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 Celebration 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 are 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.
More than just keynotes – immersive sessions with visionary leaders, celebrating transformation, inclusion, innovation, and purpose.
Network meaningfully in dynamic, curated spaces – over coffee, conversation, music, and shared purpose.
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.
Gautam Khanna is the Chief Executive Officer of PD Hinduja Hospital & Medical Research Centre, Mumbai, one of India’s premier multi-specialty tertiary care hospitals. He is an Inspirational business leader committed to advancing patient care, operational excellence, and digital transformation in the Indian healthcare sector.
He has a rich experience of over 30 years in healthcare and manufacturing sectors successfully managing diverse businesses and creating sustainable shareholder value in challenging environments.
Prior to assuming his role as the CEO of PD Hinduja Hospital, he relentlessly served at 3M Health Care businesses nationally & internationally for over 22 years. He held multiple leadership positions including Executive Director & Country Business Leader, in both Sri Lanka & India.
Gautam Khanna is amongst the coveted members of the QCI (Quality Council of India. He is also the Member, onboarding committee, GSMST, IIT Kanpur, President, Association of Hospitals (AOH)Mumbai. He was also a member of the Board of Studies for Health Care Management Program at Goa Institute of Management. He has held Apex position in FICCI as the Chairman - FICCI Health Services Committee & also chair of FICCI Medical Device Forum. He has also played pivotal roles in other prestigious forums like AMCHAM Medical Device Committee, & Advamed.
Gautam holds a a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from IIT Kanpur and a master’s degree in business administration from IIM Calcutta.
Yash spearheads the global human resources function at Lupin. His experience is diverse and spans a wide range of sectors and geographies.
He has been recognized as one of the top 50 HR thought leaders in the world and in India by the Economic Times, World HRD Congress and SHRM India. Prior to Lupin, he was associated with Philips, Johnson & Johnson, AstraZeneca and Colgate Palmolive.
Yash graduated in commerce from the University of Mumbai, and has an MBA from the University of Sheffield, UK.
With a career spanning more than 26 years, Sandeep is a true technologist driven by a deep passion for technology. As the Technology Leader at Microsoft, he spearheads the 'Microsoft Innovation Hub,' an Experience Center dedicated to empowering customers on their digital transformation journey.
With a passion for all things tech, Sandeep has earned his reputation as a fervent evangelist, particularly drawn to technologies that profoundly shape human lives.
A true thought leader and a trusted adviser, Sandeep's meticulous approach to implementation sets him apart. He envisions 'Innovation Culture' as the driving force behind the next technological leap, recognizing its potential to revolutionize industries. He believes 'Generative AI' will usher Human-Computer Interaction into a new era of transformative experiences.
Sandeep holds a Bachelor’s degree in ‘Mechanical Engineering’ from RVCE, a Postgraduate degree in ‘Data Science and AI’ from the Indian School of Business, and 'Chief Technology Officer' executive program accreditation from the University of Cambridge.
Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Caret Capital, Board Member - PeopleStrong, KarmYogi Bharat, Sunstone, YouInYou, Masters’ Union & Board Member & Founder, Taggd
Pankaj is an entrepreneur, who believes in the power of work capital i.e., deploying capital to give meaning and access to work.
He currently serves as the Co-Founder and Group CEO of PeopleStrong, overseeing two independent businesses: PeopleStrong and Taggd. Recently he completed the divestiture of the Wheebox business, which was acquired by ETS, the world’s largest private nonprofit educational research and measurement organization, known for TOEFL, GRE, and TOEIC.
Managing Partner at Caret Capital, a Venture Capital Fund with a primary focus on startups - powering new value chain of India.
He also serves as the Founder Trustee of YouinYou, a charitable trust dedicated to delivering education to underprivileged children.
Pankaj is an active board member of the Prime Minister's KarmYogi Bharat initiative, actively collaborating with the Government of India to introduce capacity-building measures. He is also on the advisory board of Sunstone Eduversity.
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.
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.
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’
Ruchee is a senior sales professional and leader with motivational management style and reputation for building and retaining highly motivated sales teams. Ruchee is currently positioned as Senior Director-Talent & Learning Solutions at LinkedIn where she gets to work, learn and collaborate with the best & the most diverse talent.
