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"HR Today" aspires to be more than just a publication; it aims to be a platform where the brightest minds in HR come together to share knowledge, insights, and foresight that can shape the future of our profession. We aim to offer a unique blend of academic rigour and practical wisdom, addressing the most pressing challenges and opportunities in the HR landscape today.
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Career Highlights With over 20 years of international experience, Michele has built a distinguished career across the manufacturing, retail, and IT/Telco sectors. He has operated in complex, NYSE-listed multinational environments as well as entrepreneurial organizations across Asia, Europe, and the Americas. Currently, as Chief HR & Organization OƯicer at Italtel, he is leading the strategic relaunch of the group’s 1,500 employees across EMEA and South America. A key career milestone includes his three-year tenure in the United States (2018–2021) as HR VP for Natuzzi Americas, where he was instrumental in the brand’s repositioning and retail expansion. His global footprint includes significant assignments in China, Spain, and Romania, giving him a unique mastery of cross-cultural leadership and organizational design.
Societal Contribution An alumnus of Università Cattolica with a specialization from SDA Bocconi, Michele is dedicated to fostering the next generation of talent. He actively bridges the gap between academia and industry by promoting STEM careers for women and chairing the Gender Equality Steering Committee at Italtel. Through the “Net-world” project, he mentors students in ITS Academies, while simultaneously advising SMEs on the economic and social importance of Diversity & Inclusion and fair pay policies, translating complex corporate social responsibility into local community impact.
Contribution to the HR Profession Michele is a recognized expert in Change Management, Organizational Design, and Industrial Relations. He frequently shares his expertise as a keynote speaker at prestigious venues such as Sole 24 ORE and Forum HR. His commitment to innovating HR processes—from Reward & Compensation to People Development—has earned him the “HR Director of the Year 2025” award (Inhousecommunity) and the “Innovation Award” (IMH). His approach combines deep technical expertise in process analysis with a human-centric vision for digital transformation.
Rahul Mukherjee is a visionary HR leader and digital transformation architect currently serving as Chief Human Resources Officer at Jio, one of the world’s most disruptive telecom and digital platforms. With over two decades of experience across telecommunications, banking, hospitality, pharmaceuticals, and manufacturing, he has built a reputation as a strategic partner to CEOs and boards—shaping agile organizations, future-ready leadership pipelines, and technology-driven HR ecosystems that deliver sustainable business growth.
A founding member of Jio’s leadership team, Rahul has played a pivotal role in designing people strategies aligned with the company’s bold, disruptive business model. He oversees pan-India HR operations for a workforce of nearly 150,000 employees, ensuring operational excellence, compliance, and cultural cohesion across geographies. He has led large-scale organizational redesigns to accelerate decision-making and align talent with rapidly evolving priorities, while spearheading end-to-end HR digitization—deploying AI, automation, chatbots, and advanced HCM platforms to create seamless, high-touch employee experiences and data-driven succession planning.
Prior to Jio, Rahul served as Head of Reward, India at Royal Bank of Scotland, where he managed total rewards strategy, benefits, and long-term incentives for the group’s India operations. As Managing Partner at Vectorplus Consulting, he advised organizations on compensation design, job architecture, leadership development, and HR audits. Earlier roles at Murjani Group, Taj Hotels, Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, and Larsen & Toubro shaped his deep expertise in organization development, process re-engineering, and HR systems implementation.
Rahul’s contribution to the HR profession lies in redefining the function as a digital service platform that blends human insight with analytics. He champions processes with “zero digital breaks,” real-time people dashboards, and workforce models that enable scale without losing empathy. Known for his analytical rigor and business acumen, he is widely regarded as a leader who turns strategy into execution through collaboration and simplicity.
Beyond corporate impact, Rahul has contributed to society through early work leading the West Bengal Adult Literacy Campaign, guiding community education initiatives across rural India. An MBA in HR from Xavier Institute of Social Service, he continues to mentor young professionals and advocate for inclusive growth, ethical leadership, and technology that empowers people rather than replaces them.
Jolanda Grob has been acting as Group Chief People Officer for Zurich Insurance since July 2023, leading the global HR function, reporting directly to the Group CEO and a member of the Group Leadership team. She previously served as Chief Human Resources Officer for the Swiss Business Unit where she led an organization of over 120 HR professionals.
