Where Human Potential & Intelligent Systems Create Smarter Workplaces
SHRM Tech is the leading platform bringing together HR, business, and technology leaders who are shaping how organisations apply, govern, and scale HR technology to support leadership decisions and workforce outcomes. Now in its 12th edition, the SHRM Tech26, is anchored around the theme Connected Intelligence – where human insight and technology converge to build future-ready workplaces.
From breakthrough AI applications to rapidly evolving workforce dynamics, SHRM Tech26 serves as a platform for exploring the technologies, strategies, and ideas redefining how organizations work, lead, and grow. It examines how intelligent systems work alongside people, responding to context, learning from experience, and supporting human judgment in real organisational settings.
Shape the Future of Work by Exploring the Latest Innovations and Strategies in HR Technology
Level Up Your HR Skills
Get hands-on with the latest HR strategies through sessions built to strengthen your skills and solve real-world challenges. Design your own learning path, sharpen key competencies, and earn up to 14 SHRM PDCs toward your recertification.
Expand Your Global HR Network
Forge meaningful, lasting connections with like-minded professionals who resonate with your vision and celebrate your wins, relationships that go well beyond the event.
Discover Game-Changing HR Solutions
Engage with exhibitors offering forward-thinking HR tools and technologies tailored to simplify your work and support your strategic goals.
What Awaits You at #SHRMTECH26
Network with 2,500+ HR & Business Leaders & Top Decision Makers
Explore 100+ Innovative HR Tech Solutions at the Expo
Gain Insights from 150+ Visionary Speakers Sharing Groundbreaking Perspectives
If It's a Work Thing
Engage in Dynamic Formats
Keynote Sessions, Power Panels, Fireside Chats, Roundtables Discussions, Lightning Talks Series, Report Launches, Masterclasses, Workshops & more!
#SHRMTECH26
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#SHRMTECH26 Speakers
Achal Khanna
Chief Executive Officer
SHRM APAC & MENA
Achal Khanna
Chief Executive Officer<br> SHRM APAC & MENA
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.
Vinay Tonse
Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer
Yes Bank
Rajesh Jejurikar
Chief Executive Officer, Auto & Farm Sector
Mahindra & Mahindra
Richard Rekhy
Vice Chair, Grant Thornton Bharat & Former CEO, KPMG in India
Tushar Vyas
Chief Strategy Officer, WPP India, Board Director, Growth & Digital Transformation Leader
Tushar Vyas
Chief Strategy Officer, WPP India, Board Director, Growth & Digital Transformation Leader
Krishnakumar Natarajan
Co-founder & Managing Partner, Mela Ventures
& Co-Founder & Former CEO, Mindtree
Krishnakumar Natarajan
Co-founder & Managing Partner, Mela Ventures<br>& Co-Founder & Former CEO, Mindtree
Achal Khanna
Chief Executive Officer
SHRM APAC & MENA
Achal Khanna
Chief Executive Officer<br>SHRM APAC & MENA
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.
Vinay Tonse
Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer
Yes Bank
Rajesh Jejurikar
Chief Executive Officer, Auto & Farm Sector
Mahindra & Mahindra
Richard Rekhy
Vice Chair, Grant Thornton Bharat & Former CEO, KPMG in India
Tushar Vyas
Chief Strategy Officer, WPP India, Board Director, Growth & Digital Transformation Leader
Tushar Vyas
Chief Strategy Officer, WPP India, Board Director, Growth & Digital Transformation Leader
Krishnakumar Natarajan
Co-founder & Managing Partner, Mela Ventures
& Co-Founder & Former CEO, Mindtree
Krishnakumar Natarajan
Co-founder & Managing Partner, Mela Ventures<br>& Co-Founder & Former CEO, Mindtree
Pranjal Sharma
Moderator
Board Advisor & Author, India Innovates
Dr. C. Jayakumar
Executive VP & Head – Corporate Human Resources (CHRO)
Larsen & Toubro
Dr. C. Jayakumar
Executive VP & Head – Corporate Human Resources (CHRO)<br>Larsen & Toubro
Dr. C. Jayakumar is the Executive Vice President & Head Corporate Human Resources (CHRO) at Larsen & Toubro. He is a highly result-oriented, HR professional with over 35 years of experience in successfully planning, designing, implementing, and managing various strategic HR Initiatives. Dr. Jayakumar has been the Head of HR for various businesses, independent companies, and JVs within L&T Group, including leadership roles in the Middle East & Africa Region. He has led various transformational initiatives within the organization including digital transformation. He has been an established thought leader and widely acclaimed speaker in various national and international conferences and forums.
On the academic front, he has 3 Master’s degree (Economics, Labor Studies & Human Resource Management). He has also earned a degree in Law (LLB) and a doctorate in leadership from the University of Madras. He is also an alumnus of London Business School where he has done his Sr. Executive Management Program.
Dr. C. Jayakumar has various national and international certifications and accreditations in the Psychometric and behavioral sciences domain. He is also certified in Organizational Development from the NTL Institute of Advanced Behavioral Sciences, USA.
Dr. C. Jayakumar has made an immense contribution in the Human Resources arena over the years. He presides on the boards of esteemed professional bodies and in the Board of Studies of various prestigious educational institutions such as:
- Academy of Human Resource Development (AHRD)
- All India Management Association (AIMA)
- SAP SuccessFactors CHRO Advisory Board
- Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), National Committee on Leadership & HR
- IIM Trichy
- School of Inspired Leadership (SOIL) etc.
- Chairman of the Sub-Committee on HR & IR of CII Western Region for the year 2023-24.
- FICCI HR & Skills Main Committee for the year 2024-25
- Under Dr C Jayakumar’s leadership, L&T has been recognized as India’s Best Employers among Nation Builders 2023 by Great Place to Work, India and Most Preferred Workplace 2023-24 by Team Marksmen in association with India Today.
- Dr. Jayakumar has been recognized as one of the Top 100 Great People Managers in India 2023 by Great Manager Institute. He has also been honored with HR Lifetime Achievement Award in 2022 by FICCI and in 2021 by Economic Times & People Business.
Dr. C Jayakumar has also been recognized as:
- One of the Top 100 Great People Managers in India 2023 by Great Manager Institute.
- Featured in the article titled “The 23 of 2023 Initiative, CPO- Human Capital Catalysts" list by HR Association of India Magazine
- 50 HR Thought leaders of 2022 & 2024 by ETHRWorld.
- HR Lifetime Achievement Award in 2022 by FICCI
- Economic Times & People Business in 2021
James Atkinson
Vice President, Thought Leadership
SHRM
Pavitra Singh
Chief Human Resources Officer & Vice President
PepsiCo India & South Asia
Dr. Tooba Modassir
Chief Human Resources Officer, Citi India & Cluster HR Head - Indian Subcontinent, including Sri Lanka & Bangladesh
Dr. Tooba Modassir
Chief Human Resources Officer, Citi India & Cluster HR Head - Indian Subcontinent, including Sri Lanka & Bangladesh
Tooba Modassir is an HR leader with over fifteen years of diverse experience across HR advisory, Functional Strategy, Performance Management, Talent Management, Learning & Development, Diversity and Inclusion and change management.
She currently leads Talent Management, Learning, Performance Management and Diversity & Inclusion for Citigroup South Asia which is over 25,000 employees strong. Tooba is a leadership trainer and certified coach. She has a Master’s Degree in Business Administration with a specialization in Human Resources and Finance and holds a Strategic Human Resources Advisory certification from Cornell, ILR.
Tooba is passionate about helping leaders harness the potential of their human capital, developing learning agility and creating diverse and inclusive workplaces. She pursues volunteering opportunities in animal welfare.
Saurabh Govil
President & Chief Human Resources Officer
Wipro
Saurabh Govil
President & Chief Human Resources Officer<br>Wipro
Saurabh Govil is the President and Chief Human Resources Officer at Wipro Ltd. He is also a member of the Group Executive Council, a forum for the core group of Wipro leaders to deliberate and strategize the long-term vision of the corporation. He is also a trustee of the Wipro Foundation, a not-for-profit trust that contributes to education, community service projects and social development
As the CHRO, Saurabh is responsible for the entire spectrum of the global Human Resources function, including talent planning, enhancing operational efficiencies and driving people transformation initiatives across the organization. He is leading several pioneering programs to redesign the HR function for the digital age.
Saurabh is a strong votary of inclusion and diversity, and Wipro has been widely recognized for its robust and successful programs aimed at driving and sustaining diversity initiatives, policies and processes.
Saurabh is a seasoned Human Resources professional, with wide-ranging experience of over two decades. Prior to joining Wipro in 2009, Saurabh held leadership positions in organizations like ITC and GE.
Saurabh is an alumnus of XLRI, Jamshedpur where he completed his Masters in Human Resources. He is on the Advisory Board of the India Chapter of Society for Human Resources Management, the world’s largest HR professional society.
Saurabh is based in Bangalore.
Shraddhanjali Rao
Head of Human Resources
Google India
Nagma Malim
Senior VP - HR & Business HR Head, Asia Region
Birla Carbon, Aditya Birla Group
Dr. Swatee Sarangi
Group HR Head - India, North America & Emerging Markets
Dr. Reddy's Laboratories
Dr. Swatee Sarangi
Group HR Head - India, North America & Emerging Markets<br>Dr. Reddy's Laboratories
Swatee has driven several organizational change initiates with focus on skill building, leadership development, creating a learning culture and enabling the digital transformation agenda. She has over two decades of rich experience encompassing teaching, research, training, consulting and leading people development practices. She has driven several strategic interventions for business advantage and has extensively worked in areas of talent modelling, learning, leadership, change and work practice innovations.
Swatee is an accomplished HR thought leader with a Ph.D. in the area of Talent Management and Organizational Development
Manish Gupta
Group Chief Information Officer
Aditya Birla Group
Sushil Baveja
Chief Human Resources Officer
Jindal Stainless
Sushil Baveja
Chief Human Resources Officer<br>Jindal Stainless
Sushil Baveja is the CHRO of Jindal Stainless Ltd. Jindal Stainless is the largest stainless steel company in India and ranks amongst the top 10 stainless steel conglomerates in the world.
Sushil has in the past worked across the entire spectrum of HR & IR in professionally-run Indian family business enterprises (Samtel, Dalmia and DCM Shriram) and reputed multinationals (Cadbury, Gillette, Alcatel) for over 38 years leading HR for Factory, Sales and Corporate in India and South East Asia.