Ruchee manages a team of people managers & top consultative sales professionals who are passionate about connecting talent with opportunity on a massive scale. LinkedIn is transforming the way companies find talent, market, and sell. Their solutions help thousands of companies in the world to find great candidates and improve efficiency and create new economic opportunities producing a virtuous cycle that is changing the world into a better place.
She also leads the India Chapter of LinkedIn's ERG (Employee Resource Group) "Women at LinkedIn". Ruchee has the privilege to work with a high energy team that is committed towards creating an Inclusive community that empowers women to advance their careers while being their authentic selves.
Ruchee specializes in Building High Performance Sales Teams, Talent Acquisition, Sales Force Management, Sales Team Training & Team Building,Sales & Business Development, Key Account Management & Retention.
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).
Debeshi Chakraborty is a possibilitarian who met Mother Teresa during the Gulf War as a student—an encounter that inspired her to ‘Design the Inner Hero’ in individuals.
Trained as a Smart City Designer in London, she transitioned from designing cities to shaping leaders, bringing her global experience across Fortune 500 firms, leadership coaching, and education.
Journey as an ICF Volunteering Leader
As the first woman President of the ICF Delhi Charter Chapter, Debeshi is committed to making it a home for all coaches in Northern India. She is ICF-PCC & Gallup certified Strengths Coach, Commonwealth Scholar-London and a Gold Medalist, M.Arch, Jadavpur University, Kolkata.
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.
An experienced content creator, with over eleven years of experience across verticals, Rohan Sylvester has a demonstrated history of working in the content industry. Combining his passion for content, data-driven insights, and recruitment technologies, he is able to provide companies with actionable strategies to enhance their recruitment.
As the recruitment evangelist for Indeed in India, Rohan leverages Indeed’s extensive platform data and research to support HR and TA professionals across India with insights that could help them attract and hire the right talent.
Rohan is a Marine Engineer and an alumnus of Birla Institute of Technology.
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.
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.
Former Director (HR), Indian Oil
Former Chair & President, IFTDO, Geneva
Founder & CEO, HridaySe Consulting
Mr. Ranjan Kumar Mohapatra is Director (Human Resources) on the Board of Indian Oil Corporation (IndianOil) with effect from 19.2.2018. Prior to this, he was IndianOil’s Executive Director in charge of West Bengal State Office. A Mechanical Engineering graduate from BITS, Pilani, with a Post-Graduate Diploma in Management from Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar, Mr. Mohapatra joined IndianOil in 1987 and has since worked on varied assignments, including Terminal Operations, Supply Chain Management & Logistics. With in-depth knowledge and acumen in Supply Chain & Logistics, he had been associated with evacuation of finished products from IndianOil’s domestic refineries, and product upliftment agreements with stand-alone refiners as well as other oil marketing companies (OMCs). Mr. Mohapatra was also one of the chief architects of the auto fuel quality (BS-III/BS-IV) upgradation programmes of OMCs in India. Between April 2010 and Jan. 2012, he headed the Operations function of IndianOil’s Maharashtra State Office, which oversees the largest number of bulk storage terminals & depots in a State. As Managing Director of IndianOil(Mauritius) Ltd., the Company’s overseas subsidiary, during 2012-2015, Mr. Mohapatra led a team of young professionals, registering sizeable growth in market share and profitability. He was also on the Board of Mer Rouge Oil Storage Terminal, a joint venture formed by four MNCs to set up modern oil storage facilities in Mauritius. Under his inspiring leadership as head of IndianOil’s West Bengal State Office, the OMCs released a record 10.5 lakh PMUY (Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana) connections in the first 116 days of the scheme, that is, over 9,000 new connections a day. Always eager to try out new things, Mr. Mohapatra achieved cashless transaction facilities at almost all Indian Oil fuel stations in West Bengal State and piloted a smart auto-fuel complex that has come up at Rajarhat in Kolkata. Being a person with human touch, Mr. Mohapatra initiated his direct interaction with Young Officers of different functions in the State Office, which has been greatly appreciated. He also conceptualized and launched the now acclaimed Fab-14, which is a novel mentoring system within the channel partners. Widely travelled in Europe, USA, Africa and Southeast Asia, Mr. Mohapatra presented papers in several national and international forums and published a number of articles in international journals and supply chain reference books
Dr. Ankur Baruah is the Director Human Resources (HR) of Oil India Limited, a leading Maharatna energy company in India. An engineer turned HR leader, Dr. Baruah holds an MBA degree in Human Resources, a PhD in Business Administration and prestigious certifications, including IPMA Project Management and Psychometric Testing accreditation.
