Welcome to a celebration of everything work can be purpose-driven, rewarding, and energizing.
The SHRM India Annual Conference 2025 is more than an event, it’s a Festival of Work. A vibrant convergence of people, ideas, and purpose, where passion meets purpose, ambition meets empathy, and innovation connects with culture, making work not just productive but truly rewarding.
In a world where the way we work is constantly evolving, this is a moment to pause, reflect, and reclaim the joy of work. Whether you’re shaping strategy, building culture, driving impact, or simply passionate about making work more human, this is your space to learn, unlearn, reimagine, and celebrate. Because the future of work is not just about change, but about connection, curiosity, and enjoying the journey.
Achal Khanna is the CEO for SHRM India, APAC & MENA. SHRM India is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), which is the world’s largest association devoted to human resource management with more than 3,00,000 HR and business executive members in 165 countries.
Achal is responsible for leading the India operations of SHRM, as well as Asia Pacific operations including Middle-East. She serves on the global SHRM Leadership Team and is responsible for building the brand, expanding its business and developing professional relationships with government agencies, and other HR and business associations in the region.
Achal has over 30 years of work experience. Prior to joining SHRM, she was Managing Director for Kelly India operations; Vice President for GE; and Country Manager for Polaroid India. She has also worked with Dupont, ITC and Cosmo Group in various capacities.
She is a recipient of the “Best Women Executive in India” award.
Achal holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics; a Master’s Degree in English Literature and she is an MBA from Delhi.
Mr. Pasricha has had an illustrious career spanning over 27 years, across sectors and in complex businesses that operate in both the B2B and B2C spaces in. He has been instrumental in building business-aligned HR strategies, driving HR transformational projects and strengthening organisational capabilities through formulation & implementation of HR processes and ensuring proactive HR interventions. Previously, Mr, Pasricha has been Chief of HR & Admin at Bajaj Finance, and in leadership roles at companies such as Bharti Airtel, PepsiCo and Spice Communications as well.
He has completed a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology with Honours from Chandigarh and holds a Master of Business Administration degree in Human Resources as well. BA Hons in Sociology from Chandigarh and holds an MBA degree in Human Resources. Mr. Pasricha supports social causes is close to his heart and makes time do to volunteer work regularly.
Clinical Professor, OB Executive Director, Human Capital & Leadership Initiative (HC & LI), Indian School of Business, Hyderabad, Mohali, India
Manmohan S Kalsy serves as President - HR & Business Operations at Medi Assist. His key role is to align business outcomes with people practices at the Company which employs more than 5,000 employees and is India’s largest health tech and benefits administration company.
Recently , he has served Inbrew Beverages and Go First airlines as the head of human resources functions. He was CHRO at United Breweries Limited from 2013 to 2020 which was a joint venture with Heineken Prior to UB, Manmohan worked as Executive Director - HR at Xerox where he was also appointed on the board of the Company as a whole- time director.
Across his stints at Gillette, PepsiCo,Airtel, Vodafone, Xerox and UBL, Manmohan has led senior executive hiring at CEO & CXO levels and has been involved with multiple projects of start-ups, acquisitions and mergers.
Manmohan is an MBA from IPM, Meerut and has been certified by INSEAD, DDI, Hogan, Hay and Gallup.Manmohan is associated with Chandigarh University on its corporate advisory board and contributes to the HR fraternity by sharing his thoughts for the function at various HR forums. He has also been a part of CII & various government committees to advise on policy matters pertaining to HR ,IR and safety issues. Manmohan has served the NHRD chapters and is a past Rotarian.
Sandeep was born in New Delhi, India and completed his Bachelors in Commerce from Delhi University and Masters in Personnel Management and Industrial Relations from Tata Institute of Social Sciences (T.I.S.S), Mumbai, India.
He started his career in 1992 and over the last almost 24 years has worked across Indian and Multinational companies like SIEL, Dupont, GE, Ranbaxy and HSBC. His work has taken him across industries and geographies, having lived in Japan, Korea, Middle East and Singapore. He has held leadership positions in General Electric, where he worked for 13 years, MENA Regional HR Leader for HSBC at Dubai and with Ranbaxy as the Global Head of Human Resources. Till recently, Sandeep was the HR Head for Emerging Markets, for Xylem Incorporation, based in Singapore. He is currently associated with DCM Shriram as Chief Human Resource Officer.
Sandeep has led HR change agenda through many of his roles, setting up people strategy for growth and building organization and people DNA for business success. During his international stints, he was involved in HR strategy, business reorganization, including Mergers and Acquisitions, Talent and Growth.
Praveen spearheads high impact strategic and transformational interventions at the Vedanta group He started his career with the Group in 2005 and has served across various locations/businesses. He has been instrumental in continuously setting benchmarks in global best people practices, creating a strong pipeline of leaders from within and strengthening and sustaining Vedanta as an ‘Employer of Choice’ through some of the industry leading key initiatives such as –‘ Vice Chairman’s Internal Growth Workshop (Flagship top-talent program) ’, V-Reach (Graduate development program), V-Lead (Anchoring for women leaders) and VLDP (Flagship Campus Leadership program), V – Deliver (Leadership Performance Scorecard).
