HR moves that made headlines in the first half of 2026

Change is the only constant in life, and in the C-suite.

Such was the case in the first half of 2026, as some C-suites across corporate America saw heads of HR come and go. Here are just a few of the HR moves to have made headlines.

Comings. Allison Pinkham took “new year, new you” to heart, stepping into the role of EVP and CHRO at Albertsons on Feb. 16. She succeeded Mike Theilmann, who retired in November, and brought with her 25 years of experience, most recently as executive committee member and CHRO at Swiss pharma giant Galderma.

A few weeks later in March, Lindsay-Rae McIntyre, Microsoft’s former chief diversity officer and corporate VP of talent and learning, was named Alaska Airlines’s chief people officer.

Vicki WIlliams and Tapaswee Chandele made moves in April. Comcast announced that Williams, in addition to her existing role as NBCUniversal’s head of HR, would also serve as the telecommunications conglomerate’s CHRO, while the Coca-Cola Company said Chandele, SVP of global talent, development, and HR system partnerships, had been promoted to global chief people officer, effective May 1.

Rounding out the first half of the year in June, JPMorgan Chase tapped Barclays’ Aditi Mahadevan Nair to serve as its new head of HR, while Synchrony revealed its CHRO, DJ Casto, had taken on the newly expanded role of EVP and chief people and operations officer.

Goings. Following layoffs at Epic Games affecting approximately 1,000 employees, or 20% of the workforce, the company’s chief people officer, Monika Fahlbusch exited on April 15.

The Coca-Cola Company’s global chief people officer, Lisa Chang, also departed her role in the wake of the CEO transition that found Henrique Braun in the top job.

The end of Q2 marked the end of several tenures, starting with that of Natalie Bickford, who stepped down as Sanofi’s chief people officer on May 31. Amy Held, Simply Good Foods Company’s SVP and CHRO, Tracy Skeans, Yum! Brands’ chief operating officer and chief people and culture officer, and Fiona Clare Cicconi, Google’s chief people officer, all announced their departures in June, with the latter revealing plans to retire after 40 years in the people profession.