Synapse HR

PONDICHERRY UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES RESILIENCE-BEYOND RESKILLING HR PANEL, JUN • 13 • 2021

VENKATARAMANA B Wholetime Director, ABT GROUP Former Group Advisor – Human Resources, Landmark Group has over three and a half decades of experience in Human Resources. In his tenure of more than a decade with Landmark Group, he has been instrumental in creating a people-centric organisation that has been recognized as one of India’s Best Companies to Work For in Retail for 8 consecutive years by Great Place to Work Institute. The company has also been recognized as one of the Top 25 Companies to Work for in India by Business Today. Before this, he was the Senior Vice President – Human Resources in Reliance Retail Limited, where he played a vital role in building the HR team across the country, as well as formulate its policies. Prior to this, he headed Human Resources at Reliance BPO, Henkel India and Brigade Solutions. He is a Member of the CII National Committee on Special Abilities, Executive Member of the HR Committee, Retailers Association of India and Former Vice President of Bangalore Chapter for NHRD. He has also served as the former Chairman of the HR Panel (Southern Region) for CII and the Regional Vice President (South) for the Indian Society of Training & Development. He has won several awards for his service to the HR fraternity from leading publications and industry forums. He is on the advisory committee of several Management Institutes and enjoys sharing his knowledge gained over the years in industry forums, and especially with the younger generation.

CHARLES GODWIN HR Leader & Public Speaker, ZOHO Corp An astute Human Resource Professional with 16 years of in-depth experience in the entire gamut of People Programs & Processes from the renowned IT Industry. Extensive exposure to manage change during acquisitions & mergers, building capabilities & talent during high growth phases, executing apt HR interventions. Specialties: Talent Acquisition & Retention, Talent Management, Talent Engagement, Talent Development, Employee Relations, OD interventions, Compensation Management, Performance Management, Administration of Policies, Programmes & Practices, Employee Discipline, Employee Welfare & Branding. Charles has worked with Polaris Software, Hexaware Technologies, WABCO Global Business Services, Royal Cyber and currently with Zoho as HR Leader. Charles is a prominent speaker in student & industry forums and has delivered over 1500 guest lectures, spends his weekends mostly visiting colleges & speaking to young minds. He conducts counselling session for students & helps many youngsters choose the right career path. He has also launched a new initiative ‘HR Lens’ to inspire the young minds of our nation. Honoured with Excellence Award in recognition of outstanding contribution in the field of Human Resource Management & Social Initiatives. He has also received many awards in recognition for the best Associate Connect & People Management. He is also one of the key members, board of advisors for many Institutions, HR Forums & Social Organisations.

UMA RAO Vice President of Human Resource, Ashok Leyland Uma is an HR professional with experience in a wide gamut of HR areas over more than 3 decades. She has worked in leading organizations in IT, Manufacturing, Telecom and FMCG space in companies like Tata Consultancy Services, Idea Cellular, Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd, HIL, IBM and Mars International India. She has been in leadership positions for the last 18 years working very closely with business leaders. Uma has experience in public and private sector environments, corporate as well as Industrial relations roles and has worked largely in multicultural environments with diverse people and thinking. Her international assignments have made her more experienced in the aspect of working with diversity. Some of the key work she has done spans talent management and leadership development in India and Emerging markets. Currently, she works as VP HR at Ashok Leyland Limited, A Hinduja company and is a key member of the Leadership Team in the company. Uma is a postgraduate from Tata Institute of Social Sciences. Interacting with students, women and young talent is a passion and she mentors a few of them for their development. She has been awarded for outstanding contribution by Women Economic Forum and HRD Congress. Uma is an Academic Council Member at Reva University and Vice Chairperson of ISTD Chennai and Member of the Board of Apprenticeship Training.

SUJATHA SURESH Co-Founder - PARVARRA Career Coach|Keynote Speaker|Psychometric Assessments debriefer | Consulting for L&D |Organizational Development Business Owners Vision: “ Empower individuals to enhance Organizational efficacy & profits by integrating Organizational Vision Mission statements into daily work habits and develop individuals to excel self and Achieve Workplace Goals overcoming challenges while exhibiting Human values worthy of emulation.”~ Sujatha Suresh International Career Coach, Interpretor of Psychometric Instruments & Behavioral Trainer, Certified in these areas, Sujatha attends, imbibes & integrates great learnings from Ram Charan, SadhGuru Jaggi Vasudev, Stephen Covey, ETW. Certifications are from UNCTAD TTI USA, OMI & LHH. Sujatha is known for her effective expertise as a Coach, Change Agent, and excellent Behavioral Trainer. Sujatha updates herself with Various tools that can enhance learning and integrate the same in Coaching & training. Thinking Creatively and always applicability Oriented are her strengths. Her insights and learning form the basis of every effort of hers. This has been the quintessence in her Training Career spanning for about more than 14 years now. She works with Commitment and ease with Co-workers focusing on the need of the hour enabling a healthy work environment. Capable of Leading, inspiring & motivating members. Working and innovating with various Departments and Management, skills that Sujatha, brings to the table are, organizing, planning, analysis, prioritizing, Value addition for decisions and solving problems Specialties 1) Executive Conducting personalized and integrating latest Tool & Assessments 2) Debriefing & ability to Analyze situations & provide solutions 3) Designing Programs for Leaders. 4) EI, Personality Enrichment, Collaborative Team Work, Leadership Training and Interpersonal Skills 5) Preparing & Guiding the ICC of an Organization in cases of Harassment at Work

DR. SEEMA GUPTA CLUSTER HEAD HR - Larson & Toubro HR Business Partner & Head Talent Development MBA & Doctorate in HR with 25+ experience in cross-inter disciplinary in a broad spectrum of diverse Industries such as Start-up’s, Finance, Hospitality, HR Consulting, Engineering, IoT, ICT, Smart Cities, Defence and Industry-Academic interface. Have shaped high-performing cultures and major growth with progressive technical resources. Productive communications and robust development programs that increased revenue growth. Employed human capital practices that attract and retain high potential talent. Developed & implemented a strategy that motivates teams individually and financially to exceed the corporate objectives through various economic cycles. Organisation Associated with Ford India, Larsen & Toubro, Exclusive Search Recruitment Consultants. QUALIFICATION: • PhD from Bharathiar University, • MBA, XLRI Jamshedpur, • PGDT&D, Indian Society of Training & Development, Delhi, • MHRM, Pondicherry University, • B.Com, Madras University, PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS • The Society for Human Resource Management - SHRM • National HRD network - NHRDN • Indian Society of Training and Development - ISTD • Indian Society of Applied Behavioural Science - ISABS • The Confederation of Indian Industry - CII • Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry - FICCI CERTIFICATION • Train the Trainer • Goal Setting to Success: Life Coach Certification Accredited • Life Coach Certification & Guide (Accredited), • Assessor Certification from XLRI • Art of Living, Faculty

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