Profile

Hari TN, the head of HR at Big Basket is now known as the start-up HR guy. This IITian and IIM graduate, spent long years at Tata Steel, first as an engineer and then in HR. He has also been through two mergers and acquisitions. He believes, in start-ups, jargons don’t count because one has to execute, perform and make things happen in real time.

Rachna Mukherjee, CHRO, Schneider Electric, an engineer turned HR professional, has stayed relevant and crucial for the business, even without a formal degree in HR. There was a role in HR, in a newly-launched telecom company, that completely gelled with her profile. She took it up as a challenge, and has never ever regretted doing so. 

From finance, to HR and even entrepreneurship, the VP and HR head of IBM India and South Asia has diverse experience, which lends him a holistic perspective for effective decision making.

The CEO of Salveo Healthcare credits his long innings in the HR industry to his learning from the armed forces and believes that the companies should be brave enough to hire different people— and not their mirror images.

Twenty years in human resources has helped Amit Das, president and CHRO, Reliance Communications, change his outlook towards life. An avid reader, who derives insights from intellectually stimulating discussions with even his close friends, is a true global HR leader. HR Katha traces his professional journey and the learning that have shaped his great career…

When the young Shailesh Singh came to Delhi with an aspiration to crack the civil services exams, he had no idea what the future stored for him. Over the next few years, he carved his own path and ventured on a journey, which would make him emerge as one of the most successful players in the HR industry. In a conversation with HR Katha, Singh, who is currently the chief people officer and director of Max Life Insurance opens up about his transformation from an aspiring civil servant to an employee advocate.

Kumar, MD, CHRO, Citi South Asia has tried not to be a destiny's child. She is a fiery, self-reliant person who dared to go the unconventional way.  

Meet Rajendra Mehta, chief people officer, DHFL, who is passionate about impacting people’s professional lives for good, leading them to success, fulfilling their aspirations and turning smaller impacts into bigger successes for the organisation and its people.

It isn’t always a smooth sail to the top. Subhankar RoyChowdhury, global head-HR strategy, M&A and analytics at Lenovo, had to make wise choices and constantly reinvent himself and acquire new skills to stay relevant. He shares his journey with HRKatha.

Paneesh Rao, sr. vice president & head of human resources, Atos India, has nurtured a passion for people management over two decades of his commendable industry experience. It has been a journey of growth and evolution for him. Working with people – directly or indirectly – has shaped him into an honest and ethical person. He shares his thoughts with HRKatha on his life’s experiences and insights.

The journey started almost four decades back when Dilpreet Singh or DP Singh, as he is known to all, was graduating and preparing for the central services examination. It was then that he came across an article in a US publication, about how CHROs grow up to become CEOs in the future. Inspired, he decided to make a career in HR.

In a career spanning over 30 years, Vivek Kumar, chief human resources officer, Indus Towers, has worked with both the public and the private sector, and has managed people across industries. 

A confident risk-taker and a people-focused leader, he shares his interesting journey with HRKatha.

President & group CHRO, Vedanta Resources, Rajesh Padmanabhan believes in two things – people and change – that have influenced him greatly in breaking moulds and foraying into uncharted territories.