Praveen is a strong proponent of knowledge sharing and regularly contributes articles eminent journals & magazines. Amongst industry recognitions, Praveen has been conferred with Top 100 HR minds –TOI, The Economic Times -Great Managers Award (Overall), Young HR Leader and ‘Star of the Business’
Rohit Vishal Gupta is the CHRO of Varun Beverages Limited.
He has been Head Of Human Resources with high performance track record in various industries including FMCG, IT, Healthcare, Packaging & Printing and Apparel industries. Highly Skilled in Talent Management, Strategic HRM, Industrial relations and Employee Engagement with proven credentials in handling scale globally and built capabilities for scaling up of businesses in Subcontinent and working across global stakeholders.
Rohit was a Global Leader at Wipro Ltd for Talent Management, Behavioral L&D, CHRO technology org and HR and prior to that CHRO Wipro GE Healthcare South Asia, Director HR- GEBE. Head CSR & Head Education Solutions Initiative.
He was CHRO and Management Committee Member - Printing and Packaging Business and Personal Care products business in ITC Group
Rohit is Certified Coach, Postgraduate from Tata Institute of Social Sciences and Graduate in Industrial Chemistry with top honours from Delhi University
Sanjeev Sahgal brings in more than 25 years of experience working in leadership roles across human resources, agile, lean, six sigma, HR technology and was an entrepreneur early in his career. He has worked across the US, Asia and Africa while managing global portfolios with organizations like the World Bank, GE, Genpact, Target and is currently working as the Chief People Officer at Mercy Corps, a global nonprofit.
Sanjeev is an avid learner and an advocate of the ‘human’ experience in organizations and is passionate about sharing his knowledge and helping others succeed.
Sanjeev is an active contributor and speaker with Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), HR Exchange Network, Hacking HR, and Shared Services Organizations Network (SSON).
Partha is the CEO and Co-founder of Vantage Circle. He has over two decades of expertise in product and executive management. Partha has a proven track record of scaling great businesses and was instrumental in developing and launching 99acres.com.
He gained remarkable expertise in various industrial verticals when he worked for Aricent, Hughes Software Systems, and Bharat Electronics. He has gained deep insights in unlocking employee productivity using employee recognition and engagement through his experience with several companies and HR departments. His strategic skills in a learning and entrepreneurial environment, where complexity can require a dive into the content and creativity, problem-solving skills and intelligence are maximally utilized.
Partha is a strong believer in being able to have an impact together with a team. He leads the company with innovative flair, a reason why Vantage Circle enjoys a sustained competitive position in the market. Under Partha's leadership, Vantage Circle has become a globally recognized HR Tech company, establishing itself as one of the leading Employee Rewards and Recognition SaaS-software in India, UAE and North America.
Chinni has over 24 years of work experience having started his career in Corporate Consulting and Corporate Finance with Arthur Anderson in New York. He joined IBM in 2003 and held multiple roles in the business domain. His tryst with HR finally happened in 2005. Today, as the CHRO for IBM India/South Asia, he is responsible for all aspects of HR including the people strategy, leadership, skills, career, engagement, employee services, labor cost, and diversity & inclusion of the workforce across India/South Asia.
HR in IBM has re-designed all aspects of the company’s people agenda and management systems to shape a culture of learning, innovation and agility. The HR function has digitally transformed incorporating AI and Automation across all offerings. Chinni has championed the transformation and adoption of these methodologies- at scale, driving company-wide, co-created solutions.
Chinni strongly believes that it is the open mindedness and willingness to take those calculated risks that takes you places.
On the educational side, he has a Bachelors degree in Economics from Cornell University and an MBA in Finance from Northeastern University.
VP - Learning Innovation, Capabilities & Insights, Global Operations Learning
Synchrony
Aditya is the Chief Human Resources officer at Orient Electric (CK Birla Group), and is responsible for building the culture and the human capital of an organization that is undergoing significant transformation. He is passionate about leading the people agenda that ensures that we get the right people, in the right roles, with the right capabilities to drive differentiated performance and make a significant impact in our Industry.
He has over two decades of experience that spans across multiple facets of HR including Performance, Reward and Benefits, Business Relationship Management, HR Transformation & Change Management, Employee Engagement, HR Technology & Service Delivery Strategy, Shared Services and Global Payroll Models. He is a results-driven leader, who has worked in Singapore, India and London, managing global teams in a highly matrixed global environment. In all of his roles, he has created space to drive change through a multi discipline approach that leverages all aspects of Human Capital Management, Technology and Culture to drive productivity and performance.
Prior to Orient he has worked across sectors in marquee organisations like Clix Capital, Airtel, Standard Chartered Bank and Hewitt Associates (Aon).
Rajesh Rai is Vice President – People Team and Head of Human Resources for GlobalLogic in India. Rajesh is responsible for spearheading the company’s HR transformation, Learning & Development, Change Management and D&I & Sustainability initiatives for India. Rajesh works towards building new frontiers that will bolster the company’s vision in building a ‘humans and people first’ culture, drive employee experience, nurture diversity and inclusion, and transform the employees’ and company’s growth journey.
