SKF India (Automotive) has appointed Bhavna Panigrahi as its new chief human resources officer, effective 1 January, 2026, reinforcing the company’s focus on building strong people capabilities to support long-term growth in its automotive business.
In her new role, Panigrahi will lead SKF India’s people and organisational strategy, spanning talent management, HR operations, industrial relations, leadership development and organisational effectiveness. She will work closely with the leadership team to ensure HR initiatives are closely aligned with business priorities, while strengthening a culture rooted in inclusion, performance and innovation.
Panigrahi brings close to two decades of experience in human resources, with deep expertise in designing people strategies that support business growth and resilience. Known for her calm and adaptable leadership style, she has consistently focused on building inclusive, high-engagement workplaces. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) has been a central theme throughout her career, reflecting her belief that inclusive environments are critical to innovation, creativity and sustainable performance.
She joined SKF India in 2022 and most recently served as HR head for the automotive business and central functions, a role she held until December 2025. During this period, she played a key role in strengthening employee experience, talent acquisition frameworks and leadership capability. Alongside this, she also served as head of DEI for India and South East Asia, where she led regional inclusion strategies and initiatives aimed at embedding inclusive behaviours across the organisation.
Prior to SKF, Panigrahi spent over five years at Schneider Electric, where she held multiple roles including senior HR business partner, HRBP and talent manager, and diversity and inclusion consultant. Her responsibilities included partnering with business leaders on workforce strategy, implementing organisation-wide DEI programmes and coaching leaders to build inclusive leadership capabilities.
Earlier in her career, she spent more than eight years at Tata Consultancy Services across talent management, HR generalist and recruitment roles. Her experience there covered analytics-driven talent management, performance and appraisal processes for large global workforces, succession planning, employee engagement, and large-scale hiring for critical and niche skills.
Panigrahi began her career with First Advantage, working in background verification and compliance before pursuing her postgraduate studies.
Her elevation to the CHRO role underscores SKF India’s emphasis on leadership continuity, internal talent development and future-ready HR practices as the company continues to expand and evolve its automotive operations.
