People Strategy & Culture
Define the north star for culture, values, and ways-of-working; embed behaviours that drive performance and belonging.
Chief People Officer (CPO) Executive Search
At Neon River, we pride ourselves on being a leading Chief People Officer executive search firm, helping private equity-backed technology companies across Europe find exceptional leaders who can drive their organizations forward.
In today’s fast-evolving business landscape, the role of the Chief People Officer (CPO) is more critical than ever. As companies scale and navigate the challenges of growth, they need a CPO who can go beyond traditional HR responsibilities and act as a true partner to the business.
What to Consider When Hiring a CPO
Talent Acquisition & Employer Brand
Hire bar, repeatable pipelines, and a compelling brand; reduce time-to-hire while raising quality and diversity.
Org Design & Workforce Planning
Right-size structures, spans of control and career paths; plan headcount and skills for the next 12–24 months.
Performance, Learning & Development
Outcome-oriented performance cycles; craft L&D frameworks, coaching and leadership development at scale.
Comp, Benefits & Total Rewards
Market-aligned philosophies, equity design and pay transparency that attract, retain and motivate great people.
HR Tech, Data & Compliance
Modern HRIS/ATS stack, people analytics and pragmatic compliance (privacy, ER, works councils, DEI reporting).
The CPO Search Process
Stakeholder Alignment
CEO, CFO, CTO and GTM leadership alignment on culture, growth plans and people-outcomes for the next 12–24 months.
Role Definition & Scorecard
Scope (HR, TA, L&D, ER, Rewards, People Ops), stage fit, leadership style and measurable success criteria.
Market Mapping & Research
Identify CPO/VP People talent across relevant scale, sectors and ownership models (PE, VC, Public); build a diverse longlist.
Outreach & Engagement
Compelling people narrative - mission, culture and value creation; personalised outreach to passive and active candidates.
Assessment & Interviewing
Structured interviews, case/portfolio, stakeholder panel and (optionally) psychometrics; evidence-based referencing.
Offer & Negotiation
Move quickly with transparent compensation (incl. equity) and clear mandate, resources and expected early outcomes.
Onboarding & Integration
90-day plan, stakeholder map, people data access, early wins and partnership model with ExCo and People leadership.
How to run a high-quality CPO search
- Define the mandate - culture outcomes, hiring velocity/quality, leadership capability, people analytics, and total-rewards evolution.
- Success profile & scorecard - stage/domain fit, scope ownership, team scale led, change-leadership track record, and measurable 12–24 month goals.
- Org & operating model - spans of control, centres of excellence vs embedded pods, People Ops maturity, and how the CPO partners with ExCo.
- Systems & data - HRIS/ATS roadmap, data quality and dashboards (hiring, retention, engagement, performance) to drive decisions.
- Assessment - structured interviews, case/portfolio, 90-day plan, stakeholder panel (CEO/CFO/CTO) and references.
Great CPOs blend strategic clarity with empathy and operational excellence - building cultures where people thrive and business outcomes accelerate.
