BharatPe ropes in RB’s Smriti Handa as CHRO

BharatPe has hired Smriti Handa as its new CHRO. Prior to the appointment of Handa, Jasneet Kaur, who has now joined IPM India as director, people and culture, was leading the HR function for BharatPe.

In this role, Handa will be working closely with the senior leadership team at BharatPe, and will focus on strengthening the organisational culture and HR practices in the Company with the objective of building BharatPe as an employer of choice.

Prior to this appointment, Handa spent close to three years at Reckitt Benckiser (RB), where she served as the global talent acquisition director. She joined RB in 2019 as the regional HR director for South Asia, where she was leading the HR function for the Indian region.

Handa comes with close to 18 years of experience in the HR domain and has previously worked with brands such as Bharti Airtel and Philips.

Suhail Sameer, CEO, BharatPe shares that BharatPe considers its team as the Company’s biggest asset, and therefore, “culture is key for us as we build BharatPe 2.0”.

Sameer is confident that with Handa on board they will be able to “prepare for the next level of growth for the brand.”

It is hoped that Sameer’s global experience and diverse skills across the HR domain will help us build a high performance and employee-centric organisation””.

The Company is sure that Handa will be able to “implement the right processes and programmes that will create an environment that attracts, retains and develops high potential talent at BharatPe”. .

After completing her PGDM in HR and marketing from the Management Development Institute, Gurgaon, Handa joined Bharti Airtel in the year 2004, as an HR generalist, serving a long and successful ten-year long tenure. During this fairly long stint, she received four promotions and served in various roles within the HR domain. Her last position at Bharti Airtel was that of head of talent acquisition, employer brand and campus engagement for India operations. In this role, she headed the hiring function for the Company, campus-engagement strategies and employer brand management.

Handa’s next stop was Philips Healthcare in the year 2014, where she joined as the head of HR. At Philips as well, within two years, she was promoted to the role of head of human resources for Philips Healthcare Systems & Emerging Businesses for South East Asia. There, this alumna of Shri Ram College of Commerce also led the diversity agenda for the firm.

“Given the Company’s journey so far, my immediate focus would be on creating purpose-led leadership and a performance-driven culture, while retaining the soul and the spirit of this entrepreneurial, fast-paced setup. As we work towards creating a culture where diverse talent flourishes, we would ensure we leverage the power of our internal talent and attract external high potentials to join us to do some of the best work of their life,” says Handa on her appointment.