The Josh Bersin Company

CHRO Insights: Arne-Christian Van Der Tang, HR Leader at TomTom

Feb 18, 2025

Arne-Christian Van Der Tang, CHRO of TomTom, dives into the transformative nature of the CHRO role, emphasizing it as a business transformation executive rather than just an HR leader. He shares his personal journey, highlighting the significance of trust in leadership and the importance of aligning HR with organizational culture. Arne-Christian also discusses the necessity of HR involvement in executive decision-making and offers actionable insights for aspiring HR leaders to create meaningful business impact.

19:06

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Episode guests

Arne-Christian Van Der Tang

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Episode notes

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Quick takeaways

The podcast emphasizes the need for HR to be integrated within the business framework, aligning its strategies with overall organizational goals for greater impact.

The evolving role of the CHRO highlights the importance of being a strategic partner who engages deeply with employees and understands financial aspects for effective leadership.

Deep dives

The Integral Role of HR in Business

The podcast emphasizes that HR should not operate as a separate entity but instead be deeply integrated within the business framework. It suggests that HR's success parallels the roles of other departments like sales and engineering, highlighting the importance of aligning HR strategies with overall business goals. This integration ensures that HR contributes to creating business value and enhancing employee experiences, aligning its functions closely with organizational objectives. The notion of viewing HR merely as a supportive function risks undermining its potential impact on business performance.

Intro

5min

Empowering HR Leadership Through Trust

8min

Balancing HR Leadership and Management Integration

2min

The Importance of HR Leadership in Executive Decision-Making

2min

Maximizing HR Impact: Embrace the Challenges

3min

“The moment your HR organization can be ‘replicated’ into another company, you’ve failed as a CHRO.”

In this podcast Arne-Christian explains why the CHRO is no longer an HR leader, but now a business transformation executive.

Arne-Christian describes his career path to becoming a CHRO, identifies the key behaviors and characteristics that helped him become a high-performing CHRO, and discusses the evolving role of the CHRO and how it can shape the journey to Systemic HR®. He also provides actionable guidance for rising HR leaders, current CHROs, and CEOs to create business impact.

If you’re a senior HR leader and would like to join our podcast, please reach out to us.

Additional Information

Why Is It So Hard To Be A Chief HR Officer (CHRO)?

New Research: Secrets Of The High Performing CHRO

CHRO Insights Research Report

CHRO Insights Benchmarking Survey

CHRO Insights Video (Youtube)