How long before an HR director is viewed as successor to the chief executive officer? With one of the world’s top management thinkers saying “HR is a contaminated brand” and a CEO declaring “there is something wrong with the name HR,” we may be waiting until Hell freezes over.

I happen to think there is way too much soul-searching over names (take that from someone who used to work at The Grocer - magazine for a sector in which no one calls themselves a grocer anymore), but the above views from Charles Handy, the first member of our HR Most Influential Hall of Fame, and a CEO interviewed by Ashridge Business School for HR magazine, show there is still a long way to go before HR properly rids itself of its image as an internal-facing, non value-adding cost to business (see HR Most Influential microsite).

And yet there is absolutely no reason someone with the title HR director should not become CEO. For it is not the name or position that matters but the value that is delivered by that person or role.

And this is the crux. Strategic HR delivery is still flaky. For all those who are doing it well, there are more that lack the courage and drive to prove HR is not just a business partner but embedded in business as much as operations, finance and marketing.

Six years ago, former GE boss Jack Welch wrote: "Without a doubt, the head of HR should be the second most important person in any organization. From the point of view of the CEO, the director of HR should be at least equal to the CFO" (Winning, 2005).

With people - and talent - the main competitive edge of the 21st century, and HR deeply involved in business transformation, one would expect Welch's words to be reality today. Yet, in some cases, HR is still struggling to get onto the board, let alone be number two. Without that, an HRD has no chance of becoming CEO.

As our cover story reveals, the jury is still out as to whether HR can be a route to the CEO role. In the UK, 49% of FTSE 100 CEOs have a financial background. The number of CEOs with an HR background? A big fat zero.

Yet, in emerging markets, it is not such a big leap from HR to CEO - and for good reason. As I meet HRDs from countries such as India and China, I am struck by their 'business first, HR second' approach (see Adil Malia profile, p38). It's no coincidence they have also worked in operational, marketing or line management roles - and that they see no barrier to the top job.

Many HRDs just don't want to be CEO. But for those that do, I echo the views of McDonald's Europe HR chief (and surely CEO in waiting) David Fairhurst. To make the move from HR to CEO, he says, it takes courage, curiosity and charisma. Come to think of it, isn't that what we need from HR in the first place?