Armed with a master’s degree in human resource management from the University of Paris I: Panthéon-Sorbonne, began her human resources journey with Softmatic AG in 1999. Based out of Germany, she served as human resources manager for over two years, before moving to Pricewaterhouse Coopers as consultant in HR leadership and change management. This role saw her working out of Paris, France, for the next five years.

In January, 2007 she joined Demos Group as European business manager. She was stationed in Brussels, Belgium. After a little less than two years, she moved to Philips as director/HR business partner-BG domestic appliances, consumer lifestyle. By 2010, she was elevated to senior director-organisational effectiveness, senior director HR strategy and HRO projects. This role saw her working out of Amsterdam.

July of 2012 saw her essaying the role of VP, head of HR, lighting, Europe, for Philips Lighting. She was promoted to VP-head of HR, lighting growth markets, by 2016, based out of Singapore.

From 2018 to 2019, she served as head of HR EMEA, Whirlpool Corporation.

Her next stop was Dole Sunshine Company, taking on the role of global head of talent and organisational performance.

May 2022 was witness to her joining ASM, as head of leadership, talent and culture, Singapore.

Backed by almost 25 years of experience, Dembri will help shape OCS’ strategic direction from the perspective of HR. She will be handling workforce planning and talent management among other responsibilities.

OCS has a strong presence in India. In fact, OCS India provides housekeeping and engineering services in different Malls at Kochi, Lucknow, Palakkad, Hyderabad and Trivandrum

The post OCS appoints Ryme Dembri as CHRO, APAC &ME, OCS appeared first on HR Katha.

“My role here differs from my previous positions, particularly in its strategic focus. While HR responsibilities always encompass the full spectrum of functions, this role emphasises a more strategic approach, where I’ll be deeply involved in aligning HR initiatives with the company’s growth objectives. This involves everything from designing and implementing HR interventions to establishing a more systematic and structured operational framework,” Mohanty told HRKatha.

Prior to this appointment, Mohanty served as the head-people and culture at Medikabazaar. He joined the company in 2019. In this capacity, he established a professional and tech-enabled HR and a change-management department in startup and expansion situations. Through the skills gained, he re-engineered the entire HR system in line with industry standards by establishing a proper organisational structure, policies and processes.

Mohanty was the head of HR for the rural business segment at Reliance Jio. He has a total experience of more than two decades in the HR function.

At Reliance Jio, Mohanty lead various HR assignments and projects, including the green field telecom project, which was one of the biggest HR projects in the industry. More than 20,000 people were hired for the same, with 70 plus HR teams.

He has served in various HR roles for prestigious organisations, starting with Idea (which has now merged with Vodafone) in 1996. He has also worked with Tata Teleservices, Huawei Telecommunications and Uninor.
For three decades, Mohanty worked in the telecommunication sector and healthcare, but now he has moved into a very different industry—real estate.

“Although the organisation has been running successfully for two decades, there’s a recognition that to achieve growth targets, they need to enhance their HR capabilities and ensure closer alignment between HR and business goals. This shift towards a more strategic HR partnership underscores the firm’s commitment to evolving with the times while staying true to its core values,” shares Mohanty.

“With this narrative in mind, there are countless stories we could tell about this exciting journey ahead, each one highlighting the organisation’s dedication to growth and innovation,” he adds.

A skilled HR professional, Mohanty specialises in OD interventions, performance management, talent acquisition, grievance handling, policy formation, training and development, employee relations, disciplinary proceedings, conciliation proceedings and employee- welfare programmes.

The post Anil Mohanty joins DN Group as CPO appeared first on HR Katha.

Prior to this, she served as the head-HR at Fresenius Kabi Oncology. She joined the organisation in 2022 and spearheaded HR initiatives across various sectors, including manufacturing, R&D, and corporate functions.

Mukherjee’s background encompasses a wide range of HR domains, including talent management, leadership development, strategic HR management, diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I), training and development, organisational development (OD) interventions, competency mapping, performance- management systems (PMS), career planning, succession planning, rewards and recognition, employee engagement, employee relations and employee retention.

With an impressive career spanning around 17 years, she has demonstrated a keen insight into HR dynamics, catering to diverse internal customers such as sales, R&D, manufacturing and corporate teams.
Prior to her role at Fresenius Kabi Oncology, Mukherjee has held positions at esteemed organisations such as Boehringer Ingelheim, Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, and Haldia Petrochemicals.

Mukherjee began her professional journey with Haldia Petrochemicals as a management trainee in the year 2006, driving campus recruitment and creating structured induction of new joinees. In 2008, she was elevated to assistant manager-plant HR. In this capacity, she spearheaded the restructuring of the bluecollar compensation & benefit structure while focusing on employee engagement through various programmes aimed at trust-building and skill enhancement for contractor employees.

In the year 2011, she joined Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories as its deputy manager-HR. Two years into this role, she was elevated to manager-leadership development in the year 2014. During her tenure, she served as a key member of the leadership development, contributing to initiatives aimed at senior leaders worldwide. She supported the entire process, including design, facilitation and execution, with a focus on both personal and business transformation.

Her next stop was Boehringer Ingelheim in the year 2015 where she held several leadership positions.

An alumna of Xavier Institute of Social Service, Mukherjee holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration.

The post Debashree Mukherjee joins Khanna Paper Mills as AVP & head-HR appeared first on HR Katha.

Gupta’s elevation to CHRO was approved by the Board of Tata Communications recently.

An economics graduate from Delhi University, Gupta also completed an MBA from IIFM.

He was associated with Deloitte Consulting for two years from 2004 to 2006, before he moved on to PricewaterhouseCoopers as senior consultant-HR advisory.

The next three years he spent with KPMG Advisory as manager-HR advisory.

His next stop was EXL service, where he served as assistant vice president-talent management and OD from 2011 to 2013.

It was in September 2013 that he joined Tata Communications, as director-human resources. Less than five years later, he was elevated to the position of senior director-global head of talent acquisition, talent management, OD, D&I and BHR. Less than four and a half years later, he got promoted to vice president-global head, compensation and benefits and business HR.

Goyal will be passing on the baton to Gupta after a 14-year long tenure with the firm. He was part of the Management board too and even headed sustainability, CSR, health and safety, SCM.

This alumnus of BITS Pilani has also been associated with SAP as CHRO global advisory board member since 2019.

Know for his strong work ethics, Gupta’s eye for detail will stand him in good stead in his new role.

The post Aman Gupta will be CHRO, Tata Communications; Aadesh Goyal to retire appeared first on HR Katha.

Ram’s association with Godrej Consumer Products began back in October 2010, when he joined as HR business partner, sales. Less than two years into this role, he was promoted to manager-learning and OD and HRBP marketing and sales support functions, based out of Mumbai. He also successfully led the the capability development initiatives for the organisation.

In April 2014, he was elevated again, this time to the position of HR business partner, Godrej Indonesia and Middle East. Among other responsibilities, the role involved working closely with the management committee team towards HR solutions for the organisation’s growth agenda.

His next promotion came more than two and a half years later, to the role of head HR, Africa, US and Middle East. This elevation saw him relocating to Dubai for five years. In 2021, he became business head –South Africa.

An alumnus of the Institute of Management Technology, Ghaziabad, Ram’s career began with Marico, in 2007, when he joined as a management trainee, hired from campus. After his training, he took on the responsibility of plant HR. By the time he moved on from Marico three years and five months later, he had become HR business partner, manufacturing and supply chain.

The post Vaibhav Ram elevated to global HR head, Godrej Consumer Products appeared first on HR Katha.

Backed by two decades of experience in diverse industries, including pharmaceutical, power, luggage and healthcare, Singh is a seasoned HR leader capable of driving growth and transformation.

Armed with a degree in law, Singh began his professional journey with Wanbury, where he joined as officer-HR, in 2001. Four years laters, he joined CIPLA as management staff (HR). For a little less than two years, he handled end-to-end HR processes entailing recruitment and selection, induction, performance appraisal, training and development, payroll administration, compliance and so on.

From 2008 to 2010, he served as manager-HR, Molekule India, successfully handling all implementation of HR policies and procedures.

His next stop was Emco, in 2010 where his stint lasted a little over three years.

In 2013, he joined Safari Industries as senior manager- HR and admin. More than three and a half years into this role, he moved to Narayan Health, as senior human resources manager. A little less than four years into this role, he was elevated to DGM-HR, in April 2021. This promotion took him from Mumbai to Raipur.

Singh has completed an executive development programme in driving growth, from XLRI Jamshedpur in 2022.

Remembered for the employee welfare and engagement programmes initiated by him, Singh is also known to be highly dependable, energetic and dynamic.

HRKatha wishes him all the best in his latest assignment at Tata Cancer Care Foundation.

The post Santosh Singh appointed head-HR, Tata Cancer Care Foundation appeared first on HR Katha.

With her deep expertise, Rita is tasked with further strengthening OMG India’s people-centric culture, aligning with the group’s vision, and cultivating future-ready teams to drive growth.

Rita’s familiarity with Omnicom extends back 19 years, having previously led the HR function at DDB Mudra Group, an Omnicom Advertising Services entity in India. Her transition within the Omnicom network underscores the company’s collaborative culture and commitment to promoting top talent across its diverse portfolio of agencies.

