Purpose: The increasing demand for organizational agility, innovation, and leadership development has placed significant emphasis on the collaboration between Human Resources (HR) and Chief Executive Officers (CEOs). Previous literature primarily explores HR or CEO leadership in isolation, leaving a gap in understanding how these roles jointly drive organizational change. This paper addresses this gap by analyzing the impact of HR-CEO collaboration on leadership pipeline development, innovation culture, and change management strategies.

Aims: The primary aim of this systematic review is to investigate how HR-CEO collaboration fosters leadership development and innovation while effectively managing organizational change. Secondary aims include identifying challenges in HR-CEO alignment and proposing solutions to optimize leadership performance.

Design: This paper employs a systematic review methodology, guided by PRISMA standards, to analyze 11 peer-reviewed studies published between 2010 and 2023. These studies span various industries and regions, exploring HR-CEO collaboration frameworks and their outcomes on organizational performance.

Findings: Strategic alignment between HR systems and CEO leadership styles significantly improves organizational outcomes, particularly in leadership pipeline development and innovation. However, common challenges such as misalignment of HR and leadership values and inconsistent messaging were identified. The review suggests that a value-based framework can mitigate these issues by aligning HR practices with leadership strategies.

Limitations of the study: Most studies were cross-sectional, limiting causal inferences about the long-term impacts of HR-CEO collaboration. Additionally, the reviewed literature often focused on specific regions or industries, restricting the generalizability of the findings.

Practical Implications: Organizations can enhance leadership pipeline development, foster innovation, and manage change more effectively by ensuring HR-CEO alignment. Collaboration between HR and CEOs is needed to create a well-structured leadership pipeline and foster an inclusive and innovative organizational culture.

Originality/value: The findings are valuable for HR professionals, CEOs, and organizational leaders seeking to optimize their leadership and innovation strategies.