Every few years, a leader comes along who quietly redefines a role. In this episode, that leader is Lauren Duprey, Chief Human Resource Officer at Decata, a $30B global biopharma company with 55,000 employees.
Lauren’s path to the CHRO seat defies convention. From studying genetics at Harvard to consulting at the intersection of science and business, she discovered that behind every commercial challenge was ultimately a people problem. What propelled her forward was not a traditional HR playbook, but apprenticeship, sponsorship, and the courage to step into roles before she felt fully ready.
Together, we explore why the best CHROs do not always come from traditional backgrounds, how internal succession works when it is built on trust and partnership, and how AI is fundamentally reshaping the role of HR itself. Lauren is among the first CHROs treating AI agents as part of the workforce, not tools, but teammates leaders must learn to plan for, develop, and lead alongside humans.
This is a conversation about what HR was, what it is, and what it is about to become, and what leadership looks like in a future defined by constant transformation.