During her tenure at DDB Mudra Group, Rita spearheaded various diversity and inclusion initiatives such as Omniwomen and OPEN Pride, while also enhancing talent management processes. Her efforts earned the agency recognition for its talent capabilities.

Kartik Sharma, Group CEO of Omnicom Media Group India, expressed confidence in Rita’s ability to propel the organisation’s success, emphasising the critical role of talent in driving client success. Rita Verma herself expressed excitement about joining an organisation that values talent and creativity, pledging to align talent strategies with the broader vision to deliver outstanding solutions across the board.

The post Omnicom Media Group India names Rita Verma as new chief talent officer appeared first on HR Katha.

Prior to this, Chaudhuri was associated with udaan, a B2B e-Commerce startup, as its head-HR, managing human resources across a diverse range of categories. His role involved overseeing personnel matters across various sectors, ensuring effective staffing, talent management, and organisational development strategies are in place to support udaan’s dynamic businsess model and facilitate its growth in both B2B and B2C segments.

An alumnus of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences and with over 14 years of combined expertise, Chaudhuri has worked with Aditya Birla Group, Hindustan Unilever, Bennett Coleman, Nokia, Siemens and Unitech.

His longest stint was with the Aditya Birla Group where he started as a programme director at the Group’s Global Centre for Leadership Learning-Gyanodaya, in the year 2010. In 2012, he was elevated to the role of manager-HR business partner, managing the company’s domestic textiles, acrylic fibre and overseas spinning businesses, across India and South-East Asia.

In the year 2015, he was elevated to the role of assistant general manager-business HR CoE for rewards. In this capacity, he managed rewards and benefits, performance, manpower planning, job analysis and evaluation and HR tech for 1100 managers and expatriates, across three businesses. He was responsible for 10 manufacturing units spread across five countries (India, Thailand, Indonesia, Egypt and Philippines).

In the year 2016, he became the head-human resources, at the company’s new branch-Aditya Birla Nuvo. In 2017, he moved to Grasim Industries, leading employee relations for the textiles sector.

His diverse experience and ability to work with agility and lead large global teams will stand him in good stead in his new role at Godrej Consumer Products.

The post Saurabh Chaudhari joins Godrej Consumer Products as global HR CoE appeared first on HR Katha.

In her new capacity, Prabhakar will oversee the company’s people organisation, which includes various departments such as human resources business partner (HRBP), employment relations, talent, total rewards, people insights, people M&A, as well as diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), on a global scale.

Prabhakar’s journey with Atlassian began in 2019 as the head-HR partners for Asia Pacific, followed by leadership roles in people M&A and global HRBPs.

With over two decades of experience in HR, Prabhakar has worked across sectors such as technology, aviation, insurance, research and analytics. Furthermore, her career includes valuable stints at many renowned organisations including Fuji Xerox, British Airways, Genpact and GE Capital.

She began her professional journey with GE Capital, where she joined as its HR manager-GE Finance Assurance, in the year 2001. In 2005, she was elevated to its analytics department as HR manager.

In 2006, Prabhakar joined Genpact as its human resources recruiting manager. She was responsible for developing effective hiring strategies to manage growth, lowering early attrition rates and maintaining competitive entry-level compensation.

Her next stop was British Airways where she joined in 2007 as its HR manager-South Asia. Working closely with the leadership team, she provided strategic HR support to the local teams, driving key change- management projects in the region to drive business efficiencies. In 2010, she got added responsibilities for Asia Pacific, Middle East and Central Asia.

In 2015, she joined Fuji Xerox as its human resources business partner, driving sales-force effectiveness and delivering business efficiencies through coaching sales leaders.

Speaking on her appointment, Erika Fisher, chief administrative and legal officer, Atlassian, said, “Avani is laser focused on a people strategy that delivers outcomes and drives success across the whole business. She naturally excels at unlocking and emphasising the power of cross-functional teams and partnerships to deliver high-impact results.”

In Prabhakar’s words, “We aspire to be an employer of choice, and a company where people are given the opportunity to do the best work of their careers. That’s no small feat, but it’s an honour to be at the helm of the teams delivering on this ambition for our 11,000+ Atlassians across the world.”

The post Atlassian has elevated Avani Prabhakar to CPO appeared first on HR Katha.

Nair, who is an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta, began his professional journey with Siddhartha Apparels as system analyst and management trainee, back in 1997. By the time he moved on from there, he had been elevated to general manager. During his eight-year long stint at Siddhartha Apparels, he mentored a team of over 250 personnel and steered the entire operations for manufacturing of readymade garments for Park Avenue and Colour Plus shirts.

His next assignment at Matchworkers International as operations manager-recruitment, took him from Chennai to Dubai. There he successfully managed everything from business development, sourcing and placement candidates, to administration and day-to-day activities at the office, as well as the accounts of the entire business for well over six years.

In 2014, he joined Optimum HR Consultancy as head of operations, in Dubai.

He was back in India in 2016, when he took up the role of divisional manager-talent acquisition, corporate HR, at Ashok Leyland. This was the beginning of his long association with the company, where he was elevated to head-business HR within less than two and a half years. After managing the entire life cycle of about 1500 employees for over three years, based out of Chennai, he was again promoted. This promotion saw him taking on the position of head-HR, MHCV business.

His new assignment at Rossari will see him working out of Mumbai and leading the HR function while also overseeing corporate communications.

Sunil Chari, MD, Rossari Biotech is confident that “with his wealth of experience and expertise in HR management, Nair will be instrumental in shaping our people strategy and supporting our continued growth. We look forward to his leadership in enhancing our talent management initiatives and driving organisational development at Rossari.”

With his experience across diverse sectors, including automotive and garment manufacturing, immigration consultancy, and recruitment consultancy, Nair is sure to be an asset to Rossari.

Nair—who is a certified CII HR Excellence Assessor and is also certified in Thomas Psychometric Assessment and Harrison Psychometric Assessment—looks forward to “leveraging my experience and enthusiasm to contribute to the company’s continued success. Together with the exceptional team here, I am eager to push boundaries, make a meaningful impact, and achieve remarkable accomplishments.”

The post Rossari Biotech appoints Sunil Nair as CHRO appeared first on HR Katha.

She moves from Unlimit —a company that offers a simple financial interface to enable payments to flow freely and invisibly across borders—where she honed her skills in key account management, employee relations and strategic HR initiatives.

This commerce graduate from Delhi University, who also holds an MBA in human resource management and financial management, began her professional journey as an executive-administration at Kumudam Publications. Almost three years later, she moved to Directi, as senior executive HR and admin. Almost six years into this role, she was elevated to the role of HR operations specialist, based out of Gurgaon. During her tenure, she successfully managed end to end campus operations (offer letters, documentation, relocation, background verification). She also built and maintained a campus database and generated reports for the team to identify shortcomings and suggest process recommendations to achieve operational excellence.

In February 2019, she joined Ebaco Sports, as assistant manager-human resources. This role saw her sourcing through various channels, screening, scheduling, conducting interviews, extending offers and ensuring smooth onboarding among other activities.

Her next stop was Ally, in May 2020 where her designation as that of human resources manager. Two years later, she switched to Unlimit, joining as human resource business partner-India, for well over a year and a half.

HRKatha wishes her all the best in her mission to empower teams through dynamic HR leadership, fostering a culture of growth and efficiency.

The post Prerna Arora is now head of human resources, RupeeRedee appeared first on HR Katha.

An alumna of the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad, Vijayanand graduated in economics from the University of Mumbai.

In 1994, she joined Lakme as a management trainee for a year. Then, she moved to Larsen & Toubro as HRD officer in 1995 for two years, during which she was an active member of the corporate training team.

Her next stop was Godrej, where she served as head-human resources, from 1997 to 2001. After successfully taking charge of the HR function there and managing employees across the company’s 30 branches in India for four years, she switched to Capgemini in 2001. She spent the next five years there looking into organisational development, learning and development, performance management, compensation and benefits, HR projects, and other areas.

The year 2005 saw her taking on the role of head-corporate human resources, at Lehman Brothers. Till 2007, she was part of the core team responsible for ramping up operations of various Lehman Brothers entities in India.

From January 2007 to October 2010, she was head-human resources, India, Crédit Agricole CIB (Corporate and Investment Bank). During her less than four-year long stint there, she led the HR function for the Corporate and Investment Bank in India spread over six locations.

She served as head-human resources, India and the Middle East, Australia & New Zealand Banking Group, from October 2010 to May 2016.

Her association with MUFG began in May 2016, as head of HR, MUFG Bank India and Sri Lanka. Five years into this role, she was elevated to global HRBP. By April 2022, she had become the global co-head, human resource business partners. In this capacity, she successfully played the lead role in championing and implementing various strategic initiatives aimed at organisational transformation and global alignment, for over two years.

At TIAA—the retirement company founded to help educators retire with dignity, and which went on to become an asset-management firm—she will be focusing on transformation, culture and strategic organisational initiatives.

The post TIAA ropes in Renu Vijayanand as CHRO India appeared first on HR Katha.

