HR Decisions That Shape the Business: A Conversation with Carol Liu
Episode 10 | Carol Liu & Gastón Francese
HR decisions are not just “people decisions.” They are business decisions. They define who joins, who grows, how leaders behave, how teams work, and ultimately, how an entire organization makes decisions. In global companies, HR acts as the true architect of the decision-making system: shaping culture, influencing leadership, and enabling strategic outcomes. That is exactly where Carol Liu, Vice President of Human Resources for Greater China at Christian Dior Couture, operates—at the intersection of talent, culture, and business in one of the world’s most influential luxury houses.
A Career Built on Global Influence
With more than two decades of experience leading complex organizations, Carol Liu has worked in American companies like Coca-Cola, in fast-growing Chinese corporations, and in the European luxury ecosystem of LVMH. Her career reflects a rare combination: strategic vision, operational depth, and the ability to build cultures that sustain high-impact decisions.
Today, she shapes how Dior attracts, develops, connects, and grows talent in a context where every decision—from updating a competency model to interpreting the brand’s heritage—directly influences business performance.
To understand how a global HR leader makes decisions, how decision-making styles vary across industries and geographies, and how HR enables the organization to make better decisions, Gastón Francese, Partner at Tandem, spoke with her in a new episode of Decision Leaders.
Decision-Making in First Person: Style and Global Learnings
Gastón Francese: If you had to describe your personal decision-making style, how would you define it?
Carol Liu: Three aspects. One is efficient. The second one is sensitive. And the third one is with the end in mind. I like to make decisions fast… it bothers me if the decisions are not made and things don’t move on. But because of my job, I also have to make a lot of sensitive decisions… I have to consider many perspectives. And with the end in mind is always important because I firmly believe there is no right or wrong or black-and-white decisions.
GF: What biases tend to influence your decisions?
CL: My biggest bias is that I don’t get to make decisions alone. Working in global companies, it’s almost impossible to make a decision only for China… I like to make decisions fast, but it can never be fast because I have to consider many key stakeholders.
GF: And what differences do you see between American, Chinese, and European decision-making styles?
CL: In American companies… we use data analysis and insights as an objective base to make decisions. In Chinese companies… most people are not paid to make decisions; they are paid to follow the decisions their bosses make. And in European companies… decisions are very people-driven, emotion-driven, based on heritage and personal bonding.
When Data Doesn’t Decide: Luxury vs. FMCG
GF: What differences do you see between decision-making in luxury versus FMCG?
CL: In FMCG, demand is based on consumer insights… we value analysis and insights… consumer is the boss. But in luxury, demand is something consumers have never thought of. It’s based on what we want them to be inspired by. There is no database. The decision is not ‘let’s look at data.’ It’s about what we want to introduce to the consumer this season.
How HR Enables Better Decision-Making Across the Organization
GF: From your role, how can HR enable effective decision-making?
CL: The company needs to have a very clear vision and purpose… HR owns the culture: the way of working, how people connect, what kind of people we recruit, what kind of people we develop. We shape a culture that supports our strategy and vision. That’s HR’s role.
GF: And what differences do you see in critical competencies between regions and sectors?
CL: In FMCG or American companies, technical expertise and analytical, objective minds are appreciated—together with collaboration and diversity. In European luxury… competence models are not that common. Because the business is about emotion, artistic mindset, individual contribution. But in retail—where thousands of frontline employees represent the brand—we do need more consistency.
Intuition, Experience, and the Weight of a Wrong Decision
GF: Can you share a decision that taught you something important?
CL: We once announced that we were canceling the shuttle bus service… everything was validated by data and by senior leaders… but the first pushback came from the union. We had to reverse the decision. I realized the diversity of the decision-making group was not enough. And I didn’t listen to my own voice telling me something wasn’t right.
What’s Next on Decision Leaders
This conversation with Carol Liu reinforces a key message: HR decisions are business decisions. They define who has a voice, who sits at the decision table, what leadership behaviors are rewarded, what gets tolerated, and how much autonomy truly exists. HR is not a support function—HR is the architect of the system through which companies decide.
At Tandem, through our People & Organization Solutions, we help organizations build clearer, more aligned, and more human decision-making models—where culture and structure accelerate, rather than block, the results the business needs.
In our next episode of Decision Leaders, we’ll move into another critical arena: marketing decisions. We’ll talk with a global leader behind one of the world’s most iconic brands—one you’ve undoubtedly welcomed into your home. We’ll explore how brands decide what stories to tell, how to grow, and how to shape consumer preferences at scale.
In the meantime, we invite you to explore another powerful conversation: our interview with Martín Faes, General Manager for South Latin America at Kenvue, where we dive into how leaders make decisions in fast-paced, multicultural, matrixed organizations.