CEO to HR: "You are simply only here to advise me..."

Some very interesting responses here - thanks all for your input.

My initial thoughts were a mix of both - ultimately he is the CEO and he has the final say, but why employ HR experts to manage the HR functionality of the business if you aren't going to take their advice on HR matters into consideration?

The issue was (being vague here as not to share internal information readily on the internet for all to see) an issue arose which HR strongly insisted the company could not continue on the current plan of action as was a blatant breach of direct discrimination legislation and were opening ourselves right up for a tribunal claim.

I will admit that on this occasion HR were being stubborn on this (as opposed to usually, trying to influence, persuade and negotiate and then accepting if a different course of action was taken) which did increase frustration from the CEO, but this isn't typical in day to day.

I ‘d like to respond to this by saying:
Agree. However let me help you with the handling of people matters whilst you focus on the business issues.
I am sure you have strong grounds for ignoring the advice and perhaps I am missing out an important perspective. If you would share your concerns and help me understand we could possibly explore optimal solutions jointly.

I ‘d like to respond to this by saying:
Agree. However let me help you with the handling of people matters whilst you focus on the business issues.
I am sure you have strong grounds for ignoring the advice and perhaps I am missing out an important perspective. If you would share your concerns and help me understand we could possibly explore optimal solutions jointly.