An alumnus of Delhi School of Economics, Nagpal began his career as an executive-HR, with Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India, in 1999. A year into this role, he moved to Dell Perot Systems, as manager-corporate HR, head-global C&B and global HR operations. In 2007, he moved on from Dell to join Tech Mahindra as senior manager-recruitment. This stint lasted only about seven months.

September of 2007 saw him joining IBM as deputy general manager and HR head-GBS, IBM South Asia. After two and a half years with IBM, he moved to Huawei Telecommunication (India) Company as general manager-human resources, head-corporate HR. He was based out of Gurgaon for more than four and a half years.

In 2014, he began his association with Samsung Electronics, as general manager. After two promotions, he became senior director, heading corporate HR CoE of total rewards, organisation management, talent management, HR operations, talent acquisition and leadership hiring, talent and sucession mangement for Samsung, South West Asia Region.

This latest promotion to CPO comes after nine years and nine months of his entry into Samsung Electronics.

Nagpal, who holds a BE from Manipal Academy of Higher Education, is known as a meticulous person with immense passion for his job and indepth knowledge of HR.

His 25 years of experience are bound to stand him in good stead in his new role at Samsung. HRKatha wishes him all the best.

The post Rishabh Nagpal elevated to CPO, Samsung Electronics appeared first on HR Katha.

Backed by over three decades of experience, Vijay Sinha moves to JSW from Adani Power, where he had been serving as joint president-HR since Feb 2023, based out of Ahmedabad, Gujarat.

Sinha began his professional journey with Steel Authority of India (SAIL) as manager-HR, in 1993. After a long and successful stint of almost 12 years with SAIL, he moved to RKHS as DGM-HR, in 2005. This stint lasted only over a year, and by August 2007, he moved to Reliance BIG Animation, based out of Pune. Two years into this role, he switched to JSW Energy, as senior vice president-HR. Eight years into this role, he moved to Vijayanagar, Bellary, joining JSW Steel as senior vice president-HR and admin, JSW Steel. Hardly a year and a half later, he was elevated to the position of executive vice president-HR (manufacturing). He spent a good four years and four months with JSW Steel, before joining Adani Power in February 2023, as joint president-HR.

Known to be a very organised and focussed HR person, he is an expert in developing and maintaining relationships. This trait of his will stand him in good stead in his new assignment at JSW.

Sinha has completed an MBA in human resource management/personnel administration, from the Xavier Institute of Management (XIM, Bhubaneshwar)

The post Vijay Sinha is EVP-HR (new businesses), JSW appeared first on HR Katha.

Having started his professional journey with Adecco in 2006, as group account manager, this alumnus of XLRI Jamshedpur has come a long way. He joined Reliance Retail as HRBP for a short stint of over a year, before moving to AHA (Air Hostess Academy) as deputy manager for another short stint in 2007.

He served as business HR for Videocon Telecommunications for a little over a year and a half before switching to Sara International as manager-HR and admin, in 2010.

His next stop was John Keells BPO, as human resource business partner. For a year and eight months, he looked into employee relations investigations, policies and procedures, HR business partnering and• HR automation.

From 2013 to 2015, he was with the UnitedHealth Group, looking after employee relations. For over two years, he was part of the APAC ER team, leading the grievance-redressal mechanism, case management, ethics and compliance-related matters, based out of New Delhi.

His next stop was Delhivery, where he served the longest tenure of his career. He joined as senior manager-HR, in 2015. In this capacity, he developed and deployed policies for ease of administration and ensured uniformity across the organisation. Three months into this role, he was elevated to director-human resources. In 2017, he was promoted yet again, taking on the role of senior director-human resources for over two years. In 2019, he received another promotion and became head-supply chain HRBP. By the time he left Delhivery in 2021, he had attained the position of head-people operations. He was instrumental in scaling up the workforce from 4000 to 42000 across 2300+ cities.

It was in December 2022 that he joined Baazi Games as CHRO. In his latest assignment at Bluwheelz, he will be part of the executive leadership team, leading the people function to drive process-driven scalability. The futuristic, tech-enabled first-mile, mid-mile and last-mile delivery company with an exclusive EV fleet is confident about Prakash’s “robust background“ which equips him to “drive our human resources strategy forward” statess Chanpreet Singh Sethi, co-founder and CEO, Bluwheelz in his LinkedIn post.

The post Pranay Prakash appointed head-HR, Bluwheelz appeared first on HR Katha.

Having completed an MBA in human resource management, from University of Calcutta, in 1996, Srirang joined ICI India as human resources manager. Four years into this role, he decided to work part-time with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), for a little over two years as chairman and as part of the HR sub-committee, western region, from 2014 to 2016.

Srirang’s association with ICICI Bank began in 2001. That means, he spent well over two decades with the financial institution. During his tenure, the Bank won many accolades, including the Best HR Technology Implementation award in 2020, at the Asian Banker Financial Technology Innovation Awards. ICICI Bank was also adjudged the ‘best company to work for’ award (Business Today) in the BFSI space, for four years consecutively.

He was member of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad for over five years, from 2012 to 2017.

He was also board member of IITB-Monash Research Academy for five years, from 2017 to 2021.

From July 2021 to October 2021, he served as national secretary, National HRD Network, based out of Mumbai.

Srirang, who also holds a bachelor’s degree in engineering (industrial engineering) from RV College of Engineering, did his schooling from Kendriya Vidyalaya.

The post Srirang TK, former GCHRO, ICICI Bank, appointed JMD, ICICIdirect appeared first on HR Katha.

In his corporate career of 37 years, Wadhawan worked with many renowned companies such as Coca-Cola, Nokia, Cadence Design Systems, Hewlett-Packard, Duracell and Ranbaxy. He had the opportunity to work across multiple industries and with global teams. These strong inclusive cultures and experiences, in turn, shaped his personality, values and beliefs.

He started his career with Hewlett-Packard as its GM-HR, in the year 1997. As the HR business partner for two vital business units in India, namely Printer & Imaging and Personal Systems, he managed a workforce of over 400 employees.

His primary focus was to ensure seamless HR services delivery to these units through collaboration with the HR central services team and functional experts. Acting as a consultant and facilitator, he also provided strategic and operational guidance to business leaders and managers, enabling them to navigate various challenges effectively.

After five years, in the year 2002, he moved to Cadence Design Systems as its director-HR, for the India region. In the year 2008, he moved to Nokia as its head-HR – services, for India/Global entities. In this capacity, Wadhawan’s key focus was on HR transformation to support business and change management to support business transformation.

In 2010, Wadhawan joined Coca Cola as its VP-HR & services, India & South West Asia. In this role, he led HR and services team for Coca Cola units in India and South West Asia, while also being a senior strategic business partner in the region. In the year 2017, he was elevated to the role of vice president-franchise capability building and business transformation for Coca-Cola India and South West Asia

Wadhawan passed out of XLRI in 1987. He has managed all aspects of HR — employee relations, recruitment and selection, talent development, as well as compensation and benefits — and that too, across industries including IT, telecom, pharmaceuticals and manufacturing.

“I am filled with immense gratitude for this very enriching and rewarding journey. As I take some time off to plan my next steps, I wish each one of you all the very best,” he says in his post

The post Samsung’s SVP & head-HR Sameer Wadhawan to retire appeared first on HR Katha.

BP Biddappa, currently serving as the chief HR officer, global home care, is set to join the HUL management committee as the executive director, human resources, and chief people transformation and sustainability officer for South Asia. Additionally, he will take on the role of a whole-time director on the HUL Board, pending shareholder approval.

In his new capacity, he will spearhead the human resources agenda for South Asia while driving transformation initiatives encompassing business, organisational and sustainability aspects.

Similarly, Anuradha Razdan, currently serving as executive director, human resources, HUL, and chief HR officer for South Asia, will transition to a global position as the chief reward and organisation development officer for Unilever.

This transition is slated to take effect from 1 June, 2024.

Biddappa has been with Unilever for the last almost three decades. After completing an MBA from XLRI, Jamshedpur in 1989, Biddappa joined Deloitte as a consultant for a two-year stint.

His journey with Unilever started in 1992, from Orai in Uttar Pradesh, as a personnel manager. Within the same Group, he moved to multiple cities, both domestic and international, such as Mumbai, Dhaka and Singapore.

During his 27-year long stint at Unilever, Biddappa has held various HR leadership roles. Before going into a global role in 2019, he led the HR function for* India the Company*, as the executive director-HR, HUL and VP-HR, Unilever South Asia.

In 2019, Anuradha Razdan took over from Biddappa as executive director- HR at HUL and moved into a global role. She has had a two decade long stint with HUL, right from her management trainee days in May, 1999. Prior to her escalation to this new role, she donned the hat of VP-HR, Unilever and was based out of London, UK.

She holds an MBA from XLRI, Jamshedpur.

The post Hindustan Unilever announces key management committee changes appeared first on HR Katha.

Dutta, who holds an MBA from the Xavier Institute of Management (XIM) Bhubaneshwar, started her career with TVRLS, in 2002. She served as associate consultant at this behavioiur systems company for a short stint in Ahmedabad before moving to EXL Service as trainer for just over two years, in Noida.

