Jan 2025 – Present · 1 yr 4 mos · Manipal · On-site

• Returned to School to dive into unlocking a new skill as a researcher to give back to my HR community and learning a new skill of a systematic research to my skillset

Oct 2024 – Jul 2025 · 9 mos · Udupi, Karnataka, India

• I took a break to be with my wife as we welcomed our daughter in December of 2024.
• Best time of my life and career🙏

Feb 2023 – Sep 2024 · 1 yr 7 mos · Udupi, Karnataka, India · On-site

• After 13 years in Bengaluru’s tech ecosystem, I relocated to a tier-3 city to support an entrepreneur’s bold but ultimately unsuccessful attempt to revive his gaming startup. Reporting directly to the CEO, I owned the entire HR charter during a critical cultural pivot from IT services to indie mobile game publishing.
• Key contributions included:
• Strategic Employer Branding: Conceptualized and executed the Gaming as a Career talk series, engaging 250+ students across 6 colleges; created a steady talent pipeline with 70% of attendees securing interviews, positioning 99Games as a regional employer of choice.
• Modernized HR Infrastructure: Reconfigured and automated the HRIS, digitized all employee records, and streamlined hire-to-retire processes, replacing manual systems with scalable digital workflows.
• Optimized Rewards & Recognition: Redesigned compensation structures to ensure labor law compliance and tax efficiency while introducing flexible benefits; relaunched peer-to-peer recognition to boost engagement.
• Capability Building: Delivered manager effectiveness and employee development programs that received an average rating of 4/5, strengthening leadership capability in a resource-constrained environment.
• Culture & Feedback: Conducted the company’s first-ever sitewide pulse survey, creating a feedback loop that leadership institutionalized as a quarterly practice
• Business Restructuring: Led the outplacement of 30 employees with empathy designing severance packages, managing communication, and enabling career transition support.

Aug 2021 – Jan 2023 · 1 yr 5 mos · Bengaluru, Karnataka, India · Hybrid

• As part of a fast-growing startup, I reported to the SVP of HR and worked closely with the India General Manager and Chief Scientist. I played a pivotal role in strengthening people practices, compliance, and culture during the firm’s buildup to its Series C funding from SoftBank.
• My scope covered HRBP, Learning, Compliance, C&B, and Internal Communications for the India organization. Key areas of Impact included-
• Transition to Hybrid work: Restructured India people policies to make them easy to reach, understand & implemented them in a Confluence microsite. Enabled the transition from Work from home (WFH) to Hybrid work mode in collaboration with site managers & admin team. Created support groups and policy to enable returning employees to Bengaluru city.
• Employee Connect & Development: Built and delivered the company’s first ever leadership journey for first time managers. Hosted monthly development discussions with site managers. Pioneered HR Open connects, 30-60-90 day journey for new joiners, POSH training & HRBP connect as part of new employee success plan
• Compensation & Benefits: Restructured India Salary to be compliant with new wage codes and introduced Flexible Benefit components to optimize tax savings for employees. Introduced mental health support in Insurance cover
• Performance Management: Optimized the performance process to make it light and completed the process within 30 days. Introduced the first calibration
• Compliance: Set up the Internal Committee, training & policy as required for implementation of Prevention of Sexual Harassment. Helped identify vendor for total labour compliance & annual HR audits.
• Communication: Introduced monthly video messages, blogs summarizing key updates and managed the India-team slack channel for all major internal communications. Championed the company social updates on LinkedIn by cataloguing & celebrating key moments.

Apr 2019 – Jul 2021 · 2 yrs 3 mos

• As the first HRBP for Infoblox India, I served as the single point of contact for all HR matters from onboarding to exit including performance management, executive coaching, policy design, grievance handling, and regional compliance.
• I reported directly to the VP of HR and partnered with global leaders including the SVP of Engineering, Director of International Finance Shared Services, Director of Global Procurement, and Director of Global Support, while managing a 4-member HR team at the time of exit.
• Key contributions included:
• Leadership & Stakeholder Management: Built trust and collaboration with global leadership, aligning India operations with enterprise-wide goals.
• Scale & Growth: Guided the Bengaluru R&D CoE from 30 to 300 employees and expanded India’s footprint to 500+ employees nationwide.
• Compliance & Policy: Designed simplified salary structures, implemented FBP, achieved 100% labour compliance, and authored the first India HR handbook.
• Engagement & Culture: Introduced employee volunteering with VTO (Volunteering Time Off), strengthened internal communication, and ran CSR drives during regional calamities.
• Strategic Impact: Drove career ladder frameworks, set up employee retention plans, and supported Infoblox’s transition from a public company to Vista Equity Partners ownership.