Prior to his appointment as Director (Human Resources), he was serving as the Executive Director (Human Resources) in Oil India Ltd.
With three decades of professional experience spanning the full spectrum of HR and corporate leadership, Dr. Baruah is a recognized expert in manpower planning, talent acquisition, performance management, stakeholder engagement and change management. His strategic and innovative approaches have strengthened Oil India Limited’s reputation as an industry leader in HR excellence.
A distinguished thought leader, Dr. Baruah has delivered keynote addresses and participated in high-profile panels at national and international forums. His contributions to the HR domain have earned him numerous prestigious accolades, including the Most Iconic HR Leader, the Topmost HR Leader in Asia and the HR Excellence Award.
A permanent resident of Kushal Nagar, Jorhat, Assam, Dr. Baruah is a passionate believer of human centric leadership in creating better workplaces and organizations.
Rohit has been the 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, Post graduate from Tata Institute of Social Sciences and Graduate in Industrial Chemistry with top honours from Delhi University
Pradnya is the Founder and CEO of ThreeFish Consulting. She has 20+ years of experience in Strategic HR, Talent Management, Executive Assessment & Coaching. An Industrial-Organizational Psychologist by training. Pradnya has lived and worked in the United States and India.
She is co-author of the book, The Secret Life of Organizations: Invisible Rules of Success for the Young Indian Professional, - which gives an insider view of what makes organizations tick, and helps young professionals take the smart path to the top. Instrumental in bringing Hogan Assessments to India, Pradnya has provided Hogan feedback to hundreds of business leaders. As the Master Distributor for Hogan Assessments in India, she is responsible for ensuring scientific rigour in the application of Hogan solutions across clients, resellers and solution partners.
In the past, she has held various HR leadership roles including Director – People & Organization Capability for Microsoft India, Senior Director & Country HR Head for eFunds, Director & Country HR Head for Discovery Communications, and AVP HR for InterGlobe Enterprises. Her last role was as a Global Talent Assessment Program Manager for Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, USA.
She brings rich experience across a variety of industries and deep understanding of workplace behavior and organizational dynamics to her coaching and consulting engagements. Pragmatic & result focused, Pradnya believes in human potential for transformation. At ThreeFish, she leads the design and implementation of coaching, consulting and learning solutions.
Pradnya has a Ph.D. in Industrial-Organizational Psychology from the University of South Florida and is a member of the Society for Industrial-Organizational Psychology (SIOP). She is a regular attendee and presenter at the Annual SIOP Conferences. She continues to be a Life Member of the National HRD Network in India
A Chartered Accountant by qualification, Arti Dua has been with EY for nearly 24 years, steadily rising through the ranks and exemplifying unwavering commitment, deep expertise, and impactful leadership.
She began her career with the Tax practice, where she led complex direct tax engagements, including transaction structuring, cross-border investments, business restructuring, and tax controversy resolution. Arti brings extensive experience across diverse sectors such as technology, telecom, private equity, new-age businesses, and start-ups.
In her current role as Talent Leader for EY India, Arti is passionate about shaping the firm’s people agenda. She is deeply committed to enhancing employee well-being, driving adoption of automation and digitisation in HR and effectively addressing the evolving needs of a multi-generational workforce.
Her leadership reflects a strong focus on building a culture of care, agility and inclusivity, while aligning talent priorities with the dynamic needs of the business.
Charles is an astute Human Resource Professional with 19 years in-depth experience in the entire gamut of People Programs & Processes from renowned IT Industry. He is currently with Zoho as HR Leader. He has an extensive exposure to manage change during acquisitions & mergers, building capabilities & talent during high growth phases, executing apt HR interventions.
Previously, Charles has worked with Polaris Software, Hexaware Technologies, WABCO Global Business Services and Royal Cyber.
Charles is a prominent speaker in student & industry forums and has delivered over Two-Thousand Guest Lectures, spends his weekends mostly visiting colleges & speaking to young minds. He conducts counselling session for students & helps many youngsters choose the right career path. He has also launched a new initiative ‘HR Lens’ to inspire young minds of our nation.