In 2004, she landed the role of assistant manager, Idea Cellular, which brought her to Hyderabad. In this role, she was responsible for performance management, on-boarding and training and development for the Andhra Circle of Idea Cellular.

Her next stop was GE Capital in 2005, when she took on the role of VP-human resources, based out of Gurgaon. After a successful seven year-tenure at GE Capital, she switched to Walmart in 2013.

As the lead-talent management, HRBP for HR and engagement at Walmart, she managed to lead the overall talent strategy for the organization in addition to playing the HRBP for HR and driving employee engagement. She ensured that talent capability, strengths and gaps were identified with actions taken for critical roles post de-merger of Bharti and Walmart.

The year 2014 saw her joining Vodafone as head-performance management. Based out of Mumbai, she enabled fair and transparent performance decisions and drove quality performance dialogue for over two years. She was then elevated to the position of circle HR head, Karnataka in 2016.

In 2018, she was VP-talent management, Vodafone Idea. It was in February 2020 that she joined Kotak Mahindra Bank, Mumbai.

Her unparalleled ability to understand difficult situations and act accordingly will stand her in good stead in her new role at Bajaj Housing Finance. HRKatha wishes her all the best.

The post Sayantani Dutta appointed CHRO, Bajaj Housing Finance appeared first on HR Katha.

Prior to this, Piyush served as the director- human resources at Jubilant Pharmova. In this capacity, he oversaw HR operations while providing strategic HR initiatives in talent management, innovation, change management, while partnering business deliverables.

Talking to HRKatha on his current role, Misra said, “Excited taking this new role for this growing organisation, leveraging my past experience in Pharmaceutical industry.” He will be based at Corporate office in Mohali, driving strategic HR intervention for the entire group. 

Prior to his role at Jubilant Pharmova, Misra led HR teams at Lupin and Panacea Biotec. With his extensive background, he has honed his skills in various aspects of human resources, including talent management, communication strategies, employer branding and fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.

In an official posting, the company also expressed their excitement about Misra joining their team, extending a warm welcome and looking forward to the journey ahead.

The post Piyush Misra joins Acme Generics as group head-HR appeared first on HR Katha.

An alumna of Anna University Chennai from where she completed an MBA in human resources and finance, Shankar is a commerce graduate from Bharathiar University.

Shankar co-founded 4th Dimension—a training and marketing startup focused on helping clients increase their sales through targeted promotions, events and branding—in May 2008. Then, after a short stint as management trainee with AATHMA, associated with Ma Foi Consultancy Solutions, she joined TUV Rheinland Group as training executive. Less than two years into this role, she switched to Cognizant Technology Solutions, in 2011.

For the next three years, as HR talent partner at Cognizant Technology Solutions, she successfully handled human resource talent management activities across different stages of the employee life cycle from entry to exit for 600 employees.

In 2014, she joined Mindtree as HR business partner. There, she supported 800 employees as HR business partner. Among other responsibilities, she planned the talent management and employee engagement activities. She partnered with managers to retain, develop and motivate people to achieve their fullest potential. She also worked with business groups and leaders to assess, create and implement innovative solutions for diverse employee-engagement initiatives for a year and a half.

From 2015 to 2017, she was associated with Brillio as global lead-learning and organisation development. She was responsible for designing and implementing the competency framework for Brillio, globally. Less than two years later, she switched to Paladion, as AVP and global head of HR. During her stint of over two years there, she enabled the organisation to become a brand of choice to work for and work with.

Her next stop was MiQ, a programmatic media partner for marketers and agencies, where she served as senior manager-talent management for a little less than two years.

From 2021 to 2022, she served as director-people success at Y Media Labs, before joining Saskatchewan Government Insurance or SGI in October 2022, based out of Toronto, Canada.

The post Sahana Shankar is head of India HR, Duck Creek Technologies appeared first on HR Katha.

Prior to this, Suri was serving many edtech companies as an HR lead. Over the eight months at Edology, her tasks included designing organisational structures, conducting job evaluations, and performing product mapping. Similarly, in a four-month stint at an Indian plastic manufacturing company, her responsibilities involved designing organisational structures and implementing a performance system. Lastly, during the five months at upGrad, her contributions included assisting in the integration of newly-acquired companies into upGrad’s processes and policies.

The first stint of her career was with Positive Moves, as research associate. She spent over two years there before moving to Randstad, as consultant client -relations and delivery, in 2005. Over two years into this role, she shifted to XL Insurance as HR specialist, where she completed a successful tenure of over three years.

She joined the insurance company in 2007. There she managed approximately 4000 employees and about 60 offices in Africa, Asia, Europe, North America and South America. She was also responsible for driving organisation development, recruitments, reward and recognition, performance management and internal communication.

Her next stop was Kohler, where she joined as partner– HR, for its commercial kitchen and bath products. She joined the company in 2010, and managed the role for close to six years.

In 2016, she joined GUS Global Services as its director-human resources, for close to six years. In October 2021, she joined LIXIL Asia, as its leader-HR India & Subcontinent, for about five months.

Her expertise lies in talent management, engagement and development, and building employee value propositions for diverse workforces.

Her 21 years of experience in strategic HR business partnering in varied industries such as consulting, services, manufacturing, and education sectors will stand her in good stead in her new assignment at Kimbal Technologies.

The post Kimbal Technologies names Jaya Suri as CHRO appeared first on HR Katha.

The 39-year old Misra has been helping to build the public affairs function at Truecaller since since 2021.

An alumna of the International Management Institute (IMI), from where she completed her MBA, she also holds a diploma in bargaining and negotiations from The London School of Economics and Political Science.

She was co-founder and CEO of MBA Insoft from 2008 to 2013, based out of Delhi. The IT services company provides ERP and consulting solutions to SMEs in the retail, hospitality and education sectors. She helped grow the client base to over 35 customers including big names such as the Birla Group, Adidas, Hard Rock Café and Jindal Steel.

Misra was appointed assistant manager, markets team, EY, in 2013, based out of Gurugram.

A year and a half later, she moved to Royal Danish Embassy, as sector head-lifesciences and transport. She played a significant role in improving trade from Danish private and/or public enterprises to India and South Asia.

The year 2018 saw Misra playing the role of communications manager at WhatsApp Inc . She was WhatsApp’s first India hire. She played a significant role in formulating the communications strategy for the ‘WhatsApp story’ by framing and conveying WhatsApp’s brand proposition. Among other responsibilities, she handled complex product announcements and managed numerous crisis cycles by engaging with journalists and key stakeholders to convey the firm’s stance and preserve its brand values.

Three years later, in 2021, she joined Truecaller as director, public affairs. Her hiring is a step towards OpenAI’s expansion in India.

The post Pragya Misra first to be part of OpenAI team India appeared first on HR Katha.

Singh brings to the table more than two decades of experience, having started her professional journey way back in 1997.

Early on in her career, Kaur worked with Tata AIG General Insurance Co. as manager-human resources for four and a half years, from 1997 to 2001. Her next assignment in March 2007 took her to Singapore when she joined Intralearn Software as senior manager-HR, admin and accounts.

From 2007 to 2010, she was associated with SIM Technologies as AGM HR & administration for over three years, based out of Mumbai.

In 2011, she switched to Lovely Professional University where she served as associate director-human resources for a little less than two years, based out of Phagwara, Punjab.

Her next stop was Mercedes-Benz-Trinity Motors in 2013. Her designation was general manager-human resources and compliance. This role saw her working out of Pune. During this stint, she received the HR Excellence Award for Highest retention of employees 2016 pan India.

It was in 2019 that she relocated to Delhi when she joined Mercedes-Benz Silver Arrows as GM-HR, completing a tenure of over four years.

Presently pursuing a doctorate in business management, human resource management and services from Rushford Business School, she holds a postgraduate degree in educational psychology from Karnataka State Open University. She has also completed an MBA from National Institute of Management Solutions in 2006.

The post Harleen Kaur takes on CHRO role at APEX Acreages appeared first on HR Katha.

An alumnus of Management Development Institute, Gurugram, Shekhar has done short stints with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Mercer in the initial years of his professional journey.

From 2013 to 2015, he worked with Vodafone as assistant manager-human resources. He then moved to Micromax Informatics as deputy manager-human resources for less than a year.

He joined Amazon as HR business partner in 2016. This assignment took him to Pune. Less than four years into this role, he was elevated to the position of senior HR business partner. This role gave him an opportunity to further hone his skills in the areas of staff retention, HR strategy, coaching, employee learning and development, employee engagement, stakeholder management, strategic thinking, multitasking, interpersonal communication, as well as labour and employment law among other aspects of HR.

It was in September 2021 that he moved to Cashfree Payments as director-HR.

Shekhar holds a BE in electrical and electronics engineering from Manipal Academy of Higher Education.

He took to LinkedIn to express his excitement at joining India Today and used the opportunity to thank his mentors at Cashfree.

The post Navendu Shekhar named head HR at India Today appeared first on HR Katha.

An alumna of the Xavier Institute of Social Service, Burman has also completed an HR executive programme in HRM and services, from the University of Michigan.

