Mohd Ilyas Akhter — CEO

I am a visionary and highly accomplished HR Executive with 15+ years of progressive leadership, culminating as Group Head HR (CHRO) in high-growth FinTech and NBFC environments. I specialize in architecting and scaling people functions inextricably linked to business outcomes, driving workforce cost optimization, productivity enhancement, unit level profitability and ensuring organizational readiness for IPO. As a trusted strategic partner to Founders, other CXOs, and the Board, I translate complex business objectives into impactful, agile HR strategies that foster cultural transformation, enhance effectiveness, and cultivate high-performing, compliant, and future-ready workforces in both dynamic startup environments and complex large enterprises. My expertise spans the full HR spectrum, consistently delivering measurable value. I specialize in aligning HR with business goals, building high-performance cultures, and implementing scalable systems that support organizational growth. My passion lies in building organizations that thrive on culture, capability, and performance. I stay deeply engaged with emerging HR trends, digital transformation, and data-led talent strategies that future-proof businesses. My core competencies include: Strategic IPO & M&A HR Readiness | Strategic Workforce Planning | HR Governance, Risk & Compliance | Organizational Design & Change Leadership | Total Rewards, ESOP & LTIP Structuring | HR Technology & People Analytics | Board & CXO Advisory | Executive Coaching & Succession Planning | Talent Strategy & Acquisition for Scale | Performance Management & OKRs | Culture Building & Employee Experience | Workforce Cost Optimization | Leadership Development | Change Management & Transformation

Stackforce AI infers this person is a strategic HR leader in the Fintech industry with expertise in talent management and organizational development.

Location: Bengaluru, Karnataka, India

Experience: 15 yrs 10 mos

Skills

Hr Strategy & Transformation
Talent Acquisition & Employer Branding
Compensation & Benefits Strategy
Hr Technology & People Analytics
Talent Acquisition
Employee Relations & Industrial Relations
Employee Relations

Career Highlights

15+ years of HR leadership in FinTech and NBFC.
Expert in aligning HR strategies with business outcomes.
Proven track record in talent acquisition and organizational design.

Work Experience

Rupeek

Head of Human Resources (4 yrs 7 mos)

ICICI Bank

Chief Manager HR (II) -Zonal Recruitment Head South Zone (4 mos)

Chief Manager HR (II) Head of Employee Relations- East (4 yrs 5 mos)

Chief Manager HR (I)- Head of Employee Relations Mumbai Zone (1 yr)

Senior Manager- Head of Employer Relations UP & UT Zone (1 yr 7 mos)

Zonal Recruitment Manager (MI)- North (2 yrs 9 mos)

Hindustan Zinc

Officer HR (1 yr 6 mos)

Education

Master's degree at Tata Institute of Social Sciences

B.com(hons) at Aligarh Muslim University

Mohd Ilyas Akhter

CEO

Bengaluru, Karnataka, India15 yrs 10 mos experience

Highly Stable

Key Highlights

15+ years of HR leadership in FinTech and NBFC.
Expert in aligning HR strategies with business outcomes.
Proven track record in talent acquisition and organizational design.

Stackforce AI infers this person is a strategic HR leader in the Fintech industry with expertise in talent management and organizational development.

Contact

Skills

Core Skills

Hr Strategy & TransformationTalent Acquisition & Employer BrandingCompensation & Benefits StrategyHr Technology & People AnalyticsTalent AcquisitionEmployee Relations & Industrial RelationsEmployee Relations

Other Skills

Benefits NegotiationCompliance & Risk ManagementCross-functional Team LeadershipCulture Building & Organizational DevelopmentDeferred CompensationEmployee EngagementEmployee ManagementEmployee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP)Employment LawExecutive DevelopmentGlobal Human Resources ManagementHR Business PartneringHR ConsultingHR ManagementHR Policies

