Arvind Fashions Limited (AFL) has appointed Lakshmi Krishnan as its new Chief Human Resources Officer, bringing on board a senior HR leader with more than 25 years of experience across India, Southeast Asia and the United Kingdom.
The company said Krishnan will lead its people and culture strategy at a time when Arvind Fashions is focusing on organisational transformation, leadership development and long-term growth.
Krishnan joins the company after spending more than 14 years at Unilever, where she held several senior global HR leadership positions across procurement, engineering, supply chain and corporate functions.
Arvind Fashions strengthens leadership team
Announcing the appointment, Amisha Jain, Managing Director and CEO of Arvind Fashions Limited, said the company was bringing Krishnan into the leadership team during an important stage of its expansion journey.
In a company statement, Jain highlighted Krishnan’s experience across consumer, financial services and technology sectors, along with her background in managing large-scale transformation programmes.
According to the company, Krishnan will focus on:
- Strengthening organisational capabilities
- Building leadership pipelines
- Driving culture transformation
- Enhancing talent strategy
- Supporting long-term business growth initiatives
The appointment comes as companies across India’s retail and fashion sector continue investing in leadership and workforce capabilities amid rising competition, digital expansion and changing consumer demand patterns.
Extensive global HR experience at Unilever
Before joining Arvind Fashions, Krishnan most recently served as Head of HR, Corporate Functions at Unilever Headquarters in London.
In that role, she worked with senior leadership teams across finance, legal, communications and sustainability functions covering a global workforce of more than 7,000 employees.
Her earlier leadership roles at Unilever included:
- Head of HR, Global Procurement, Singapore
- Global HR Director, Asia Supply Chain
- Global HR Director, Unilever Engineering
According to the company, Krishnan managed HR strategy across large operational networks spanning factories, engineering operations, procurement systems and regional supply chain teams across APAC and Southeast Asia markets.
During her tenure in global procurement, she reportedly supported a €31 billion procurement business involving more than 1,500 employees and 60,000 suppliers worldwide.
In another role, she oversaw HR operations across 15 factories and nearly 10,000 employees in Asia-Pacific markets.
Career spans technology, finance and consulting sectors
Before joining Unilever, Krishnan worked with organisations including:
- Lehman Brothers
- Cognizant Technology Solutions
- Apt Talent Partners
- Bedrock HR
Her experience includes leadership development, organisational effectiveness, people analytics, talent management, transformation strategy and total rewards planning.
The company also said Krishnan completed the CHRO Programme from Wharton Executive Education and holds a Master of Social Work in Human Resources from the University of Madras.
Arvind Fashions sharpens growth focus
Arvind Fashions is one of India’s largest lifestyle and fashion-focused retail companies and operates a broad portfolio of international and domestic brands.
Its portfolio includes brands such as:
- Flying Machine
- Arrow
- US Polo Association
The company operates more than 1,300 standalone stores and over 5,000 departmental and multi-brand outlets across India, alongside its digital platform NNNOW.COM and other online marketplaces.
The business traces its roots to Arvind Ltd, one of India’s oldest textile groups.
Krishnan’s appointment signals a stronger focus on organisational capability building as Arvind Fashions continues expanding across retail, digital and branded fashion segments in an increasingly competitive consumer market.