The first stint of her career was with Hindustan Motors, as deputy manager – HR. She spent eight years there before moving to JayaShree Textiles, Grasim Industries, as human resources development manager, in 2004. Nine months into this role, she shifted to Indian Oil tanking as senior HR manager, where she completed a successful tenure of almost three years.

Her next stop was Orica, where she joined as head – HR, for little less than four years.

It was in 2012 that she first became part of Unilever’s UHRM, based out of Kolkata, for a little over two years.

The year 2014 saw her in Lexmark, as country human resources manager. In 2016, she moved on to Haldia Petrochemicals, as senior general manager and head corporate HR. After a year and eight months, she was back in Unilever.

In August 2022, she was elevated to the position of interim HR director, Unilever Srilanka and category HR head South Asia – Beauty Wellbeing and Personal Care Business Group.

Her 27 years of experience in strategic HR business partnering in varied industries such as FMCG, IT product development, automobiles, textiles, oil & gas engineering services, mining products and services, as well as telecom will stand her in good stead in her new assignment at Godrej Industries.

HRKatha wishes her all the best.

The post Poonam Burman takes on CHRO role at Godrej Industries (Chemicals) appeared first on HR Katha.

Prior to this, Aggarwal was associated with Airtel, as its lead-learning and talent management. She joined the company in February 2022. As the talent and learning lead for all B2B employees across levels in India, her responsibilities included crafting development plans, conceptualising functional and behavioural learning charters, and overseeing high-potential development initiatives.

Additionally, Aggarwal served as the National HR business partner for enterprise sales and customer experience teams. This involved managing the entire employee lifecycle and spearheading projects related to learning and career management.

With a career spanning 13 years in human resources management, Aggarwal arrives with a rich reservoir of knowledge and expertise garnered from her tenure at esteemed organisations such as InterGlobe Hotels, The Indian Express and Franklin Templeton Investments.

With exceptional communication skills, Aggarwal’s expertise lies in training and development, performance management and employee relations with a sound theoretical knowledge in various HR concepts.

Her appointment has been warmly welcomed by Ajay Trehan, founder and CEO of AuthBridge, who expressed confidence in Aggarwal’s ability to drive HR initiatives and nurture a culture of growth within the organisation.

Eager to embark on this new journey, Payal articulates her enthusiasm to collaborate with the dynamic team at AuthBridge. In her LinkedIn post, she emphasises her commitment to cultivating a culture of innovation and excellence that empowers employees and propels AuthBridge towards unprecedented success

The post AuthBridge gets Payal Aggarwal as VP-HR appeared first on HR Katha.

Kulshreshta started off his professional journey with ENERCON, as HR trainee and went on to become officer-human resources, based out of Daman. In 2005, he joined Vodafone Essar as HR operations. A year into this role, he was elevated to talent acquisition specialist. By 2010, he became HR business partner. After a successful six-year tenure with Vodafone, he moved to Bharti AXA Life Insurance in 2011, as regional HR manager-Gujarat. Within four months he was promoted to the role of regional HR manager-Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. This role saw him responsible for the human capital of over 14 branches and more than 300 employees.

In 2012, he joined Reliance Brands as HRBP and head-COE. This role saw him based out of Mumbai till 2014.

Kulshreshtha’s next stop was Calvin Klein, in 2014, which brought him to Bengaluru. For the next three years he drove the people agenda, institutionalised the HR and training calendar and ensured lowest attrition across retail and corporate teams, as head –HR * training (Arvind Fashions).

By the time he moved on from ARvind FAshions, he had become head-HR and training-Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger.

His next switch took him to Barbeque Nation Hospitality, where he was head-HR and training at the casual dining chain for over two years.

It was in January 2021 that he joined Nykaa, the beauty and fashion e-commerce platform, heading employee experience and tech-HR (CoE), HRBP (people and culture), well-being, HR communication.

Kulshreshtha holds an MBA from Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda and has studied EDP, people analytics from XLRI Jamshedpur.

Known to be a dynamic and enterprising HR professional, his skills are sure to be an asset in his latest assignment at Livspace.

The post Sulabh Kulshreshtha moves from Nykaa to Livspace, as head-HR appeared first on HR Katha.

An alumna of the Faculty of Management Studies, University of Delhi, Roy completed her postgraduation from Jawaharlal Nehru University.

She started out as a management trainee with National Aluminium Company, going on to be junior manager-HR in her two and a half year tenure there.

In 1996, she joined Bharti Telecom as corporate manager-HR. By the time she moved on from there after a successful stint of over seven years, she had become head-HR.

From 2004 to 2006, she was first senior manager (HR-Corp.) and later head(HR)-retail, at HCL Technologies. She effectively lead the implementation of competency assessment for software engineers and managers. During this period, she herself was a soft-skills trainer. As head (HR) for retail (Gurugram), she was responsible for all start-to-end functionalities of HR.

In 2006, she moved to Bentley Systems, where she was head(HR), India and South-East Asia. For three years, she was responsible for complete HR functionality from recruitment to separation.

Her next stop was Piccadily Group of Industries, in 2011. This was a very short stint that saw her essaying the role of director-human resources.

In September 2011, she moved yet again to HRG-Sita (Kuoni Business Travel India), as HRBP (head-HR). There, she looked after strategic HR, and was also a core member of Kuoni’s Global eHRM project team. For almost two years she was based out of NCR. The year 2013 saw her move to Mumbai, to join Kuoni Travel Group, as head-HR. For the next one year she divided her time between Mumbai and NCR.

From February 2015 to April 2019, she was chief people officer,India for SRL Diagnostics, a 100 per cent subsidiary of the Fortis Group.

She founded Wind Beneath the Wings Venture in May 2019 and was chief consultant for over five years.

Known for her leadership quality, she is also admired for her writing skills and vocabulary. HRKatha wishes her all the best in her latest assignment at Valeur Fabtex.

The post Debjani Roy is new CHRO, Valeur Fabtex appeared first on HR Katha.

Mehta began his professional journey with Rallis India, way back in 1993. He spent over two years there, initially as executive-HR and then as assistant manager-HR, based out of Anklesvar, Gujarat.

In 1995, he joined Crompton Greaves, as personnel executive, for a little over four years, working out of Mandideep, Madhya Pradesh.

The year 1999 saw him taking up the role of executive-HR, at Guardian Industries. Four years into this role he switched to Asian Paints. There, he was initially essaying the role of manager-HR and then later, senior manager-HR.

His next stop was General Motors, in 2007, when he joined as general manager-HR. Two years into this role, he was promoted to the position of director-human resources by 2015, for five years and seven months.

From October 2015 to December 2018, Mehta was with Reliance Industries, as senior vice president and head-HR (refining business cluster). This role saw him working out of Jamnagar.

It was in December 2018 that he relocated to Mumbai, to join JSW Energy, as EVP and head-HR.

His colleagues consider him a very dependable and trustworthy leader who has always been respected by his employees. His honesty and his candid nature will prove to be an asset in his latest assignment at Uno Minda, a company that manufactures motor vehicle parts.

The post Uno Minda hires Rakesh Mehta for CHRO role appeared first on HR Katha.

Singh has spent over nine years of his professional career at Reliance Industries, where he served as head-human resources (HRBP) from 2006 to 2015, based out of Mumbai. There, he looked into human resource management, recruitment, training, employee development, employee engagement, team management, event management, IR&PR issues, Liaison and so on. For over three years after that, he freelanced as an HR consultant and policy advisor, based out of Jaipur.

He joined JCPL, as head-HR, in December 2018. He headed the HR/IR and administration function for the furniture division for the next two years.

In January 2021, he moved to the VGL Group, where he was HR-head, VGL India for a year, again based out of Jaipur. During his short stint there, he successfully created the multidisciplinary COVID task force to lend support to the employees and their families.

It was in January 2022 that he joined Vinayak Jewels as general manager-HR/IR/admin.

Singh is known to be very specific and articulate in his communication and has the ability to address problem areas with extreme finesse. Those who have had the good fortune of being mentored by him vouch for his knowledge of human psychology and ability to motivate.

An alumnus of Savitribai Phule University, he has completed a senior leadership programme from XLRI Jamshedpur.

HRKatha wishes him all the best in his latest assignment at Shriram General Insurance.

The post Arun Kumar Singh has joined Shriram General Insurance as head-HR appeared first on HR Katha.

Till now he was joint general manager –HR, L&T Defence. For more than two and a half years, he was responsible for managing the HR function for the defence business. In this role, he was formulating HR strategy, change management and strategy deployment to build and nurture winning teams.

Rai’s association with Larsen & Toubro (L&T) began in 1998, when he joined as a fresher in the cement division. By the time he left, almost seven years later, in 2005, he was senior executive-HR.

He then moved to Samtel Colour, as assistant manager-HR. For eight months, he was looking into basic HR system formulation for green field plant with focus on the right kind of manpower to build a desired culture aligning with the vision of the company.

His next stop was Goodyear India, where, as a manager, he handled plant HR operations with focus on improvement of manpower availability and productivity. This stint lasted just a year.

From 2007 to 2010, he was general manager-HR, BSES Rajdhani Power.

