Executive Vice President & Chief People Officer, Interdigital
Search every verified Skip Maloney interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. Skip Maloney, Executive Vice President and Chief People Officer at InterDigital, appeared on the podcast "WHY People" in September 2024. During the conversation, Maloney discussed his approach to human resources, describing it as shifting from a "referee" role to one focused on coaching and supporting employees. He emphasized the importance of understanding business numbers and functions to gain credibility with colleagues, stating that "if you don't know your numbers, you don't know your business" and that HR professionals should know enough about various functions to be effective leaders. Maloney also shared his views on the future of the CHRO role, predicting that more CHROs will move into CEO and COO positions and should be placed on corporate boards, as he believes 70 to 80% of board-level conversations center around people. He noted the complexity of working in the public domain, where decisions must be transparent to shareholders and proxy advisors, and acknowledged that some decisions, such as those related to compensation or benefits, may not always be popular with investors but are necessary for long-term strategy. Maloney described his leadership philosophy as viewing the executive team as his primary team, and he focuses on helping colleagues succeed rather than singling out failures.
“In the public domain you have shareholders, you can't just do what you want but you have to answer to more people and there's a complexity to that, whether it's institutional investors or proxy advisors advising on say pay. You have to be very open and public about everything you do, which I like.”
“Sometimes you have to make decisions that a shareholder may not love, like COP-related or benefit packages that take money away from the business but are good for the long term. Most shareholders are in for the long term, so you have to strategize and keep good relationships with advisers and investors.”
“I see HR eventually moving into more CEO and COO roles. I'm a big-time champion for seeing CHROs be placed on boards because 70 to 80% of conversations at the board level center around people, yet there is rarely a CHRO on the board.”
“The CHRO should know enough about every function within the business to become a very strong COO, and I think in the next decade we'll see more CHROs become CEOs, not just in human capital related companies but more generally.”
“My team is the executive team. We're not on the same team; you're the team I lead and I'm closely aligned with, but my team is the executive team. That was a hard lesson for me but it changed how I lead.”
“If one of my colleagues is failing, I'm failing. Instead of putting a spotlight on that person, I look to see how we can get them out of the rut. That approach goes a long way and reflects my vision of CHROs as future CEOs.”
“If you don't know your numbers, you don't know your business. And if you don't know your people, you don't know your business either. In HR, you have to know a lot about different functions and learn the business around you.”
“Don't make HR where you fall; make it a destination. Choose HR because you want to be a leader. I'm a leader first, and I just happen to practice human capital.”
“You gain so much more credibility when you know the business and can talk the talk with engineers, attorneys, and others because you know the business. They see you as one of them, and that's huge.”
In Episode #15 of WHY People, Skip Maloney of InterDigital chats with Sean & Paul about how a background in professional ...
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