No CHRO departures recorded in Hong Kong, Singapore, India
Turnover rates for chief human resources officers (CHRO) in the Asia-Pacific region remained flat year-on-year, according to a new report.
The report recorded no CHRO departures in Hong Kong, Singapore, and India for the first quarter of both 2024 and 2025, and there was one CHRO departure in Japan and six departures in Australia.
This is according to the latest Global CHRO Turnover Index from Russell Reynolds Associates (RRA), which looked at the appointment and departure of the most senior HR executives in the largest-listed companies worldwide.
In APAC, the index recorded that all departures were CHROs who served more than two years in their roles, indicating leadership stability in the region.
The findings for APAC are in contrast to global trends, which saw 54 CHROs depart their roles in the first quarter of 2025, up 15% from the 47 in Q1 2024.
"This elevated turnover is reflective of how significantly the CHRO has expanded," the RRA report read.
"Incoming CHROs are now expected to drive business-centric change, not just workforce stability. They're being brought in to guide AI integration, deepen leadership benches, and turn talent into a strategic asset."
It also found that the average tenure for outgoing CHROs globally declined to 4.1 years in Q1 2025, down from 4.5 years in Q1 2024 and also below the six-year average of 6.1 years.
According to the report, CHROs in the S&P 500 accounted for more than half of the departures, reflecting the volatility in the Western markets.
Meanwhile, the report found that APAC is leaning more towards external candidates in CHRO hiring, in contrast to the global trend of internal appointments.
According to the report, 75% of CHRO appointments in APAC during the first quarters of 2024 and 2025, where turnover occurred, were external hires. In contrast, 58% of CHRO appointments globally were internal promotions.
Michelle Chan Crouse, Asia lead for Consumer Packaged Goods and Human Resources Practices, said the shift reflects the growing demand for fresh perspectives and specialised expertise amid growing complexity and transformation across organisations.
"Looking ahead, companies will also need to balance this approach with investments in internal leadership development to build resilience and support long-term sustainability in their people strategies," Crouse said in a statement.
