Jul 2018 – Dec 2022 · 4 yrs 5 mos · Pune, Maharashtra, India · On-site

• As the CHRO for the India, Middle East, and Africa (IMEA) region, I led the transformation of HR strategy and organizational culture across a dynamic and diverse business landscape. My focus was on aligning the people agenda with global business strategy, fostering excellence, innovation, and high-impact HR leadership.
• Key Achievements & Strategic Initiatives:
• ✔ HR Strategy & Business Alignment: Led the transformation of HR into a true business enabler, aligning HR strategies with global business goals to drive growth and performance.
• ✔ HR Business Partnering Excellence: Built and coached a high-performing HRBP team across multiple business groups, ensuring that HR directly contributed to revenue growth, operational efficiency, and leadership effectiveness.
• ✔ Center of Excellence (CoE) – Talent & Leadership: Established and led a Talent Management & Talent Acquisition CoE, implementing data-driven hiring and leadership development strategies to attract, retain, and grow top talent.
• ✔ HR Shared Services & Digitalization: Transformed the HR Shared Services function by automating processes, streamlining operations, and leveraging HR technology for enhanced employee experience and cost optimization.
• ✔ Organizational Transformation & Change Leadership: Spearheaded organizational redesign, cultural transformation, and digital HR initiatives, ensuring that Alfa Laval remained agile and competitive in a fast-evolving market.
• ✔ Industrial Relations & Workforce Planning: Successfully managed union negotiations, workforce strategy, and long-term wage settlements.
• Core Skills & Expertise:
• HR Transformation | Strategic HR Leadership | Business & HR Alignment
• Talent Management & Acquisition | Employer Branding | Succession Planning
• Organizational Design | Culture Change | Leadership Development
• HR Technology | HR Shared Services | Performance Management
• Compensation & Benefits | DEI
• Industrial Relations | Change Management | Workforce Planning

Jan 2014 – Jul 2018 · 4 yrs 6 mos

• I played a strategic HR leadership role in aligning HR practices with global business objectives, ensuring a seamless employee experience and high-performance culture. Starting as Country HR Manager, I progressed to Director HR, leading organizational transformation, workforce strategy, and leadership development across DSM’s Asia Pacific operations.
• Key Achievements & Strategic Initiatives:
• ✔ Multi-Year People Strategy & Business Alignment: Designed and implemented a multi-year HR roadmap, translating business objectives into actionable HR initiatives that enhanced productivity, leadership capability, and cultural transformation.
• ✔ Workforce Management & Organizational Restructuring: Led strategic workforce planning, organizational design, and team realignment to improve efficiency, talent utilization, and future-readiness.
• ✔ Change Management & HR Transformation: Spearheaded HR digitalization, policy modernization, and HR process optimization, ensuring scalability and agility in DSM’s India operations.
• ✔ Compensation, Benefits & Performance Management: Designed and implemented a market-competitive C&B strategy and PMS framework, driving employee motivation, retention, and high-performance culture.
• ✔ Global Exposure & Leadership Development: Managed cross-functional projects in Shanghai, Singapore, and Amsterdam, gaining deep exposure to global HR best practices and leadership frameworks.
• ✔ Industrial Relations & Compliance: Ensured statutory compliance, employee relations management, and legal risk mitigation, fostering a stable and engaged workforce.

Jan 2012 – Dec 2013 · 1 yr 11 mos

• As Head-HR at DSM India, I played a pivotal role in shaping the organization’s HR strategy, ensuring policy harmonization across multiple business groups and driving best-in-class HR practices. I was instrumental in setting up Greenfield projects, integrating global HR policies with Indian business needs, and creating a high-performance, people-centric culture.
• Key Achievements & Strategic Impact:
• ✔ Greenfield HR Setup & Business Growth Enablement: Established HR functions from scratch, ensuring seamless talent acquisition, workforce planning, and cultural alignment for new ventures.
• ✔ Policy Harmonization Across Business Units: Led standardization and integration of HR policies across multiple business groups, ensuring compliance, efficiency, and employee satisfaction.
• ✔ Talent Strategy & Leadership Development: Designed and executed succession planning, leadership development, and employee engagement strategies to drive long-term business sustainability.
• ✔ Compensation & Benefits (C&B) Optimization: Spearheaded competitive compensation benchmarking and benefits programs to enhance employee motivation, retention, and business performance.
• ✔ HR Digitalization & Process Excellence: Introduced HR automation, streamlined competency mapping, and enhanced training & development frameworks for workforce capability building.