Sushil is an alumnus of Institute of Management Technology, Ghaziabad. He has also done the Advanced Human Resource Executive Program (AHREP) from the Ross School of Business, University of Michigan.
He has been associated with various professional and industry bodies including CII, Assocham, DMA, SHRM and NHRDN.
Rohit Thakur
Group Chief Human Resources Officer
Mahindra & Mahindra
Ayush Gupta
Director, Human Resources
GAIL
Ayush Gupta
Director, Human Resources<br>GAIL
Mr. Ayush Gupta, Director (HR), GAIL (India) Ltd is a 1992 batch Electrical Engineer from IIT Roorkee, MBA in Operations Management & P G Diploma in Human Resources Management. He has over 33 years of varied and rich experience in the field of Human Resource Management, Projects, Operations and Maintenance in Oil & Gas Sector and Process Industry.
Mr. Gupta is working with GAIL since last 27 years. He is among the youngest Directors to be on the Board of GAIL India Ltd. He is a strong proponent & practitioner of sustainable business practices and ensuing highest standards of safety in plant & pipeline operations. He has taken several initiatives to promote gender equality & women empowerment.
During his tenure at GAIL, Mr. Ayush Gupta had been instrumental in introducing various initiatives, such as Spandan (Monthly Wellness Hour dedicated towards enhancing employees’ physical, mental and emotional well-being), Ojas (young employees engagement & development platform), Abha (for educating, mentoring and hand-holding of spouses of GAIL employees for their entrepreneurial ventures), Samanvay (Care, Connect & Commit – to establish a periodic two way communication in the organization), Mentoring Journey – Saarthi (a unique approach towards development of young talent), e-Learning Courses, etc.
He is a recipient of the prestigious Chevening Rolls Royce Science, Innovation, Policy & Leadership Fellowship from UK Government in 2013, Winner of the National Corrosion Awareness Award 2004, Emerging HRD Thinkers Award in 2011, HR Leader of the Year Award-2024 by Governance Now and recognized as Top 50 HR Thought Leaders of 2024 by Economic Times HR World. He is author & co-editor of the book titled ‘Natural Gas Markets in India’ published by Springer International and has to his credit several awards for papers published and presented at national and international forums.
He is Chairman of GAIL Mangalore Petrochemicals Ltd and a Director on the Boards of GAIL Gas Ltd, ONGC Tripura Power Company Ltd & China Gas Holdings Ltd.
He is an Executive Committee member of SCOPE (Standing Conference of Public Enterprises), Member on the Board of Governors of Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Petroleum Technology & Indian Institute of Petroleum & Energy, Director on the Board of IFTDO (International Federation of Training & Development Organizations), Member, HR Core Committee of All India Management Association (AIMA), Member, CII National Committee on Industrial Relations 2023-24 and Member, IPEF (Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity) Labour Rights Advisory Board.
Smiti Bhatt Deorah
Co-founder & COO
AdvantageClub.ai
Smiti Bhatt Deorah
Co-founder & COO<br>AdvantageClub.ai
Smiti Bhatt Deorah is the Co-founder and COO of AdvantageClub.ai, an AI-powered employee engagement and rewards platform with offerings like rewards and recognition, flexible benefits, wellness, surveys, moments that matter, and communities on a single platform. In her current role, she oversees various functions, including business development, marketing, customer relations, and content operations.
An alumna of the University of California (UCLA) with a Master's degree in Computer Science, Smiti has strong experience in B2B networking and relationships. Prior to co-founding AdvantageClub.ai with Sourabh Deorah, she was a Software Engineer with one of the Big 5-Microsoft-in the US, where she was instrumental in the brand’s expansion across the globe.
Smiti envisions AdvantageClub.ai to disrupt the traditional employee experience and engagement industry. She firmly believes that corporations need to engage with their employees beyond the provident fund & corporate discount schemes extensively. With her guiding principle of “If it is not useful to the end-user, it's probably not worth doing,” Smiti has redefined AdvantageClub.ai from an HR Tech Start-Up to a multi-million-dollar venture.
Besides her entrepreneurial role, Smiti enjoys reading and discussing HR and tech, sales, business, and Indian start-up scenes. She also has a self-confessed love for Harry Potter trivia.
Pushp Kumar Nayar
Executive Director (HRD)
BPCL
Pushp Kumar Nayar
Executive Director (HRD)<br> BPCL
With an illustrious career spanning over 33 years at BPCL, he has led many leaderships positions including Retail Marketing Regional Head , Lubricants Marketing Head, Lubricants Supply Chain Head and has versatile experience of working in Operations, Sales, Marketing, Brand, Channel Management, CNG & PNG Business (in IOGL), Supply Chain Management and currently heading Human Resources Development in BPCL as Executive Director.
- An MBA with specialization in Finance from Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University
- He has been instrumental in Digital Transformation across Lubricants Value Chain, Conceptualization and implementation of QR Code based Digital intervention.
- He has been a Key Driver of Designing of a State of the Art, fully automated Lubes Blending Plant in construction stage now.
- He has keen interest in Customer Channel Engagement Programs and has given many such illustrations in Retail and Lubricants across country.
- Mr. Pushp Kumar Nayar was also on the Board of Sabarmati Gas Limited.
- Presently he is also Chairman of Central UP Gas Ltd (CUGL).
Aarti Srivastava
Chief Human Resources Officer
Capgemini, India
Aarti Srivastava
Chief Human Resources Officer<br>Capgemini, India
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.
Paresh Ranpara
Human Resources Director
GRID-INDIA
Paresh Ranpara
Human Resources Director<br>GRID-INDIA
Shri Paresh R. Ranpara is the Director (Human Resources) of Grid Controller of India Limited. Shri Ranpara is a seasoned HR Professional with more than 30 years of experience. Before joining Grid-India he has worked with state owned power sector companies of Gujarat. Prior to joining power sector of the state he had also worked in private sector. He was actively involved in process of unbundling of erstwhile GEB and steered communication exercise for making it the smoothest transition.
As Director (HR) at Grid-India, he focused on Capacity Building within the organization, which is highly knowledge-driven. He introduced and redesigned critical HR policies to better align with the company's business objectives. He has prioritise succession planning and leadership development in Grid-India. He also introduced coaching program for senior management team. His efforts contributed significantly in building a robust leadership pipeline for the Company.
As a member of the Board of Directors, he gained deep insights into the complexities of the power sector, enhancing his strategic perspective in aligning HR initiatives with the organization’s broader goals. He also played a pivotal role in enhancing infrastructure. He is strong believer in team work and giving platform to the right talent in the organization.
His leadership continues to shape Grid-India's HR landscape and its adaptation to emerging industry trends.
Dr. Yatindra Dwivedi
Director Human ResourcesPower Grid Corporation of India
Dr. Yatindra Dwivedi
Director Human Resources<b>Power Grid Corporation of India
Dr. Yatindra Dwivedi (56 years), (DIN: 10301390) is Director (Personnel) of our Company. Prior to taking up this assignment, he was Executive Director (HR), POWERGRID and handled challenging & flagship works and delivered results consistently in dynamic business environment. He is a seasoned leader with demonstrated experience of more than 33 years. He has played a pivotal role in alignment of HR Strategy with business and steering organization’s growth.
He is a business enabler with excellent cross functional knowledge, high acumen and great exposure in policy formulations, HR Process Re-engineering & other Organizational Development initiatives. He started his professional journey with Hindalco Industries and joined POWERGRID in 1993. He has lead various change management initiatives such as SAP implementation, digitization of HR, readiness for future of work, etc. with a focus on building agile & resilient organization.
He holds Bachelor degree in engineering from IIT Roorkee, PGDIE from NITIE Mumbai (now IIM Mumbai), PGDM from MDI Gurgaon and Doctorate in Management. He has represented India and won prestigious Asian Management Challenge Championship in 2017. He was appointed as Director (Personnel) on our Board in August, 2023.
Ajay Trehan
Founder & Chief Executive Officer
AuthBridge
Ajay Trehan
Founder & Chief Executive Officer<br>AuthBridge
Ajay Trehan is a visionary entrepreneur and IIT-Delhi graduate with over 30 years of experience in building and scaling businesses. His early corporate journey at Shriram Industrial Enterprises and ICI India set the stage for his entrepreneurial leap.
In 2005, driven by a passion for innovation, he founded AuthBridge to solve the trust challenges global companies faced in India. Under his leadership, AuthBridge has grown into India’s leading provider of digital-first solutions for verification, onboarding, and risk management, serving 3000+ companies, including Fortune 500 firms and unicorns.
Ajay has been instrumental in pioneering AI-driven solutions that enhance accuracy, security, and efficiency in trust ecosystems. Beyond business, Ajay actively mentors startups, advises industry bodies like NASSCOM and TiE, and speaks on business transformation and trust infrastructure. A lifelong learner, he is also an avid reader and movie buff.
Rachana Singh Bhal
Executive Director - Strategic HR & Talent Management
NTPC
Bhaskar Ramesh
Business Head
JioHotstar, Entertainment
Bhaskar Ramesh
Business Head<br>JioHotstar, Entertainment
Bhaskar serves as Director for Omnichannel Businesses at Google India and is a core member of India leadership team. In this role he is building Google's partnerships across Technology, Retail, Finance, CPG & Automotive businesses accelerating technology transformation across these sectors. He is leading the charge Digitization agenda for India with vision to make Google, a gateway for Omni businesses.
Also, he is the co-chair of women@google India - A thriving community that helps women googlers across PA's succed in having thriving careers.
Previously, Bhaskar built YouTube India business heading their monetization and product strategy that turbocharged YouTube into a $XB business having grown multifold. Prior to this role he served as an Executive Summits Evangelist at Google Partnerplex at their MountainView HQ and started his career building the CPG industry vertical in India from scratch.
Before his decade long innings at Google, Bhaskar started his career working with large consumer goods companies like P&G, Godrej and Marico in various Brand Management roles across foods and personal care. He then moved to Media & Entertainment industry having led a variety of roles at Reliance Broadcast Network as VP - Operations - spanning marketing, sales, content planning & programming.
The magical intersection of Consumers, Technology, Commerce & Brands excites him the most.
He is an avid public speaker sharing his perspectives on Technology, Omnichannel, Video across marquee industry forums like FICCI, CII, IAMAI, UNDP etc.
