6Chief People Officers Outlook Labour markets and the world of work continue to evolve rapidly while uncertainty about the future remains high. Geoeconomic upheavals, artificial intelligence (AI) and other significant trends have created uncharted territory for organizations’ workforce planning, as well as national and global talent strategies. Against this backdrop, this inaugural Chief People Officers Outlook aims to provide a labour market pulse check and a forward- looking perspective to support workforce preparedness. It is shaped by the collective insights of the World Economic Forum’s community of more than 130 chief people officers at global employers across regions and industries, and is intended to be a timely reference not only for global peers and people leaders, but also for the broader C-suite, policy-makers, labour market researchers and others working towards a future of work that works for all (see Box 1). The findings in this edition are based on a survey conducted between May and June 2025, supplemented by thematic interviews and community consultations.1 Box 1: The growing strategic impact of chief people officers The role of the chief people officer is becoming increasingly strategic. Today’s chief people officers are central to driving organizational resilience, business transformation and workforce readiness. The people function is now widely recognized as a core driver of business growth, with the large majority of chief people officers surveyed for this briefing stating that their organizations rely on them to actively co-drive and co-design company direction. Nearly all confirm that the people function is seen as a strategic driver of business value within their organizations (Figure 1). Among leading organizations, the increasing executive integration of the people function further underscores its growing influence in shaping business success. Figure 1. People function currently seen as strategic driver of business value Share of chief people officers surveyed, where 1 = “Not at all” and 7 = “To a great extent” 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Share of respondents (%)5 42 26 26 Source: Chief People Officers Survey. (May-June 2025).Introduction: A front-seat perspective on workforce transformation 1 The methodological approach of this briefing is inspired by the World Economic Forum’s Chief Economists Outlook series, see: World Economic Forum (2025a).

Chief People Officers Outlook September 2025