At the intersection of healthcare innovation and global people strategy stands Poonam Ajgaonkar, Chief People Officer at Qure.ai, whose leadership has helped shape one of India’s most inspiring health-tech success stories. In this candid conversation with Dr. Sunil Kumar Singh, Editor-in-Chief of HR TODAY, Poonam shares how Qure.ai is embedding equity, empathy, and agility into its rapidly growing global workforce. From navigating the complexities of scaling across 105 countries to redefining leadership in mission-led environments, her insights offer a practical yet powerful roadmap for HR leaders aspiring to build purpose-first organizations in the age of AI.
SS: You’ve led HR across fast-growing sectors, and now at Qure.ai, you’re shaping people practices in a mission-driven healthcare AI company. What personal experiences most prepared you for this role?
PA: I have always believed that the people function is not an add-on to the business. It is a core business vertical that can either enable scale or quietly break it. The moments that shaped me most as a people leader came from building teams from the ground up, setting up functions and systems that did not just support the business, but actively propelled it forward.
Working in fast-growing environments taught me that HR cannot operate in isolation. When organisations scale, especially across cultures and geographies, people decisions directly influence execution, trust, and long-term outcomes. Those experiences shaped how I think about fairness, discipline, and the responsibility that comes with building organisations that are meant to last.
As Qure.ai enters its second decade, it is a natural playground for many of those learnings. We are a global tech leader, operating in a complex, mission-driven healthcare ecosystem, with culturally diverse global teams. Here, HR is not a function that exists only to address employee concerns. It is a strategic partner that helps shape the business roadmap as we grow and scale.
This aligns closely with the values and leadership philosophy at Qure. We are strong advocates of a culture-first, people-first approach to building global teams, especially in a space where the work has real-world consequences. That shared belief has allowed us to build people practices that balance ambition with empathy, and performance with purpose, which ultimately defines how we operate at Qure.ai today.
SS: As healthcare AI companies expand globally, talent remains a critical bottleneck. How can the industry bridge global talent gaps while positioning India as a hub for health-tech expertise?
PA: India is already a global hub for exceptional technology talent. Every year, the IITs and other top engineering institutions produce engineers whose depth of problem-solving and systems thinking is hard to match anywhere else in the world. This is why almost every global technology company has established a GCC in India. The scale and quality of engineering talent available here simply does not exist in many other markets.
For Qure.ai, being deeply tethered to India is a strategic advantage. Indian engineering is a highly coveted skill set for global brands, and it gives us the ability to build at both depth and scale. But in healthcare AI, talent gaps persist not because engineers lack capability, but because the industry has not invested enough in giving them real-world exposure.
Too often, healthcare AI is built in isolation, optimised for demos rather than deployment. At Qure.ai, that approach is non-negotiable. Our engineering teams stay close to the ground. They build with an understanding of how solutions are used in hospitals, public health systems, and resource-constrained settings, because technology that does not work in the real world has no value in healthcare.
Qure’s philosophy is to build globally relevant healthcare AI, with teams that combine technical excellence, clinical context, and a deep sense of purpose. When engineers are trusted with ownership, exposed to real healthcare challenges, and supported by a culture that puts people first, innovation follows. Bridging global talent gaps requires exactly this shift. Investing in the next generation of engineers, grounding them in real-world healthcare, and positioning India not as a backend hub but as a centre of innovation. When that happens, India’s role in shaping the future of healthcare AI becomes both natural and inevitable.
SS: Competition for AI and healthcare talent is intensifying. What people strategies can help organizations attract, grow, and retain this rare combination of skills?
PA: People want to work where their work creates a real-world impact. Clear growth pathways and a culture that empowers teams to experiment and innovate help us retain talent. With colleagues from 20+ nationalities, we are intentional about being culturally empathetic, naturally inclusive and in general, mindful about creating a safe working atmosphere for everyone. But attracting and retaining healthcare AI talent requires more than strong policies. When technologists can see how their work enables earlier diagnosis and improves patient outcomes across countries, it creates a deep sense of ownership and motivation. Structured but human systems, such as access to confidential counselling, mentoring frameworks, and safe spaces across the organisation, help create an environment where people can sustain high performance.
Attraction and retention in this space are closely tied to purpose and growth. When people feel supported, trusted, and connected to the mission, they are more likely to stay, grow, and contribute meaningfully. In a field as demanding as healthcare AI, that combination is essential to building and retaining world-class teams.
SS: Scaling globally often means working across diverse cultures. How do you ensure that Qure.ai’s people strategy is inclusive and locally relevant while still staying aligned to a global mission?