Her professional career started with Deloitte in Switzerland, for whom she was responsible for Graduate Marketing & Recruitment in addition to acting as an HR Business Partner. Following roles as Head Learning & Development and Talent Management at Unilever and Coca-Cola, she was the International Head of Learning & Development, Talent Management, Culture and Engagement at Amgen, the largest biotech company, with responsibility for all countries outside of North America. In 2010 she joined Zurich, where she held various positions within Group HR, first in the Talent Center of Expertise, then as Group Head Employee Research & Engagement and ultimately as Global HR Business Partner supporting various functions such as General Insurance, Life, Group Re, Marketing, Comms & Public Affairs, Strategy, Innovation & Business Development. She also led the ZEF (Zurich European Employee Forum) as HR Chair from 2018 to 2020.
Jolanda Grob obtained a master’s in applied psychology at the University of Fribourg, acquired Swiss Diplomas in Human Resources and Career Counseling, continuously deepened her expertise in various HR topics and obtained a second master’s degree in systemic solution-oriented Coaching. In addition, she completed an Advanced Management Program at the esteemed Executive Business School IESE in Barcelona in 2021. She has also been an Independent Board Member for APG|SGA, the market leading Out of Home Media company in Switzerland, leading the Nomination and Remuneration Committee as Chair since 2020.
Intan Shahira Mohd Shahru is a distinguished human capital leader and organizational transformation expert currently serving as Chief People Officer of AirAsia Group, one of Asia’s most dynamic and iconic aviation and digital lifestyle brands. With nearly two decades of experience spanning aviation, central banking, and global consulting, she has built a reputation for shaping progressive people strategies that balance business performance with purpose, culture, and innovation.
Since joining AirAsia in 2018, Intan has been instrumental in redefining the Group’s human capital architecture. As Group Head of Organisational Effectiveness & Rewards, she led enterprise-wide initiatives across performance management, leadership assessment, learning and development, and total rewards—laying the foundation for a modern, agile workforce. Her subsequent role as Head of HR for Airlines and Group COE expanded her mandate to drive organizational design and strategic workforce planning for AirAsia’s core aviation businesses during one of the most challenging periods in the industry’s history.
Appointed Chief People Officer in 2022, Intan now stewards the end-to-end people agenda for the entire AirAsia ecosystem. She partners closely with the Board and senior leadership to embed a high-performance culture, strengthen leadership succession, and build digital-first employee experiences across multiple countries. Her approach blends rigorous analytics with deep human insight—ensuring that talent, rewards, and development strategies are tightly aligned to AirAsia’s transformation from an airline into a comprehensive travel and lifestyle platform.
Prior to AirAsia, Intan served for more than six years at Bank Negara Malaysia, where she held leadership roles in Strategic Human Capital, progression and succession planning, and jobs and rewards design. Earlier in her career at Hay Group (now Korn Ferry), she advised leading regional organizations on job architecture, pay frameworks, and organizational effectiveness—experience that continues to shape her evidence-based approach to HR.
A graduate of the University of Wollongong with a Bachelor of Commerce in Law & Management, and an alumna of the Harvard Business School Executive HR Program, Intan is recognized for her calm leadership, intellectual rigor, and commitment to developing Asian talent for global impact. She is a passionate advocate for inclusive workplaces, meritocratic rewards, and continuous learning—believing that organizations thrive when people are trusted, empowered, and given the opportunity to grow beyond boundaries.
Across every phase of her career, Intan has demonstrated that HR can be a strategic catalyst—one that connects culture, capability, and commercial outcomes to build organizations ready for the future of work.
With more than two decades of experience spanning leading local and global manufacturing organisations, Sue has built a distinguished career as a Human Resources specialist known for combining strategic insight with genuine people leadership. Recognised as a collaborative and results-driven leader, she brings a deep conviction that people are an organisation’s greatest asset. An approach that has underpinned her success across Australia and the Asia Pacific region.
