The former group CHRO, Reliance Industries, has been in talks with three different companies but is yet to take a decision.
Prabir Jha, president & ex-CHRO, Reliance Industries (RIL), is yet to decide on his next move. He conveyed to HRKatha that he is still evaluating different options, of which CIPLA Pharmaceuticals is one. He also has an offer from a large global company.
He said that he is in talks with three different companies and currently reckoning each offer independently.
However, he categorically told HRKatha, that he was looking at a role which goes beyond just HR. Irrespective of the position he takes up, he will play a more strategic role in the overall organisational development and not merely be the Head-HR.
Jha has been at the helm of the HR function at two of India’s largest companies —Reliance Industries and Tata Motors.
Having spent a little less than two years at Reliance Industries, he quit the organisation in late July, 2015. His sudden exit came as a surprise to the Indian corporate sector.
Jha, who is known for his differentiated people management strategy, had introduced several new employee-friendly practices at Reliance, including five-days-a-week, increased leave entitlements, and also modernised performance management and appraisal processes.
Interestingly, he started his career as a Class-I gazetted officer with the Government of India to finally become the CHRO of India’s largest business conglomerate.
Jha began his career as an assistant works manager at the Dehu Road Ordnance Factory, Pune, in 1990. However, after completing nine years in a secure government job, he decided to test new waters. He took two years’ leave to pursue a full-time course in HR from XLRI, Jamshedpur, which marked the beginning of his corporate life.
Jha has diverse experience across industries—from engineering and information technology to pharmaceuticals and automotives— and now even a business conglomerate. His personal goal is to support people to become better professionals and more importantly, complete individuals.
His corporate career started with Thermax Babacock & Willcox in 1999. He moved to Tech Mahindra in 2001, and then to Dr Reddy’s Laboratories in 2002, where he spent more than 7 years. In 2010, he joined Tata Motors as senior vice-president & CHRO.
