Skip Maloney on HR leadership
From WHY People - Episode #15 - Skip Maloney (EVP, CHRO at InterDigital) · · Boston HR Council
“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.”
On , Skip Maloney, Executive Vice President & Chief People Officer at INTERDIGITAL INC, spoke about HR leadership during WHY People - Episode #15 - Skip Maloney (EVP, CHRO at InterDigital) on Boston HR Council.
About Skip Maloney
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.