Sue’s career has been shaped by environments of growth and transformation, whether it be organic growth, mergers, acquisitions or profit growth. She has played a pivotal role in designing and executing long-term strategies, aligning HR frameworks with business objectives, and leading complex change management initiatives whilst managing risk. Her work ensures organisations are not only prepared for growth, but that their people are empowered, capable, and aligned with future ambitions.
A Certified Human Resources Professional (CAHRI) with the Australian Human Resources Institute, Sue holds postgraduate qualifications in Management from Charles Sturt University. She further strengthened her global perspective through strategic development and HR generalist studies in France, and is also a certified workplace assessor and trainer.
Beyond her professional achievements, Sue is deeply committed to giving back. She actively leads mentoring programs within the organisations she serves and volunteers her time to support youth mentoring initiatives. Her dedication to community extends to running charity drives that provide practical support to those less fortunate, reflecting her belief that leadership extends beyond the workplace.
Salil Lal is a highly respected human resources leader with over three decades of experience across automotive, engineering, manufacturing, and industrial enterprises. He currently serves as Executive Officer and Chief Human Resources Officer at Maruti Suzuki India Limited, where he has spent close to fourteen years shaping high-impact, scalable people practices across the company’s major manufacturing and corporate hubs in Gurugram and Manesar.
With nearly four years as CHRO and over a decade as General Manager – Human Resources, Salil has played a pivotal role in strengthening workplace culture, driving capability-building initiatives, sustaining industrial harmony, and ensuring long-term talent retention in one of India’s most complex and people-intensive organisations. His leadership has been central to aligning HR strategy with business growth, productivity, and operational excellence.
Before joining Maruti Suzuki, Salil was Head – Human Resources at Ingersoll Rand, where he strengthened HR governance, employee engagement, and organisational development frameworks. Earlier, he spent nearly a decade at Caparo Engineering, holding multiple senior roles including Director (Office of the MD & CEO), Executive Director, General Manager – HR, and Plant Head – HR, leading people strategy and industrial relations across diverse plants during a critical phase of expansion.
His early career at Goodyear India and Electrolux further grounded his expertise in plant HR and workforce management. An alumnus of XISS Ranchi, Salil is also the President of NHRDN Delhi & NCR Chapter, reflecting the trust, credibility, and influence he commands across India’s HR fraternity—known for his humility, integrity, and deep people-centric leadership.
Saurabh Govil is one of India’s most respected human resources leaders with over three decades of experience shaping organizations, leadership cultures, and large-scale workforce transformations. He serves as President & Chief Human Resources Officer of Wipro Ltd. and Trustee of the Wipro Foundation, where he steers the global people strategy for more than 250,000 employees across 60+ countries—integrating talent, purpose, and business performance in one of the world’s most complex technology enterprises.
Since becoming CHRO in 2015, Saurabh has led Wipro through multiple waves of digital reinvention—driving leadership succession, capability building, diversity and inclusion, employee experience, and large-scale reskilling for the AI era. He is also the guiding force behind the Spirit of Wipro Run, one of the world’s largest employee-led charity initiatives, which for two decades has mobilized thousands globally to support education, healthcare, ecology, and disaster relief through Wipro Cares.
Prior to Wipro, he held senior HR leadership roles at GE Healthcare, GECIS, and ITC Limited, building deep expertise in organization design, change management, and global talent ecosystems. An alumnus of XLRI Jamshedpur, Saurabh is a sought-after voice at global HR forums including NASSCOM, SHRM, and CII, and has been recognized among India’s Top HR Leaders for his work in leadership development, ethical governance, and purpose-led culture building. His philosophy is simple: progress fuels purpose, and purpose fuels progress.
Trisha Conley is a globally respected Executive Vice President and Chief People & Culture leader, recognized for shaping high-performance cultures, advancing inclusive leadership, and driving enterprise transformation across the energy, petrochemicals, and renewable sectors. As Executive Vice President, People and Culture at LyondellBasell, she leads the company’s people, culture, rewards, employee relations, and DEI agenda—strengthening the employee experience while aligning workforce strategy with long-term business growth.
