Wells Fargo gets Vidya Lakshmi as head- HR, I&P

Wells Fargo has appointed Vidya Lakshmi as its new head – HR for India and the Philippines (I&P) . Lakshmi comes with close to two decades of professional experience.

As part of the leadership team at Wells Fargo, Lakshmi will lead the HR services across two regions and will oversee the implementation of country-specific labour practices and effective risk controls. She will report to Arindam Banerrji, MD & EVP, Wells Fargo, I&P.

In her new role, Lakshmi will be responsible for defining and driving the people strategy and priorities for the approximately 37,000 employees in I&P, in partnership with the local and global leadership.

Banerrji admits that Lakshmi has joined “at an exciting and transformational time for our organisation”. He reveals that her focus will be on “developing human capital strategies to enhance the employee experience and help build a world-class culture to attract, develop, engage, and retain the best talent that will ultimately promote innovation and provide a distinct competitive advantage for our business.”

Prior to this appointment, Lakshmi was the managing director and head of human resources at Goldman Sachs, India. In her over 20 years of experience, she has spent close to 16 years of her career at Goldman Sachs.

Lakshmi joined Goldman Sachs in 2004 as an investment bank analyst. Later, she became chief of staff to CEO, and then finally, took up the role of VP, franchise manager and securities division at the Bank. It was in 2013 that Lakshmi moved to an HR operation role as the managing director and head of HR for global mobility services.

Before joining Goldman Sachs, Lakshmi worked with PwC, Chennai.

An economics graduate from the University of Madras, Lakshmi is also a chartered accountant from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India.