Dec 2020 – Jun 2024 · 3 yrs 6 mos · Bengaluru, Karnataka, India · On-site

• Joined as the CHRO for two of Global PE firm Advent International’s invested Cos. - Dixcy Textiles Private Limited (Dixcy Scott & Slimz brands) and Gokaldas Intimatewear Pvt. Ltd (Enamor Brand).
• With the Executive Chairman, built the post-merger C-suite and leadership team. Lead the search & selection of these hires and supported the development of the CXOs and teams below.
• Owned organizational design to draft the architecture of the merged entity. Led the successful people & cultural merger of 2 organizations with 5000+ workforce across distribution, modern retail, e-comm, supply chain (incl. manufacturing, warehousing, logistics) & enabling functions.
• As CHRO for the merged organization, was responsible for Human Resources, Administration, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Corporate Communications & Public Relations (PR).
• Was deeply involved in the transformation and building of a talent brand that synced with our purpose of 'Evolving Every day for an Elevated Lifestyle'!
• Guided the organization to take it to Top 70 Great Places To Work® (large companies) & in Top 25 for Manufacturing in 2022.
• Sat as part of the company’s Nomination & Remuneration Committee (REMCO). Partnered with shareholders and independent directors to establish Board approved pay practices: Exec Pay, Bonus Policy and ESOPs.
• Presented and influenced the Board and Audit Committee on People Strategy and Practices – during both quarterly and annual meets.
• Built a successful HR team to create a strong HR partnership with the business, evidence by the Function winning the Chairman’s Award of being the Champion Function for 2021-22. Identified and developed two capable successors, one of whom stayed on to succeed me.

Oct 2018 – Nov 2020 · 2 yrs 1 mo · Mumbai Metropolitan Region

• KaryaMitr.com (operated by PurpleMonks Technology Pvt. Ltd.) was a vernacular tech platform built to skill, assess and hire blue & grey collared workforce. We enabled employers to intelligently target freshers, frontline, field & factory workers.
• The vision was to improve livelihood of 400+ million blue & grey collared workers/work seekers, by connecting them with 50+ million employers in India. Thus, powering enterprises, aggregators, on-demand service providers with timely availability of trained & trusted human resources !
• We were on a mission to enable & organize the labor market in India, by using technology and deep user understanding. Our innovations enabled start-ups & MSMEs to quickly target and engage with the those they needed to grow their business.
• Our tech stack was:
• Backend : Ruby on Rails
• Frontend : HTML, CSS, Javascript
• Database : PostgreSQL

Oct 2016 – Oct 2018 · 2 yrs

• As SVP & head of Rewards, Organizational Effectiveness & Change, engaged with the India Board & CXO to get alignment & sponsorship on the shape of the organization (Organization Design & manning norms) and how its talent gets rewarded & shapes to a Future Fit Workforce (Total Rewards).
• Was fortunate to have led a team of extremely talented and high potential Rewards, Org Design and HR Analytics professionals. Over 2 years, we significantly upgraded/re-vamped the Rewards & HR policy architecture and people cost structure of the company.
• Equally exciting was providing guidance to and partnering with large & reputed service providers of HR Shared Services & Technology, Payroll, Employee Benefits, Benchmarking Surveys & Job Evaluation.
• Successfully led three high impact M&A/Integration work-streams across both the Vodafone & Idea Cellular entities, as the two large, differently managed companies merged to form - at that time - India’s largest and the World’s second largest Telecommunications Company.

Sep 2015 – Sep 2016 · 1 yr

• Strengthening organizational vitality, capturing employee mindshare and engaging on careers. That’s what the Performance & Rewards teams were busy with at Vodafone, during those times.
• Across the Centers of Expertise and business operations, we strengthened Performance Dialogue as a continuous affair between the Line Manager and the Employee by building Line Manager Capability to engage on Careers, thus enabling High Performance on a bedrock of a Fair & Firm Approach.
• Our annual Variable Pay plans generated internal business competitiveness in our federal circle structure while aligning with our overall business priorities. While this ensured strong differentiators for company and individual performance, our incentive plans provide significant value and enhancement opportunities for our sales teams. At senior levels, we provided long-term value creation opportunities, which are also performance and potential differentiated.
• For us changing workforce demographics & evolving employee lifestyle, meant shaping a diverse, Future Fit Workforce through Total Rewards. Our approach ensured customer focus, segmented, differentiated & market competitive rewards.
• We were always eager to put our thoughts on the drawing board to Simplify Rewards, align with market practices & ensure compliance with local laws, to build the right value proposition.
• Our Policy & Benefits team, worked to build a portfolio that delivers Employee Care, helped build an inclusive work environment while ensuring the right Return on Investment.
• All this, needed a strong Total Rewards Communication that improved Last Mile understanding, built Appreciation of Investment on benefits & helped an employee know “How they earn, what they earn”.

