Kirloskar Oil Engines (KOEL) has roped in Sharukh Vazifdar as its new head of compensation and benefits, as part of efforts to modernise its people strategy. The appointment is a strategic move as the company looks to build a future-ready, agile rewards function that aligns with its evolving business goals.
At KOEL, Vazifdar is expected to steer the company’s compensation strategy toward greater alignment with long-term business goals. He will help build competitive, engaging reward systems to attract and retain talent and also support the company’s ambition for global expansion and sustainable growth.
Vazifdar joins KOEL with extensive experience in compensation design and human resources strategy. Prior to this he was associated with Mattr in Canada, as the global compensation manager. In this role, he oversaw rewards across 11 countries. He joined the company in the year 2023. Recently, he also founded RewardCraft, a consultancy offering tailored compensation and organisation design solutions. Through RewardCraft, he advised organisations on job evaluation frameworks, incentive plans and workforce-planning models that blend business impact with employee satisfaction.
In India, Vazifdar held senior HR positions at Boehringer Ingelheim, Godrej Properties, Godrej Investment Advisers, Alkem Laboratories and Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories. He’s known for introducing transformative reward models and cost- optimisation initiatives.
Sharukh’s appointment also reflects KOEL’s broader commitment to talent innovation. His background includes academic engagement as a guest faculty at NMIMS, where he taught advanced compensation by integrating psychology and economic theory for HR professionals.
His appointment is an important step in KOEL’s journey towards creating a more progressive and employee-centric workplace.