Ina Bajwa has joined Tilaknagar Industries as chief people officer (CPO) , marking a new leadership addition at a time when the company is entering its next phase of growth and organisational transformation.
Announcing the move on LinkedIn, Bajwa said what made the transition particularly meaningful for her was the story and legacy of the organisation itself. Tilaknagar Industries traces its origins back to 1933, when it was founded by Mahadev L Dahanukar as The Maharashtra Sugar Mills.
Reflecting on the new role, Bajwa noted that people leadership becomes especially critical at moments of organisational transition — particularly when companies are integrating teams, strengthening culture, building leadership depth and enabling scale while preserving their entrepreneurial ethos. She expressed gratitude to managing director and chairman Amit Dahanukar and the leadership team for the opportunity to be part of the company’s next chapter.
The role will see Bajwa work closely with leadership and teams across the organisation to build a future-ready and employee-first workplace aligned with the company’s evolving business ambitions.
Bajwa brings over two decades of experience in human resources, talent management and organisational transformation across global corporations and high-growth businesses. She most recently served in leadership roles within the Landmark Group, where she was part of the group HR leadership team responsible for building an integrated talent strategy across the retail conglomerate’s global operations. Based out of Dubai during her tenure, she focused on linking talent strategies to business outcomes and building executive and CEO succession pipelines across the group’s brands and territories.
Bajwa began her career with Essar, as deputy manager-human resources, in 2004, working out of Mumbai. Three years later, she joined HSBC, as associate vice president, organisational development (OD) and change, and DEI.
Less than three years into this role, she was elevated to vice president-talent management and strategic resourcing. By December of 2011 she had climbed to the position of vice president HR-transaction banking group and private bank.
In 2013, she did a stint with the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) as lead-HR business partner before moving on to Degreed to play client product council member, in February of 2019. Over three years later, she switched to the Tata Group. For the first five years she served as director and global head HR-products, digital technology and corporate functions- Tata Communications. In 2019, she was elevated to senior director and global head of learning, organisation and learning development. For the next two and a half years, she successfully led global learning, organisation, and leadership development (L&OLD) strategy and execution, leveraging technology to build scalable solutions and foster a culture of continuous learning. July of 2021 saw her promoted to senior director and global head-HR for CSG, global head of L&D and future of work-Tata Communications. One year into this role came another promotion that made her VP and global head of HR, technology and digital, global head of L&D, Tata Communications.
By November of 2023, Ina Bajwa had been appointed chief human resources officer, 1mg. She led a team of 70 HR professionals to align people strategy with business imperatives for the e-pharmacy and diagnostics businesses of the nine-year-old, mid-stage startup, acquired by Tata Group in 2021. August of 2024 was witness to Bajwa taking on the role of chief talent officer-Tata Digital.
An alumna of the KJ Somaiya Institute of Management Studies and Research, Mumbai, Bajwa is known for her farsightedness, as well as her effective and participative leadership style.
