More companies are appointing HR executives to named executive officer (NEO) roles, which generally refers to the five highest-paid executives at public firms.

The number of CHROs designated as named executive officers in public filings from Russell 3000 companies rose from 148 in 2021 to 230 in 2025, according to recent research from the Conference Board and ESGAUGE, in partnership with FW Cook and Ropes & Gray LLP. The prevalence of CHROs who were among the top-paid executives peaked in 2024, with 265 named as NEOs, the research found.

What’s more, CHROs and HR executives with other equivalent titles—like chief people officers—are seeing their pay grow more rapidly than other named executive officers. Median compensation for Russell 3000 CHROs grew by 14.7% between 2024 and 2025, compared to 8.1% for all NEOs. When looking at S&P 500 companies, CHRO pay grew by 30.4% in the same timeframe.

Keep reading.—CV

This year’s Semafor World Economy was a who’s who of business and politics, from the CEO of Cisco to a senator from Virginia and a representative from the Dubai Economic Development Corporation.

Several leaders spoke about their employees, AI in the workplace, and how corporate culture is shifting.

On recruiting. “I still do final-round interviews for everybody at corporate, all of our store managers, the leadership of our manufacturing facilities, the leadership of our CX teams, because I want them to know that we care. I’m looking for people who are proactive—do their values align with the company? And part of that is, ‘learn to grow’ is one of our core values.”—Neil Blumenthal, co-founder and CEO, Warby Parker

“What they [other airlines] haven’t matched are people. I continue to firmly believe that JetBlue has some of the best people, because we hire people who are actually customers. One of the things we look at when we’re hiring is volunteers and a proxy for customer service.”—Joanna Geraghty, CEO, JetBlue

Keep reading.—KP

The US Department of Labor (DOL) is intensifying efforts to ready the US workforce for the age of AI. The agency announced multiple programs and partnerships in the last several weeks, including a text-message-based AI literacy course, as federal officials work to understand AI’s impacts on the workforce and help US workers participate.

The move comes as part of the Trump administration’s initiatives to remake the American workforce for the age of AI and comes as the president lays out his policy vision for AI.

“This initiative will help demystify AI for American workers,” US Deputy Secretary of Labor Keith Sonderling said in a press release announcing the new text literacy program. “We are seeing AI create new jobs, new levels of productivity, and new forms of entrepreneurship, and we want to make sure all Americans have the skills to share in that prosperity.”

The batch of 2026 initiatives comes after officials introduced a framework in February outlining its guidance on AI literacy across the US workforce. Late last month the DOL introduced the “Make America AI-Ready” initiative, the text-based AI literacy course.

Keep reading.—AD

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