HR Coffee Time26 Sep 2025

154 | Step-by-Step Career Advice to Become a Successful CHRO/CPO (With Nicola Lyons)

What does it take to land your first Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) or Chief People Officer (CPO) role – and succeed once you’re in it?

In this episode of HR Coffee Time, host Fay Wallis is joined by Nicola Lyons, Group CHRO at Getlink Group. With more than 15 years of international experience leading transformation and culture change, Nicola shares a wide range of valuable insights from her career. One of the highlights of this conversation is her clear, step-by-step advice on how to secure a CHRO/CPO role and succeed once you’re in it.

From career planning and building visibility, to working with headhunters and handling the step up, Nicola’s guidance is packed with practical tips you can put into action straight away.

You’ll hear Nicola’s thoughts on:

What makes her role as Group CHRO unique
How her network opened the door to her first CHRO opportunity
Smart ways to build visibility with headhunters and recruiters
The value of career planning and feedback in preparing for the step up
The biggest shift when moving into a CHRO role
Practical habits that support success and wellbeing

Whether you’re aiming for a CPO/CHRO position or want to strengthen your career in HR, you’ll come away with a wealth of actionable insights from Nicola’s experience.

Useful Links

Books Mentioned in This Episode

Please note - book links are Amazon affiliate links. This means Fay may earn a small commission from Amazon if you make a purchase through them.

Your First 100 Days– Niamh O’Keeffe
The Strategy Book– Dr Max McKeown
Head and Heart: The Art of Modern Leadership– Kirstin Ferguson

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