Waycool has appointed Alex Augustine as its new chief people officer. Augustine will oversee best practices in human resources management, operations, organisational development, talent management and talent acquisition, at the agri-commerce company. He will also focus on the Company’s culture and employee engagement, as WayCool continues to grow its workforce throughout India and expands its international operations. Presently WayCool has an employee strength of 1500.
Augustine has over two decades of experience in HR across sectors. Talking to HRKatha, Augustine shares that the Company has plans to further grow and expand, for which it is looking at hiring people in food supply chain, distribution and even tech talent for IT infrastructure.
Expressing his excitement at the new assignment, Augustine is eager to “drive social impact while transforming India’s food economy”. His priority at WayCool will be to “leverage and build on the success the Company has experienced to date, understanding what we must accomplish from a business strategy point of view and then ensuring we have the organisational structure and people resources to achieve that in a diverse and inclusive manner,” says Augustine, adding that as a team, “we aim to build the world’s largest food development and distribution services company.”
Augustine brings exceptional experience across all facets of human resources strategy and development on a global scale, having served most recently as the chief people and culture officer for the India operations of ISS World, one of the world’s leading outsourced services companies, operating in 30+ countries worldwide.
As CPCO, Augustine oversaw HR strategy and development for ISS’s 45,000+ employees. Prior to ISS, Alex worked with CMS Infosystem, as a core member of the executive committee leading the HR function for a team of 24,000 employees. He played a significant part in the transformation journey of CMS, which went on to become the No:1 in India and fifth largest company in the world in cash management. He also held impactful roles with Ingram Micro, AVT McCormick and the Taj Group of Hotels.
Augustine holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Loyola College, Chennai and has completed a master’s degree in personnel management from the Madras School of Social Work.
Looking forward to having Augustine as part of the team, Karthik Jayaraman, CEO and co-founder, WayCool Foods says, “Augustine’s impressive leadership acumen, combined with his expertise in transforming culture and employee performance, will play an essential role as we continue to scale our entrepreneurial culture-driven company in high growth mode. Thus, keeping us at the forefront of the tech-enabled food supply chain market.” Jayaraman is eager to work with Augustine as “we continue to build capacities, capabilities, and talent for the vibrant future of agri-commerce in India and globally.”
