher & Paykel, the profession's future belongs to people who have built careers elsewhere – in law, finance, sales and commercial operations – and are now stepping into people functions with a fundamentally different lens.

"I've seen some real success where it's been people who've come from revenue or growth areas, or sales areas, or have come from legal teams that have stepped in," Fenwick told HRD. "They've grasped the basics but they're able to think more strategically around the broader impacts to the business around the decisions that are being made for people and capability."

It is a striking claim, but one gaining traction across the global HR community. What was once a transactional cost centre has become a strategic engine room for growth, risk management and organisational resilience. The profession did not gain that influence by accident – it was earned as the commercial environment changed fundamentally, and it is reshaping who gets recruited into HR in the first place.

The old skill set no longer fits

Fenwick's core argument is that HR has simply outgrown its original capabilities. As automation absorbs routine administrative work – compliance paperwork, case management, onboarding logistics – what remains demands a different capability profile altogether.

"The skill sets of people in the people and capability HR space have actually become more like human experience advisors versus policy advisors," he said. "We've moved from 'what's the policy, how do we design around the policy' to 'the policy is there and we've got to adhere to it, but actually how do we create the experience that's going to drive the business forward?'"

That shift is being felt at the highest levels of the profession. Ben Mansour, award winning HR lead at Anglo American, described the evolution in equally direct terms.

"HR has moved definitively from a traditional support role into a role that is genuinely operational and strategic," Mansour said. "In periods of uncertainty and disruption, it's increasingly HR that leaders are turning to to provide stability, clarity and confidence for the workforce."

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