HR Coffee Time20 Jun 2025

147 | How to Become a Successful Chief People Officer: Insider Insights, with Kanika Mehra

What does it really take to become a successful Chief People Officer – and how can you prepare for the step up?

In this episode of HR Coffee Time, Fay Wallis is joined by Kanika Mehra, an inspiring CPO with over 20 years of global HR experience. Having worked in fast-paced environments ranging from global giants like Amazon to scaling organisations going through rapid transformation, Kanika shares what helped her make the move into a CPO role – and what it’s really like once you get there.

From building commercial acumen and using data to tell compelling stories, to managing pressure, leading through change and staying true to your values – this conversation is packed with practical insights to support you on your own HR leadership journey.

Chapters from This Episode

[00:00] Introduction

[02:12] Meet Kanika Mehra

[02:25] How she got her first CPO role

[03:23] The role LinkedIn played – and how to improve your profile

[07:00] The differences between being a Head of People or HR Director vs a CPO

[09:27] Making big decisions

[14:02] Learning to lead without having all the answers

[17:50] Developing confidence and decisiveness

[22:51] Why business acumen is essential – and how to build it

[27:45] Becoming confident with data and storytelling

[33:12] Her biggest challenge as a CPO

[34:03] Balancing employee experience with business priorities

[37:59] Maintaining mental wellbeing in a high-pressure role

[40:08] The importance of values alignment

[42:38] Advice for anyone who’d like to be a CPO

[45:41] Advice for first-time CPOs

[49:57] Courses and books that have helped Kanika succeed

[52:36] Wrap-up and other HR Coffee Time podcast episode recommendations

Useful Links

Book Recommendations from the Episode

(Book links are Amazon affiliate links, which means Fay will receive a small commission from Amazon if you make a purchase through them.)

My Life in Full: Work, Family and Our Future – Indra Nooyi
Data-Driven HR: How to Use Analytics and Metrics to Drive Performance – Bernard Marr
Working Backwards: Insights, Stories, and Secrets from Inside Amazon – Colin Bryar and Bill Carr
Excellence in People Analytics – Jonathan Ferrar and David Green

Other Relevant HR Coffee Time Episodes

Episode 22: How to handle conflict at work
Episode 31: 3 little-known LinkedIn features which will help you get your next job
Episode 35: Helping teams thrive with personal user manuals
Episode 47: Discovering your values to help your HR career
Episode 106: 7 types of posts to share on LinkedIn that will help your HR career

Enjoyed This Episode? Don't Miss the Next One!

Be notified each time a new episode of HR Coffee Time is released and get access to other free career tips, tools and resources by signing up to receive the free weekly HR Coffee Time email.

Mentioned in this episode:

Kara Connect - Help When It's Needed Most

Menopause, grief, ADHD, relationship breakdown... Every day, employees dealing with these situations are turned away by their EAP because they didn't qualify for counselling. When someone finally asks for help, they deserve better. Visit Kara Connect, where no employee is ever turned away.

Kara Connect

Denne episoden er hentet fra en åpen RSS-feed og er ikke publisert av Podme. Den kan derfor inneholde annonser.

Episoder(173)

172 | HR and AI: How One Company Helped Employees Embrace AI (with Laura Maffucci)

Laura Maffucci has played a key role in helping her organisation embrace AI. The surprising part? She doesn't actually like AI.In this episode of HR Coffee Time, Laura, Head of HR at G-P, shares her h...

5 Jun 31min

171: How to Build Trust & Get Buy-In Through Brilliant Employee Communication (with Nik Nawaaz)

You can design the best HR strategy, introduce brilliant benefits, or roll out an important change - but if people do not understand it, engage with it, or take action, none of it matters.That is why ...

22 Mai 34min

170: 4 Ways to Stay Focused At Work and Handle Interruptions

Are constant interruptions at work stopping you from getting through your most important tasks?If you work in HR or a People role, you’ll know how quickly your day can be taken over by “have you got a...

8 Mai 16min

169 | A Brilliant Example of What ‘Being Strategic’ in HR Actually Looks Like (with Harriet Mewis)

Have you wondered what ‘being strategic’ actually looks like? In this episode, you’ll hear a real, step-by-step example of what being strategic can look like in your day-to-day work.Host, Fay Wallis, ...

24 Apr 38min

168 | The 5 Things That Will Help You Become a Successful HR Director

If you’ve been working hard in your HR career but still feel unsure what will truly help you step up into an HR Director role (or have more impact in the one you’re already in), this episode is for yo...

10 Apr 13min

167 | The Weird Confidence Trick That Actually Works

Is there something at work you know you’re capable of… but in the moment, your nerves take over?Whether it’s speaking up in a meeting, handling a difficult conversation, or stepping into a high-pressu...

27 Mar 13min

166 | The Biggest HR Strategy Mistake – And How to Fix It (with Dean Corbett)

Could you be making the biggest HR strategy mistake without realising it?Creating an HR or People strategy can feel overwhelming - especially when many HR professionals are expected to do it without e...

13 Mar 35min

165 | What Being “Commercial” Really Means & How to Get Better at It (with Jo Bailey)

Struggling to feel confident when Finance conversations come up at work? Been told you need to be "more commercial" but not sure what that actually means? In this practical episode, Commercial HR Coac...

27 Feb 35min