Jacobs appoints Cheryl Lim as CHRO to lead global people strategy across 45,000-strong workforce

Global professional services firm Jacobs has appointed Cheryl Lim as chief human resources officer, placing an experienced international HR executive at the head of its worldwide people strategy as the company continues to expand across engineering, infrastructure, energy, and technology-linked sectors. The appointment is relevant to HR professionals tracking how large multinationals are structuring senior people leadership amid growing pressure around workforce transformation and organisational change.

People Matters reported that Lim will oversee Jacobs' global HR and workforce strategy, with responsibilities spanning talent development, organisational effectiveness, leadership capability, culture, and workforce transformation across a company employing approximately 45,000 people globally.

Before joining Jacobs, Lim served as CHRO at Vertiv, where she led people strategy for a business generating approximately $9 billion (€8.3 Bn) in revenue and employing around 28,000 people globally. Key initiatives at Vertiv included transformation of HR service delivery systems, expansion of talent acquisition capabilities, introduction of a global job architecture framework, and development of a people strategy supporting cultural transformation.

Prior to Vertiv, Lim held the position of vice president of human resources at ITT Inc., supporting the company's Connect and Control Technologies division across business transformation, workforce planning, and HR operating model redesign.

A significant portion of Lim's career was spent at Honeywell, where she worked for more than two decades across senior HR leadership roles covering enterprise transformation, integrated supply chain operations, executive talent development, and large-scale organisational design.

The appointment reflects a broader industry trend of large multinationals investing in experienced C-suite HR leadership as workforce modernisation, AI-enabled talent systems, and organisational transformation become central to long-term business strategy.

Discover the full appointment profile and leadership background.