Honoured with Excellence Award in recognition of outstanding contribution in the field of Human Resource Management & Social Initiatives. He has also received many awards in recognition for the best Associate Connect & People Management. He is also one of the key members, board of advisors for many Institutions, HR Forums & Social Organisations.
He specializes in Talent Acquisition & Retention, Talent Management, Talent Engagement, Talent Development, Employee Relations, OD interventions, Compensation Management, Performance Management, Administration of Policies, Programmes & Practices, Employee Discipline, Employee Welfare & Branding.
Aarti Srivastava has been appointed as the Chief Human Resource Officer (CHRO) for Capgemini in India, effective 2022. Before taking this role, Aarti was the CHRO for Business Services GBL at Capgemini.
Prior to joining Capgemini, Aarti has performed on various leadership and strategic roles in HR at FIS, Deutsche Bank
Aarti is a seasoned people leader with over two decades of expertise in multiple dimensions of human resources. Her experience includes organization design and development, employee experience, and leadership development. She has successfully executed multiple global programs driving change management, M&A integration, overall business growth and functional transformation.
Aarti holds an MPM degree in HR from Symbiosis Institute of Business Management (SIBM). She has also completed her certification in ‘Strategic HR’ from NSU, Singapore and ‘Strategic Thinking’ from London Business School.
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!
Viekas K Khokha has a rich experience of 25 years, spreading across 5 industries including office automation, telecommunications, healthcare, chemicals & fertilizers & auto ancillary.
Viekas is currently the SVP & CHRO with Sharda Motors Limited where he is channelizing their people and culture transformation agenda through organization design, talent transformation, new ways of working, Technology immersion, to name a few. In the past, he has served some industry leaders like Bharti Airtel Ltd., Zimmer Biomet India, Dhanuka Agritech to name a few.
Viekas has a unique yet powerful career progression including some interesting cross functional moves like his career shift from sales to HR. He has consistently progressed in his career by undertaking some large transformation projects like integration of 3500 workforce across Bharti Airtel and Setting up of Global Centre of Excellence for them consuming back-end processes for 16 countries of Africa, Re-organisation of business unit based structure at Zimmer. He measures his success through a fine print that he can establish basis his connect with the field sales which helps him develop an understanding of the consumer.
Post the completion of Global Fellow Program in Talent Management from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania in the US, he developed the understanding the need for Inclusion in Indian organizations for their long-term development and sustainability. He undertook leadership course in Diversity and Inclusion and started volunteering with the organisations in India developing understanding of their Diversity & Inclusion craft.
Suvarna Mishra, CHRO at Pluxee India, formerly Sodexo Benefits and Rewards Services, has 20+ years of experience managing HR for large, complex organizations focusing on talent management and organisation effectiveness/development initiatives.
At Pluxee, Suvarna has been instrumental in driving substantial organizational growth by aligning HR strategies with business objectives. Under her leadership, Pluxee India has achieved significant recognition, including five (5) consecutive years as a Great Place to Work, top scores in the Happiness Index for India; and prestigious GEEIS Level 3 certification for gender equality & diversity; and its overall HR practices.
She has successfully led organisational transformation through multiple mergers and acquisitions, enhancing HRs’ efficiency by leveraging digitalisation in HR.
Industry has accorded her with notable certifications from the National HRD Network, Indo French Chambers of Commerce, and NDTV.
Paras is a seasoned HR Leader, backed by 19 years’ experience in organizations ranging from global to local, start-up to mature, manufacturing to retail and listed to not-for-profit organizations. Currently he is CHRO at Hindustan Times Media Group. Post Graduate from Symbiosis International University, Paras is passionate about telling stories and sharing his experiences in variety of conferences, webinars, B-School events and social media.
Before joining HT Media, Paras was Head, Group HR at Motherson Group and responsible for managing the HR function for the Group’s 1,35,000 employees across 41 countries. Prior to which, he worked for 17 years at Aditya Birla Group in various HR leadership roles across sectors, companies & countries which includes stints at Hindalco, Corporate HR, Minacs Philippines, BITS Pilani, Madura Garments, Pantaloons, Birla Carbon US and Aditya Birla Fashion & Retail.
