Samunnati, an agri value chain enabler, has appointed Venkatesh Raja as the group chief human resources officer-designate for the company.
Raja moves to Samunnati from K Raheja Group/Shoppers Stop, where he was CCA and president & CHRO.
Venkatesh Raja, who graduated from University of Madras, completed an MBA from Symbiosis Institute of Management Studies in 2000.
In the initial years of his career, Raja spent over four and a half years with Sterling Resorts as manager.
In 1998, he joined Reliance Industries as deputy manager. As part of the core project team, he handled technical and critical talent acquisition, employee engagement and the administration of the 230 acres township at Jamnagar.
In 2003, he took up the role of team lead-networks corporate HR, Reliance Infocomm, Navi Mumbai. After nearly three years, Raja moved to Pantaloon Retail India, a Future Group company, as general manager-corporate human resources. After a tenure that lasted three and a half years, Venkatesh Raja switched to MTS-Sistema Shyam Teleservices, as associate director-human resources.
July of 2010 saw him accept the role of chief people officer, Future Lifestyle Fashions. For the next nine years he successfully spearhead human capital establishment for fashion businesses, mentoring HR heads of FBB, Celio, Future Lifestyle Brands, Lee Cooper, Central, Brand Factory, Clarks, and Cover Story on strategic direction aligned to goals. He oversaw the dis-integration of Pantaloon Retail and smooth human resources migration/transition to Aditya Birla Group.
It was in October 2019 that he joined K Raheja Group/Shoppers Stop, as CCA and president & CHRO.
A distinguished human resource leader, brand strategist, and organisational architect, Venkatesh Raja is backed by nearly three decades of transformative leadership experience.
A certified Marshall Goldsmith coach, Raja is also a passionate mentor, an avid reader, and a national weightlifting champion.
HRKatha wishes Venkatesh Raja all the best as he prepares to lead Samunnati’s people strategy, focusing on enhancing culture, and strengthening leadership capabilities to align with the company’s mission of transforming the agricultural ecosystem.
Anil Kumar SG, founder and CEO, Samunnati, is confident that Raja’s “rich experience and people-first leadership approach will be instrumental in shaping the next chapter of growth and innovation at Samunnati.”
Raja is joining Samunnati, the agri enterprise at a crucial phase, when its leadership is endeavouring to mobilise the organisation toward greater innovation, people-centric growth, and agricultural landscape prominence by empowering small-holders farmers and the agri community at large, in alignment with its mission of building Samunnati 2.0.