TCS elevates Harrick Vin, and other top executives as SMPs

Harrick Vin, Chief Services Innovation Officer at Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and a TCS Fellow has taken over as an SMP (Senior Management Personnel), effective August 1, 2023. He has been associated with TCS for around 18 years and engaged with academia and industry for over three decades. His new role is part of Tata Consultancy’s recent changes across its senior management positions. Before taking over as SMP, Harrick was in charge of TCS Digitate. He is a fellow of the Indian National Academy of Engineering (INAE) and an alumnus of IIT Mumbai. Before joining TCS, Harrick was a Professor of Computer Sciences at the University of Texas, Austin for 15 years. In other moves, K Ananth Krishnan, Executive Vice-President, TCS will exit from his SMP role in line with his retirement, due in October 2023. In yet another SMP role rejigs, effective July 31, 2023, Rajashree R, former Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) has transitioned as Vice President. With 25 years of industry experience, she is a co-inventor (with a patent in her name) of object recognition-based estimation of planogram compliance, providing an expected arrangement of products on shelves. Abhinav Kumar, associated with TCS for 21 years will step into Rajashree’s role as the CMO. Other new TCS SMP appointees including Shankar Narayanan, President and Global Head of Retail, CPG, Travel and Hospitality at TCS. Ashok Pai, Senior Vice-President, and Global Head of TCS’s Cognitive Business Operations (CBO), Reguraman Ayyaswamy, TCS’s global head of the Internet of Things (IoT) and digital engineering units, V Rajanna, is the head of TCS’ communications, media, and technology businesses, and Siva Ganesan, a TCS veteran for 32 years, the industry stalwart has steered roles across sales, operations, program management, delivery, and global account management.

Microsoft Corp. ropes in former AWS’s Puneet Chandok

Puneet Chandok

Puneet Chandok takes over as Corporate Vice President for India and South Asia, Microsoft Corp., effective September 1, 2023. He succeeds Anant Maheshwari, who recently resigned from Microsoft. Before joining Microsoft, Chandok was associated with Amazon Web Services (AWS), for 4+ years and managed its India and South Asia businesses, including digital businesses, enterprises, start-ups, and SMBs, helping to reduce technical debt, ushering in agility, and innovation. He undertook multiple roles with AWS, including that of President, India, and AWS Vice-President for South Asia. Before his stint with Amazon, Chandok was a partner for McKinsey (India and Asia) and the Deputy-General Manager, at IBM (APAC). He has held other senior regional and global roles with IBM. An alumnus of the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, he holds a B.Com degree and diplomas in computer programming, networking, and high-level computer systems. Chandok’s track record involves building and growing technology businesses, leveraging technology, delivering impactful changes.

Nykaa CMO quits, CEO Nayar steps in to steer marketing

Falguni Nayar

Falguni Nayar, Founder, and CEO of Nykaa, has stepped in to strengthen its marketing domain as Shalini Raghavan, Chief Marketing Officer, quits. Shalini’s exit adds to the count of departures witnessed since March 2023, at the beauty products and fashion wear retailing company. Falguni will steer the company’s marketing strategy, enabling cost rationalisation, and realigning its businesses in a highly competitive market. As per the company’s announcement, the criticality of the marketing function has led Falguni Nayar to step in and guide the function directly. Nykaa offers beauty products via an e-platform and through physical stores and faces competition from the Tata Group and Reliance, all vying for a slice of the $16 billion beauty and personal care market in India. Six of Nykaa’s top-level executives, including its marketing head, resigned in April 2023. With Nykaa’s ambitious plans to evolve into a multi-dimensional, multi-geographic business, Nykaa has been augmenting its leadership roles, given the exodus of top executives. Nykaa appointed Shailendra Singh as Business Head for Physical Retail - Beauty, adding to his existing leadership roles across their key omni channels. Rozita Nouruzi, CEO of Nysaa, manages their omnichannel beauty business in partnership with the Apparel Group in GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council).

Godfrey Phillips appoints Sakshi Anand as CHRO

Sakshi Anand

Sakshi Anand joins Godfrey Phillips India as CHRO, having relinquished her role as HR Head for Chemicals Business at DCM Shriram Limited. Sakshi brings 22 years of experience as an HR Leader with strong leadership and interpersonal skills that has driven HR strategies for business growth. She has collaborated with leadership teams for scaling up business operations via Organization Design, Workforce Planning, and Talent Acquisition. Her HR talent management solutions have been creating 'future-ready organisations.' Before her previous stint with DCM Shriram group, Sakshi played multiple roles across diverse organizations including HSBC, Fenesta, and Bharti Airtel. An alumnus of St. Stephen’s College, Delhi, she has pursued a PGDBM (HR) from the Symbiosis Centre for Management and Human Resource Development (SCMHRD).