Ankit Aggarwal is the Founder & CEO of Unstop, a community engagement and hiring platform for students and freshers , where talent meets opportunities. Unstop is a playground for talented individuals to learn, upskill, showcase their skills, gain CV points, and get hired to unlock their true potential throughout their academic journey. Unstop has a community of ~7 Million+ Students and Freshers. Ankit’s journey combines a background as a Consultant at top firms, including Sapient and Deloitte, with a passion for education, demonstrated through his involvement with Teach for India. Ankit’s dedication to Unstop has been duly recognized, earning Unstop the distinction of the Best Workforce Enablement Startup by Entrepreneur India and the prestigious Startup 50 Trailblazer Award by Dun & Bradstreet. His impactful ideas have reached global audiences through his engaging TEDx talks, and he was named among India’s 100 Great People Managers by Forbes in 2020.
Harpreet is the Group COE Head responsible for Talent Acquisition & Management for the GMR Group of companies. Her focus areas include hiring for Top Management roles for across the group and building internal succession pipelines. During her tenure in GMR, she has hired more than 45 CXOs across the Group. In her current role, in addition she is responsible for Employee Engagement, Culture building through Values & Beliefs and is Chairperson of IC, PASH for the GMR Group.
Harpreet is an Honours Graduate in Commerce from Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC) 1989 & Masters in Commerce from University of Delhi 1991. She holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Business Management (MBA) from Institute of Management Technology (IMT) Ghaziabad, 1995 batch with dual majors in Human Resource Development (HRD) and Finance.
Harpreet has been heading HR during the last 16 years for companies across industry. She has worked and contributed to the growth of companies namely SMS Siemag, a German MNC, ABC Consultants, WWIL, a Zee Network Company, Fortis HealthWorld Ltd., The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), The Princeton Review - Manya and Engineers India Limited (EIL).
Harpreet has more than 26 years of rich and diverse experience in areas of Human Resource Management broadly – Organisation Transformation and Management of Change, Organisation Re-structuring, M&A’s, HR Digitalization, Talent Acquisition & Management, Compensation & Benefits, Performance Management, HR Policies and Guidelines, Organization Development, Learning & Development, Statutory Compliance, Reward & Recognition, Succession & Career Planning, HR Budgets & Audit and Data.
She has been invited as speaker to top academic institutes, committee member in top industry bodies and expert evaluator in industry level competitions including BML Munjal L&D Awards.
Pooja is the Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer at Bata India. She is renowned HR professional with 2 decades of expertise in Global Human Resource Management in diverse multinational companies and in multi-geographies with specialization in Strategic HR, Organization Capability Development, Employee Communication, Compensation & Benefits, and HR Business Partnership.
A people science evangelist, an entrepreneur by heart, employer branding, culture and capability building are her forte. Her work revolves around organization transformation through the fabric of its leadership by architecting differentiated talent models. At the core of her efforts is an intent to ride the “Future of Work” wave and foster a culture of engagement, agility and innovation.
A postgraduate in HR, Pooja is a behavioral training coach and has certification in psychometric assessments for DiSC and Devine Inventory. Pooja was also a Founder and Partner with CHRO nexus, a boutique HR consulting company in Strategic HR, Rewards and Talent Management areas. Pooja’s corporate stint involved working in several industries like Pharmaceuticals, Insurance, Telecom and BPO both in MNC and Indian companies like Merck/MSD, Advanz Pharma, AXA, IBM, and Reliance and helped her organizations deliver best-in-class and innovative HR Programs.
Pooja is a visiting faculty in management institutes teaching and upskilling young talent in the human resources domain and partners with NGOs to support the education of underprivileged children. She is an enthusiast who loves biographies, being a full-time mother and advocating creativity in every walk of life.
Srilata currently leads learning for APAC as the Director for Learning and Development at CGI. In her earlier work stints, she was the Country head for Training for India, at Hinduja Global Solutions. Prior to that she was the Senior Director, Talent Management and Development, Sutherland Global Services, heading the Talent Management initiatives for Healthcare Vertical globally and the project leader for the Inclusivity and Diversity initiatives at Sutherland India.