His next stop was L&T Special Steels & Heavy Forgings, in February 2010. This role required him to acquire talent for green field plant and set up a robust system of contract manpower and build a team of highly engaged people

In April 2016, he became plant HR head of L&T Defence, where he was responsible for all plant HR (including talent acquisition, performance management system, training and organisational development) and industrial relations and contract manpower management. This role saw him based out of the Strategic System Complex,Talegaon,Pune.

April 2018 to August 2021, he was unit HR head, L&T Defence Hazira Manufacturing Complex. This role saw him working out of Surat, Gujarat for over three years.

In September 2021, he was back in Mumbai, as joint general manager-HR, L&T Defence.

Now, in his latest assignment at L&T Precision Engineering and Systems, he will be responsible for HR and ER operations, as well as strategy formulation and implementation for Defence IC.

Known to be a meticulous, highly energetic and committed HR person, Rai’s 24 years of experience will stand him in good stead in this new role.

The post Santosh Rai appointed head-HR, L&T, Precision Engineering and Systems appeared first on HR Katha.

He’ll be responsible for the welfare of more than 5000 employees, encompassing both full-time and contractual roles across various business functions.

Chakraborty transitions to Anmol Industries from his previous role as the HR head for the East Zone at Bajaj Allianz, where he served diligently for four years, from 2020 to 2024.

With a rich tapestry of experience spanning over 18 years in HR, Chakraborty brings a wealth of expertise from diverse sectors including banking, insurance and telecom. His professional journey includes valuable stints with Tata Group, HSBC, Airtel and ICICI Bank.

Renowned for his good listening skills, he’s a people’s person who connects effortlessly.
His skill set encompasses a broad spectrum of HR functions, ranging from talent acquisition and talent management to strategic HR business partnering (HRBP).

Furthermore, his proficiency extends to plant HR, factory HR, succession planning, recruitment processes oversight, HR/IR within manufacturing setups, employee engagement, human resources information systems (HRIS), performance management, workforce planning, compensation benefits, total rewards, HR consulting, HR analytics, HR policies formulation, HR AOP budgeting, HR digitisation, leadership development, executive coaching, change management, diversity inclusion (DEI), organisation development (OD) and pivotal digital HR transformation initiatives.

Chakraborty holds an MBA from Bhavan’s Institute of Management Science.

As a C-suite executive, he is always eager to learn, grow, and contribute to the HR community and the industry, as per his socials.

The post Anmol Industries gets Abhijit Chakraborty as CHRO appeared first on HR Katha.

Her focus will be on advancing HR technology, identifying and nurturing promising talent, managing succession planning, supporting projects to enhance effectiveness for Generation AI, ensuring proper governance of HRD processes, and promoting a cohesive culture at [24]7.ai.

Nair’s association with the company goes back 2003, when she first joined as its manager–training in April. Nine months into this role, she was promoted to general manager-learning and development in Dec. 2003. In 2006, she was then elevated to the role of vice president-L&D for India.

In the year 2007, Nair was elevated to the role of vice president-HRD for India.

A little over four years into this role, in 2011, Nair moved to Indian Institute of Human Settlements, an institution dedicated to sustainable urban development, as its chief people officer (CPO). She also served on the board of trustees for the Live Love Laugh Foundation, an NGO focused on mental health awareness, from 2015 to 2018.

In 2017, she returned to [24]7.ai and joined as its senior vice president and HRD head for India & Americas. Nair was instrumental in developing human resource development strategies for the organisation.

Prior to her corporate career, Nair spent 13 years as an educator, positively impacting the lives of students.

She holds a post-graduate degree in Economics from Annamalai University.

Welcoming Nair and speaking on the recent appointment, Animesh Jain, chief operating officer, [24]7.ai pointed out how her “new leadership role is closely aligned with our vision for the organisation’s future. ” He is confident that her experience “will drive our company toward continued success in the area of HRD.”

The post [24]7.ai elevates Nina Nair to CHRO-global BPO business appeared first on HR Katha.

About two years ago, Tanwar was briefly associated with Invest Value Fintech and Invest4Edu for seven months, in 2022, as lead human resources, based out of Gurugram.

Tanwar, who holds an MBA in human resources and service operations, from ITM Group of Institutions, began her professional journey with IIFL as a human resource coordinator in 2013. By March 2015, she had been elevated to the position of human resource manager-recruitment and employee engagement. For the next one year and ten months, she was handling business HR for the retail broking business, based out of Mumbai. In 2016, she was promoted once again, to the post of HR business partner. She essayed this role for two and a half years, before being promoted yet again. This time, she became the talent acquisition lead and HR business partner. This role saw her working out of Gurugram.

The year 2020 was witness to Tanwar joining IndusInd as talent engagement and experience partner. For the next over one and a half years, her skills including those pertaining to organisational culture, succession planning, talent acquisition, leadership, employer branding, human resources, technical recruiting, organisational effectiveness, teamwork, leadership development, HR transformation and team management were put to test. It was in June 2022 that she joined Invest Value Fintech and Invest4Edu as lead-human resources.

Known to manage her work with precision, her pleasing personality and keen interest to learn the nuances of the business are amongst her strengths.

Tanwar has excitedly shared the news of her latest assignment at Invest Value Fintech & Invest4Edu as chief people officer, on social media. In her own words, she “can’t wait to get started” at the education planning and study abroad consultancy.

The post Invest4Edu appoints Hemika Tanwar as chief people officer appeared first on HR Katha.

An alumna of XLRI Jamshedpur, Kapoor holds a BA (Hons) degree in Math from MMV, Banaras Hindu University.

Kapoor began her career at Reliance Industries as an HR generalist, in the year 1998. For two years at Reliance, she managed 400 people in treasury, finance, excise and procurement functions. In 1999, she was elevated to the role of executive assistant-HR and reported to Mukesh Ambani, till May 2000.

She joined Headstrong, in 2000, as its head-people development. In this capacity, she was responsible for providing software solutions to leading investment banks. She managed to grow the division significantly from 10 employees to 1500 in six years. Furthermore, she was the project leader for implementation of People Capability Maturity Model (PCMM) in India.

In 2006, Kapoor joined JP Morgan as its VP-HR. That was the longest tenure of Kapoor’s career. At JP Morgan, she spearheaded crucial initiatives such as leading APAC learning and development for investment banking, serving as the Bangalore site HR leader, and driving talent identification and development agendas.

Furthermore, she played a pivotal role in fostering diversity and inclusion through initiatives such as Women In Networking (WIN), partnering with senior management to define India-specific strategies aligned with global HR strategies and JPM culture.

After spending six years with JP Morgan, she moved to Randstad in August 2018 for a stint that lasted over five years.

Known to be a diligent and committed HR professional, talent acquisition and management, business excellence applications, OD and change management, PMS, employee engagement and HR analytics are her forte.

“Back to a full time enabling role and looking forward to playing a small part in realising the big vision of Reimagining Higher Education,” Kapoor shares on social media, announcing her new role.

The post Plaksha University gets Nimrata Randhawa Kapoor as CHRO appeared first on HR Katha.

In the initial years of her career, Popli worked as the executive-HR with EY, based out of New Delhi. Three years into this role, in 2006, she moved to Grand Thornton India, as manager-HR.

In this capacity, she spearheaded the company’s strategic and functional responsibilities for all the HR disciplines across India. Her key responsibilities include policy development for performance management, employee compensation plan, talent acquisition road map, budgeting and forecasting.

Over four years into this role, in 2010, Popli moved to KPMG as manager-people and change. For over two years, she managed the company’s HR process redesigning, off-shore RPO planning and development, organisation design, and HR due diligence. Her primary responsibility was to work directly at client locations to support HR strategy implementation and leading teams of professionals.

The period 2013 to 2017 saw her essaying the role of global head-HR, The Smart Cube. She also did short stints with Future Group as its head-people office (2018-2019), and Moglix, as its head-HR, from 2019-2020.

An alumna of Jesus & Mary College, Delhi University, she also holds a post-graduate degree in human resources from Infinity Business School.

The post Nisha Popli is the new head-HR, Tata Trusts appeared first on HR Katha.

Having completed MSc in Psychology from Annamalai University, in 2009, Kulkarni obtained an MBA in e-business and human resources, from Welingkar Institute of Management before beginning her professional journey with Piramal Enterprises, as manager-HR.

In 2007, she joined BIGAnimation as manager-HR for a year and four months.

Her next stop was Credit Suisse, where she was HR business advisor, for a little less than two years, based out of Pune.

The year 2011 saw her taking on the position of HR manager, IBM India, working out of Bengaluru. A little over three years into this role, she moved again. This time, she joined Dell as HR business partner. The next two years saw her handling HR business development for Dell Services HCLS vertical ,globally as well as APJ, across all verticals.

In 2017, Kulkarni switched to DXC Technology as human capital consultant. Four years later, she was elevated to the position of HR lead GIDC India-Modern Workplace and Europe.

Her association with Arcolab began in 2021, where she was managing the HR charter for the GCC and handling HR operations for six group companies.

