HR excellence was on display this week in New York City as the National Academy of Human Resources inducted its 2025 class of Fellows, considered the profession’s most prestigious honor.

This year’s Fellows include:

• Matt Breitfelder, CHRO and partner, Apollo Global Management
• Sheri Bronstein, CHRO, Bank of America
• Darrell Ford, CHRO, UPS
• Nickle LaMoreaux, CHRO, IBM
• Rob Ployhart, professor, University of South Carolina
• Ola Snow, CHRO, Cardinal Health

“These leaders have each played a pivotal role in advancing human resource management, providing thought leadership, shaping policies, influencing best practices and continually giving back to the HR profession,” said Christy Pambianchi, chair of the NAHR and CHRO at Caterpillar, Inc.

More than 350 people attended the sold-out New Fellow Induction Gala at the Conrad New York on Nov. 20. The honorees also participated in NAHR’s annual Symposium earlier in the day, sharing insights and exploring today’s pressing HR challenges alongside other visionary HR leaders, academics and students of the profession.

Including this week’s induction, NAHR has now named more than 200 Fellows since its founding in 1992. The NAHR board of directors conducted a “rigorous and comprehensive peer review” of potential Fellows in 2025, Pambianchi says, before advancing the six candidates to the full fellowship for a vote.

Redefining modern HR leadership

Daniel Marsili, NAHR president, says that the work of this year’s class reminds the profession that “human resources isn’t just about policies; it’s about people, purpose and progress.” They have collectively shaped organizational culture, built workplaces for talent to thrive and lent their experiences outside the walls of their companies, shaping “the future of work itself.”

Marsili says the 2025 Fellows “are redefining what leadership looks like in today’s world: strategic, inclusive, tech-savvy and deeply human.”

In the coming weeks, HR Executive will publish interviews with each of the NAHR Fellows, exploring their major contributions to the HR profession, highlights of their current work and unique insights on the challenges facing today’s HR leaders. For more information about last year’s NAHR Fellows, click here.