Srilata has previously worked in leading IT firms like Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC India), Franklin Templeton India, Convergys Information Management (India), Tech Mahindra, Health Management Research Institute and Infor Global Solutions leading OD, L&D and Talent Management Functions.
Education & Certifications:
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).
Amol, an alumnus of UC Berkeley Extension, SIMS, Symbiosis Law College and Delhi University was born in a Defense Family. An avid learner, he pursued additional certifications like SPHR, HRMP & SHRM - SCP. With an overall experience of 23 years in Human Resource Management including global experience in US as HR Business Partner to CFO and other Chief Executives that added challenge and contributed heavily in his professional growth. Amol has worked across various segments such as Financial Services, IT Product Company, IT/ITES, Pharma and Bio Technology. He specializes in - Strategic Human Resources – People Strategy, Organization Development, Human Capital and Employer of Choice Branding, Performance Management, Compensation Management, Talent Engagement and Management, Policies and Processes, Risk Management, BCP, General Management and Leadership Transformation. He holds experience in Core HR Practices and Process Areas which includes, Complete Value Chain. Currently he is The People Leader for India/Philippines at FIS. He is associated with FIS for last 5.5 years. He is responsible for bringing People Strategy to life and driving culture change. Amol’s focus is enhancing employee experience and ensuring India operations are world class. Prior to FIS, Amol has held different positions at Barclays Technology Center India, SunGard, Infosys BPM, Lupin Ltd. and few others. Apart from work, he is a Marathon Runner and has participated in multiple runs including Ladakh marathon and enjoys spending time with his family.
Head HR, GSC India & Global Functions GSC HTC, HSBC Operations, Services & Technology Centers
Dimple is a Head of HR GSC India & Global Functions GSC HTC at HSBC Operations, Services and Technology Centers. She is an experienced HR leader who has worked across industry and consulting with a specific focus on aligning people strategy to business strategy. She has practical and hands on experience in transforming Global HR organizations and partnered with senior business leaders. She has led large HR Operations, Restructures and Organisation Designs, Transformation and HR Shared Services teams. Dimple is an adept problem solver and demonstrates the ability to juggle multiple and competing priorities and translate strategy into clearly defined action plans utilizing sound business acumen and grounded experience. She believes in harnessing the power of people to create customer delight and long-lasting business impact and drives optimal cost and performance of organizations in fast growing, commercial and international arenas. She is passionate about providing evidence-based insight in helping organisations attract and retain talent. She has worked global roles with Ernst and Young, Aon, WNS and Standard and Poors.
Dimple has written many industry papers across a variety of topics in HR and is a Bachelor in Information Technology and has a Masters in Business Administration.
Swati is Senior Vice President, and Head Human Resources for R1 RCM India.
With an overall experience of over 20 years, she has proven success in identifying innovative, global, and regional solutions to drive organizational effectiveness, talent strategies, compensation programs, performance management and HR operational excellence activities across sectors (Healthcare, Banking, Analytics, Telecom and IT).
Swati has been consistently delivering change and transformations with multi-industry exposure across the country. She is known for fast, agile, and proven leadership in business Strategy, Human Resource Management, Advisory and Leadership Development.
Swati is a passionate business leader with a unique experience of establishing complete HR and Performance Management systems along with successfully developing and implementing HR Strategy for organizations to create culture of performance, emotional involvement & successful teams.
She has completed her master’s from MDI Gurgaon and an Executive Development Program from Kellogg School of Management
As the Executive Vice President and Head of Global Compensation and Benefits and Enterprise HR, Debasis Sarkar leads the strategic design and implementation of the company's compensation and benefits function, aligning them with HCL Technologies’ global business objectives. He also heads the ‘Enterprise HR’ function, encompassing Global HR Shared Services, Global Policies & Compliance, Global Mobility and Employee Relations fostering a culture of excellence and innovation.
Deb brings over two decades of HR management experience to his role, with deep expertise in compensation strategies, benefits design, and enterprise HR management. He also anchors the global HR shared services organization. This team supports all key hire-to-retire employee lifecycle processes. While managing global policies and compliance, his job is to ensure a well-balanced set of policies in every market of operations which is employee friendly, aligned to market practices and Business goals and also compliant to local legislations of every country.
In the past Deb has held several HR senior leader positions including the ‘Head of HR for the APAC and Middle East’ region at HCL Technologies, where he played a pivotal role in supporting business growth across 17 countries.