Aug 2017 – Mar 2019 · 1 yr 7 mos

• This was my first GCC build and my first HR leadership role where I joined Infoblox Bengaluru as the 30th employee and helped scale the India presence from 30's in Bengaluru to 500+ employees across Bengaluru, Mumbai, Delhi, and Trivandrum.

Oct 2016 – Aug 2017 · 10 mos · Bengaluru Area, India

• 11 months here felt like 11 years of learning. I joined L&T TS as HRBP with a span of 3500 employees globally and direct responsibility for 300+ employees across multiple SBUs.
• Alongside managing day-to-day HR operations and people issues, I drove strategic initiatives in M&A integration, organizational redesign, and benefits optimization.
• I also strengthened talent engagement through individual retention plans and had the privilege of leading cultural platforms such as Estrellas, the annual awards night, while hosting that year’s national talent hunt- TECHgium

Aug 2015 – Sep 2016 · 1 yr 1 mo · Greater Bengaluru Area · On-site

• At Phicus, I focused on building organizational capacity for non-profit and social enterprises through human-centred design, systemic interventions, and training.
• Key highlights include co-designing the Aritra Leadership Program with IIM Bangalore and the Centre for Creative Leadership, developing open-source tools to strengthen field operations, and training 150+ employees on professional skills.
• I also enabled cost savings through ad grants and tech partnerships, while driving digital visibility by developing high-impact websites and content for Phicus initiatives

Jun 2015 – Mar 2017 · 1 yr 9 mos · Bengaluru Area, India · On-site

• Alongside my corporate role, I taught Organizational Behaviour, HRM, and CSR as Adjunct Faculty at Christ University, at 6.30 AM every day!
• This experience gave me the chance to bring real-world industry insights into the classroom, mentor the next generation of management professionals, and sharpen my own time management skills along the way

Apr 2014 – Jul 2015 · 1 yr 3 mos · On-site

• In my promotion to Senior Associate HRBP, I combined strategic HR design with people-first leadership. I guided the setup of comprehensive HR processes, cut appraisal cycle times by 50% through automation, and delivered annual cost savings of 15% in benefits. Alongside policy and process innovation, I championed culture-building through recognition programs, engagement events, and skip-level conversations- ensuring employee voices shaped leadership action.

Apr 2013 – Mar 2014 · 11 mos · On-site

• Absorbed into MetricStream as its first HRBP, I had the opportunity to design and implement core people practices from the ground up. I redesigned onboarding with structured 30-60-90 checkpoints for 1000+ employees, authored the first employee manual with 20+ policies, and built a low-cost LMS and intranet that transformed learning across the organization.

May 2012 – Mar 2013 · 10 mos · On-site

• Began my journey with MetricStream as a Business HR Consultant, acting as the primary HR point of contact for employees while driving organizational change initiatives. I worked on policy design, employee engagement, and employer branding, while also contributing to the creation of a learning & development framework that supported capability building across the organization.

Jan 2011 – May 2012 · 1 yr 4 mos · Greater Bengaluru Area · On-site

• For my first corporate stint, I joined the pioneering team at what remained of India’s first low-cost airline after its commercial division was sold.
• As the youngest member of a lean 3-person HR team, I worked directly with the Head of HR, gaining end-to-end exposure to people strategy and operations.
• This role gave me early ownership of navigating tough workforce transitions, aviation compliance, and people practices that strengthened organizational resilience

Jul 2010 – Dec 2010 · 5 mos · Mangalore Area, India · On-site

• Started my career at the tail end of Global economic meltdown by joining back my own college as a guest faculty. Delivered a full schedule at the day college and would then head to the city to the satellite unit to teach mid age entrepreneurs and professionals for the working professionals evening MBA program.
• This experience of teaching diverse audiences, from recent graduates to seasoned professionals, was instrumental in building my communication and stakeholder management skills.