Pankaj Wadhwa

CEO

Gurugram, Haryana, India27 yrs 6 mos experience
Highly StableAI Enabled

Key Highlights

  • Led large-scale enterprise migration to AWS.
  • Published author on governance and organizational performance.
  • 25+ years of experience across regulated industries.
Stackforce AI infers this person is a Governance and Transformation expert in Healthcare and BFSI sectors.

Contact

Skills

Core Skills

Business & Revenue LeadershipChannel Strategy & PerformanceEnterprise Transformation & Operating Model DesignTechnology & Agile GovernanceCapability Architecture & Leadership DevelopmentStrategic AdvisoryLeadership & Culture DesignStrategic Alliances & PartnershipsBusiness Development & Revenue EnablementOrganizational DevelopmentOperating Model DesignEnterprise TransformationChange ManagementPerformance Management SystemsOrganizational LeadershipCapability & Performance ConsultingP&l & Commercial ManagementPeople Management

Other Skills

Customer Retention & Lifetime ValueLarge-Team LeadershipExecution GovernanceStrategic HR Practices (Talent, Leadership & Succession)Change Leadership at ScaleSystems ThinkingOrganisational DiagnosticsChange & Adoption StrategySolution Incubation & CommercialisationCXO Relationship ManagementLeadership & Performance ConsultingRetail & Distribution SystemsProcess StandardisationDigital EnablementCompetency Framework Design

About

Boards make decisions. Organisations execute them. The gap between the two is where performance is won or lost — and where risk quietly accumulates. I bring nearly 25+ years of experience across regulated industries — insurance, BFSI, pharma, telecom, and large-scale technology transformation — to the question that sits at the heart of effective leadership: Is this organisation actually capable of doing what it has committed to doing? Currently, I lead Non-Agency Channels (a ₹2,000+ Cr portfolio) at a leading health insurance organisation, with accountability for performance, retention, and operational governance across a 300+ member team. Prior to this, I led the transformation of a 500+ member IT organisation and served as Program Lead for a large-scale enterprise migration to AWS — balancing speed, risk, and continuity throughout. Across my career — including a decade at BYLD Group, two years as an independent consultant, and seven years in regulated field leadership at Novartis — I have worked consistently at the intersection of governance quality, execution discipline, and the people systems that determine whether strategy translates into outcomes. I am a published author. My Amazon bestselling book "Not Long Back" examines why organisations fail — drawing on governance, culture risk, and the decisions leaders make at the top. I write regularly on governance, systems thinking, and sustainable performance. My work and writing increasingly explore a central question: how do decisions at the top shape execution, culture, and risk across the organisation? I am deepening my engagement with governance as a discipline — through my writing, through conversations with board leaders, and through the lens I bring to every organisation I work with.

Experience

27 yrs 6 mos
Total Experience
3 yrs 5 mos
Average Tenure
3 yrs 3 mos
Current Experience

Health insurance care

2 roles

Head – Non-Agency Channels | Health Insurance

Jan 2026Present · 3 mos · Gurugram, Haryana, India

  • Leading Non-Agency renewal channels across a ₹2,000+ Cr portfolio, balancing growth, retention, and customer outcomes in a regulated environment
  • Leading a 300+ member organisation across sales, operations, and support functions
  • Driving performance through channel strategy, process optimisation, and data-led execution
  • Leading flagship leadership development initiatives aligned to business and culture priorities
Business & Revenue LeadershipChannel Strategy & PerformanceCustomer Retention & Lifetime ValueLarge-Team LeadershipExecution Governance

Head of Process and Training

Dec 2022Dec 2025 · 3 yrs · Gurugram, Haryana, India

  • Led the transformation of a 500+ member IT organisation, embedding Agile and product-led ways of working to improve execution discipline, delivery predictability, and business alignment.
  • Architected and scaled “Elevate”, a strategic capability and leadership academy to strengthen domain, technology, and leadership depth across the technology function.
  • Led talent management and succession initiatives, building sustainable leadership and capability pipelines.
  • Program Lead for “Skyline”, a large-scale migration of enterprise applications and databases from on-prem to AWS cloud, balancing speed, risk, and continuity.
  • Worked at the intersection of strategy, HR practices, technology, and governance, ensuring capability investments translated into measurable business outcomes.
Enterprise Transformation & Operating Model DesignStrategic HR Practices (Talent, Leadership & Succession)Technology & Agile GovernanceCapability Architecture & Leadership DevelopmentChange Leadership at Scale