Throughout his career, Deb has successfully led numerous HR transformation projects, managed HR operations during mergers and acquisitions, and developed performance incentive programs tailored to diverse global markets. His leadership has been instrumental in driving employee engagement and retention, thereby contributing to HCL’s position as an employer of choice.
Debasis holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Human Resources Management from Xavier Institute of Social Service and a certification in Designing and Implementing Assessment Development Centers.
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.
VP - Learning Innovation, Capabilities & Insights, Global Operations Learning
Synchrony
Experienced org development professional with a demonstrated history of working in the EPC, mining & metals, shipping industries. Skilled in talent management, learning and development, employee engagement, performance management, talent acquisition and employee relations. Strong operations background with a PG in Human Resource Management (XLRI), Masters in strategy and defence.
Leadership Coach, Managing Director, Corporate Druids Non-Executive Director, Logicare Adjunct Faculty, Hult Ashridge
Esther Hnamte was born on the 19th of June, 2016. She started singing at the age of 2 and released her first music video when she was 3. Esther is now studying in school under the sponsorship of Assam rifles HQRS, Shillong.
A passionate and multi-tasking business professional with over a decade of experience, Dedeepya handles the portfolios including Advisory, Research and Academic Partnerships catering to the regions of India, as well as APAC regions. She further also heads the South Region for SHRM India and is responsible for business development and consulting in the area of Human Capital Management. Prior to this, she has worked with Oracle India as HR Consultant. Her areas of interest include Knowledge Management, Diversity and Inclusion, Competency Assessment and Development, Organization Development, Research and HR Analytics. She has been involved in the project design, content generation and implementation of consultancy projects in the above areas. She is experienced in using Quantitative and Qualitative research methods for diagnostic purposes including identifying relevant variables, designing questionnaires and using various statistical methods for analysis. She co-authored papers/ book chapters in the areas of Diversity and Inclusion and further has contributed extensively to various articles / interviews in leading newspapers. Dedeepya is a Mechanical Engineer from Jawaharlal Technological University (Kakinada, A.P) followed by a MBA from Indian Institute of Science (IISc, Bangalore, India). She is a certified SHRM Senior Certified Professional ( SHRM SCP), Level -1 Hogan Assessor and is certified in Job Evaluation by KornFerry - Hay. Along with her work, Dedeepya is passionate about painting, dancing and sports.
Ashissh has over 21 years of experience in HR Consulting firms and has been providing strategic HR inputs to more than 300 clients across industries and geographies, including India, the Middle East, the Americas, and Southeast Asia.
Ashissh is a certified DDI Master Facilitator, Gallup Strengths Coach, Hogan Certified, Talent Management, and HR Technology, expert. Before joining SHRM, Ashissh worked extensively with world-class Consulting organizations like Gallup, Mercer, DDI, and Aon.
He is a trusted adviser to C suite leaders on improving business results by helping build leadership capability, people digital systems, craft talent management strategy, training and designing development journeys, and measuring employee engagement.
Ashissh is known for his executive presence, public speaking skills, and passion for facilitating leadership and behavioral training workshops. His other significant work includes evaluating and building organizational structures by linking to business needs and the application of competencies across the organization. He is also a certified Competency Based Interviewer. Ashissh is an engineering graduate and an alumnus of IIM Lucknow.
Nitya is an Organization development consultant with experience in Leadership Development, Behavioural Assessments for Succession planning, Performance Management and designing learning journeys for managerial development.
Over the last decade she has successfully leveraged her experience in Business and Consulting to drive meaningful and measurable change management initiatives for her clients across industries like BFSI, ITES, Fintech, Pharma & Manufacturing.
She holds a Postgraduate Diploma in executive HR from XLRI and is a certified HOGAN practitioner. She has extensively used Predictive Psychometric tools like CHALLY, Personality assessment DISC, Pearson personality tool Sosie, Critical thinking Assessments Watson Glaser etc. for designing talent management solutions for clients.
Prior to Organizational Development, her corporate journey began in Business with the Citigroup and later in Wealth Advisory for Private and Corporate clients at Deutsche bank.
20+ Main Hall Sessions deliver keynote addresses, fireside chats, power panels, debates, and networking opportunities.
