Jacobs adds Cheryl Lim to executive leadership team as CHRO

Jacobs has appointed Cheryl Lim as Chief Human Resources Officer, adding an experienced global HR leader to its executive leadership team as the company continues expanding its workforce and transformation strategy across international markets.

In her new role, Lim will oversee Jacobs’ global people strategy, focusing on talent development, organisational effectiveness, leadership capability, culture and workforce transformation.

The appointment comes as companies across engineering, infrastructure and technology-linked industries increase investment in workforce planning, leadership development and AI-enabled organisational transformation.

Jacobs, which employs around 45,000 people globally, operates across sectors including advanced manufacturing, energy, transportation, water, environmental services and life sciences.

Leadership role spans global workforce strategy

According to details released alongside the appointment, Lim will play a key role in shaping Jacobs’ long-term people and organisational priorities as the company navigates increasingly complex global markets.

Her responsibilities are expected to include:

• Leading Jacobs’ global HR and workforce strategy
• Driving leadership development and organisational effectiveness initiatives
• Supporting workforce transformation and culture programmes
• Strengthening talent acquisition and employee capability frameworks
• Advancing people systems aligned with business growth objectives

The company said Lim brings extensive experience across technology, infrastructure, manufacturing, industrial systems, enterprise transformation and data centre operations.

Industry analysts say large multinational firms are placing greater emphasis on HR leadership as companies adapt to evolving workforce expectations, digital transformation and changing operating models.

Experience built across multinational businesses

Before joining Jacobs, Lim served as Chief Human Resources Officer at Vertiv, where she led people strategy for a business generating approximately $9 billion in revenue and employing around 28,000 people globally.

During her tenure at Vertiv, she worked closely with the company’s chief executive and senior leadership team on organisational transformation and talent strategy.

Key initiatives she led at Vertiv included:

• Transformation of HR service delivery systems
• Expansion of talent acquisition capabilities
• Introduction of a global job architecture framework
• Enhancement of performance management systems
• Development of a global people strategy supporting business growth and cultural transformation

Prior to Vertiv, Lim held the position of Vice President Human Resources at ITT Inc., supporting the company’s Connect & Control Technologies division.

In that role, she partnered with senior executives on:

• Business transformation initiatives
• Workforce planning strategies
• Change management programmes
• Talent investment priorities
• HR operating model redesign

More than two decades at Honeywell

A significant part of Lim’s career was spent at Honeywell, where she worked for more than two decades in multiple senior HR leadership roles across international markets and business functions.

Her responsibilities at Honeywell covered enterprise transformation, integrated supply chain operations, staffing, regional HR leadership and executive talent development.

The company said her experience spans areas such as:

• Large-scale organisational design
• Executive leadership development
• Talent management and succession planning
• Labour relations
• Digital and AI-enabled talent systems
• HR transformation and workforce capability building

That background is likely to be increasingly relevant as global businesses attempt to balance automation, workforce modernisation and organisational performance.