Known to be a passionate HR professional, proactive leader and prolific speaker, Kulkarni is said to be forever brimming with new ideas. Her ability to innovate in the most mundane tasks, will prove to be an asset in her latest assignment at Kraft Heinz. Here, she will be responsible for end to end HR Lifecyle at the India GCC for the global food and beverage company.

The post Priyanka Kulkarni is now HR head, India, Kraft Heinz appeared first on HR Katha.

Armed with an MBA in finance from IBA, University of Dhaka, Hosne-Ara began her professional journey as a management trainee with Unilever Bangladesh, for the toilet soaps division before being appointed as brand manager, Lifebuoy, in 2000. In April 2002, she was elevated to senior brand manager, Household Care and Lifebuoy portfolio. Three years and seven months into this role, she was promoted yet again, to product manager, Hair Care, in 2005.

After a tenure of over eight years with Unilever Bangladesh, Hosne-Ara was appointed product group manager, skin cleansing, Unilever, in 2009.

By 2010, she had become human resource business partner, Unilever, based out of Dhaka.

The year 2014 saw her accepting the role of head of human resources, Bangladesh, for Philip Morris International.

In 2016, she moved to New Delhi, as director, people and culture, Philip Morris International, India. For the next five years, she was involved in human resource strategy development, deployment of key products and services from HR, and offering consulting support to optimise human capital in the organisation in order to build competitive advantage through people.

In September 2021, she moved back to Dhaka, joining Novartis, as country head.

The post Loma Hosne-Ara is the new HR director, Nestle Bangladesh appeared first on HR Katha.

Bhasin has moved to STEER from Tata Coffee, where he was heading HR for the firm’s Instant Coffee Division, since 2017.

An alumnus of XLRI Jamshedpur, Bhasin spent the initial four years of his career with FCC-CCL Joint Venture, as site lead-HR. In 2005, he joined Panacea Biotech as plant HR, where he was an active member of the green field project team, and responsible for manpower planning and mass recruitment. A year later, in 2006, he switched to Johnson & Johnson, as plant human resource manager, based out of Chandigarh.

The year 2011 saw him move to GlaxoSmithKline as plant human resources manager, working out of Patiala. A year and a half later, he moved again. This time he joined Britannia Industries, Delhi. After four years of heading HR for the bread business, as regional HR manager-North, he was elevated to the role of head-total rewards, in 2015, based out of Bengaluru. For the next year and a half, he worked to balance the reward opportunities available to employees, aligning them with the organisation’s goals, budgets and expectations.

In 2017, Bhasin took on the role of head-HR, Tata Coffee, where he successfully partnered with business heads at a strategic level in the areas of workforce management, development and productivity to optimise workforce utilisation in global operations.

After spending a little less than seven years at Tata Coffee, Bhasin has now joined STEER, where he will be responsible for the company’s worldwide human capital strategy and operations; talent management; inclusion; safety; and compensation and benefits.

He will be part of the executive leadership team reporting to TN Hari, executive chairman of STEER World.

Bhasin looks forward to being “a catalyst in further building on the STEER World culture while keeping its high-performing employees at the core.” He hopes to ”strengthen and drive growth in the exciting times ahead.”

TN Hari, executive chairman, STEER World is confident that Bhasin’s, “wealth of experience and strategic acumen will play a pivotal role” at a time when STEER is “poised to create several deep-tech companies” in the materials sciences technologies space from India, with human capital sure to “play a very strategic role at this stage of growth”.

Founded in 1993, STEER World has five global offices, and is committed to the design, creation and implementation of advanced materials platform technology that effectively transforms and functionalises materials in the field of pharmaceuticals, plastics, food and nutraceuticals, biomaterials and biorefining.

The post STEER World announces appointment of Ajay Bhasin as group CHRO appeared first on HR Katha.

Vardhman Group is a vertically integrated textile manufacturer with multiple production facilities across India. The company headquartered in Ludhiana Punjab, India, manufactures and trades in yarn and processed fabric, sewing thread, acrylic fibre and alloy steel.

Prior to this, Thakur was associated with Omya, a global industry mineral producer, as its director-HR for the South Asia region. He joined the company in the year 2021.

Thakur is a distinguished HR professional with career spanning diverse industries including multinationals (MNCs), oil & gas, petrochemicals, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, drugs, fertilisers, retail, wholesale, cash and carry operations. Furthermore, he has served across many corporate offices in Asia Pacific, the Middle East and India.

He has also worked with several renowned companies during his professional journey such as Aarti Industries, Alam Group and Reliance Industries.

He began his journey with Reliance Industries in the year 2007 as its unit lead-business transformation. As the management representative (MR), his responsibilities included overseeing periodic reviews of knowledge, skills, awareness, and maintaining records of training schedules. In the year 2011, he served as the centre of excellence (CoE), overseeing the performance management system (PMS) of group support services.

In the year 2012, he was elevated to the role of manager-corporate HR at the company. In this capacity, he was extensively involved in various aspects of e-Learning, strategies and content development. His role also encompassed the creation of e-Learning materials such as web-based trainings (WBTs), instructor-led trainings (ILTs), and computer-based trainings (CBTs).

Renowned for navigating complex organisational landscapes and fostering effective working relationships at all levels, Thakur has been instrumental in spearheading successful HR initiatives. As a forward-thinking HR leader, he is passionate about creating a positive work culture, nurturing talent, and fostering an inclusive environment.

The post Aakash Thakur is the new VP-corporate HR at Vardhman Group appeared first on HR Katha.

Schramm, who holds a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Washington State University, began her professional journey as human resource generalist with Qpass, in 1997. Five years later, she moved to Amazon.com as head of talent acquisition, AWS. During her four-year tenure there, she developed foundational recruiting procedures, the MBA college recruiting programme and the company’s DEI strategies.

From 2006 to 2015, she was associated with Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, as deputy director-human resource business partner, country programmes. For the next nine years, she designed and implemented HR strategies to accelerate global expansion of the Foundation into Europe, Asia and Africa.

It was in 2015 that she joined Google’s Mountain View, California office, as director-HRBP, Google Technical Services. Four years into this role, she was elevated to the role of senior director – HRBP, global advisory functions. For the next two yearsw, among other responsibilities, she directed the transformation of global functions aligned with organisational expansion and complexity. The year 2021 saw her promoted to the position of vice president-people strategy(innovation). In this role, she successfully established the people and innovation team to drive multi-year strategy, implementing programmes globally.

In her latest assignment at F5, she will be responsible for driving people strategy that supports F5’s purpose to help bring a better digital world to life and position the company for continued growth. The multi-cloud application services and security company has its India office located in Hyderabad.

The post Lyra Schramm has joined F5 as EVP & CPO appeared first on HR Katha.

Kulhari, who has worked as Infoscion, Infosys for almost 12 years, from 2005 to 2016, joined EXL in October 2016. She took on the role of global human resources business partner, which she successfully essayed for a little less than three years.

Her next stop was Coforge in 2019. She joined as senior vice president-human resources. A little over three years into this role, she was elevated to the position of executive vice president-human resources. Less than two years later, another promotion came her way, which made her chief people officer. This role saw her based out of Princeton, New Jersey, for a year, from May 2023 to April 2024.

Known to be a detail-oriented professional with a strategic mindset, she is sure to be an asset to Unisys.

Her expertise lies in organisational design, staffing, training & development, succession planning, retention, employee relations, coaching, work flow designs as well as providing input on short and long-term business and HR strategy, implementation, and metrics.

An alumna of Savitribai Phule Pune University, Kulhari holds a diploma in organisational change management from Harvard Business School.

The post Ruchi Kulhari is new CHRO, Unisys appeared first on HR Katha.

He will continue to shoulder the responsibilities of CHRO, that is, all aspects of HR such as training and development, recruitment, resource management, as well as talent marketing and management. He has been successfully helping drive a culture for 90,000+ employees that embraces diversity and inclusion across all operations.

This alumnus from XLRI Jamshedpur, from where he obtained his MBA in personnel management and industrial relations, holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics from Hansraj College.

In the initial years of his professional journey, Mehta held multiple roles in HR at Hindustan Lever, from 1992 to 1997. He spent two years at AT&T as HR director, India. After leading end-to-end processes across all aspects of human capital management from 1997 to 1999, he moved to PepsiCo, as director-organisational capability,Asia Pacific. For the next two years, he partnered with the business to diagnose, design and deploy strategic learning solutions.

It was in 2001 that he joined Genpact.

As a key member of the Genpact leadership council, in the two decades that Mehta has spent at the company, he has contributed to a wide variety of areas involving people management in both business and corporate roles, including employee relations, organisation capability, integration of mergers and acquisitions, technology-led transformation and managing the HR function for profit-and-loss businesses and geographies. In 2005, he was elevated to the role of CHRO, and was an active member of the team that took the company private (as a spin off from GE).

HRKatha wishes him all the luck in shouldering the additional responsibilities that come with his latest promotion.

The post Genpact’s CHRO, Piyush Mehta elevated to country manager appeared first on HR Katha.

Managing a workforce of over 12,000 employees, Mohapatra will ensure smooth operation and coordination of the teams across departments and functions within the company. He will also spearhead the company’s growth as its business head.