With more than 25 years of leadership experience across oil & gas, petrochemicals, and renewable energy, Trisha brings deep expertise in global integration, organizational development, talent strategy, and large-scale change. Prior to joining LyondellBasell, she served as Senior Vice President, People Development at Renewable Energy Group, where she guided people transformation through its acquisition by Chevron—ensuring continuity, culture integration, and leadership stability during a pivotal transition.
Trisha spent nearly two decades at BP, holding a succession of senior HR leadership roles across North America and Europe, including HR Vice President, Fuels North America & Head of Country HR (Downstream) and Head of Talent Management, Refining & Marketing. Across these roles, she built leadership pipelines, modernized resourcing strategies, strengthened employee engagement, and delivered complex people transformations in highly regulated, safety-critical environments.
A self-described disruptor and change agent, Trisha is widely admired for building highly productive teams that combine operational excellence with purpose and inclusion. Beyond enterprise leadership, she serves as a Board Trustee at The Morton Arboretum, reflecting her commitment to environmental stewardship and community impact.
She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Public Relations and Communications from the University of Northern Iowa and an MBA from the University of Missouri–Kansas City.
Alim Dhanji is a globally experienced, purpose-driven executive and current Chief Human Resources O@icer (CHRO) and EVP, Corporate A@airs (Brand, Communications, PR, Citizenship, Corporate Real Estate, Corporate Security) of TD SYNNEX (NYSE: SNX), a Fortune 100 technology company with $80B in annual billing, 24,000 employees and operations in over 55 countries. With over 25 years of leadership experience across public, private, and founder-led companies, Alim brings a rare combination of human capital, operational, and P&L expertise.
He has served as a President, COO, and CHRO across multiple industries, including technology, consumer goods, financial services, and retail. At Adidas Canada, he led the business as President through its double-digit revenue and net income growth, commercial expansion and operational turnaround. He currently partners closely with the CEO and Board at TD SYNNEX to drive innovation, enterprise leadership, and workforce readiness in the context of digital transformation, AI, and omni-channel growth.
Alim is a trusted advisor to CEOs and Boards on complex issues including CEO succession, leadership risk, stakeholder reputation, and ESG strategy. He has served on HR, Compensation, and Strategy committees, including as Chair of the Compensation Committee. His board-level experience also includes public sector subsidiaries and private equity-backed companies, as well as advisory roles with the Harvard Business Review Advisory Council and Project Healthy Minds.
With expatriate experience across North America, Europe, Asia, and Africa, Alim brings a truly global and inclusive perspective to governance. He is known for championing diversity and inclusion, recognized as a Top 10 Global LGBT+ Executive by Yahoo Finance and the Financial Times.
Alim is a graduate of Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Program and resides in New York. Board Value Proposition
• Enterprise leader with P&L and transformation experience across multiple sectors • Boardroom fluency with proven impact in CEO succession, talent strategy, and compensation governance • Deep insight into stakeholder risk, AI and digital disruption, and global workforce strategy • Recognized ESG and DEI leader with experience shaping organizational purpose and reputation
Board Interests
Public company boards in technology, consumer, financial, and professional services sectors undergoing transformation or scale.
Girish Ganesan is a global, strategic, and results-driven human resources leader who currently serves as Chief People Officer at S&P Global and is a member of the company’s Executive Leadership Team. In this role, he leads the global people and corporate responsibility function, shaping culture, talent, inclusion, and workforce innovation for approximately 42,000 employees across 41 countries. He also contributes to governance and social impact through board roles with CRISIL (an S&P Global company), the S&P Global Foundation, and All Stars Project Inc.
Since joining S&P Global in 2021, Girish has steadily expanded his remit—first as Senior Vice President, People, partnering with high-impact businesses including Ratings, Sustainability, Digital Solutions and AI, as well as Legal, Government Affairs, Global Security, and Risk & Compliance. In November 2024, he stepped into the role of Executive Vice President & Chief People Officer, with responsibility for people, inclusion, and corporate responsibility across the enterprise.
Prior to S&P Global, Girish built a strong track record across TD Bank Group, where he served as Global Head of Diversity & Inclusion and Head of U.S. Talent, and earlier led enterprise HR solutions and operating model optimisation—driving simplification, automation, digitisation, and major HR technology transformation (including Workday). He also spent nearly a decade at Manulife, leading global HR shared services and HR leadership roles across Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, and Singapore, and began his career in consulting at Accenture, with earlier HR experience in retail.
