Sriharsha A Achar, who was CHRO, HDFC Ergo General Insurance Services, is now the joint executive director and CHRO, at Star Health & Allied Insurance Company.
His stint at HDFC Ergo was a very short one, considering that he joined in February, 2020. Achar had taken a short break spending time helping with COVID-related relief activities and indulging in social work, before taking on his new role at Star Health, Chennai.
Backed by over 34 years of HR experience in several industries, Achar has held HR leadership positions at Xchanging Technologies (now DXC), America Online, First Ring India, Astra Zeneca and vKarma.
As director-HR, Apollo Hospitals, Achar used to lead the entire HR function, which included tal-ent acquisition, talent management, HRBP, compensation & benefits, as well as compliance. He was responsible for developing the HR — culture, systems, frameworks and service-delivery capa-bilities, to support the overall business goals of the Group.
A result-oriented professional with a robust record in aligning HR strategy with business goals, he has been instrumental in strengthening employee experience and relations to facilitate a cordial work environment across various domains, including manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, electronics, BFSI, IT/ ITES, health insurance and healthcare.
Before joining the Apollo Hospitals Group in August 2018, Achar spent almost a decade with Apollo Munich Health Insurance, working out of their Gurgaon office, as ED-CPO. He looked af-ter the Group’s overall HR function and also served as a consultant to the management on people sciences, and was a change agent for his employees.
Having started his professional journey at Arlem Electronics, Achar worked as an engineer – his only non-HR role in his over three-decade long career. While working, he managed to complete a PGDBMA in business management from the Goa Institute of Management and an ME in industrial engineering from Goa University.
It was at Indo Gulf Fertilisers, that he entered the HR domain, and stayed put for five years as an assistant manager.
Along with an engineering degree from Mumbai University, and two post-graduate degrees, he is also a holder of a PhD in human resources management from Azteca University, Mexico.
Given his extensive knowledge and skills in talent management for building and strengthening the unique culture of organisations to support high performance, execution and continuous improvement, it is not surprising that he has received over 60 awards and citations, along with two honorary doctorates. He was HR Achiever of the Year – Zee Business National Human Capital Leadership Awards | 2019 and HR Business Leader of the Year – World HRD Congress | 2019.
He is on the corporate advisory board of Poornima University, Jaipur, and also advises several other educational institutes on student education and wellness matters.
Being very active on social media, the 55-year old’s #acharkevichar – stories with life lessons – is currently trending on various social-media platforms.
