For many years, Human Resources was seen as a back-office function. Payroll, compliance, benefits, conflict resolution, all essential, but limited. This narrow view made HR look like an accessory, when in fact it holds the key to the future of organizations. Today, it is increasingly clear that when HR gains influence at the board level, it stops being a process executor and becomes the true hidden engine of growth.
This shift is not just perception , it is backed by evidence.
▪️A global study by Accenture found that 89% of CEOs believe the CHRO should play a central role in long-term growth.
▪️The Conference Board reported that over the past three years, HR’s presence in corporate boards has risen significantly, bringing a stronger voice to strategic decisions.
▪️And according to iCIMS, 88% of CHROs already lead organizational transformations directly linked to business strategy.
These numbers confirm what practice has already shown: when HR is at the table, it acts not as support, but as a future architect.
In practice, this means companies don’t wait for crises to respond.
▪️They anticipate talent gaps before they become growth bottlenecks.
▪️They prepare leaders for disruptive scenarios in a fast-changing environment.
▪️They ensure that culture, succession, and future skills are not side topics, but part of the backbone of corporate planning.
What was once considered “intangible” becomes a source of measurable competitive advantage.
I have seen companies without the largest budgets or the most sophisticated technology outperform much bigger competitors simply because they had the right people, prepared, engaged, and aligned. Teams capable of learning quickly, adapting, and maintaining performance under pressure. That is resilience. And resilience does not come from a contingency plan or financial reserves alone. It is revealed in human behavior when things go wrong. It shows up when people are ready to act, make decisions, and keep execution moving forward.
On the other hand, I have seen organizations with abundant resources and ambitious strategies struggle to deliver because they underestimated the human factor. This proves a simple truth: capital and processes, without aligned talent and strong culture, cannot sustain growth.
This is HR’s real superpower: ensuring organizations are not only stable on paper, but equipped with the people and leadership to perform in practice. Teams ready to grow, leaders prepared to inspire, and structures capable of reinventing themselves. And this only happens when HR stops being peripheral and takes its rightful place in the boardroom, with the same level of importance as finance, operations, or strategy.
The board is no longer just where investments and projections are discussed. It has become the place where decisions about developing people, identifying critical future skills, and shaping culture are made. That is why HR should not be asking for a seat , it must already be there, shaping the future alongside other strategic leaders.
This is not a distant trend. It is already a reality in many organizations, both global and local, that have realized the true accelerator of growth is not only innovation or expansion, but the human capital that sustains it all.
And it is this conversation we will take forward at our INAC LATAM Regional Meeting in São Paulo, Brazil, October 15–17, 2025. An exclusive gathering that will bring leaders and board members together to explore how HR can finally claim its role as the hidden engine of growth in Brazil and worldwide.
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Dani Verdugo, Founder & CEO GRUPO The (INAC Brazil)
With over 20 years of experience in Human Resources, Dani Verdugo has built a career at the intersection of strategy, people, and business transformation. Her academic background includes specializations in Strategic People Management from FAAP and Business and Management from Harvard Business School.
Throughout her career, she has held leadership roles in both national and multinational service companies, HR techs, and consultancies, gaining a broad and diverse perspective on how organizations attract, develop, and retain top talent.
In 2017, she embarked on her entrepreneurial journey by creating her own methodology and launching THE Consulting, a boutique executive search firm. The firm’s rapid success led to the creation of THE Talent and THE Projects, giving rise to THE Group — a dynamic ecosystem of companies dedicated to executive search, technology, and strategic project management.
Today, Dani leads THE Group with a clear purpose: to connect talent, innovation, and strategy in ways that drive sustainable growth for organizations.
