Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, December 2025 – Sandeep Shelar has been promoted to Associate Regional Head – Group Employee Benefits at HDFC Life, marking a significant milestone in his career in corporate sales, group benefits and enterprise client relationship management. Based in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, he will continue to deepen and expand group employee benefits relationships while driving new business growth in a highly competitive and evolving insurance market.
Over nearly three years at HDFC Life, Sandeep Shelar has worked in the Group Employee Benefits business, most recently as Senior Manager – Group Employee Benefits. In this role, he has been responsible for managing relationships with large and named clients, driving business through existing corporate relationships, and leading new client acquisition initiatives. Leveraging his strengths in account management, consultative selling and new business development, he has built a strong foundation that now supports his expanded regional leadership mandate as Associate Regional Head – Group Employee Benefits.
Prior to joining HDFC Life, Sandeep spent around two years at AuthBridge as Manager – Enterprise Sales & Account Management in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, where he led enterprise sales and key accounts in a high-growth environment. His work there spanned consultative selling, problem solving, negotiation and client relationship management, giving him deep exposure to complex B2B engagements and enterprise decision-making cycles.
Earlier, Sandeep Shelar gained over five years of experience with Zeta Suite and Sodexo Benefits and Rewards Services in Mumbai, first as Senior Key Account Specialist at Zeta Suite and later as Sales Manager after the merger with Sodexo Benefits and Rewards Services. During this period, he worked at the forefront of India’s digital tax benefit and SaaS-based employee benefits space, positioning solutions like Zeta Optima and helping clients run and manage employee benefits on a unified digital platform. This experience firmly anchored his expertise in the intersection of fintech, employee benefits and strategic client engagement.
Before his fintech and employee benefits journey, Sandeep built his early career in business development and corporate sales with organisations such as Mahindra Integrated Business Solutions Private Limited and CRISIL in the Mumbai region. His work involved identifying potential clients, pitching BPM, CRM and shared services solutions, cross-selling ratings and research services, driving direct marketing initiatives, and building strong client relationships to generate repeat and referral business.
In the formative stage of his career, Sandeep gained valuable exposure through roles at Mint International, Rave Technologies, Kapoor & Parekh Associates Chartered Accountants, as well as a summer internship at Hindalco Industries Limited, where he worked on mapping the roofing sheet market and designing a promotional mix for the Everlast brand. He also strengthened his academic foundation with a Master of Business Administration (MBA/MMS) in Marketing from IES’s Management College and Research Centre (IESMCRC), laying the groundwork for a career focused on sales, client management and market development.
HDFC Life is one of India’s leading private life insurance companies, offering a comprehensive range of individual and group insurance solutions. It is a joint venture between Housing Development Finance Corporation Limited (HDFC), India’s leading housing finance institution, and abrdn plc, a leading provider of financial services in the United Kingdom. The company’s product portfolio spans protection, pension, savings, investment and health solutions, with customers able to customise their plans through optional riders at a nominal cost.
With a portfolio of 37 retail and 8 group products and 9 optional riders, HDFC Life serves diverse financial needs related to savings, investment, protection and retirement planning. The company has built one of the widest reaches among new-age insurance providers, with around 500 branches across India touching customers in more than 900 cities and towns, and a liaison office in Dubai. Supported by a strong base of financial consultants, HDFC Life continues to deepen its presence and reinforce its commitment to helping individuals and organisations secure their financial futures.
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