Google lays off News Director Madhav Chinnappa

Madhav Chinnappa

Madhav Chinnappa, Google’s Director of News Ecosystem Development has been laid off after a stint with the tech giant for almost 13 years. He announced his termination from the Mountain View-based company via a LinkedIn post, adding that his “privileged position” enables him to gain some time to figure out his next move. The Indian-origin senior executive wrote, “I am on gardening leave at the moment, which allows too much time to contemplate work, career, life etc. “In the end, I am proud of what I have been able to achieve during my almost 13 years at Google. I will take August off then spend September looking after my mum in India and only start thinking about work in October, with a view to doing more things in 2024,” he stated. He thanked his teammates and colleagues at Google and discussed some of his prominent roles played at Google, including – #DigitalNewsInitiative, the #googlenewsinitiative Innovation Challenges, and Ludovic Blecher’s brilliant idea: #JERF, the Journalism Emergency Relief Fund which showcased the best of Google involving 300 Googlers. Chinnappa’s 29 years of professional experience covers his roles with the BBC, United Business Media (UBM) and Associated Press Television News (APTN). Before joining Google, Chinnappa was the Head of Business Development & Rights at BBC. He has a BA in Economics and Policy Studies from Rice University and has been schooled at the Jakarta International School. Google laid off around 12,000 employees in January this year.

Biocon ropes in Mastek’s Maninder Kapoor as HR Head

Maninder Kapoor Puri

Maninder Kapoor Puri has joined Bangalore-based Biocon Limited, as Head of Human Resources (HR). Before joining Biocon, she was the Global Chief Human Resources and Diversity Officer with Mastek Ltd for six years. As an HR Head, her primary focus will be on digital transformation, talent development, equity, wellness, diversity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB). She believes that these aspects drive innovation, enhancing employee engagement. Maninder brings 25 years+ of leadership experience in change, human resources, and talent management, including organisational development, people analytics and communication, compensation and benefits, employee relations, and learning and development. Posting her latest career development on LinkedIn, she wrote that she was excited about immersing herself in the Biocon community and working with its talented workforce. Maninder’s career journey is dotted with multiple roles across diverse organisations, including Accenture, ICICI OneSource, and Firstsource, before joining Mastek. She is an alumnus of Delhi University and began her career in 2004 with iGate Solutions Ltd as AVP - Learning & Development. She has completed the Chief Human Resources Officer program with Wharton Executive Education.

Govt appoints Bhanoo as MD of LIC

Sat Pal Bhanoo

Sat Pal Bhanoo has been appointed as the new Managing Director of Life Insurance Corporation of India, and will assume office until the date of his superannuation, which is December 31, 2025, or until further orders, whichever is earlier.

Bhanoo is the current Additional Zonal Manager with LIC’s zonal Office in Bhopal.

The Financial Services Institutions Bureau (FSIB), overseeing the appointment of directors in state-owned banks and financial institutions, recommended Bhanoo for the LIC MD role.

He will assume charge from Siddhartha Mohanty, who has been appointed as the LIC Chairman since April 2023.

HAL appoints Pradhan as HR Director

Atasi Baran Pradhan

Atasi Baran Pradhan takes over as the Director of Human Resources, at Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). He brings 35 years of experience in HR functions across public and private sectors, with in-depth experience in various industries across Engineering, Metallurgy, Paper, Aerospace, and Defence. Before his elevation to the new position, Pradhan held the post of Executive Director (Human Resources), having joined HAL in 2005. His expertise includes an entire gamut of HR functions including Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), HR policy formulation, wage negotiation and settlements, statutory compliance, performance management, manpower planning, recruitment & career development, skill development & training, facilities management, and legal affairs. He holds a PG degree in Personnel Management & Labour Welfare, from Utkal University, Bhubaneswar; a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree from the University Law College, Bhubaneswar; and a Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry (Hons).

ITC’s board reappoints Sanjiv Puri as CMD

Sanjiv Puri

ITC Limited has reappointed Sanjiv Puri as the company’s chairman and managing director for five years, effective July 24, 2024. Puri’s extended tenure is expected to steer ITC’s growth trajectory. His vision and extensive experience are poised to navigate ITC’s evolving business landscape and optimize emerging opportunities. Puri, 60, joined ITC in January 1986 and has since played exceptional leadership roles within the organisation. He took over as the Chief Executive Officer in February 2017, was re-designated as the Managing Director in May 2018, and later took charge as Chairman of ITC on May 13, 2019. Under Puri’s leadership, ITC has adopted its strategy of ‘ITC Next,’ which focuses on customer centricity, innovation, digital acceleration, and cost optimisation. He is an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, and the Wharton School of Business, US. His diverse educational background has equipped him with a strong foundation for valuable decision-making.

Veteran Lobo Quits Infosys

Richard Lobo

Richard Lobo, Executive Vice President and former head of human resources (HR), at Infosys, has resigned from the company, effective August 31, 2023. He is said to have mailed his resignation to Salil Parekh, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Infosys at 6.13 PM on August 4, 2023, marking the latest in a series of top-level exits at the company. The Infosys veteran has had an illustrious spell with the company for around 23 years, having joined the company in 2000. Lobo was the HR Head from 2015 to 2023. The senior management personnel had recently moved to a special projects team under Parekh after Sushanth Tharappan took charge as the head of HR. Lobo’s exit marks the latest in a series of senior management exodus at Infosys, which has been rolling out a new leadership structure within the company. Lobo’s departure follows recent trends of high-profile exits across IT companies in India. He is an alumnus of Xavier’s Institute of Management (Bhubaneshwar) and is a Mechanical Engineer from the Manipal Institute of Technology. He is a director on the board of Infosys Consulting and Infosys China. His previous stint before joining Infosys includes a sales and marketing stint with Godrej & Boyce as a shop floor engineer in the manufacturing domain.