Krishna Kumar Thakur
Director - Personnel
NMDC
Krishna Kumar Thakur
Director - Personnel<br> NMDC
Mr. Krishna Kumar Thakur is a 1998 batch officer of the Indian Railway Personnel Service (IRPS). He is a Post-Graduate in Literature from Tilka Manjhi University, Bhagalpur and has done his Post-Graduate Diploma in Management with specialisation in Human Resource (PGDM-HR) from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS).
Prior to joining BHEL, Mr. Thakur was heading the HR and Administration function of Central Railway as Chief Personnel Officer. He has 25 years of holistic and hands-on experience in handling HR matters and administration in the Indian Railways as well as other Central PSUs.
In his long career in Railways and other PSUs, Mr. Thakur has headed the HR departments of three important Railway divisions namely Solapur, Bhopal & Mumbai, which included all HR matters of the thirty-five thousand staff of the Mumbai Division. As Chairman, Railway Recruitment Cell, Western Railway, he successfully completed recruitment of approximately twelve thousand employees.
While working on secondment with RITES, he served in a foreign project of Train Operation at Saudi Arabia and his contribution was critical in the issuance of work visas (IQAMA), procurement of human capital and efficient management of resources, meeting client’s satisfaction in a time bound manner. He has also headed the HR department of Konkan Railway Corporation Limited, where he played an important role in developing and streamlining HR policy and procedures.
As an HR professional, Mr. Thakur is credited with maintaining cordial industrial relations and fulfilling corporate responsibilities as well as long-term systemic improvements for corporate and government functioning in overall organisational perspectives.
Sourabh Deorah
Co-founder & CEO
AdvantageClub.ai
Sourabh Deorah
Co-founder & CEO<br>AdvantageClub.ai
Sourabh Deorah is the Co-founder and CEO of AdvantageClub.ai, an AI powered employee engagement and rewards platform with offerings like rewards and recognition, flexible benefits, wellness, surveys, moments that matter, and communities on a single platform. In his current capacity, he is responsible for the strategic direction, product development, and overall business success.
A University of California (UCLA) computer science Master’s degree holder with an engineering background, Sourabh majored in machine learning and data mining. He started his professional journey with Amazon and Microsoft in the US before setting off with his first entrepreneurial venture, AdvantageClub.ai, in 2016 with his partner Smiti Bhatt, also a UCLA alumna.
AdvantageClub.ai is redefining employee engagement with Sourabh’s unique experience in generating 1.0 scalable product ideas and running large teams. It has evolved into a trusted platform through which businesses can engage with their clients/employees more meaningfully, and marketers can quickly reach out to the customer group of their choice. His strong belief in innovation and implementation has garnered AdvantageClub.ai a strong reputation in the industry.
When not in his boardroom avatar, Sourabh is a keen traveler, adventure seeker, and start-up enthusiast.
Arti Dua
Partner & National Talent Leader
EY
Arti Dua
Partner & National Talent Leader<br>EY
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.
Zubin Zack
Managing Director – Middle East, Africa & South Asia
O.C. Tanner
Sandeep Batra
Chief Human Resources Officer
JSW Steel and Corporate
Sandeep Batra
Chief Human Resources Officer<br>JSW Steel and Corporate
Sandiep Batra is CHRO Adani Airport Holdings Limited, which is the largest private airport operator in the country.
Prior to this assignment, Sandeep was the Group President- HR and Head Foundation, for Landmark Group, which is one of the major retail giants and operates multiple concepts and brands.
Sandeep spent 13+ years at Vodafone across diverse roles, including the M&A between Vodafone and Idea.
He has overall experience of 24 years across diverse sectors; IT, ITES, Consumer Durables, Manufacturing and Telecom, Retail and Aviation. He commenced his career in the Indian Armed Forces and left the Armed forces post the Kargil war.
He is known for leading initiatives on Leadership Development and Large-scale transformations.
Sandeep is an alumnus of IIM Calcutta and Cornell University.
Chetana Patnaik
Chief Human Resources Officer
LTM
Chetana Patnaik
Chief Human Resources Officer<br>LTM
Chetana Patnaik is the Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) at LTIMindtree, a global technology consulting and digital solutions company. She brings with her three decades of diverse experience as an HR professional across industries. Her expertise spans leadership pipeline development, cultivating a diverse and inclusive organization, and growing talent through learning and development.
At LTIMindtree, Chetana leads a growing employee strength of over 86,000 employees located across more than 40 countries. She focuses on strategic HR initiatives aimed at developing a robust organizational culture, strengthening the leadership pipeline, and enhancing talent management and employer branding efforts. She is committed to building an environment where diversity is celebrated, and employees are empowered to learn and grow.
Prior to LTIMindtree, she was the Head of HR and CSR at L&T Transportation Infrastructure where she led the entire gamut of HR functions. She has also led strategic leadership hiring, succession planning along with mentorship programs of the Chairman’s office at L&T group. Chetana believes in learning being a continuous process. She is a certified Organization development professional from NTL institute, UK and an Executive Coach from CFI.
Biplob Banerjee
Chief Human Resources Officer
Emami Limited
Gautam Sinha
Chief Human Resources Officer
Birla Opus Paints - Grasim Industries
Arpit Bansal
Founder & Chief Executive Officer
Cohesyve
Dr. Ashita Aggarwal
Professor of Marketing & Chairperson - PGDM / PGDMBM SP Jain Institute of Management & Research
Dr. Ashita Aggarwal
Professor of Marketing & Chairperson - PGDM / PGDMBM SP Jain Institute of Management & Research
Sumit Neogi
Regional Human Resources Director & CHRO MEISA Region
FedEX
Sumit Neogi
Regional Human Resources Director & CHRO MEISA Region<br>FedEXSumit Neogi is currently working HR Director for South Asia & Middle East with The Lubrizol Corporation (A Berkshire Hathaway Company). He is a HR Leader with 19+ years of work experience in HR Consulting, HR Business Partnership and Retail Sales & Marketing. He has completed PG Diploma in PM & IR from XLRI Jamshedpur, PG Diploma in Counselling from TISS & BE in Mechanical Engineering from MANIT Bhopal. He is a Doctoral Scholar with SP Jain School of Global Management. He also holds Diploma in transactional analysis and certifications in SPHR, GPHR, SAP-HCM & SHRM-SCP. He is a TEDx Speaker and was recently recognized as one of the Top 50 HR Influencers in India by SHRM. He is the winner of People Matters DDI Are you in the List Awards in 2012 and Jombay 40Under Forty in 2018. These awards recognize potential future HR Leaders. He is passionate about sharing his learnings and coaching / mentoring young professionals. He has been a visiting faculty & guest lecturer to top B Schools. Sumit is regularly invited as key note speaker / panel speaker in HR / Leadership conferences. He has worked with Reliance Industries Limited as Vice President as a part of their HR Leadership Team. He has worked with Cipla, Hewitt Associates and Bharat Petroleum in the past. He has worked with Cipla Limited as Sr. Director & Head HR Commercial for Chronic & Emerging, Alternate Channels & Super Specialties Therapy Verticals. He also managed for Corporate Functions HR for Cipla Limited as head of the function In his previous stint with RIL, he has worked as Head of HR Capability Development Centre of Excellence for RIL Group. He also led HR Business Partnership for Nagothane Manufacturing Division for nearly 3 years. He is a certified HOGAN & MBTI Specialist and masters the art of Transaction Analysis in professional Environment.
Puneet Rajput
Chief Human Resources Officer
Piramal Pharma
Rohan Sylvester
Talent Strategy Advisor
Indeed
Rohan Sylvester
Talent Strategy Advisor<br>Indeed
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.
Sharad Verma
Vice President & Chief Human Resources Officer
Iris Software
R. Swaminathan
Founder
CompIQ AI Ventures
R. Swaminathan
Founder<br>CompIQ AI VenturesSwaminathan leads WNS’s Human Resources function, and is responsible for the entire gamut of people-oriented processes. Swami is an unconventional HR professional, who also has a sterling experience spanning Operations and Sales. Prior to joining WNS, Swami was with C A Technologies, where he served as Vice President – Human Resources and was the Country Head – HR for India. He has also served as Head of HR Operations at Syntel and thereafter, for a short while, was, its Global HR Head. Prior to Syntel, Swami had a long tenure of GE spanning multiple roles such as Master Black Belt- HR and Assistant Vice President and Head – Operations for HR, Customer Research and Operational Analytics, apart from other roles in mergers and acquisitions. He is a certified Change Acceleration Coach and a keen practitioner of Six Sigma. Swaminathan has a Masters in Social Work (MSW) from the University of Madras.
Charles Godwin
HR Leader
Zoho
Charles Godwin
HR Leader<br>Zoho
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.
Subhashish Banerji
Chief - Human Resources & Administration
ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company
Subhashish Banerji
Chief - Human Resources & Administration<br>ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company
Madhavi Lall
Managing Director - Head Human Resources, India
Deutsche Bank
Madhavi Lall
Managing Director - Head Human Resources, India<br>Deutsche Bank
Madhavi Lall has been the head HR at Deutsche Bank India since May 2015 and has more than 30 years of work experience primarily in Human Resources. She has also worked with companies like Accenture, Standard Charted Bank, ABN Amro bank, Colgate Palmolive and HCL Hewlett- Packard & GlaxoSmithKline.
She is graduate in Mathematics from St. Stephen’s college and MBA in HR and systems from XLRI Jamshedpur. She has also completed a Leadership management course from the University of Oxford.
Madhavi was conferred the “Women Leadership Award” by the jury and Council of Board Members of the Institute of Public Enterprises-BFSI in 2010. She has been conferred the Distinguished Alumnus Award by XLRI in 2016. Madhavi is a member of the CII National Committee on Leadership and HR and was Chairperson - CII Indian Women Network (IWN) – Western Region 2020-21. She is also a founding member of the HR Committee for FICCI. She is on the list of top 50 HR Influencers for 2020 and top 50 HR Thought Leaders for 2022 in the ETHR World list. Recently, Madhavi has received HR Lifetime Achievement Award 2021 by People in Business India LLP. She is passionate about Diversity and Inclusion and was part of the alumni team that encouraged XLRI to launch the Centre of Gender Equality and Inclusion.
