Hyderabad, Telangana, India, February 2025 – Raj Karunakaran has been appointed as Head of HR – Indian Subcontinent at IFF, where he will be responsible for leading the company’s human resources strategy, talent management, and business growth initiatives across the region. With a focus on fostering inclusivity, collaboration, and employee engagement, he will work closely with business leaders to drive HR transformation across IFF’s business groups, including Taste, Scent, Health & Biosciences, and Food Ingredients, as well as the company’s largest Global Business Services Center in Hyderabad.
Before joining IFF, Raj Karunakaran was Business HR Leader – APAC for Cargill Animal Nutrition & Health, where he played a pivotal role in developing and executing HR strategies across 80 manufacturing locations, supporting a workforce of over 6,500 employees in China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Prior to that, he served as Director/Head of HR, Indian Subcontinent at Cargill, where he was a part of Cargill’s Country Leadership Team and Board of Directors. He led a 38-member HR team, supporting a diverse workforce across India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh. His role involved talent strategy development, business alignment, and HR transformation across commercial offices, a large business services center, manufacturing locations, warehouses, and depots.
Earlier, Raj Karunakaran was Global HR Leader – Cargill Business Services, where he was responsible for translating business strategies into HR actions across six global strategic locations, managing a workforce of over 7,000 employees in India, Costa Rica, Brazil, China, Bulgaria, and Argentina.
His 9-year tenure at Philips saw him serve as Director – HR & Global HR Business Partner for the Mobile Surgery Business, leading strategic HR initiatives for product development, marketing, procurement, and manufacturing teams across India and the Netherlands. He also held the role of Director – HR & Head of HR for Philips HealthSystems R&D, overseeing HR for Philips Innovation Campus, the company’s largest R&D site.
He has also held senior HR roles at Fidelity Investments, AstraZeneca India, and Tech Mahindra, where he led business transformation, HR strategy development, and change management initiatives.
About IFF
IFF (International Flavors & Fragrances Inc.) is a global leader in food, beverage, scent, health, and biosciences, creating essential solutions that enhance human experiences. With over 22,000 employees in 65 countries, 110 manufacturing facilities, and 100 R&D centers, IFF serves 33,000 customers worldwide. The company combines science and creativity to pioneer innovations in flavors, fragrances, and sustainable solutions for a better future.
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