Vinod Rai, former head of HR, Maruti Suzuki, has taken on the role of chief human resources officer (CHRO) at Orient Papers and Industries.
With over two decades of experience in leading organisations, Rai brings a wealth of expertise across the HR domain. Apart from HR operations, he has played a pivotal role in HR transformation, building industrial relations capability, enhancing employee engagement, retaining key talent, attracting a flexible workforce and driving HR digitisation initiatives.
Rai embarked on his career in 1994 as an assistant manager at Panacea Biotech, where he dedicated five years of service. In 1999, he joined another prominent pharmaceutical organisation as manager – HR (sales), and subsequently advanced to the position of senior manager – HR (compensation & benefits).
His next stop was Jubilant Life Sciences, where he served as the head of business HR and talent acquisition for four years. However, his longest stint was with Maruti Suzuki India, where he joined as the deputy general manager (head), talent acquisition. He was then elevated to general manager (head) of HR, for supply chain and plant HR.
From 2017 onwards, he held the position of head – human resources, Maruti Suzuki. His stint with Maruti lasted over 12 and a half years.
In his new role as CHRO, Orient Papers and Industries, Rai is looking forward to helping Orient Papers and Industries achieve the top position in the ever-growing paper industry. He shares that his responsibilities in this new assignment encompass managing all aspects of HR with a strong emphasis on HR transformation, digitisation and capability building.
Having extensive experience in transformation from his previous organisation, Rai believes this new position will “greatly benefit”. “My immediate focus is on recruiting the right talent—individuals who share a passion for becoming the number one player in the industry,” says Rai.