Kavita Kurup
Senior Vice President & Chief People Officer
Cyient
Suvajit Karmakar
Country Managing Director India & Asia Sub-Regional Director
Ayvens
Poonam Burman
Chief Human Resources Officer
Godrej Industries (Chemicals)
Poonam Burman
Chief Human Resources Officer<br>Godrej Industries (Chemicals)
Poonam Burman is the Chief Human Resource Officer at Godrej Industries (Chemicals) Ltd. With 28 years of experience in HR business partnering across varied industries such as FMCG, IT, automobiles, textiles, oil & gas engineering services, mining products and services, and telecom, Poonam has established herself as a seasoned HR Leader.
Before joining Godrej Industries, Poonam was the Category HR Head of Beauty and Personal Care Business Group, South Asia at Hindustan Unilever Ltd. Her extensive career also includes roles such as Head Corporate HR at Haldia Petrochemicals Ltd, Country HR Head of Lexmark International, Head of HR & IR-India at Orica Mining Services, and HR Business Partner at Reliance Communication, Indian Oil Tanking Ltd, Indian Rayon, and Hindustan Motors Ltd.
Throughout her career, Poonam has worked as strategic business enabler by designing and executing People processes and policies aligned to business growth and transformations. Her ability to lead change management initiatives, and transform people practices from reactive to proactive sustainable engagements has been instrumental in driving organizational success. Poonam has successfully handled mergers and post-merger integration, managed challenging IR and union management, specializing in organizational development interventions for team effectiveness. She is a passionate champion of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) agendas for business and community development programs.
Poonam holds an HR Executive Program certification from Ross School of Management, University of Michigan, and a Post Graduation in Personnel Management from XISS. She is also a certified Professional Behavior Analyst (CPBA) and has certifications from Aon HR Analyst and Hay Consultants (Singapore) on Hay Job Evaluation.
Anish Sarkar
Managing Director Pluxee India & Director - India/ Philippines/ Indonesia Cluster
Anil Salvi
MD & Group Head - Human Resources
JM Financial
Sakshee Sud
Director – Human Resources
Tata Starbucks
Sakshee Sud
Director – Human Resources<br>Tata Starbucks
Sakshee Sud is a HR professional with rich experience of ~15 years across multiple sectors including BFSI, Pharma, IT, Telecom and most recently FMCG. She has worked in different domains in HR and currently serves as Director and Head of Human Resources at Beiersdorf (Home of Nivea, Eucerin, Hansaplast, La Prairie, Chantecaille).
She is adept at leading change and developing high performing teams that enable business results and has led cross cultural teams in APAC to execute people strategy. Her aim is to elevate employee experience and build an inclusive and high-performing future ready workforce.
She’s been recognized as Top HR100under40 leader and Top 24 DEI Leader.
An electronics engineer from NIT Surat she shifted gears and decided to get into management and completed her MBA in HR from SIBM, Pune.
On the personal front - She is an avid traveler who loves spending time with her son and her cat. She is also passionate about helping stray animals and dedicates her free time towards this cause.
Viekas K Khokha
Chief Human Resources Officer
Sharda Motor
Viekas K Khokha
Chief Human Resources Officer<br>Sharda Motor
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.
Rajiv Naithani
Chief People Officer
Persistent Systems
Rajiv Naithani
Chief People Officer<br>Persistent Systems
Rajiv is a young, dynamic and a fast tracker HR and OD thought Leader who believes in “Self” being the “Instrument of Change”. Having worked with Hi-Tech Industry throughout in his career, he has played a key role in the transformational journey of some of these companies (i.e. Infogain, Dassault Systèmes, GlobalLogic and HCL). Rajiv is inspired with “Employee First” concept and finds it to be the key driver towards catering to the expectations of “Customers” and “Shareholders”.
Amit Sharma
Group Chief Human Resources Officer
Gokaldas Exports
Amit Sharma
Group Chief Human Resources Officer<br>Gokaldas Exports
Amit Sharma is a senior HR professional with almost two and half decades of rich experience across various HR roles of which past more than a decade has been in Leadership positions with top-of-the-line organizations, in a diverse set of industries such as Indian Oil, Johnson & Johnson, Philips, TE Connectivity and Volvo Group.
With a high focus on Business HR, his experience spans on Workforce Strategy, HR Business Partnering, Organization Development, Change Management, Capability Building, Leadership Development, Employee Relations, Employee Engagement, Inclusion and Diversity at workplace, thus fueling business growth through high-performance Culture. He has successfully set up various greenfield organizations and has also led business footprint consolidation.
He is a proponent of bringing technology to HR processes while retaining the human connections in the organization. Amit values sense of responsibility, integrity, attention to detail, thorough planning while keeping the room for flexibility and improvisation during the execution.
Amit has received various internal and external recognitions for his work in HR and has been speaking on HR topics in various external forums. He has recently been recognized as “HR Leader of the Year 2023 – Large Scale Organisations” by The Economic Times and also India’s Top 23 HR Influencers for 2023 by HR Association of India.
Amit is MBA(HR) from UBS, Panjab University, Chandigarh and an Engineering Graduate from Thapar Institute of Engineering & Technology, Patiala. He has also done Diploma in Training & Development from ISTD New Delhi, is certified OD Practitioner from ISABS New Delhi and a certified Coach.
He has been Vice President of the National HRD Network, Bangalore Chapter for the year 2019-21 and is currently a member of CII’s National Committee on Industrial Relations.
Preeti Kannan
President & Chief Human Resources Officer
IIFL (India Infoline Group)
Gurucharan Singh Gandhi
Chief Human Resources officer
Vodafone Idea
Gurucharan Singh Gandhi
Chief Human Resources officer<br>Vodafone Idea
Gurucharan Singh Gandhi, in his own words, is a ‘full time corporate wallah’ and a part time writer. His debut book ‘Kabeer in Korporates’ published in 2016 in English and thereafter translated to Hindi and Marathi, was national best seller and won the ‘Best debut manuscript’ in non-fiction at Lit-O-Fest.
Born and raised in Jhinkpani, a dusty Hamlet in Jharkhand, his writings have the sensibility of small town India coupled with its inescapable complexes.
‘Echoes of Gasping Souls’ is his second book.
Gopal Chhetri
Senior Vice President, BU Leader & Global GCC Head
CGI
Sanchayan Paul
Chief Human Resources Officer
Network18 Media & Investments
Rajat Grover
Chief Human Resources Officer
SBI Mutual Fund
Neelmani Singh
Group Head – Learning & Head - Aditya Birla Global Centre for Leadership Learning ‘Gyanodaya’
Aditya Birla Group
Neelmani Singh
Group Head – Learning & Head - Aditya Birla Global Centre for Leadership Learning ‘Gyanodaya’<br>Aditya Birla Group
Neelmani Singh (Neel) is the Group Head of Learning for Aditya Birla Group (ABG), and Head of the Global Centre for Leadership of ABG -Gyanodaya.
Previously, he was Head of Leadership Development at Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), Head of Talent & Learning for India and South Asia at Standard Chartered Bank, led people and organisation capability at Microsoft Corporation and Group Learning Manager at ICICI Bank.
Neel holds an MBA (MA in Applied Psychology) from the University of Delhi and a Pre-Doctoral (M.Phil.) in Clinical Psychology from NIMHANS, Bangalore. Neel is a Certified Professional Facilitator (CPF) by the International Association of Facilitators (IAF).
Neel’s experience and academic background (MBA-OB, OD and MPhil Clinical Psychology) have helped him gain a unique perspective in People Development areas enabling him to see it from a macro-strategic/Organizational context to facilitate the large systemic People and Organization Development agenda and at the same time to partner and fuel at the micro - Individual level growth too.
Manisha Kadagathur
Chief Human Resources Officer
IKS Health
Beenaa More
Former Executive Leader & CHRO & Founding Member
Bank of India Investment Managers
Kiran Bhagnure Khapre
Chief Human Resources Officer
KOEL
Bhagwati Shetty
Chief Human Resources Officer
Comviva
Amol Gupta
Senior Director & Head – People Team India
BNY
Amol Gupta
Senior Director & Head – People Team India<br>BNYAmol, 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.
Reena Wahi
Partner and Head – People, Performance & Culture
KPMG in India
Saleel Panse
AVP – Global Talent Acquisition CoE
Sun Pharma
Saleel Panse
AVP – Global Talent Acquisition CoE<br>Sun Pharma
Throughout a career spanning over two decades, Saleel has maintained a career path devoted to Talent Acquisition. He manages Global TA function for Sun Pharma which is the 4th largest speciality generics pharma company in the world and No. 1 Pharma company in India. For the past decade, he has been instrumental in the Talent Acquisition field within Fortune 100 American MNCs, holding key regional TA roles.
In his prior role, Saleel served as the Regional TA leader for South Asia, Middle East and Africa, at Mondelez. During this tenure, he oversaw the recruitment of over 1500 individuals across 12 countries, every year.
Prior to this role, he was Asia Pacific Cluster TA Leader at MSD Pharmaceuticals, where he managed talent acquisition for four countries and also led Employer Branding for APAC region.
In the initial phase of his career, he was associated with a boutique executive search firm for over a decade, where he advised senior leaders across healthcare, retail, and engineering sectors, facilitating critical career transitions.
Dr. Riddhiman Mukhopadhyay
Assistant Director, Marketing and Industry Representation Cell Pune Institute of Business Management (PIBM)
Dr. Riddhiman Mukhopadhyay
Assistant Director, Marketing and Industry Representation Cell Pune Institute of Business Management (PIBM)
Rachana Dubey
Regional Head – Human (ISC & SEA)
Doehler India
Harjeet Khanduja
Senior Vice President Human Resources
Reliance Jio
Harjeet Khanduja
Senior Vice President Human Resources<br>Reliance Jio
Harjeet’s experience spans a range of industry sectors that include Automotive, Pharma, IT-ITES, Telecom, and Retail. He is currently working as Senior Vice President HR at Reliance Jio.He has worked with Business Houses like Tata, Reliance and Piramal.. Harjeet is an international speaker, author, poet, visionary, influencer and a HR Leader.
He is an alumnus of IIT Roorkee and INSEAD. Harjeet is a Thomson Medalist from IIT Roorkee and has completed his management education from INSEAD. Harjeet is a certified practitioner of SAP HCM, 6 Sigma, Executive Coaching, OKRs, Design Thinking, Predictive Index, Tata Business Excellence Model, ISO 9000, ISO 27000, Insights wheel, HIPAA, Value Engineering, Kaizen and 5S. Harjeet has 4 published patents.