Recognised through multiple awards and sought after as a speaker, Girish is known for his insights on workforce transformation, AI-powered talent innovation, and the evolving role of leadership in shaping inclusive, high-performing cultures.
Dr. C. Jayakumar
Executive Vice President & Head – Corporate Human Resources (CHRO)
Larsen & Toubro Limited
Dr. C. Jayakumar is a globally respected HR leader with over 38 years of distinguished experience in strategic human resources, leadership development, and organizational transformation. As the Group CHRO of Larsen & Toubro Limited, one of India’s most admired engineering and technology conglomerates, he has played a pivotal role in shaping enterprise-wide people strategies aligned to long-term business growth, nation-building, and sustainability.
Over the course of his career, Dr. Jayakumar has held senior HR leadership roles across multiple L&T businesses, including international assignments in the Middle East and Africa. His expertise spans talent and succession management, leadership pipeline development, culture and change management, and large-scale HR digital transformation.
He is widely recognized for integrating human-centric leadership with data-driven and AI-enabled HR systems, ensuring that technology enhances—rather than replaces—the human element at work. His leadership is further strengthened by a formal grounding in law, enabling a strong focus on governance, ethical decision-making, and sound employment practices.
Beyond the organization, Dr. Jayakumar has made a significant contribution to the HR profession and society at large. He currently serves as the National President of the National HRD Network (NHRDN), leading one of the world’s largest HR professional bodies and advancing a national agenda on future-ready leadership, ethical HR practices, inclusion, and capability building.
He serves on the National Committees of leading industry and professional bodies, including FICCI, CII, AIMA, and the Employers’ Federation of India, contributing to policy dialogue and shaping India’s HR and employment ecosystem.
He is also a Board Member of the Academy of Human Resource Development, serves on the academic boards of premier institutions such as XLRI Jamshedpur and SPJIMR, and is a member of the CHRO Advisory Board of SAP SuccessFactors.
An alumnus of the London Business School, Dr. Jayakumar holds a doctorate in leadership, is a certified executive coach, is certified in organizational development from the NTL Institute, USA, and holds a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree.
His leadership has been recognized with several prestigious honors, including CHRO of the Year (BW People), Impactful HR Leader (ET Edge), and the HR Lifetime Achievement Award (FICCI), reflecting his enduring impact as a thought leader, institution builder, and mentor in the HR profession.
Sudhir Mattoo – Group Chief People Officer, Adani Group
Adani’s Proprietary “Cobotic Workforce Model”
Adani Group’s future-of-work agenda signals a deliberate break from convention—a reset of how work is structured, experienced, and scaled. Anchored in its proprietary ‘Cobotic’ model, the approach blends human capability with agentic automation, reshaping the workplace through shared (human & agentic robots) learning spaces, collaborative ecosystems, and on-site wellness centres designed to support both productivity and shared prosperity with dignity.
At its core, this model is described as a dual pulse running through the organisation. One engine is relentlessly execution-led—sharpening operational excellence, safety, and reliability across Adani’s vast infrastructure and utility footprint. The other is explicitly experimental and futuristic. This Innovation Engine pushes agility, curiosity, and creativity across portfolio companies, seeding a start-up culture with entrepreneurial spirit within an infrastructure giant. The intent is unapologetically ambitious: to unlock 10x productivity growth.
Building the Next Generation of Leaders
Leadership is treated as a long game. Flagship initiatives such as the Adani Continuous Learning Program (ACLP) stretch across a decade, pairing individual development plans with a vertical-slicing cohort design—placing high-potential executives from different organisational levels together to accelerate shared learning. The pipeline is aimed at CxO readiness. Notably, 85% of faculty come from Adani’s own leadership, complemented by select global experts. In 2025 alone, employees logged 1.2 million+ learning hours through VR safety simulations, gamified tools, and the Adani Academy digital platform.
Inclusivity and Local Prosperity
Across 350+ sites, Adani positions itself as deeply embedded in local communities. Guided by Trust, Accountability and Care, site administration works closely with Industrial Relations to invest in skills, education, and medical infrastructure—creating dignity and access for employees and neighbouring populations. Hyperlocal hiring retains economic value in regions, strengthens accountability, and enables faster problem solving—forming a model of shared long-term prosperity.
