Kristen Mulholland

Executive Vice President, Chief Human Resources Officer Johnson & Johnson

Last Reviewed: October 3, 2026

Executive Summary

Kristen Mulholland became Chief Human Resources Officer of Johnson & Johnson in 2024, with a seat on its executive committee. She is responsible for the whole human resources agenda, from talent, recruiting and inclusion to compensation, benefits and employee relations, for a workforce J&J puts at more than 135,000 people. She joined J&J in 2005 after more than 15 years in consulting and healthcare roles at Ernst & Young and Eli Lilly, and held HR leadership roles across its medical devices, pharmaceuticals and corporate functions before running global total rewards. Her path to the top HR job ran through compensation and benefits, as head of global total rewards.

Career Highlights

• Executive Vice President, Chief Human Resources Officer of Johnson & Johnson since 2024.
• Head of Global Total Rewards and HR for Enterprise Functions.
• Co-founder of the J&J Military Veteran Leadership Development Program.
• Chair of J&J’s Pension and Benefits Committee.

Professional Journey

Mulholland earned a bachelor’s degree in political economics and German at Tulane University and a master’s in organizational development at Case Western Reserve University. She spent more than 15 years in consulting and healthcare roles at Ernst & Young and Eli Lilly and Company, according to her J&J biography.

She joined Johnson & Johnson in 2005 and held HR leadership positions across the breadth of the company: MedTech, Innovative Medicine, the corporate functions, and corporate HR services including performance and development. Most recently she was head of global total rewards and HR for enterprise functions. Along the way she co-founded the J&J Military Veteran Leadership Development Program, which helps the company attract, retain and develop veterans.

In 2024 she was appointed executive vice president, chief human resources officer and a member of the executive committee. She is responsible for global talent, recruiting, inclusion, compensation, benefits, employee relations and all other aspects of the company’s human resources agenda. Within management she sits on J&J’s Compensation Committee and HR Digital Council and chairs its Pension and Benefits Committee.

She works alongside chief executive Joaquin Duato and chief financial officer Joseph Wolk on the executive committee. J&J operates two businesses, Innovative Medicine and MedTech, and its Innovative Medicine business alone exceeds $60 billion in annual revenue, according to the company.

The committee she joined in 2024 includes several long-serving J&J executives: Joseph Wolk joined in 1998, Kathryn Wengel in 1988 and Elizabeth Forminard in 2006, according to the 2025 annual report. Like Forminard, she spent nearly two decades at J&J before reaching it.

Education

Case Western Reserve University

Master’s degree, Organizational Development

Tulane University

Bachelor’s degree, Political Economics and German