NATIONAL ACADEMY OF HUMAN RESOURCES

What NATIONAL ACADEMY OF HUMAN RESOURCES does

The National Academy of Human Resources (NAHR) is a Delaware-registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1992 that operates as the premier honorific body for the human resources profession in the United States. Its core product is the Fellowship Program, in which distinguished HR professionals are elected by peer vote of existing Fellows to receive what NAHR describes as the highest honor in the HR profession; the organization has inducted 206 Fellows across 34 classes and named 17 Distinguished Fellows since founding. NAHR generates revenue through a multi-stream nonprofit model: Corporate Patron contributions ($5,000/year from approximately 27 organizations including Accenture, IBM, ADP, and Walmart), Grand Sponsorships ($25,000/year for two-year commitments from organizations such as Deloitte, Korn Ferry, and Alight), tiered individual donations (Bronze at $500 up to Honored Benefactor at $10,000+), Annual Gala ticket and table sales, and tuition from its two executive education programs.

The organization's primary programmatic offerings are the CHRO Academy (launched in 2000, an annual two-day program for first-time CHROs priced at $7,500 with a $6,500 nonprofit rate, hosting 30+ participants annually) and the CPO Academy (launched in 2023 for Chief People Officers in PE-backed and high-growth companies at $1,000 tuition, with 26 participants in its 2026 class). Complementary programs include Fellows in the Classroom (which connects Fellows with nine partner universities including Cornell, Boston University, Purdue, and three HBCUs), scholarship programs (10 NAHR/SHRM Graduate Student Scholarships at $7,500 each plus $90,000 in HBCU scholarship funding), and a publications library featuring articles, research, and Accenture-authored reports.

Distribution is invitation-only across all core programs, with selection driven by peer nomination, Candidate Reviewer review, and Board of Directors recommendation. NAHR is governed by a Board of Directors under President Daniel Marsili (former CHRO of Colgate-Palmolive, appointed January 2023), with operations run from Sag Harbor, New York and event delivery concentrated in New York City. The organization maintains no technology platform, app, or proprietary software; its technology footprint consists of standard web-based systems for event registration, membership communications, and donation processing, with a new website launched in January 2026.

Name

NATIONAL ACADEMY OF HUMAN RESOURCES

Legal name

The National Academy of Human Resources

Website

https://nationalacademyhr.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1992

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The National Academy of Human Resources is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1992 that honors distinguished HR professionals through peer-elected Fellowship and delivers executive education via CHRO and CPO Academies for senior human resources leaders.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Association / Honorific HR Membership Organization

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Human Resources, Organizational Behavior & Leadership Institutes (EDAHAHAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Human Resources (HR) & Talent (SHRM/HRCI) Certifications (EDAAANAE), Human Resources & Faculty/Staff Administration (EDADAKAG)

Keywords

• Human resources fellowship
• Executive education
• HR professional recognition
• Peer professional network
• HR leadership academy

Headquarters

HQ city

Downers Grove

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Corporate Patron Contributions: Organizations make annual contributions at various tiers (Patron level $5,000/year) providing recognition at Annual Dinner and on website.
2. Grand Sponsorship Program: Organizations commit $25,000 per year for two years with prominent recognition at Annual Dinner and events. Grand Sponsors receive signage, dinner program placement, special name badges, and assigned seats at events.
3. Individual Donations: Individual Fellows and supporters contribute at tiered levels: Bronze ($500-$1,499), Silver ($1,500-$2,499), Gold ($2,500-$4,999), Platinum ($5,000-$9,999), Honored Benefactor ($10,000+).
4. Annual Gala Payments: Revenue from Gala seat and table purchases: Individual Fellow ($500), Fellow + 1 Guest ($750), Fellow + 2 Guests ($1,500), up to Table of Ten ($7,000).
5. CPO Academy Tuition: Program tuition of $1,000 per participant for the Chief People Officer Academy for PE-owned and high-growth companies.
6. CHRO Academy Tuition: Program tuition of $7,500 per participant for the Chief Human Resources Officer Academy, with nonprofit rate of $6,500.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The National Academy of Human Resources is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit honorific organization that recognizes distinguished HR professionals through peer-elected Fellowship and operates executive education programs (CHRO Academy and CPO Academy) for newly appointed senior HR leaders. It also runs the Fellows in the Classroom academic outreach program and administers scholarships for graduate HR students in partnership with SHRM Foundation and HBCUs.