Day 1 emphasizes leadership, recognition, and workplace success, ending with an exclusive awards evening.
Day 2 focuses on future readiness, insights, idea labs, and foresight-driven keynotes.
25+ Concurrent Sessions include masterclasses, workshops, panels, and mega sessions.
📅 November 13, 2025 - Thursday
| Time | Keynote Hall Raja Bagh |
Mega Hall Mumtaz |
Mega Hall Jehangir |
Concurrent Halls Roshanara / Sheeshmahal / Jahanara |
Workshop Hall Vazir |
Smart Stage I Durbar Expo I |
Smart Stage II Shahjehan Expo II |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 08:00 AM - 08:50 AM | Registration and Networking | ||||||
| 09:00 AM - 10:30 AM | Conference Opening Segment | — | — | — | Workshop | — | — |
| 10:30 AM - 11:30 AM | — | Networking Break in Expo Area | — | Best Practice Presentation / Skill Cafes | |||
| 11:30 AM - 01:10 PM | — | Masterclass / Mega / Concurrent Sessions | — | — | — | ||
| 01:10 PM - 02:20 PM | — | Lunch | — | Skill Cafes | |||
| 02:20 PM - 04:40 PM | Conference Closing Segment | — | — | — | Workshop | — | — |
| 04:45 PM - 05:30 PM | — | Networking Break in Expo Area | |||||
| 05:30 PM Onwards | Awards | — | — | — | — | — | — |
📅 November 13, 2025 - Thursday
Celebrating Work
A Global CEO’s Perspective

Celebrating Recognition

📅 November 13, 2025 - Thursday







📅 November 14, 2025 - Friday
| Time | Keynote Hall Raja Bagh |
Mega Hall Mumtaz |
Mega Hall Jehangir |
Concurrent Halls Roshanara / Sheeshmahal / Jahanara |
Workshop Hall Vazir |
Smart Stage I Durbar Expo I |
Smart Stage II Shahjehan Expo II |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 09:00 AM - 09:45 AM | — | Masterclass | Masterclass | — | — | — | — |
| 10:00 AM - 11:15 AM | Conference Opening Segment | — | — | — | Workshop | — | — |
| 11:15 AM - 12:00 PM | — | Networking Break in Expo Area | — | Skill Cafes | |||
| 12:00 PM - 01:05 PM | — | Mega / Concurrent Sessions | Workshop | — | — | ||
| 01:05 PM - 02:05 PM | — | Lunch | — | Skill Cafes | |||
| 02:05 PM - 03:45 PM | Conference Mid Day Segment | — | — | — | Workshop | — | — |
| 03:45 PM - 04:15 PM | — | High Tea & Networking | |||||
| 04:15 PM - 05:45 PM | Conference Closing Segment | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 05:45 PM Onwards | High Tea & Networking: Evening Connections & Conversations | ||||||
📅 November 14, 2025 - Friday
Elasticity. Curiosity. Joy. Thriving through constant change.
SHRM Big Debate - From Insights to Impact
Future Forward Foresight
📅 November 14, 2025 - Friday
By the end of this masterclass, participants will:


How HR can integrate ESG principles into everyday behaviors, values, and organizational rituals.
Building skills, mindsets, and leadership capabilities to drive sustainable business practices.
Linking people strategies to measurable ESG outcomes and long-term organizational impact.
Full Conference Access +
SHRM HR Excellence Awards
Access to 2 days Conference Only
Access to 1 day Conference Only
SHRM Membership is available at the special pricing of ₹4,067/- (Original Price: ₹9,794/-) (for people joining the conference)
*Registration fee includes event attendance and food and beverages as per details mentioned in the conference agenda.
*Membership will be activated within 2-3 weeks of receipt of payment
* 18% GST applicable. | USD Pricing Available
Position your brand at the heart of conversations that matter – across the mainstage, digital platforms, experiential zones, and networking lounges.
Partner with SHRM, country’s largest HR association, trusted by professionals in 165+ countries.
Directly connect with the decision-makers who are driving HR transformation, workforce strategies, and business growth.
Showcase your expertise through co-branded sessions, panel participation, and interactive experiences.
Build meaningful connections that go beyond the booth – in a setting designed for genuine engagement.

