Founded 25 years ago by eight partners, BlackRock, the world’s largest asset management firm, rewrote the playbook in financial services. While many of its peers were stumbling and retrenching in the aftermath of the 2008 recession, BlackRock was charting a course for growth. Its revenue, profits, and stock price all performed consistently during that tumultuous period.
...The only HCC member from HR is Jeff Smith, the global head of human resources; he cochairs the committee with Ken Wilson, a BlackRock vice chairman and a highly respected leader in the financial services industry. Both are members of the firm’s Global Executive Committee. The HCC’s very existence sends a powerful message that talent is not only a strategic and scarce resource but a matter of critical accountability for line management.