With over two decades of experience in the HR industry, Rajesh has extensive experience of working with global business & HR teams across multiple cross-cultural border teams effectively.
Rajesh has worked with various leading global organizations such as Eicher Motors, Expedia, United Colors of Benetton, Adobe Systems, Ernst & Young, and Arthur Andersen. Rajesh was previously associated with Accenture as Head of HR for their Consulting business in India, along with India Corporate Functions. He enabled HR interventions & strategies for a huge workforce, that focused on crafting industry leading HR practices, commissioning large-scale transformational change and redefining employee experience through Human Capital strategies, Culture, Performance Achievement, Leadership, Diversity and Inclusion.
Rajesh holds a Bachelors and masters in chemistry from Delhi University and an MBA from XLRI Jamshedpur. He is a GALLUP Strengths Coach and loves coaching teams and individuals for leveraging & applying their strengths. Rajesh loves to travel & experience local cultures. He also loves Yoga, meditation, painting, sketching, music, soccer and is an avid reader.
Pallav is a distinguished leader with nearly two decades of expertise in industries like HCM, SaaS/PaaS, HR outsourcing, and recognition and rewards. His deep knowledge in HR technology, Rewards and Recognition programs makes him a sought-after speaker in the HR space. With a strong foundation in consulting, recognition strategy, and HR solutions, Pallav is known for simplifying complex products and translating them into actionable insights for entrepreneurs, HR leaders and professionals.
His ability to demystify HR technologies, particularly in the recognition and rewards domain, empowers organizations to optimize their HR strategy and boost workforce engagement. Pallav’s extensive experience, combined with his impactful skills, makes him a valuable voice at industry events. He highlights how cutting-edge technologies, and strategic frameworks can streamline HR processes and elevate employee recognition initiatives. Don’t miss the chance to hear from this industry visionary, register now for #SHRMTECH25 and gain valuable insights into HR technology and engagement!
Raj is an official Forbes HR Council member and a well-known as well as recognised HR professional in the Industry. In his two decades of global, cross-cultural HR experience, he has worked in various industries, including IT/ITES, Oil & gas, Pharmaceuticals, Engineering and Manufacturing. He has lived and practised HR in the Asia Pacific, Middle East, Africa, Russia, and Europe.
He is currently the Chief Human Resources Officer at AIonOS – A joint venture between InterGlobe Enterprises and Assago Group, spearhead by Industry veteran leader Mr. CP Gurnani. Prior to this, he served as Chief Strategy Officer & Head HR at AdvantageClub.ai, a Global HR Technology (SaaS) platform serving 5 million employees in the domain of HRTech.
In his previous role, Raj has led Concentrix's global digital talent strategy across 40 nations. Additionally, he spearheaded the line HR department for 70,000 employees across 13 locations in India and the ASEAN region. He also started the automation and modernization of Concentrix's HR operation.
Leading newspapers, business journals, TV stations, and international conferences feature his opinions and perspectives. He has also received eight prestigious industry honours for his various contributions:
* ET Global India Leader (2022)
* Topmost HR Leaders (North India) - World HRD Congress (2022)
* Great People Manager Award - Great Manager Institute and Forbes India (2020)
* TA Pai Young HR Leader Award - People Business and Economic Times (2020)
* Great Manager Award - People Business and Economic Times (2019)
* Times Ascent Asia Pacific HRM Awards - HR Tech Projects of the Year (2019)
* ACEF Asian Awards for excellence in HR - HR Leader of the Year (2018)
* 100 Most Influential Tech HR Leaders - Individual Award (2018)
His formal qualifications include PGDM from Symbiosis and further study in Digital Transformation from Columbia Business School, Managerial & Leadership Effectiveness from IIMA, and Design Thinking & Innovation from Emeritus, Singapore. He is also a certified M&A Specialist from Aon Hewitt.
Ritu Bhatia is an experienced Human Resource professional with demonstrated history of working successfully in the Information Technology and Services Industry (ITES) for over 2 decades.
She has an extensive breadth and depth in executive search, recruitment, policies, strategic HR partnership, implementing enterprise level HR transformation projects. Ritu has a proven record of working in a global environment and building strong teams with core focus on providing strategic partnership to stakeholders.
She is known for her responsiveness, solution orientation, and solving complex problems. Ritu has been recognised as one of the Forbes 2024 Top 30 Talent leader.
Bhanu is Executive Committee Member at Tega Industries. He is Global Head of HR & IT for Tega, a global leader in design and manufacturing of critical to operate consumables for the mining, mineral processing and material handling industry. He manages a diverse workforce operating in 21 different countries, spread across six continents. He started as a computer science engineer and then moved to HR after his MBA from MDI Gurgaon. Outside of professional life, he is a retired ultra-marathoner (where he has completed 100 km trail run), he is
father of a teenage son, an avid reader and an engaged philanthropist. He actively invests in and mentors non-profits to help them scale up. He is a practitioner of Applied behavioural science, where he actively participates in ISABS Labs and GRC (Group Relations Conference).
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