Self-employed

Independent Consultant | Strategy, Capability & Enterprise Transformation

Feb 2021Dec 2022 · 1 yr 10 mos · Gurugram, Haryana, India

  • Partnered with organisations across IT and business functions to strengthen operating models, leadership capability, and execution discipline during periods of growth and transformation.
  • Focused on using capability, culture, and ways of working as strategic levers—designing leadership, talent, and performance systems aligned to business priorities. Enabled organisations to adopt adaptive, Agile-inspired ways of working with appropriate governance and accountability.
  • This phase strengthened my ability to diagnose complex organisational challenges, balance speed with sustainability, and advise senior leaders on building systems that endure.
Strategic AdvisorySystems ThinkingOrganisational DiagnosticsLeadership & Culture DesignChange & Adoption Strategy

The max group

Lead – Strategic Partnerships & Performance Solutions

Nov 2019Jan 2021 · 1 yr 2 mos · Gurugram, Haryana, India

  • Led and governed strategic partnerships with the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL) and Cohen Brown Management Group.
  • Developed and commercialized leadership, performance, and culture solutions tailored for enterprise clients.
  • Collaborated with CXOs to identify organizational challenges and design scalable interventions.
  • Enhanced Max Group’s advisory presence through innovative alliance-led solution incubation.
Strategic Alliances & PartnershipsSolution Incubation & CommercialisationCXO Relationship ManagementBusiness Development & Revenue EnablementLeadership & Performance Consulting

Jogxer retail pvt. ltd.

Head – Capability Development

Mar 2018Oct 2019 · 1 yr 7 mos · New Delhi Area, India

  • Led a comprehensive transformation initiative to enhance scalable business capabilities across technology, sales, service, and retail operations.
  • Designed and implemented enterprise operating processes for improved consistency in sales, service, and inventory management.
  • Collaborated with cross-functional teams to develop core digital platforms, including eCommerce and distribution management systems.
Organizational DevelopmentOperating Model DesignRetail & Distribution SystemsProcess StandardisationDigital Enablement

Byld group

Group Vice President – Consulting & Enterprise Transformation

Jun 2015Feb 2018 · 2 yrs 8 mos · Delhi NCR

  • Led large-scale consulting and transformation engagements across BFSI, manufacturing, and services sectors, partnering with senior leadership to improve business performance, leadership effectiveness, and organisational capability.
  • Key contributions included:
  • Conceptualised and led a milestone-based performance transformation program for a leading Small Finance Bank, delivering ~20% improvement across 8 business parameters across select branches, leading a 40-member consulting team.
  • Designed a scorecard-led leadership intervention to strengthen emotional intelligence and interpersonal effectiveness for managers in a leading HR consulting firm.
  • Acquired and delivered a global performance management transformation program for a multinational tyre company, supporting adoption across geographies.
  • Played a key role in building and scaling the consulting practice, designing bespoke, research-backed solutions by integrating global frameworks and best practices. Worked closely with CXOs to diagnose organisational challenges, architect solutions, and lead multi-geography execution with a focus on measurable business outcomes.
Change ManagementCompetency Framework DesignTalent StrategyEnterprise TransformationPerformance Management SystemsLarge-Scale Change Leadership+2

Hero mindmine

Group Manager – Capability & Performance Enablement

Oct 2014May 2015 · 7 mos · Gurgaon, India

  • Worked closely with business and leadership teams to strengthen leadership capability, sales effectiveness, and service performance across the organisation.
  • Key contributions included:
  • Partnered with stakeholders to diagnose capability and performance needs and design aligned interventions in leadership, change, sales, and customer service.
  • Led end-to-end design and delivery of capability initiatives, including solution architecture, content customisation, and execution.
  • Supported business development and key client relationships, contributing to the acquisition and expansion of engagements.
  • Led and developed a team of trainers and project teams, ensuring quality, consistency, and timely delivery across initiatives.
  • Managed multiple projects simultaneously, balancing client expectations, timelines, and outcomes.
Learning Management SystemsOrganizational LeadershipCapability & Performance ConsultingSolution ArchitectureSenior Stakeholder ManagementBusiness Development Support+1