About

Experience

15 yrs 10 mos

Total Experience

5 yrs 7 mos

Average Tenure

4 yrs 7 mos

Current Experience

Rupeek

Head of Human Resources

Oct 2021 – Present · 4 yrs 7 mos · Bengaluru, Karnataka, India · On-site

Strategic HR Leadership & Business Impact: Served as a business partner and advisor to the Founder and CXOs, directly influencing business strategy by spearheading HR transformation from aggressive growth to profitability, delivering strategic human capital optimization.
Organizational Scaling & Talent Excellence: Architected and implemented a scalable HRBP model and comprehensive organizational design, enhancing agility and reducing reliance on external hiring for key roles by 35%. Overhauled the Talent Acquisition engine, resulting in a 60% reduction in Time-to-Hire and a 20% improvement in Quality of Hire. Launched innovative academies (Rupeek Academy, Elevate, Technocrat) to build capabilities and improve internal fill rates by 20%.
Total Rewards & Performance Innovation: Designed Rupeek's inaugural Long-Term Incentive Plan (LTIP) and led ESOP policy shifts, aligning rewards with long-term objectives and improving key talent retention. Built scalable frameworks for PMS, Total Rewards, and L&D to enhance overall organizational performance.
Workforce Optimization & Culture Stewardship: Led enterprise-wide rightsizing initiatives, achieving significant wage and infrastructure cost optimization, while preserving morale. Successfully navigated culture shifts during restructuring through engagement and leadership coaching, maintaining employee engagement scores above 75%.
Data-Driven HR & Compliance: Established sophisticated HR analytics dashboards, providing actionable insights that reduced voluntary attrition by 5%. Reinforced robust compliance governance, including POSH, ethics, grievance, and ER/IR protocols, mitigating organizational risk and ensuring 100% compliance.

Human Capital ManagementExecutive DevelopmentHR Strategy & TransformationTalent Acquisition & Employer BrandingEmployee Relations & Industrial RelationsPerformance Management & Leadership Development+9

Icici bank

5 roles

Chief Manager HR (II) -Zonal Recruitment Head South Zone

Jun 2021 – Oct 2021 · 4 mos

Led a large, high-performing Talent Acquisition team, directed high-volume recruitment for 1,000+ roles/month across the South Mega Zone (Karnataka, TN, Kerala, Pondicherry), encompassing retail sales hiring and niche role, corporate, risk, operations, wealth, and critical senior leadership positions.

Talent AcquisitionTalent Acquisition & Employer BrandingTalent ManagementRecruitingStrategic Hiring

Chief Manager HR (II) Head of Employee Relations- East

Promoted

May 2017 – Oct 2021 · 4 yrs 5 mos

Provided comprehensive HR leadership for 6 states, overseeing Employee Relations, strategic talent deployment, compliance, organizational development, and end-to-end employee experience for a large workforce of over 10,000 employees

Employee EngagementEmployee Relations & Industrial RelationsEmployee RelationsHRBPHuman Capital ManagementEmployee Management+4

Chief Manager HR (I)- Head of Employee Relations Mumbai Zone

Apr 2016 – Apr 2017 · 1 yr

Managed employee relations and employee experience initiatives for around 8000 employee base across all levels for Mumbai Zone and MP.

Employee EngagementEmployee RelationsEmployee Relations & Industrial RelationsRecruitingHiring PracticesHRBP

Senior Manager- Head of Employer Relations UP & UT Zone

Sep 2014 – Apr 2016 · 1 yr 7 mos

Functioned as a strategic HR Business Partner for 230 branches and 3,600+ employees, expertly navigating complex Industrial Relations cases and union negotiations.

Zonal Recruitment Manager (MI)- North

Dec 2011 – Sep 2014 · 2 yrs 9 mos

Talent Acquisition Volume and Niche hiring for entire North Mega Zone with a distinct achievement of delivering 600 Onboarding of on-rolls sales officers in 1 Month TAT.

Hindustan zinc

Officer HR

Jun 2010 – Dec 2011 · 1 yr 6 mos · Udaipur

Industrial Relations: Filling returns and handling legal issues related to IR and Labour Laws & Liasioning with local influential people and statuary bodies.