He has been conferred with HR Leadership Award, Pride of Nation Award, HR personality of the year, LinkedIn power profile, Global Learning Award, Global Digital Ambassador, Top 100 HR Minds, Top 100 Global Thought Leaders, SHRM Top 50 HR Social Media Influencers, ET Top 20 HR Influencers and Top 50 HR Tech Leaders. Harjeet has been featured in a book "Heroes amongst us" by Dr. Amit Nagpal.
Harjeet has been associated with various NGOs like Council of Technical Scholars, Anuthi (NGO focused on education of disabled). Harjeet is a TEDx speaker and speaks on variety of topics including HR, Leadership, Technology, Decision making and Entrepreneurship.
Yoganandh Udayakumar
AVP – Product Management & Technology
Alldigi Tech
Arati Parashar
Business Head & Vice President
Zaggle
Arati Parashar
Business Head & Vice President<br> Zaggle
With over 20 years of experience in FinTech, Software Solutions, Media, Retail, and Employee Engagement, Arati specializes in profit-centric management, sales leadership, operational excellence, and strategic marketing. Currently, as the Business Head - Zaggle SAVE, she spearheads strategic initiatives that has resulted in an outstanding 200% growth in the fiscal year 2023-2024. Her proactive approach to fostering innovation and driving sustainable growth has consistently yielded exceptional results. Arati excelsin leading diverse, cross-functional teams and managing projects that significantly enhance sales and profitability. By blending an entrepreneurial mindset with corporate acumen, she prioritizes customer satisfaction while nurturing vital stakeholder relationships.
Atul Mathur
EVP HR & Head L&D
Aditya Birla Capital
Atul Mathur
EVP HR & Head L&D<br>Aditya Birla Capital
With over 25 years of leadership experience across diverse industries including BFSI, Telecommunications, BPO, Search Consultancy, and Media, Atul specializes in building and leading large national teams. His expertise extends to designing impactful HR, Learning and OD frameworks that drive business results, including innovative strategies, coaching frameworks, leadership development programs, and organizational development interventions.
As a passionate advocate for digitalisation & digitisation, Atul has successfully implemented and promoted Digital HR platforms. Recognized as a thought leader in HR and digital innovation, he holds certifications in MBTI, FIRO-B, and Assessment & Development Centres.
His contributions have been honoured with awards such as the Aditya Birla Group Chairman’s Award for Exceptional Contribution and recognitions from ET HR World, Brandon Hall, and CLO Awards to name a few.
Geethaa George
Senior Executive Vice President HR
HDFC Bank
Geethaa George
Senior Executive Vice President HR<br>HDFC Bank
A career spanning 29 years in HR and Business. Started off in frontline sales and then traversed into rewarding career journey in Human Resources spanning several sectors and industries
Currently Heading Centre for Excellence in Talent Management Org Effectiveness , Inclusion & Diversity , HR Tech & Analytics at HDFC Bank Ltd.
Over the last 2 and half decades she has held HR Leadership roles as CHRO with Raymond Ltd ( a Textile & Apparel conglomerate ) and Raheja Universal ( a premium player in the Realty Sector) . Also as Head of Talent & OD with RPG Enterprises and AIG India.
Geethaa brings deep expertise in Strategic HR , Managing Complex Changes and Building future ready organisation through effective Talent Strategies.
She has a Post Graduate Certificate in HRM from XLRI and is a Certified OD Professional from National Training Laboratories, USA
A curious and ardent learner she believes the future of HR is being crafted as we speak. An advocate of the unlimited potential of human beings, she passionately champions Inclusion as central to responsible business.
Archana Chadha
Market Head of People, India
HSBC
Archana Chadha
Market Head of People, India<br>HSBC
Archana Chadha is the Head of Human Resources for HSBC, India and is responsible for driving HSBC’s People strategy to support the growth of India businesses in a rapidly changing and digital environment.
An accomplished HR leader with a career spanning over two decades in HSBC India, Archana has rich and extensive experience across different businesses including Retail Banking, Securities Services and Human Resources. She has been instrumental in leading professionals to drive large scale strategic initiatives and support businesses by enabling change, creating leadership depth and instituting a strong performance and values culture
Having worked across multiple cross geographical projects along with her diverse experience in business and functional roles, Archana reflects an agile and culturally adaptable mindset. She has partnered HR Leadership in India by building a strong leadership bench, rationalizing and repurposing the workforce and facilitating culture change - thereby creating a nimble and digital ready workforce.
Prior to taking up her current role at HSBC, Archana was Head of Performance and Rewards, HSBC India and responsible for the pay and performance delivery to all of HSBC’s Businesses and Entities in India.
HSBC, India has recently been named amongst the Top 25 Best Companies to Work for, and amongst the 20 Most Respected Companies in India. She is committed to leverage her strengths to take these achievements to greater heights.
Mrigank Tripathi
President - Growth
PeopleStrong
Mrigank Tripathi
President - Growth<br>PeopleStrong
A Strategy Consultant-turned-Digital Entrepreneur-turned-Growth leader, Mrigank is a core member of HCM business, leading growth & expansion in India & Middle East.
An MBA from INSEAD, Mrigank is a builder at heart. A serial entrepreneur, he has channelled his energies towards building companies - the latest being acquired and part of the PeopleStrong product suite.
With extensive experience from starting a new venture as well as executing for growth in larger businesses, Mrigank’s background in Startups, Sales & Operations, Entrepreneurship, and Strategy drives him in building processes and teams to support agile growth.
Parneet Soni
Executive VP - HR
Piramal Finance Limited
Rajnish Kumar
Vice President – Human Resources Department
Newgen Software Technologies
Rajnish Kumar
Vice President – Human Resources Department<br>Newgen Software Technologies
Rajnish has over two decades of experience in Financial Services, Information Technology, Telecom & Automobile industry. He has led transformations in reputable organizations and also set up HR practices for IT Product and start-up organisation. Successfully co-founded idea7 Business solutions and helped set up Market research, CRM & training practices for Automobile OEM customers.
Rajnish is a postgraduate in Human Resource Management and a certified Financial Planner (CFP). He has worked with organisations like Yes Bank, Infosys, Bharti Airtel Ltd & Reliance Group. He is currently working with Newgen Software as VP-HRD.Atma Godara
Vice President, Head - People & Culture
Acme Group
Atma Godara
Vice President, Head - People & Culture<br>Acme Group
A seasoned professional, Atma has worked across a myriad of sectors and scaled up startups to 10x in terms of people capability, talent pipeline, and succession planning. Atma has been identified as an official SHRM influencer in 2020, a dynamic HR leader by Economic Times HR in 2021 and as 40 under 40 HR leaders by Jomaby. He volunteers with NITI Aayog in the Mentor India initiative.
An expert in business partnering, digital transformation, leadership hiring, and talent management, Atma has been responsible for major change initiatives in his stints with various organizations. His focus is on aligning people strategy, business strategy and organization culture, values and purpose.
He is an alumnus of PEC Chandigarh and TISS Mumbai.
Asma A. Shaikh
Co-Founder and Managing Director
Enthral.ai
Varun Gautam
Head-Talent Supply Chain (TM, TA & L& D)
Persistent Systems
Vaibhav Goel
Head of HR (Oil & Gas - E&P) & Senior VP
Reliance Industries
Kaushik Das
Senior Director & Head- Talent & Culture
TIAA
Vikas Siddeshwar
Partner, AI and Technology Leader
McKinsey & Co.
Nazneen Husain
HR Director – Cummins Emission Solutions & Components Business, India
Cummins India
Nazneen Husain
HR Director – Cummins Emission Solutions & Components Business, India<br>Cummins India
Nishith Upadhyaya
Executive Director, Knowledge & Advisory Services
SHRM East
Nishith Upadhyaya
Executive Director, Knowledge & Advisory Services<br>SHRM East
At SHRM India, Nishith leads a growing advisory practice focussed on enabling clients realize business goals though better alignment of people practices. He is focused on achieving business growth through effective execution of client consulting mandates for the whole practice in domains such as Vision & Values cascade, Organization Structuring, Performance Management System & other HR process design. In his stint in a corporate role, Nishith has worked with the Bharti group- as a part of the Organization Design and Talent Management team. Here – he worked on projects such as shared service design and implementation, manpower planning, and organization structure design and evaluation. Prior to working with SHRM, Nishith was with the HR consulting teams of PwC, ECS, and Aon Hewitt. Nishith holds a Master’s Degree in Human Resources and Organizational Development (MHROD), presently MBA-HRD, from Dept. of Commerce, Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi and is a certified practitioner of BIOSS tools and methodologies for organization design and leadership capability assessment.
Shaakun Khanna
Senior Advisor
SHRM East
Shaakun Khanna
Senior Advisor<br>SHRM East
Shaakun Khanna is Advisor on Board with SHRM and specializes in HR Transformation, SkillsBased Organizations, Employee Experience, Talent Management, and HR Technology. With 25 years of comprehensive experience across India, APAC, and the Middle East, he has built a solid reputation in HR consulting, technology transformation, and strategy development, particularly within industries such as IT, professional services, consumer electronics, and banking.
In his recent role as Vice President and Head of HCM strategy and transformation for Oracle Corporation in Asia Pacific, Shaakun managed ecosystems to successfully implement Oracle Human Capital Management and other SaaS solutions, while cultivating relationships with key executives. Previously, as Head of HCM Strategy & Transformation, he led numerous HR transformation projects, securing key deals and enhancing Oracle’s market presence. His leadership at Right Management India as Country Head involved managing talent management initiatives and overseeing the country’s P&L.
Shaakun also served as Country Head at IBM Kenexa, where he built a significant consulting business and led projects focused on employee engagement and leadership assessment. Earlier in his career, he established the 'Strengths-Based Leadership Development' practice at Gallup Consulting and engaged with high-stakes clients like Microsoft and Tata Group.
Shaakun holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Business Administration and a Bachelor’s Degree in Commerce from Delhi University. He is a Certified Strength Performance Executive Coach and is pursuing ICF Coach Certification. Additionally, he is certified in the Gallup Q12 Employee Engagement Model. With a proven track record of driving organizational effectiveness through innovative, technology-driven solutions, Shaakun is well-equipped to partner with organizations in their HR transformation journeys
Saubhik Baral
Head of Transformation Delivery
TCS Chroma
Saubhik Baral
Head of Transformation Delivery<br>TCS Chroma
22+ years of experience in Consulting, Project Management, Business Development and Product Engineering, AI/ML Driven Analytics Experience in Manufacturing, Professional Services, Retail, Hi-Tech, Media & Entertainment and Engineering domains.