Prior to assuming this new role, Mohapatra served as the vice president and head-central HR and chief diversity officer of the company. He joined Maruti Suzuki in the year 2023.

Before his journey began with Maruti, Mohapatra was associated with Siemens for over 16 years. He joined the company in the year 2011 as its head compensation and benefits, global mobility, HR M&A. After six years into this role, he was elevated to the role of VP-HR and country manager, in 2018. In this capacity, he served as the manager of HR expert teams (talent acquisition, learning, people & leadership, HR systems) in South Asia.

After a year, Mohapatra was promoted to the role of VP and head people & organisation, which he held for a good four years.

With a career spanning over two decades, his professional experience also includes roles at Atos, Siemens Technology India, Indian Oil Corporation and Tata Communications (VSNL). Furthermore, his extensive experience spreads across automobile, telecom, Oil & Gas, engineering and IT.

Mohapatra holds an LLB degree from Utkal University and an MA in personnel management and industrial relations.

Expressing his enthusiasm, Mohapatra announced the news of his promotion on LinkedIn.

The post Maruti Suzuki elevates Satish Mohapatra as EVP and corporate HR appeared first on HR Katha.

In the initial years of her career, Close was the director of corporate planning, director of customer service/IT at University Health Network, based out of Toronto, Canada. Six years into this role, in 2005, she moved to Innovation Value Institute as chair, technical committee.

Her association with the Boston Consulting Group began in 2014, as marketing partner for technology advantage practice. A little less than three years into this role, she was elevated to global lead, digital and big data in healthcare. This role saw her based out of London. From 2016 to 2019, she was regiona practice area leader-technology advantage, where she put her skills in communication, organizational development, leadership development, coaching and team building.

The period 2018 to 2022 saw her essaying the role of partner and managing director and global leader, technology advantage. Since September 2023, she has been the managing director and senior partner, vice chair tech and digital at BCG.

An alumna of the University of Toronto-Rotman School of Management, this MBA-degree holder graduated in computer science from the University of Victoria.

“Particularly passionate about tech + human”, Close is looking forward to leading teams “that will innovate in this space, together with the broad base of industries and deep capabilities of Accenture and its ecosystem of partners.” At Accenture, she will lead the talent and organisation practice, globally, helping “leaders fuel sustainable growth by connecting people and technology to unlock human ingenuity, finding ways to access, create and unlock new talent, and designing organisations to thrive amid change.”

The post Karalee Close is Accenture’s global lead, talent and organisation appeared first on HR Katha.

“My journey at Manappuram has been exhilarating,” Renjith reflects with enthusiasm. “It’s been a constant pursuit of excellence, driven by a deep commitment to nurturing talent.” From spearheading digital transformations in employee training to meticulously honing skillsets, Renjith highlights the privilege of contributing to the company’s collective growth with each new opportunity.

This isn’t simply a new chapter; it’s the culmination of over 18 years spent navigating the intricacies of the banking, financial services, and insurance (BFSI) sector. Renjith’s expertise is deeply rooted in the industry, honed through notable tenures at Bank of Baroda and his previous stint at Manappuram Finance itself.

He first joined Manappuram Group in 2006 as AGM of HR, laying a strong foundation for his future ascent. This was followed by a successful stint as regional head of HR at Bank of Baroda between 2012 and 2014, further solidifying his leadership capabilities.  In 2014, he returned to Manappuram Finance, this time as general manager of HR & training, where his focus on digital learning initiatives and employee development flourished.  His impressive rise through the ranks speaks volumes about his dedication and strategic vision.

Renjith’s academic background complements his professional journey perfectly. A PG diploma in HR from XLRI Jamshedpur and an MBA in HR from Bangalore University equip him with the theoretical knowledge and practical skills needed to excel in this dynamic role.

Manappuram Finance, the stage for Renjith’s accomplishments, is no ordinary organisation. It’s a leading name in India’s gold loan sector, boasting an impressive network of over 4,199 branches across the nation.  With nearly Rs. 157.65 billion in assets under management (AUM) and a workforce exceeding 20,000 employees, the company is a testament to consistent growth and strategic diversification.  In recent years, Manappuram Finance has ventured beyond gold loans, establishing subsidiaries such as Manappuram Home Finance, Manappuram Insurance Brokers, and Asirvad Microfinance, offering microfinance, vehicle and housing finance, and SME lending services.

As CHRO, Renjith PR now shoulders the responsibility of leading this vast and diverse workforce towards achieving even greater heights.  His experience, coupled with his passion for talent development, positions him perfectly to guide Manappuram Finance’s human capital strategy in the years to come. This is not just a promotion; it’s the beginning of a new chapter where Renjith’s leadership will be instrumental in shaping the future of Manappuram Group.

The post From learning leader to CHRO: Renjith PR’s ascent at Manappuram Group appeared first on HR Katha.

Roy is backed by over two decades of experience spanning FMCG, hospitality and retail sectors.

He began his professional journey with Asian Paints as human resources officer in 2001. Six years later, he moved on to The Oberoi Group as assistant manager –HR. Two years into this role, he was elevated to human resources manager, in 2010. He was the second in command, with the job of assisting the director –HR with the entire gamut of human resource and industrial relations activities of the hotel.

In 2011, he moved to Roha, Maharashtra. Joining Pepsico as plant HR manager. Just over two years later, he was elevated to the position of general manager-HR, based out of Gurugram. Among his many responsibilities he drove and executed the performance-management process, conducted engagement surveys, action planning and management-quality surveys along with 360 degree surveys.

His next stop was Hilton, Mumbai, in 2014. For the next three and a half years, he headed HR and training, with his responsibilities including both strategic and operational HR.

The year 2017 saw him in Bengaluru, joining Jubilant FoodWorks as regional HR head (South India). By 2019, he was promoted to the post of deputy general manager-HR (Sri Lanka and Bangladesh).

Now, at Hindustan Pencils, this Commerce graduate from Lucknow University—who has postgraduated in human resources from the All India Management Association, New Delhi— will work to empower the employees and help foster a high-performance culture.

With his core competencies including talent management, employee engagement & culture building, compensation and benefits, statutory compliance and industrial relations, Roy is sure to be an asset to Hindustan Pencils. HRKatha wishes him success in this new assignment.

The post Himadri Roy appointed head-HR, Hindustan Pencils appeared first on HR Katha.

In her new capacity, Khanam will drive HR functions across commercial and plant operations. She will also spearhead initiatives to enhance employee engagement, talent development and organisational effectiveness.

Before joining Socomec India, Khanam worked at Omega Seiki Mobility as its chief people officer. She joined the company in the year 2022.

Bringing over 15 years of expertise, Khanam has worked across sectors such as automotive, manufacturing and technology. Her expertise lies in leading organisational development, talent management, talent acquisition and managing the employee lifecycle.

In her professional journey, she has also worked with many other companies such as GROHE, Lixil Water Technology and Rockwell Automation.

Commenting on her appointment and expressing enthusiasm on the new role, Khanam said, “My vision is to uphold this culture of excellence through people-centric initiatives and value-driven practices. My immediate focus will be on fortifying our HR function to align with our business objectives.”

Meenu Singhal, regional managing director, Socomec Greater India, welcomed Khanam in the new role. She also commented, “Her extensive experience and leadership in HR will be invaluable as we continue to expand our operations and strengthen our position in the market.”

Khanam is a graduate of the senior management programme from IIM-Calcutta and holds an MBA in human resources and agribusiness from Aligarh Muslim University.

The post Socomec Greater India gets Nida Khanam as HR head appeared first on HR Katha.

Tikare succeeds Bhavya Mishra who previously held the role for the period 2021-2024. She has now moved on to her new assignment with Godrej Capital, as CHRO.

Tikare will play a key role in attracting, developing and retaining top talent, as per company’s aim to create more than 1,000 technical jobs in the next few years. This comes as a part of its planned multi-year investment in the region. She will ensure optimal employee experience and operational smoothness. Her focus will centre around developing programmes and systems that empower employees, foster collaboration and enhance overall productivity.

Bringing over two decade of experience with her, Tikare has been a part of the company since 2015, when she joined as its head-TA for the Asia Pacific region. In the year 2018, she was elevated to the position of global director-HR, handling international services support. Additionally, she managed employee lifecycle, leading cross-cultural teams to encourage collaboration, partnering with local HR teams to ensure consistent policy implementation.

During her professional journey, she served a valuable stint with Metlife.

Announcing the appointment, Subhankar Roy Chowdhury, executive director and head HR – Asia Pacific & Japan, said, “Priya already enjoys the advantage of knowing Lenovo deeply, both from a cultural and business lens. Her proven leadership capabilities make her an exemplary choice to lead our HR team in India.”

Expressing her enthusiasm, Tikare commented, “Collaborating closely with the leadership team, my focus will be on nurturing a culture of innovation and teamwork, harnessing technology’s transformative capabilities to chart a path toward future success. We have a skilled and talented workforce in India, and I am committed to empowering them to realise their full potential through meaningful opportunities and impactful initiatives.”

Along with an MBA degree, she has also completed an executive education programme in general management from IIM Bangalore.

The post Lenovo India elevates Priya Tikare to director-HR appeared first on HR Katha.