Product overview

The National Academy of Human Resources (NAHR) operates as a premier honorific organization rather than a traditional software product company. Its core offerings include the Fellowship Program (recognizing distinguished HR professionals with the highest honor in the profession), two annual Academy programs (CHRO Academy for first-time Chief HR Officers and CPO Academy for Chief People Officers in high-growth/PE-backed companies), the Fellows in the Classroom educational outreach program, and Scholarship & Sponsorship initiatives supporting HR students. NAHR also maintains a Publications library featuring articles, books, and research authored by Fellows, and hosts an Annual Dinner & Induction Ceremony. The organization functions as a membership-based professional association rather than a technology platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Fellowship Program An honorific program that recognizes distinguished HR professionals through peer-nomination and peer-voted election as Fellows of the NAHR, representing the highest honor in the human resources profession.
• CHRO Academy Annual two-day intensive executive education program for first-time Chief Human Resources Officers who have been in their role for three years or less, featuring peer networking and engagement with NAHR Fellows.
• CPO Academy Annual academy for Chief People Officers in startup or high-growth organizations (typically VC or PE-backed) who have assumed the role within the past one to three years.
• Fellows in the Classroom Program connecting NAHR Fellows with higher education classrooms to share real-world HR insights through guest speakers, adjunct faculty, or executives in residence.
• Scholarships & Sponsorships Includes NAHR/SHRM Graduate Student Scholarships ($7,500 each for 10 students), HBCU partnerships with Southern University, Morgan State, and NC A&T ($90,000 total), and the Richard A. Beaumont Memorial Scholarship.
• Annual Dinner & Induction Ceremony Annual black-tie event recognizing newly inducted Fellows and celebrating NAHR's mission, featuring Grand Sponsors and distinguished attendees.

Quantifiable outcome

• 206 Fellows inducted since 1992, with 6 new Fellows in 2025
• +7 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

25 partnerships are on record, tiered core and secondary.

• AlightcoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2026Grand Sponsor of NAHR Annual Dinner and Induction of New Fellows Ceremony. Alight is a leading benefits administrator and AI-powered services provider supporting 35 million people across world's largest organizations.
• Cerity PartnerscoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2026Grand Sponsor providing wealth advice and oversight for individuals, businesses, and nonprofit organizations. Supports NAHR mission through financial well-being expertise.
• DeloittecoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2026Grand Sponsor and host of NAHR 2025 CHRO Academy. Deloitte's Human Capital consulting services help firms transform workforce and build AI-powered organizations.
• Health Transformation Alliance (HTA)coreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2026Grand Sponsor providing value-driven solutions in data and analytics, pharmacy, medical, and consumer engagement to improve patient care and lower costs for member companies.
• Randstad EnterprisecoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2026Grand Sponsor helping organizations put people first across talent life cycle through global talent advisory, acquisition, development, and transition services.
• Goldman Sachs AycocoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 20252025 Grand Sponsor - Goldman Sachs Ayco provides personal financial planning services for employees of large organizations.
• Korn FerrycoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 20252025 Grand Sponsor and talent and organizational consulting firm supporting NAHR mission.
• Prudential FinancialcoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 20252025 Grand Sponsor and financial services company supporting NAHR Annual Dinner.
• Boston University Questrom School of BusinesssecondaryStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Partner university in Fellows in the Classroom program, connecting NAHR Fellows with higher education classrooms for real-world HR insights.
• Cornell UniversitysecondaryStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Partner university in Fellows in the Classroom program connecting NAHR Fellows with graduate and undergraduate classrooms.
• Ohio State UniversitysecondaryStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Partner university in Fellows in the Classroom program.
• Texas A&M UniversitysecondaryStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Partner university in Fellows in the Classroom program.
• Purdue UniversitysecondaryStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Partner university in Fellows in the Classroom program.
• Vanderbilt UniversitysecondaryStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Partner university in Fellows in the Classroom program.
• University of South Carolina (Darla Moore School of Business)secondaryStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Partner university in Fellows in the Classroom program and host to Center for Executive Succession.
• SHRM FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024NAHR Foundation partnered with SHRM Foundation to fund NAHR/SHRM Graduate Student Scholarships - 10 scholarships of $7,500 each year. SHRM Foundation provides selection process for recipients.
• Southern UniversitysecondaryStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024HBCU partner in NAHR/HBCU Scholarship Sponsorship program providing scholarships to students in human resource management programs.
• Morgan State UniversitysecondaryStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024HBCU partner in NAHR/HBCU Scholarship Sponsorship program providing scholarships to students in human resource management programs.
• North Carolina A&T State UniversitysecondaryStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024HBCU partner in NAHR/HBCU Scholarship Sponsorship program providing scholarships to students in human resource management programs.
• IRC4HRsecondaryStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024NAHR Foundation partners with IRC4HR to provide the Richard A. Beaumont Memorial Scholarship of $7,500 annually to a master's degree student in human resource management.
• AccenturecoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 20212021 Grand Sponsor and global professional services company. Hosted NAHR 2025 CHRO Academy XXV at Accenture offices.
• ADPcoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 20212021 Grand Sponsor and HR technology and services provider.
• Egon ZehndercoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 20212021 Grand Sponsor and leadership advisory firm.
• Johnson & JohnsoncoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 20212021 Grand Sponsor and global healthcare company.
• Lincoln Financial GroupcoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 20212021 Grand Sponsor and financial services company.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Academy of Management (AOM): AOM is a peer-elected honorific professional association for management scholars and executives, structurally analogous to NAHR's Fellowship model but in the broader management academic community. Its Academy of Management Fellows and divisions (including HR) provide the closest analog to NAHR's peer-voted recognition structure.
• The CHRO Association: The CHRO Association is a peer organization for sitting Chief Human Resources Officers that competes directly with NAHR for executive-development mindshare. Former NAHR Past President Charles Tharp is currently EVP of the CHRO Association, evidencing the organizational overlap and direct competition for the same elite CHRO segment NAHR's CHRO Academy serves.
• National Academy of Public Administration: The National Academy of Public Administration is a peer-elected honorific chartered by Congress to recognize distinguished public administrators, structurally identical to NAHR's model of peer-voted Fellowship recognition. It serves as a direct structural analog (Fellows, governance, programs) for an adjacent administrative profession.
• HR People + Strategy (HRPS): HR People + Strategy is an SHRM-affiliated executive forum for strategic HR leaders, running invitation-only roundtables and executive programming similar to NAHR's CHRO Academy. It competes for the same strategic CHRO constituency and is a natural adjacent peer for comparison.

Emerging players

• World Federation of People Management Associations (WFPMA): WFPMA is the global federation of national HR management associations, providing a worldwide peer-network umbrella. It represents a broader, international peer-network analog to NAHR's U.S.-centric Fellow network and serves similar senior HR leader constituencies.
• International Academy of Business Disciplines: An academic honor society for business scholars with a Fellow election structure similar to NAHR's. Comparable in that it uses peer recognition as the value anchor and serves senior practitioners/researchers, but in the academic rather than corporate HR executive segment.

Broad incumbents

• Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM): SHRM is the dominant global HR professional membership organization with hundreds of thousands of members, offering the SHRM-CP/SHRM-SCP credentials that NAHR's academies are aligned with via PDCs. It is the broadest incumbent serving the same HR professional constituency NAHR targets, but at vastly greater scale and with credentialing rather than peer-elected honor as its core value.
• WorldatWork: WorldatWork is a long-standing HR-focused professional association specializing in total rewards, compensation, and benefits. Like NAHR it serves senior HR practitioners, but it is broader in scope and credential-driven (GRP certification) rather than peer-elected honorific.
• National Academy of Medicine: An honorific organization of distinguished professionals in medicine with a peer-elected membership model analogous to NAHR. While in the medical field, it serves as a relevant structural template for a peer-honorific organization targeting senior executives in a defined profession.

Others

• Association of Executive Search and Leadership Consultants (AESC): AESC is the professional association for executive search firms serving senior HR and C-suite leadership placements. While not a direct competitor, it overlaps with NAHR's constituency (executive HR leaders), shares Grand Sponsor overlap (Korn Ferry is a NAHR Grand Sponsor), and operates an analogous member-recognition model in the executive search profession.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks1 record

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about NATIONAL ACADEMY OF HUMAN RESOURCES