Experienced in SAP Project Management, Integration Management & Consulting Experienced in managing clients across United States, Europe and Asia Pacific Experience in Pre-Sales and Business Development across North America, UK, Europe & APAC
Akshay Sethi
Head of Marketing & Strategy
Edenred India
Priyadarshani Ogale
Human Resources – Strategic Initiatives
Tata Consultancy Services
Dr. Urmi Chatterjee
Head of HR, Asia Pacific Japan & India
Siemens Healthineers
Madhurya Hariharan
Director, Human Resources
Lennox India Technology Centre
Vasumathi Parthasarathy
Global Head – Performance Management & Employee Recognition
TCS
Sameer Shaikh
Sr. Director, FSS & Technology
XPO
Dr. Kunal Kumawat
Head HR - Compressor Technique Customer Center
Atlas Copco, India
Denu Thomas
Group Head (Human Resources & Industrial Resources)
Ruby Hall Clinic
Madhu Baloria
Head-People Growth & Engagement
System Plus Solutions
Beyond Conference
SHRM India Advisory Council
Richard Rekhy
Vice Chair, Grant Thornton Bharat & Former CEO, KPMG in India
Pavitra Singh
Chief Human Resources Officer & Vice President
PepsiCo India & South Asia
Pranjal Sharma
Moderator
Board Advisor & Author, India Innovates
Presenters
Nitya Vijaykumar
Director, Knowledge & Advisory
SHRM East
Nitya Vijaykumar
Director, Knowledge & Advisory<br>SHRM East
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.
Nisha Kurup
Head Knowledge & Content
SHRM East
Nisha Kurup
Head Knowledge & Content<br>SHRM East
Credible talent champion who brings together the best of service orientation and tech enablement, for the betterment of the HR profession. Currently into Human Resources Training, Research and Strategic Advisory at the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). Previously part of National HRD Network (NHRDN) and prior to that, with the Healthcare Industry – worked with Fortis Healthcare and Columbia Asia; moved from Training & Development, into Core HR / HR Operations and took on the mantle of Unit Head HR. Prior experience across a variety of industries including IT / ITeS, Banking, Hospitality and Telecom, at PAN India locations, across over two decades in roles including front-line customer service, training delivery and on-the-job coaching. Passionate about ethical practices, positive workspaces and equal opportunity for all. Learner for life with a flair for all things artistic.
Apurv Amanesh
Director, Business Development- APAC
SHRM East
Ashissh Kaul
Director, PSE
SHRM East
Ashissh Kaul
Director, PSE<br>SHRM East
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.
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#SHRMTECH26 Agenda
09:00 – 09:05
Conference Opening
09:05 – 09:15
Opening Address
Achal Khanna
Chief Executive Officer, SHRM APAC & MENA
09:20 – 09:50
Opening Keynote - From Connection to Cognition
Vinay Tonse
Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer, Yes Bank
09:55 – 10:25
Human Experience Track | The 2026 Blueprint for an Engaged Workforce
Session Partner
The discussion will focus on the core pillars of modern employee engagement:
- Recognition as a driver of engagement
- Employee well-being and holistic support
- Tax optimization strategies to enhance employee value
Moderator
Smiti Bhatt Deorah
Co-founder & COO, AdvantageClub.ai
Dr. C. Jayakumar
Executive Vice President & Head - Corporate Human Resources (CHRO), Larsen & Toubro
10:30 – 10:50
Impact Address | Reimagining Work: Leading AI-Driven Workforce Transformation
Krishnakumar Natarajan
Co-founder & Managing Partner, Mela Ventures & Co-Founder & Former CEO, Mindtree
10:50 – 11:25
Human Experience Track | The Global HR Playbook that Actually Drives ROI
Session Partner
Global HR Insights that can be Indian HR Super-powers:
- Global insights from HR leaders from 45 countries, across 6000 companies
- A global framework for Indian HR leaders to define ROI of HR Tech initiatives
- How Indian HR leaders can leap-frog global counterparts
- Global practices that Indian HR leaders can use to supercharge their teams
Moderator
Pranjal Sharma
Board Advisor & Author, India Innovates
Nick Burns
Senior Advisor, Edenred
Minaxi Indra
Managing Director, Edenred, India
11:25 – 11:50
Networking Break in Expo Zone
+ SHRM Consulting Facilitators BF Meeting 8.30AM onwards
+ SHRM Consulting Facilitators BF Meeting 8.30AM onwards
11:50 – 13:30
Breakout Sessions
13:30 – 14:45
Networking Lunch in Expo Zone
14:45 – 15:15
Technology & Innovation Track | HRMS as a Productivity Engine: Driving Workforce Performance Through Cloud & AI
Session Partner
Modern HR technology is evolving beyond payroll and compliance to become a key driver of workforce productivity, employee experience, and operational agility.
In this fireside conversation, HR leaders from healthcare, real estate, and technology services will share how they are leveraging modern HR platforms to solve workforce challenges and drive business impact at scale.
Moderator
Tapan Acharya
Chief Revenue Officer, Keka
Ankur Goel
HR Director, Anarock
Madhu Baloria
Head-People Growth & Engagement, System Plus Solutions
Denu Thomas
Group Head (Human Resources & Industrial Resources), Ruby Hall Clinic
15:20 – 15:40
Impact Address | The New Competitive Edge Isn't Talent or Tech - It's Intelligence at Scale
Manish Gupta
Group CIO, Aditya Birla Group
15:45 – 15:55
SHRM Trailblazers | Felicitation of Indian Industry Stalwarts
Achal Khanna
Chief Executive Officer, SHRM APAC & MENA
15:55 – 16:25
Leadership & Strategy Track | Connected Intelligence in Action: Agentic AI Redefining Enterprise Performance
Session Partner
Key Shifts:
- From isolated HR systems to connected intelligence layers across the enterprise
- From automation (task execution) to agency (decision initiation + orchestration)
- From HR efficiency to enterprise performance and adaptability
Moderator
Richard Rekhy
Vice Chair, Grant Thornton Bharat & Former CEO, KPMG in India
Sunil Jose
President, Workday India
Kavita Kurup
Senior Vice President & Chief People Officer, Cyient
Harjeet Khanduja
Senior Vice President Human Resources, Reliance Jio
16:30 – 16:50
Impact Address | Reimagining Talent in the New World Order of AI
Arun Jain
CMD, Intellect Design Arena & Founder, Polaris Group
16:50 – 17:30
Future-Tech Track | Workforce 2030: Skills, Systems, and Shifts
Moderator
James Atkinson
Vice President, Thought Leadership, SHRM
Pavitra Singh
CHRO & VP, PepsiCo India & South Asia
Shraddhanjali Rao
Head of Human Resources
Google, India
17:50 onwards
Day 1 Closing Remarks Followed by Laughter Break and Networking in the Expo Zone
Anirban Das
Stand-up Comedian & Writer
11:50 – 12:20
Vision 2030: The Next Frontier of Talent and Transformation
Jasmine 2
As organizations prepare for the next decade, talent and transformation agendas are becoming deeply interconnected. This session explores how leaders can rethink talent strategies, build critical capabilities, and drive transformation to create agile, future-ready organizations by 2030.
Key Discussion Points
- Redefining Talent Strategy: Moving from roles to skills and capabilities
- Transformation at Scale: Aligning people, processes, and technology
- Future-Ready Workforce: Building agility, adaptability, and continuous learning
- Leadership for 2030: Enabling leaders to drive change and sustained performance
Moderator
Charles Godwin
HR Leader, Zoho
Sushil Baveja
Chief Human Resources Officer, Jindal Stainless
Arti Dua
Partner & National Talent Leader, EY
Gautam Sinha
Chief Human Resources Officer, Birla Opus Paints - Grasim Industries
11:50 – 12:20
The eX-Factor: Where Employee Experience Wins
Concurrent 2
Session Partner
Employee Experience has moved beyond systems and surveys to become a decisive driver of trust, engagement, and performance. As workplaces adopt AI and real time insights, the real challenge is not intelligence - but action. This session explores how organizations can shift from measuring sentiment to continuously sensing, predicting, and improving everyday employee experiences.
Key Discussion Points
- The evolution of EX from process efficiency to experience outcomes
- The “AI Ire” paradox: smart insights, unresolved frustrations
- Why micro moments matter more than policies and dashboards
- Rethinking eNPS from a score to a continuous signal
- Role of Agentic AI in real time listening and predictive action
- Embedding experience ownership into leadership and culture
Saubhik Baral
Head of Transformation Delivery, TCS Chroma™
Priyadarshani Ogale
Human Resources – Strategic Initiatives, Tata Consultancy Services
11:50 – 12:20
From Benefits to Behaviour: Designing Intelligent Ecosystems
Concurrent 3
Session Partner
Employee benefits are no longer just about allowances- they play a role in shaping everyday choices. With access to real-time data from meals, fuel, and other daily spends, organisations now have a better understanding of how employees live and work.
This discussion will explore how companies can combine human understanding with these insights to design benefits that are more relevant, flexible, and impactful. It will focus on how everyday decisions- what employees eat, how they commute, and how they spend- can influence wellbeing, productivity, and engagement. At the same time, it will address the importance of using data responsibly, with the right balance of technology and human judgment.
Key Discussion Points
- Using everyday spend data (meals, fuel, telecom etc.) to understand employee needs better
- Moving from fixed benefits to more flexible and adaptive offerings
- How technology can guide daily choices without adding complexity
- Linking employee behaviour to outcomes like wellbeing, engagement, and productivity
- Ensuring trust through responsible and transparent use of data
Moderator
Anish Sarkar
Managing Director - Pluxee India and Director - India, Philippines & Indonesia Cluster
Madhavi Lall
Managing Director, Head-HR, India, Deutsche Bank
Reena Wahi
Partner and Head - People, Performance & Culture, KPMG in India
Sakshee Sud
Director - Human Resources, Tata Starbucks
11:50 – 12:20
Culture by Design: What Separates High Performance Cultures from High Burnout Ones
Concurrent 4
Session Partner
High-performing cultures drive speed and results but without intentional design, they can lead to burnout and disengagement. This session explores how organizations can balance performance with wellbeing by building cultures that sustain both results and resilience.