Mar 2009 – Dec 2011 · 2 yrs 9 mos

• Managed the entire employee lifecycle and employee relations for DSM India’s Engineering Plastics business, ensuring seamless HR operations, compliance, and a high-performance work culture.
• Key Achievements & Strategic Impact:
• ✔ End-to-End HR Leadership: Led talent acquisition, onboarding, performance management, and succession planning to support business growth.
• ✔ Employee Relations & Industrial Relations (IR) Management: Successfully handled employee engagement, grievance resolution, and compliance, ensuring a positive and productive work environment.
• ✔ HR Compliance & Governance: Ensured 100% compliance with labor laws, policies, and corporate governance frameworks in Pune and multi-location operations.
• ✔ HR Operations Excellence: Streamlined HR administration, optimized HR processes, and enhanced employee satisfaction through targeted HR initiatives.
• ✔ Leadership & Business Support: Partnered with business leaders to align HR strategies with engineering plastics business objectives, enabling sustainable workforce growth.

Jul 2005 – Feb 2009 · 3 yrs 7 mos · Pune, Maharashtra, India

• I was instrumental in establishing and leading the HR function, aligning it with the organization’s strategic vision. My role focused on building a high-performance culture, talent optimization, and leadership development to drive business growth.
• Key Achievements & Strategic Contributions:
• ✔ HR Function Setup & Strategic Alignment: Designed and implemented a structured HR framework aligned with organizational goals, ensuring seamless integration of HR with business strategy.
• ✔ Talent Acquisition & Leadership Development: Built a high-performance workforce, attracting top industry talent, implementing leadership development programs, and driving succession planning.
• ✔ Employee Engagement & Retention: Led initiatives to enhance employee experience, motivation, and retention, fostering a culture of innovation and continuous growth.
• ✔ Performance & Reward Strategy: Designed and implemented compensation structures and performance management frameworks, ensuring alignment with business objectives and industry benchmarks.
• ✔ HR Digitalization & Operational Excellence: Drove HR process automation and digital transformation, optimizing efficiency, decision-making, and employee lifecycle management.

Sep 2004 – Jul 2005 · 10 mos · Igatpuri, Nashik, Maharashtra, India · On-site

• Led Plant HR & Industrial Relations (IR) team for Mahindra & Mahindra’s Igatpuri facility, ensuring a harmonious, compliant, and high-performance workforce in a unionized manufacturing setup.
• Key Achievements & Strategic Impact:
• ✔ HR Strategy & Workforce Management: Managed the entire employee lifecycle, implemented HR policies, and drove organizational development initiatives to enhance productivity.
• ✔ Industrial Relations (IR) & Union Management: Successfully negotiated Long-Term Wage Settlements (LTAs) and bonus agreements with Bharatiya Kamgar Sena, ensuring zero production downtime and business continuity.
• ✔ Employee Engagement & Cultural Transformation: Developed employee engagement frameworks, reducing attrition and improving morale in a highly competitive automotive manufacturing setup.
• ✔ Labor Law Compliance & Risk Mitigation: Ensured 100% compliance with labor laws, reducing legal risks and maintaining a positive industrial relations climate.
• ✔ HR Operations & Automation: Spearheaded HR digitalization and process automation, improving efficiency in payroll, attendance, and contract workforce management.

Jul 2001 – Sep 2004 · 3 yrs 2 mos · Roha, Raigad, Maharashtra, India

• As the youngest HR Manager to lead Plant HR & Industrial Relations (IR) at Semperit AG, I played a pivotal role in driving workforce transformation, compliance, and productivity enhancements in a unionized manufacturing environment.
• Key Achievements & Strategic Impact:
• ✔ HR Leadership & Compliance: Successfully managed end-to-end plant HR operations, ensuring compliance with labor laws and statutory regulations, minimizing legal risks.
• ✔ Union Relations & Conflict Resolution: Led employee relations and wage negotiations with BKS, fostering a collaborative, dispute-free industrial climate while maintaining business continuity.
• ✔ Productivity & Workforce Optimization: Implemented global productivity frameworks, multitasking models, and strategic HR initiatives, resulting in measurable improvements in workforce efficiency.
• ✔ Employee Engagement & Culture Building: Spearheaded engagement programs that enhanced employee morale, retention, and commitment, directly contributing to higher plant productivity and business performance.

Apr 1997 – Jun 2001 · 4 yrs 2 mos · Nasik, Maharashtra, India

• Started as a Management Trainee, rapidly progressing to Personnel Officer, managing HR, Industrial Relations (IR), and Compliance in a unionized manufacturing setup.
• Key Contributions & Achievements:
• ✔ Talent Acquisition & Development: Led hiring, training, and GET (Graduate Engineer Trainee) programs, building a strong talent pipeline to support business growth.
• ✔ Contract Labor & Compliance: Managed contract labor administration, ensuring adherence to labor laws, statutory regulations, and industrial safety norms.
• ✔ Industrial Relations & Conflict Resolution: Played a crucial role in handling IR challenges, actively supporting the Chief of Personnel & Works Manager in navigating strikes, lockouts, and workforce negotiations, ensuring business continuity.
• ✔ HR Operations & Workforce Management: Gained hands-on experience in policy implementation, grievance handling, and workforce planning, laying a strong foundation for a progressive HR leadership career.