Rajesh Nair joins Polycab India as CHRO

Polycab, an Indian electrical equipment manufacturing firm, has appointed Rajesh Nair, former head-HR, Tata Motors, as the new president & CHRO. This is the latest update on the exit of Nair from Tata Motors, which HRKatha had reported on May 10.

Of his 29-year long professional career, Nair spent 28 years at Tata Motors. Talking to HRKatha about his valuable experience working with Tata Motors, Nair says, “Tata had this great culture that allowed me to grow by moving into different functions and roles and understanding the working of each of them.”

Since it is not possible to visit factory sites due to COVID restrictions, Nair is trying to understand the nuances of this new industry that he has joined, by reading up a lot about it at home in preparation for his new assignment.

After completing his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University Of Mumbai, Nair started his career as a sales executive with Pertech Computers, a computer hardware firm. After gaining corporate experience of close to a year, he decided to do an MBA in marketing.

Post completion of the MBA, Nair joined Tata Motors in 1993 in the sales and marketing role in the utility commercial vehicle business. In this role, he was responsible for revenue generation and profits. In 18 years, he moved on to head the utility vehicle division and started managing sales and marketing for brands, such as Sumo and Safari.

Nair completed a post-graduate certificate course in HRM from XLRI and an executive MBA from Carnegie Mellon University. In 2011, Nair decided to move into an HR role and headed the corporate HR function for close to seven years. He was responsible for optimising the HR shared services and also headed the talent- acquisition function at Tata Motors for three years.

In 2018, Nair was elevated to the post of HR head for the commercial vehicle division. In his last position at the Company, he was heading the HR function for sales, marketing and customer care services.