Key Discussion Points
- Performance vs. Pressure: Where high performance crosses into burnout and how to spot early signals
- Culture by Design, Not Default: The role of leadership, systems, and rituals in shaping sustainable cultures
- Metrics that Matter: Moving beyond output to include energy, wellbeing, and long-term productivity indicators
- Manager as Culture Carrier: How leadership behaviors influence team experience and performance outcomes
Moderator
Zubin Zack
Managing Director - Middle East, Africa & South Asia, O.C. Tanner
Gurucharan Singh Gandhi
Chief Human Resources officer,
Vodafone Idea
Subhashish Banerji
Chief - Human Resources & Administration, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance
Harjeet Khanduja
Senior Vice President Human Resources, Reliance Jio
Preeti Kannan
President & Chief Human Resources Officer, IIFL (India Infoline Group)
12:25 – 12:55
The Core R&R Playbook: Budgeting Smart, Recognizing Right & Measuring Outcomes
Jasmine 2
Session Partner
Recognition & Rewards (R&R) is evolving from a discretionary spend to a strategic lever for performance, culture, and retention. This session explores how organizations can design a smarter R&R playbook - optimizing budgets, driving meaningful recognition, and linking efforts to measurable business outcomes.
Key Discussion Points
- Budgeting with Intent: Allocating R&R spends for maximum impact, not just coverage
- Recognition That Works: Moving beyond one-size-fits-all to timely, meaningful recognition
- Linking to Outcomes: Measuring impact on performance, retention, and engagement
- From Spend to Strategy: Aligning R&R with business goals and leadership accountability
Moderator
Sourabh Deorah
Co-founder & CEO, AdvantageClub.ai
Rajiv Naithani
Chief People Officer, Persistent Systems
Vasumathi Parthasarathy
Global Head – Performance Management & Employee Recognition, TCS
Geethaa George
Senior Executive Vice President HR, HDFC Bank
12:25 – 12:55
The Overlooked Majority: Designing EX for the Workforce Beyond the Office
Concurrent 2
Session Partner
For years, employee wellbeing has been built around a single assumption: that work happens in the office. As a result, care has followed infrastructure - better chairs, better lighting, wellness rooms, cafeterias, engagement zones. We have learned how to design thoughtful, progressive experiences for employees we can see.
But a fundamental question remains largely unasked - What about the employees we don't see?
Across sales, service, operations, and frontline roles, many employees spend their days on the road - navigating traffic, safety risks, fatigue, and uncertainty. They're often the first point of contact and critical to business continuity, yet their work experience is rarely designed - it's endured.
This panel challenges HR leaders to confront some difficult questions:
- Have our care frameworks unknowingly privileged proximity?
- Do our policies assume visibility equals safety?
- And are we truly inclusive if well-being ends when employees step outside office premises?
Moderator
Amol Gupta
Senior Director & Head - People Team India, BNY
Suvajit Karmakar
Country Managing Director India & Asia Sub-Regional Director, Ayvens
Nazneen Husain
HR Director – Cummins Emission Solutions and Components Business, India
Dr. Kunal Kumawat
Human Resources Manager - Compressor Technique Customer Center, Atlas Copco, India
12:25 – 12:55
The New Wellbeing Stack: Physical, Mental, Financial Health
Concurrent 3
Wellbeing is no longer a standalone initiative—it is a strategic imperative that spans physical, mental, and financial health. This session explores how organizations can move beyond fragmented programs to build an integrated wellbeing stack that supports employees holistically and drives sustained performance, resilience, and engagement.
Key Discussion Points
- From Programs to Systems: Integrating physical, mental, and financial wellbeing into a cohesive strategy
- Financial Wellbeing as a Core Pillar: Addressing financial stress and its impact on performance
- Personalization at Scale: Designing wellbeing interventions tailored to diverse workforce needs
- Linking Wellbeing to Outcomes: Measuring impact on productivity, engagement, and retention
Moderator
Saleel Panse
Global Talent Acquisition CoE Leader,
Sun Pharma
Sharad Verma
President & Chief Human Resources Officer, Iris Software
Viekas K Khokha
Chief Human Resources Officer,
Sharda Motors
Amit Sharma
Group Chief Human Resources Officer, Gokaldas Exports
12:25 – 12:55
From Screening to Signal: The New Science of Quality Talent Acquisition
Concurrent 4
Session Partner
As hiring scales, the challenge is no longer access to candidates—but identifying true quality amid noise. This session explores how organizations can move from resume-driven screening to signal-based decision-making, leveraging data, technology, and smarter evaluation methods to make faster, high-quality talent decisions at scale.
Key Discussion Points
- From Volume to Value: Moving beyond resumes to identify meaningful hiring signals
- Speed with Quality: Balancing faster hiring with better decision-making
- Signal Design: What truly predicts performance, potential, and fit
- Tech & Intelligence: Using AI and data to enhance, not replace, human judgment
Moderator
Sabeena Ladak
Head HR Corporate & TA, Cipla
Archana Chadha
Market Head of People, India, HSBC
Varun Gautam
Head-Talent Supply Chain (TM, TA & L&D), Persistent Systems
Arpit Bansal
CEO, Cohesyve
13:00 – 13:35
AI at the Core: Transforming Automation into Intelligence
Concurrent 2
As AI matures, organizations are moving beyond rule-based automation to intelligent systems that can learn, adapt, and drive decisions. This session examines how AI is being embedded at the core of workflows to enhance efficiency, improve decision-making, and unlock new levels of productivity.
Key Discussion Points
- From Automation to Intelligence: Evolving from task execution to decision-driven systems
- AI in Workflows: Embedding intelligence into day-to-day operations and processes
- Human + AI Collaboration: Redefining roles, judgment, and accountability
- Scaling Impact: Moving from pilots to enterprise-wide transformation
Moderator
Kiran Bhagnure Khapre
Chief Human Resources Officer, KOEL
Sandeep Batra
Chief Human Resources Officer, JSW Steel and Corporate
Rachana Singh Bhal
Executive Director - Strategic HR & Talent Management, NTPC
Dr. Anil Salvi
MD & Group Head - Human Resources, JM Financial
Neelmani Singh
Group Head - Learning & Head Aditya Birla Global Centre for Leadership Learning ‘Gyanodaya’, Aditya Birla Group
13:00 – 13:30
Benefits Beyond Compensation: Building a Truly Employee-Centric Workplace
Concurrent 3
Session Partner
As employee expectations evolve beyond compensation, organizations are rethinking how benefits, wellbeing, and flexibility shape the overall employee experience. This session explores how employee-centric benefits strategies can strengthen engagement, retention, and workplace trust.
Key Discussion Points
- Employee Expectations Have Evolved Beyond Salary
- Personalized Benefits & Rewards Are the Future
- Financial Wellbeing is Emerging as a Core HR Priority
- Technology is Transforming Employee Benefits
- Strong Benefits & Rewards Programs Drive Retention & Employer Brand
Moderator
Arati Parashar
Business Head & Vice President, Zaggle Employee Benefits business
Rachana Dubey
Regional Head - Human (ISC & SEA), Döhler, India
Madhurya Hariharan
Director Human Resources, Lennox India Technology Centre
Manisha Kadagathur
Chief Human Resources Officer, IKS Health
13:00 – 13:35
Talent, Skills, and the Next Decade of Work
Concurrent 4
Understand how organizations are redefining talent and capability to stay competitive in a rapidly evolving world of work. Gain insights into the skills, learning models, and leadership approaches needed to build future-ready workforces.
Key Discussion Points
- From Roles to Skills: Shifting from job-based to capability-driven talent models
- Skills That Matter: Identifying and building critical skills for the future
- Learning That Scales: Rethinking L&D for continuous, on-demand capability building
- Leadership for the Future: Enabling leaders to drive agility, growth, and performance
Moderator
Parneet Soni
Head Human Resources - Retail Finance, Piramal Capital and Housing Finance
Rubi Khan
Head- Learning, Talent & OD, Luminous Power Technologies (Schneider Electric Group)
Paresh Ranpara
Human Resources Director, GRID-INDIA
Ajay Trehan
Founder & Chief Executive Officer, AuthBridge
Atul Mathur
EVP HR & Head L&D, Aditya Birla Capital
10:00 – 10:05
Day 1 Highlights
10:10 – 10:40
Day 2 Opening Keynote | The Next Era of Enterprise Transformation
Rajesh Jejurikar
Executive Director & CEO, Auto & Farm Sector, Mahindra & Mahindra
10:45 – 11:15
Workforce & Skills Track | The Hiring Paradox: Why More AI Isn't Always Better Hiring
Session Partner
The Core Argument
AI is the most significant hiring investment organisations are making right now. And yet talent leaders are reporting the same frustrations: wrong candidates getting through, longer time-to-fill, and drop-offs no dashboard can explain. The problem isn’t the investment. It’s what’s underneath it.
AI is the most significant hiring investment organisations are making right now. And yet talent leaders are reporting the same frustrations: wrong candidates getting through, longer time-to-fill, and drop-offs no dashboard can explain. The problem isn’t the investment. It’s what’s underneath it.
AI amplifies a hiring system. If that system is leaking - through visibility gaps, eroded candidate trust, and friction points nobody is measuring - AI doesn’t fix those leaks. It makes them faster. This session introduces the Compounding Talent Advantage: the idea that meaningful hiring improvement doesn’t come from the next big tool, but from fixing small, invisible losses across the funnel. Drawing on Indeed’s data and real employer patterns, this session uncovers why the organisations winning at hiring in 2026 aren’t the ones with the most AI but the ones that fixed what AI exposed.
- Three things the audience will walk away with:
- A diagnostic framework
Visibility, trust, and friction as the three levers that actually move hiring outcomes - and how to identify which one is your biggest leak. - AI: where it helps vs. where it hides the problem
A clear-eyed view of where AI is genuinely accelerating hiring and where it’s quietly amplifying problems most leaders haven’t measured yet. - A hiring audit for Monday
A hiring audit your team can run immediately to find and fix the highest-leverage gap in your current system - no new tools required.