Apr 2013 – Sep 2015 · 2 yrs 5 mos

• Took charge of our mission to on-board world-class talent that is right for the future of our business. Because talent that we acquired shaped our organization’s culture…impacted what our consumers’ experienced…and thus defined business success.
• The TA team geared-up, as retail & enterprise consumer demographics changed and consumption patterns evolved to make interesting micro-segments, as new age technology for delivery & servicing emerged to present interesting & challenging talent needs.
• The big shift I drove was workforce demographic change towards a future-fit & diverse workforce across our annual 3000+ new hires, by partnering with business leaders and balancing governance with guidance to a community of 25+ talent acquisition managers at each of the 25 business units.
• The shift become increasing more possible by building a strong employer brand around our value proposition, across various touch-points including media, 20+ top business & technology campuses and digital employer brand properties.
• Building enablers, key metrics and an operating rhythm for the function, setting up standard processes and communication impact across national & international search partners, recruiters, shared services and candidate touch-points, made what I did an exciting deep dive.
• As a function, we positioned ourselves as a credible business partner by aligning to various businesses and their emerging needs, we are proactive through our market outreach to build talent pipeline for business critical roles.

Oct 2005 – Jan 2006 · 3 mos · Singapore

Mar 2004 – Sep 2005 · 1 yr 6 mos · Chennai & Mumbai · On-site

• Was in key business partnering roles as Head of HR for Chennai circle (2004) and second in-line to HR Head for Mumbai circle (2005) during a phase of phenomenal organic and inorganic growth in the telecom sector.
• Managing growth and transitions while ensure employee experience and speed was fundamental. Lead small teams of 2-3 Senior Executives/Asst. Managers and handling HR Operations for ~200-1100 employees.
• Mandate was to set-up operations, build and create BAU status from a people standpoint for Hutchison Essar’s Circle operations, first in Chennai (green field acquisition, growing from 50 to 200 + employees) as Head of HR and then in Mumbai (largest operations undergoing significant transition in brand, leadership and competitive landscape with 1100+ employees) as HR Operations Lead.
• Acquired expertise in providing HR leadership in a BU and build HR credibility; Building process & guidelines on managing large scale outsourced manpower to ensure smooth customer experience at the front-line touch-points.

Jun 2003 – Feb 2004 · 8 mos · Mumbai

• Then a 50:50 JV between SGD, USA and Eicher Group, India – ECS is one of India’s premier management consulting firms on HR & Change Management. In 2008, ECS was acquired by the Pricewaterhouse Coopers, and is now a wholly owned subsidiary of PwC.
• Managed client projects independently & with a team of consultants across India, incl. Business Development in Mumbai. Clients included Top ITES & BPO Cos, a global Auto-mobile giant & an Indian auto-ancillary manufacturer.
• Identifying potential organizations and developing customized consulting solutions; managing and implementing projects on restructuring, role mapping, competency assessment & training needs assessment, were key to the role.

Mar 2000 – May 2003 · 3 yrs 2 mos · Mumbai

• Global information & news group, Reuters is the world’s leading provider of information services, connectivity, content & technology to the financial markets. Since the acquisition of Reuters Group by The Thomson Corporation in 2008, the organization is now called Thomson Reuters.
• From managing the talent acquisition vertical in HR, grew up to manage Performance & Talent development to finally managing a team with responsibility of HR business partnering in South Asia region.
• Learnt that nuances of managing a HR function in a uniquely challenging business that spans sales to consulting to journalism. From creating Employee programs to execution of routine items and intense alignment & collaboration with CoE & HRBP colleagues across geographies that including Asia-Pac HQ in Singapore to the Global one at London, the experience brought out the best of the HR professional in me.
• As the HR Lead for Reuters business in India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan & Bangladesh, managed the entire hire to exit people processes, including organizational change & learning. Acquired expertise on managing Rewards (including commissioning & interpreting compensation benchmark surveys, expat compensation & stock plan management).
• Got exposed to grappling with managing large scale change including redundancy and retrenchments in the economic downturn of 2001.
• During my stint, was selected to work on a short-term International Assignment with Reuters Asia Pte at Singapore.

Jan 1998 – Jan 2000 · 2 yrs · Jamnagar, Gujarat

• Joined as a Management Trainee as India’s largest private sector Company set up the World’s single largest grassroots level Refinery at Jamnagar, with project cost of Rs.25,000 crores, planned initial capacity of 27mmtpa, employing a dedicated workforce of 3500.
• Part of 15 young managers selected from over 250 applicants for working with a team from PwC – USA, to develop Organizational structure & staffing levels. Prior to which managed Performance Management & Benefits administration portfolio for the entire Refinery.
• Learned the basics of handling Plant HR operations, managing Performance cycles for a large workforce and developing Organizational structures and staffing levels.