PA: Communication is the anchor. We focus on listening deeply to local teams, understanding cultural nuances, and bridging the gap between global expectations and local realities. Our people strategy is built on mutual respect, trust, transparency, and impact, while giving regional autonomy and empowerment to adapt to local nuances that work best for them.
SS: Organizational culture is often described as the engine of innovation. In your view, what cultural attributes most accelerate impact in healthcare AI?
PA: The healthcare sector needs its sharpest minds to truly put patients at the heart of everything they build and that’s where culture becomes critical. At Qure.ai, we embrace being Humble, Hungry, and Smart. Humble enough to learn from our users and each other, hungry to solve hard problems, and smart in how we collaborate. This combination creates a culture that supports innovation, resilience, and high performance.
SS: Employee well-being is emerging as a non-negotiable. How do you embed well-being, equity, and inclusion into people practices without slowing down innovation?
PA: At Qure.ai, we embed well-being, equity and inclusion directly into our people practices so they become part of how we work. It’s foundational for us.
We take a structured approach through initiatives such as Mental Health Awareness Month, Mental Health First Aid, and Mindpeers, our global Employee Assistance Program, supported by regular conversations on mental health, Pride, and women’s health.
When people feel supported and psychologically safe, innovation accelerates rather than slows down. With teams spanning over 20 nationalities, inclusion goes far beyond gender. We are intentional about gender-neutral language, cultural sensitivity, and creating environments where everyone feels they belong.
This philosophy extends into our hiring and policies. We use bar-raiser panels to reduce bias, ensure diverse interview committees, and offer equitable benefits, including parental support and coverage for same-sex partners. Creating an LGBTQ+ friendly workplace means enabling people to show up as themselves, without judgment.
SS: As hybrid and cross-border teams become the norm, what new leadership capabilities are needed to drive collaboration, empathy, and agility?
PA: Leaders today need to communicate clearly, build trust even when teams are remote, and make collaborative decisions. Empathy is surely the key, understanding different contexts, respecting diverse backgrounds, and helping teams do their best.
At Qure.ai, we operate with a flat, non-hierarchical mindset where ownership is distributed, not centralised. Teams are encouraged to take initiative, experiment, and bring solutions forward instead of waiting for direction. For leaders, the role is shifting from managing to enabling. This means understanding diverse contexts, creating clarity across time zones, and ensuring people have the autonomy to deliver outcomes. Appreciation always plays a key role for all the effort one puts in, constantly.
SS: How do you see empathetic leadership reshaping the future of work in high-pressure, high-innovation sectors like healthcare AI?
PA: Empathetic leadership is going to redefine the future of work, especially in high-pressure fields like healthcare AI. When leaders genuinely put themselves in another person’s shoes, they create psychological safety, the foundation for creativity, problem-solving and bold innovation. Empathy is a strength. It keeps employees motivated in fast-changing, uncertain environments. It means understanding different points of view and leading in a way that brings out the best in people. Going forward, empathy can’t be the exception shown by a few, it needs to become the norm that shapes the next generation of leadership.
SS: AI and automation are transforming not only healthcare delivery but also HR itself. How can HR leaders harness these tools to enhance employee experience while ensuring fairness and trust?
PA: AI allows HR to make faster, smarter decisions, especially for repetitive tasks with clear, standard outcomes, whether it’s in hiring, upskilling, or employee engagement. HR leaders can use AI for the first layer of work: planning, filtering, and generating initial insights. But the real value comes when we add human judgment on top, contextualising the data, understanding nuances, and making decisions that align with our culture. AI should enhance the employee experience while humans ensure fairness and trust.
SS: Looking ahead, what advice would you give to HR leaders in healthcare AI about building resilient, future-ready workforces that can advance global health impact?
PA: Our teams are constantly evolving to meet the ever evolving clinical, regulatory, and technological demands. My advice would be to invest in continuous learning, lead with empathy, and build teams that are adaptable and purpose-driven. Encourage cross-disciplinary collaboration and cultivate a culture that welcomes experimentation. And most importantly, stay rooted in purpose, when people understand the ‘why’ behind their work, resilience comes naturally.
SS: We extend our heartfelt thanks to Poonam Ajgaonkar for this deeply insightful and thought-provoking conversation. Her reflections remind us that building a truly inclusive and resilient organization requires more than policies—it demands intentionality, empathy, and purpose-led execution. Whether discussing AI’s role in recruitment, the nuances of managing Gen Z expectations, or the importance of role modeling equity at the top, Poonam’s guidance offers rich takeaways for HR leaders navigating complexity in today’s ever-evolving landscape. As the future of work continues to unfold, her voice is a compelling reminder that people-first leadership isn’t just good strategy—it’s the only one that endures.
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