Rohan Sylvester
Talent Strategy Advisor, Indeed, India
Aarti Srivastava
CHRO, Capgemini
Chetana Patnaik
CHRO, LTM
11:15 – 11:55
Networking Break in Expo Zone
11:20 – 11:25
Report Launch | SHRM India Skill Intelligence Report 2026: From Talent to Skills, India's Future of Work
Achal Khanna
Chief Executive Officer, SHRM APAC & MENA
Nishith Upadhyaya
Executive Director, Knowledge & Advisory Services, SHRM East
Shaakun Khanna
Senior Advisor, SHRM East
11:55 – 13:00
Breakout Sessions
13:00 – 14:15
Networking Lunch in Expo Zone
14:15 – 14:45
Leadership & Strategy Track | AI, Quantum, and the Next Wave of Disruption
Explore emerging technologies reshaping industries and redefining possibilities
Moderator
R. Swaminathan
Founder, CompIQ AI Ventures
Dr. Yatindra Dwivedi
Director Human Resources, Power Grid Corporation of India
14:45 – 15:05
Impact Address | AI in HR: Overcoming Barriers, Unlocking Potential
James Atkinson
Vice President, Thought Leadership, SHRM
15:10 – 15:40
Technology & Innovation Track | Leveraging the Employer Brand to Maximize Connected Intelligence
Moderator
Dr. Ashita Aggarwal
Professor of Marketing & Chairperson - PGDM & PGDMBM, SP Jain Institute of Management & Research
Bhaskar Ramesh
Business Head, JioHotstar Entertainment
Tushar Vyas
Chief Strategy Officer, WPP India
Board Director, Growth & Digital Transformation Leader
15:45 – 16:15
Human Experience Track | Transformation at Scale: Turning Strategy into Enterprise-Wide Adoption
Moderator
Dr. Swatee Sarangi
Group HR Head - India, North America and Emerging Markets, Dr. Reddy's Laboratories
Rohit Thakur
Group Chief Human Resources Officer, Mahindra & Mahindra
Ayush Gupta
Director, Human Resources, GAIL
16:20 – 17:10
SHRMTech26 Big Debate | Connected Intelligence: Will AI Redesign Work or Will Leaders Redefine It?
Moderator
Ankit Vengurlekar
Founder, Antar Wellness
Cassio Simões
Managing Director, Tetra Pak
Sidharth Srinivasan
Chief Executive Officer, Lupin Digital Health
Dr. Tooba Modassir
Chief Human Resources Officer, Citi India & Cluster HR Head - Indian Subcontinent, including Sri Lanka & Bangladesh
Nagma Malim
Senior VP - HR & Business HR Head, Asia Region, Birla Carbon, Aditya Birla Group
Apurva Sule
Head Growth, Lupin Digital Health
17:15 onwards
Beyond Conference | Celebrity Session: You Can't Automate This
Followed by Conference Closing Remarks & Networking in the Expo Zone
Boman Irani
Indian Actor, Director & Screenplay Mentor
Raj Nayak
Founder & Managing Director, House of Cheer Networks
09:15 – 10:00
Masterclass
AI-led Reimagination of the People Function
Concurrent 3
How can companies deploy Agentic AI in HR function to eliminate friction, maximize output, and transform employee experience?
Vikas Siddeshwar
VPartner, AI and Technology Leader, McKinsey & Co.
09:15 – 10:00
Masterclass
Reimagining Capability Development and Coaching
Concurrent 2
Leveraging AI & Conversational Bots for Scalable, Personalized Learning
James Atkinson
Vice President, Thought Leadership, SHRM
Nishith Upadhyaya
Executive Director, Knowledge & Advisory Services, SHRM East
11:55 – 12:25
Masterclass
The HR Growth Engine: A Masterclass on Evolving Your Engagement Strategy
Jasmine 2
Session Partner
- Live diagnostic benchmarking against 1,000+ organizations globally
- Discover why Leaders outperform Low Performers
- Learn how to link engagement strategies with business outcomes
- Understand India's opportunity to leapfrog to Leader status
- Join India's Economic Value Study as a founding participant
Nick Burns
Senior Advisor, Edenred
Minaxi Indra
Managing Director, Edenred, India
Akshay Sethi
Head of Marketing & Strategy, Edenred, India
11:55 – 12:25
Leadership in the Age of Connected Intelligence
Concurrent 2
As intelligence becomes increasingly connected across humans, AI, data, and systems—the role of leadership is being fundamentally redefined. This session explores how leaders can navigate this new landscape by combining human judgment with machine intelligence, driving better decisions, stronger collaboration, and more adaptive organizations.
Key Discussion Points
- Connected Intelligence in Action: Integrating human insight with AI and data-driven systems
- Leadership Shift: Moving from control to orchestration and informed decision-making
- Decision-Making in Complexity: Balancing speed, data, and human judgment
- Leading Distributed Systems: Enabling collaboration across teams, technology, and ecosystems
Moderator
Asma A. Shaikh
Co-Founder and Managing Director, Enthral.ai
Beena More
Former Executive Leader & CHRO & Founding Member, Bank of India Investment Managers
Dr. Urmi Chatterjee
Head of Human Resources, Asia Pacific Japan & India, Siemens Healthineers
Pushp Kumar Nayar
Executive Director (HRD), BPCL
11:55 – 12:25
The Next Growth Playbook: Where Talent Meets Business Strategy
Concurrent 3
As growth becomes more complex and competitive, talent is emerging as a critical driver of business outcomes. This session explores how organizations can align talent strategy with business priorities to enable scalable, sustainable growth, bridging the gap between people decisions and business performance.
Key Discussion Points
- Talent as a Growth Lever: Linking people strategy directly to business outcomes
- Aligning Strategy and Execution: Connecting workforce planning with growth priorities
- Building Growth Capabilities: Identifying and developing skills that drive scale
- Sustaining Growth: Balancing performance, culture, and long-term resilience
Moderator
Vaibhav Goel
Head of HR (Oil & Gas - E&P) & Senior VP, Reliance Industries
Poonam Burman
Chief Human Resources Officer
Godrej Industries (Chemicals)
Bhagwati Shetty
Chief Human Resources Officer
Comviva
Dr. Riddhiman Mukhopadhyay
Assistant Director, Marketing and Industry Representation Cell, Pune Institute of Business Management (PIBM)
Rohit Sharma
Chief Human Resources Officer, USV
11:55 – 12:25
From Process to Intelligence: The Future of HX with AI
Concurrent 4
As AI reshapes the workplace, human experience (HX) is evolving from process-led interactions to intelligent, personalized journeys. This session explores how organizations can design AI-enabled systems that move beyond efficiency to enhance engagement, improve decision-making, and create more meaningful employee experiences across the lifecycle.
Key Discussion Points
- From Process to Experience: Shifting from efficiency to intelligent, employee-centric design
- Personalization at Scale: Using AI to tailor journeys, nudges, and interactions
- Decision Intelligence: Enabling better, faster decisions for employees and managers
- Designing for Trust: Ensuring transparency, ethics, and adoption in AI-driven HX
Moderator
Sameer Shaikh
Senior Director, FSS & Technology, XPO
Rajat Grover
Chief Human Resources Officer, SBI Mutual Fund
Shikha Bhatnagar
Human Resources Director, Noventiq
12:30 – 13:00
How Far Can AI Go? Real Use Cases and the Limits Ahead
Concurrent 2
Session Partner
AI is rapidly moving from pilots to real-world impact across functions - from hiring and customer experience to decision support and automation. This session examines what's truly working today, where AI is scaling, and where its limits still lie, helping leaders separate real opportunity from overreach and prepare for what comes next.
Key Discussion Points
- What's Working Today: High-impact AI use cases across HR, CX, and operations
- From Pilot to Scale: What separates successful deployments from stalled experiments
- Limits & Trade-offs: Where AI falls short – bias, accuracy, context, and trust
- What's Next: How far AI can realistically go and what leaders should prepare for
Moderator
Alexander Rinku
HR Director, Oracle, India
Sanchayan Paul
CHRO, Network18 Media & Investments
Kaushik Das
Senior Director & Head – Talent, Learning & Culture, TIAA Global Capabilities
Yoganandh Udayakumar
AVP - Product Management & Technology, Alldigi Tech
12:30 – 13:00
Inclusive Cultures in a Digital-First World
Concurrent 3
As workplaces become increasingly digital, hybrid, and AI-driven, building inclusion requires more than intent, it demands conscious design. This session explores how organizations can embed inclusion into systems, leadership behaviors, and everyday practices to create belonging, equity, and sustained engagement at scale.
Key Discussion Points
- Inclusion by Design: Embedding equity into systems, policies, and workflows
- Leadership in a Digital Context: Driving inclusive behaviors in hybrid and AI-enabled teams
- Tech as an Enabler: Using platforms and data to reduce bias and improve access
- Everyday Inclusion: Turning intent into consistent, scalable practices
Moderator
Manas Bisht
VP - Sales & Partnerships, Xoxoday
K K Thakur
Director - Personnel, NMDC
Gopal Chhetri
Senior Vice President, BU Leader & Global GCC Head, CGI
Rajnish Kumar
Vice President – Human Resources Department, Newgen Software Technologies
12:30 – 13:05
Designing Trust, Experience, and Outcomes Across the Employee Lifecycle
Concurrent 4
Organizations today need to deliver a seamless, high-impact employee journey - from hiring the right talent to enabling performance and sustaining engagement. This session explores how trust, intelligent systems, and meaningful experiences come together to drive better decisions, stronger culture, and measurable business outcomes across the employee lifecycle.
Key Discussion Points
- Building Trust at Entry: Ensuring credibility and risk mitigation in hiring decisions
- Intelligence in Action: Using data and AI to drive performance, growth, and decision-making
- Designing Experience: Creating meaningful recognition and engagement moments that matter
- Driving Outcomes: Connecting people practices to business impact across the lifecycle
Moderator
Atma Godara
Vice President, Head - People & Culture, ACME Group
Biplob Banerjee
Chief Human Resources Officer, Emami Limited
Sumit Neogi
Managing Director Human Resources - MEISA Region, FedEx
Swapnil Kulkarni
Director Human Resources, Danaher Corporation
Mrigank Tripathi
President - Growth, PeopleStrong
Partners That Have Shaped the Ecosystem
Presenting Partner
Powered-By Partners
Diamond Partners
Emerald Partners
Platinum Partners
Gold Partners
Silver Partners
Bronze Partners
Associate Partners
Emerging Tech Partners
International Partners
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Conference Venue
Jio World Convention Centre, Mumbai
Address: Jio World Centre, G Block, Bandra Kurla Complex,
Bandra East, Mumbai, Maharashtra – 400098
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Bandra East, Mumbai, Maharashtra – 400098
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