Sequoia has promoted Vishakha Mittal Patel to HR Director, expanding her responsibilities after she previously served as Senior Human Resources Business Partner at the strategic people advisory and technology company.
In the new role, Patel will lead strategic human resources initiatives and work with business leaders on people strategy, organisational capability and leadership effectiveness. Her remit will also support Sequoia’s work with investor-backed companies.
The appointment marks another internal progression for Patel at Sequoia. She had earlier moved from HR Business Partner to Senior Human Resources Business Partner before stepping into the director role.
A broader people mandate at Sequoia
As Senior Human Resources Business Partner, Patel advised high-growth technology companies and other businesses on a wide range of workforce priorities. Her work covered:
- HR strategy and organisational design
- Compensation benchmarking and benefits strategy
- Leadership development
- Compliance and employee relations
- People infrastructure
- Mentoring HR professionals
- Enterprise-wide strategic initiatives
She also worked with founders, executives and business leaders to align people strategies with business growth.
As HR Director, her responsibilities will broaden to include strategic HR initiatives aimed at strengthening organisational capability and leadership effectiveness.
Nearly two decades across HR and business partnering
Patel brings close to 20 years of experience across human resources, business partnering, organisational development, talent strategy, employee relations, leadership coaching and HR consulting.
Her career has spanned technology, retail, hospitality, healthcare, manufacturing and professional services.
Before Sequoia, Patel worked as Human Resources Business Partner II at Oasis, a Paychex company, where she supported more than 100 Professional Employer Organisation clients across industries.
Her responsibilities included strategic HR consulting, organisational effectiveness, talent management, compliance guidance, employee relations and leadership coaching.
Earlier, she served as a Human Resources Generalist at In-N-Out Burger, working across employee relations, performance management, compliance, leadership training, investigations, policy implementation and workforce development.
A decade of experience at Target
A substantial part of Patel’s career was spent at Target, where she worked for more than a decade and progressed through several roles.
Her positions included Senior Human Resources Specialist, District Administrator, Executive Team Leader and Executive Intern.
During this period, her work covered talent acquisition, succession planning, compensation, employee lifecycle management, workforce planning, HR analytics, operational leadership and leadership development across large multi-location retail operations.
Patel holds an MBA from the University of California, Irvine’s Paul Merage School of Business.
From business partner to HR Director
The promotion places Patel in a broader leadership role after successive moves within Sequoia’s HR organisation.
Her new mandate will focus on strengthening people strategy, leadership capability and organisational effectiveness, alongside the company’s client-focused HR advisory work.
For Patel, the move represents a progression from advising businesses on their people challenges to taking on a wider strategic HR leadership mandate at Sequoia.