A Penchant for Leadership: Jose Berrios, the 2011-12 Board Chair of the Society for Human Resource Management, Will Put His Talent for Talent Management to the Test

Beginning of article

Early in his HR career, Jose A. Berrios discovered he had a knack for identifying talent and leadership potential.

Berrios starts his two-year term this month as chair of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) Board of Directors. Berrios first joined SHRM in 1989 and has been an active leader in the HR profession with SHRM and groups such as The Conference Board, Catalyst and the National Hispanic Corporate Council.

Berrios heads his own HR consulting firm, the Berrios Talent Group, and specializes in helping companies devise strategies to be more competitive by identifying, attracting and retaining the best talent possible.

With a reputation for identifying and recruiting the best and the brightest, Berrios serves as chair of the search committee for the new SHRM president and CEO. He says he is humbled and keenly aware of the key role and challenges he faces in helping to shape SHRM and the HR profession. HR Magazine Senior Writer Bill Leonard recently interviewed Berrios about these challenges and his vision for the future.

Was HR a career path that you chose initially?

Most of my …