Byld group

Progressive Leadership Roles – Consulting, Partnerships & Enterprise Capability

Sep 2004Aug 2014 · 9 yrs 11 mos · Gurugram, Haryana, India · On-site

  • Spent a decade-plus at BYLD Group in progressively expanding leadership roles, evolving from frontline delivery to enterprise consulting, strategic partnerships, and P&L ownership.
  • Early in my career, worked on large-scale sales and service capability initiatives for telecom clients, including Airtel, supporting multiple channels such as corporate sales agencies, service centres, retention, and collections operations.
  • Subsequently led national and large-format projects, including retail sales capability transformations for Nokia and Motorola, partnering closely with business leaders to improve frontline execution and consistency at scale.
  • In later roles, served as National Business Head for global partnerships with Ken Blanchard Companies and VitalSmarts, with responsibility for:
  • Alliance strategy and governance
  • Commercial performance and P&L
  • Client relationships and CXO engagement
  • Building and leading consulting and delivery teams
  • This phase of my career laid the foundation for my work in enterprise transformation, strategic HR practices, and leadership systems. It shaped my ability to operate across business, people, and performance dimensions.
P&L & Commercial ManagementStrategic Alliances & PartnershipsEnterprise Capability DesignCXO Relationship ManagementProgram & Portfolio Leadership

Novartis

Sales & Frontline Leadership Roles

Jul 1997Aug 2004 · 7 yrs 1 mo · New Delhi, Delhi, India · On-site

  • Built strong foundations in frontline sales execution, customer behaviour, and field leadership within a highly regulated pharmaceutical environment.
  • Key aspects of the role included:
  • Managing relationships with doctors, chemists, stockists, and distributors, understanding prescribing behaviour and competitive dynamics.
  • Driving territory-level business performance through disciplined execution and market insight.
  • Progressed into frontline leadership, supporting and guiding field teams, and strengthening sales execution and compliance on the ground.
  • This phase of my career provided first-hand exposure to how strategy translates into behaviour at the frontline, and how incentives, culture, and leadership directly influence outcomes — insights that continue to inform my work in leadership, capability, and enterprise transformation.
Development StrategyLearning Management SystemsStakeholder EngagementFacilitationSuccession PlanningOrganizational Leadership+9

Cadila pharmaceuticals limited

Frontline Sales Role (Career Start)

Jun 1996Jun 1997 · 1 yr

  • Started my professional journey in a frontline sales role, developing early exposure to customer engagement, execution discipline, and market dynamics in the pharmaceutical industry.
  • This role instilled a deep respect for ground realities, operational rigour, and ethical selling, and shaped my understanding of how organisational systems ultimately succeed or fail at the customer interface.

Education

University of Oxford

Artificial Intelligence and Business Analytics — Artificial Intelligence

Oct 2025Feb 2026

XLRI Jamshedpur

Strategic Performance Management — Performance Management

Jan 2016Jul 2016

Indian Society for Training & Development (ISTD)

Diploma in Training and Development — Training and Developement

Jan 2002Dec 2003

North Maharashtra University

B. Pharmacy — Pharmacy

Center For Creative Leadership

Level Up 4 Leaders — Organizational Leadership

Dec 2019Dec 2019

InsideOut Developement

Inside out Coaching — Coaching

Mar 2017Apr 2024

Ken Blanchard Companies

Certified Trainer on Situational Leadership II family of products — Organizational Leadership

Jan 2010Present

Lumina learning, UK

Lumina Learning — Psychometrics and Quantitative Psychology

Jan 2012Present

Ken Blanchard Companies

Legendary Service — Customer Service Management

Jan 2012Present

DOOR Training and Consulting India

Consultative Sales Process — Selling Skills and Sales Operations

Jan 2005Present