About Sudhir Mattoo
Sudhir Mattoo, the Group Chief People Officer of Adani Group, brings global expertise in talent transformation, digital HR, and leadership development. He joined Adani in 2023 after nearly 16 years at IBM, where he served as Partner, IBM Consulting and led talent agendas across Asia Pacific, Japan, and Growth Markets—shaping future skills, employee experience, and AI-enabled HR models. An MBA from California State University, Fresno, he is also a 2019 Brandon Hall Bronze awardee for innovation in machine learning for learning. His cross-industry perspective and deep change management experience underpin Adani’s bold people strategy—where human potential and technology advance together.
Carmen Diaz was appointed Chief People and Sustainability Officer in June 2025.
In her dual role, Carmen is responsible for aligning Holcim’s People agenda with its NextGen Growth 2030 strategy, as we follow our pathway to net zero, and building alliances with key external stakeholders.
Joining Holcim in 2002, Carmen held commercial and general management roles in Madrid, Paris, Lyon and London. Serving as CEO of Holcim Spain from 2022, she achieved record performance, creating an empowered performance culture and enhancing Holcim’s reputation as an employer of choice. Before assuming her current role, Carmen was appointed Chief People Officer from October 2024.
A Spanish national born in 1977, she holds a chemical engineering degree from University of Oviedo, an MBA from ECA Spain, and has completed IESE General Management and ESADE Board of Directors programs.
Aimee George Leary is one of the most influential Chief People Officers in the global professional services sector—widely respected for architecting enterprise-wide talent strategies, values-driven culture transformation, and future-ready workforce ecosystems at scale. Currently serving as Executive Vice President and Chief People Officer at Booz Allen Hamilton, Aimee leads people strategy for more than 35,000 professionals worldwide, positioning talent as a primary driver of innovation, client impact, and long-term enterprise growth.
With over three decades of leadership at Booz Allen, Aimee has played a defining role in shaping the firm’s modern talent architecture. She has led record-breaking hiring cycles, strengthened employee experience outcomes, and built one of the most admired values-based cultures in consulting—anchored in well-being, continuous development, inclusion, and connection. Her leadership has ensured Booz Allen remains a sought-after employer while sustaining high-performance delivery for global clients.
Previously serving as Talent Strategy Officer, Chief Administrative Officer for Strategic Innovation, and a leader of firmwide transformation initiatives, Aimee has architected employee value propositions, leadership development systems, predictive workforce analytics, diversity roadmaps, and innovation cultures that have earned the firm multiple industry honors.
Beyond enterprise leadership, Aimee serves on the Board of Unified Youth, championing youth mental health advocacy and community empowerment initiatives.
Educated at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Commonwealth University-Bloomsburg, and Harvard Business School Executive Education, Aimee’s mission remains clear:
to build people ecosystems where values, innovation, and human connection become the strongest engines of sustainable enterprise excellence.
Trailblazing people leader Kristen Pressner believes in the potential in each of us. As Global Head of People & Culture for a prominent multinational, her passion for equity and inclusion has made her a sought-after voice, regularly appearing on international “Top HR Influencer” lists. Originally from the U.S., Kristen holds both a Bachelor’s and an MBA and relocated to Switzerland with her husband and four children 18 years ago.
Her provocative TEDx talk on unconscious bias opened minds worldwide with its blend of enlightening insights, vulnerability, wisdom and inspiration. Recently, Kristen returned to the TEDx stage to ask the question, what if our understanding of neurodiversity is all wrong as she explores the surprising reason many people ‘can’t get it together’. The talk is sparking conversations across families, workplaces, and the neurodivergence community. Within weeks of its release, it caught the attention of the World Economic Forum, leading to her invitation to contribute to their Global Brain Economy Initiative launched at Davos and she is relentless in her work to share this awareness with our workplaces, schools and world.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bq_xYSOZrgU -first tedx with nearly 800k views
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axIDDiZsM78 – second tedx talk, released 10 months ago: over 100k views
