Article: Looking back at Are You In The List Award Winners

Strategic HR

Looking back at Are You In The List Award Winners

Are You In The List Awards has become a benchmark among upcoming HR professionals across all industries
Looking back at Are You In The List Award Winners

Are You In The List Awards began when People Matters saw the need for a strong pool of HR leadership being indispensable for the business community. It is to identify and encourage the emerging HR leadership talent that we embarked on this journey two years ago. In such a short time, the Are You In The List brand has become aspirational among young HR professionals and is seen as a platform that propels them to greater professional heights. This is evident in the growing number of applications we receive as each year passes. Are You In The List Awards has become a benchmark among upcoming HR professionals across all industries. We take a look to see how has the Award changed the lives of our previous winners. In this issue, we present Part I of the Winner Series:

Aishwarya Datta

Aishwarya Datta

Before Are You In The List Award: Manager, Human Resources, ICICI Lombard
After Are You In The List Award: Head, Talent Acquisition, The Talent Linkers

An MBA from Lucknow University and graduate in psychology and social work from Lucknow University, I have 10 years of work experience in recruitment and have worked in varied industries like media, telecom and insurance.

How did Are You In The List Award change your life?
The ‘Are You In The List Award’ was a really special experience for me. I was acknowledged by my seniors and fellow colleagues. It was a proud moment for my family as well. I became a more confident person and learnt to move out of my comfort zone. After the awards, my entrepreneurial desires also got fulfilled; I opened my own HR firm ‘The Talent Linkers’. Networks built after getting the award really helped me flourish my business. I am really thankful to People Matters for giving me such a platform where I could highlight my strengths and improve my weaknesses and also for making me a more confident person.

Anita Bhatia

Anita Bhatia
Before Are You In The List Award: HR Relationship Leader, American Express
After Are You In The List Award: HR Relationship Leader, American Express

Seasoned HR professional with eight years of experience across Organization Development, Organization Effectiveness, Performance Management & HR Generalist Roles in BFSI and IT sectors. A mother to two lovely daughters, I am on a sabbatical currently to spend as much time as possible with my kids. Love traveling and reading and I’m doing exactly that.


How did Are You In The List Award change your life?
Having worked for more than eight years in corporate environment in Human Resources, I was craving for a break in life, to be able to think about my profession more deeply and decide on what I want to do next in Human Resources. The Are You In The List Award made me confident of my potential as an HR professional and a leader. It helped me to make up my mind for a sabbatical. I am confident about my abilities and I know that I would do much better as an HR leader after I am all charged up and refreshed.

Avinash Kohli

Avinash Kohli
Before Are you in the List Award: HR Leader, India Sourcing, GE India
After Are you in the List Award: Vice-President, HR, Citibank

A committed HR professional with 10+ years working in global multi-nationals across India and US, I started my career with Citi as a Management Associate. After close to 3+ years, I got an opportunity to join GE’s prestigious Global HR Leadership Program in 2007 doing roles as an HRG, in C&B at India headquarters and Executive Development at global headquarters. After six years with GE, I came back to Citi last year to lead HR for their phone banking platform. I am an active member of the National HRD Network and contribute to the NCR Chapter as the Secretary & Treasurer. I like interacting with young HR professionals and regularly address B-school students on various topics.

How did the Are You In The List Award change your life?
Being part of the inaugural and the only list of its kind definitely gave me a lot of recognition in the fraternity and has motivated me to do better as an HR professional. I also feel deeply responsible to be a role model in terms of my conduct and contribution for younger HR professionals. The opportunity to connect and build a network with other finalists is really noteworthy. Thanks to People Matters for the initiative, the positioning of the awards was top-notch and they’ve been giving us opportunities to get out there in different forums and make a mark in the HR field.

Avirup Mukherjee

Avirup Mukherjee
Before Are You In The List Award: Student at School Of Inspired Leadership, Gurgaon
After Are You In The List Award: Associate HR Manager at Maveric Systems Limited

I have over seven years’ experience in Human Resources, Operations and Project Management. I have worked with WNS, Maersk and now Maveric Systems. People practices have always interested me since my initial years of work. On the personal front, I enjoy reading, travelling and networking.

How did Are You In The List Award change your life?
Are You In The List? opened up various avenues of learning and relationships, which I hold close to my heart. It not only boosted my confidence to do better, but also provided me the opportunity to be better. The award gave me an opportunity to interact with some of my role models like N.S. Rajan and Harsha Bhogle. The various forums, events and people I have come to know and witness helped me unlearn and learn from others as well as myself.

Girish Kohli

Girish Kohli
Before Are You In The List Award: Consultant - Talent Consulting, Mercer Consulting (India) Pvt. Ltd.
After Are You In The List Award: Head Rewards and OD – AMEA, DSM Sinochem Pharmaceuticals India Pvt. Ltd.

I am an army kid and a large part of my education has been living in various parts of India and being exposed to different sub-cultures. Post MBA, I worked at Mercer Consulting and partnered with various clients across industries such as HCCB, Tata Motors, BMW, Vedanta assisting them in developing talent frameworks aligned to their growth strategies. In 2012, I was recognized as Consultant of the Year at Mercer. A storyteller at heart, I believe that life is a series of small interwoven stories.

How did Are You In The List Award change your life?
The Awards changed my life in two ways. One, the clients who I was working with or had worked with earlier would recognize me from the List and call me to congratulate. Post the awards, the opportunity to write a column for People Matters, speak at NHRD, being invited to Philips HR Talks also helped further build connect with people in the fraternity. The other big change was that the awards didn’t change anything; one still had to go to work, deliver on one’s projects. There was no idolizing, no windfalls; the award wasn’t a crown, it was rather like a leading light telling you that you’re on the right path giving one a boost of energy to continue endeavoring on the path. It was also a helping hand that added a credibility boost. I think the three biggest things I’m grateful for through this award are the opportunity to connect with a lot of amazing people in the fraternity, the confidence the jury has in you and the feeling of responsibility it brings. There is also a sense of humility when you see the long learning path ahead.

Hema Rengaswamy

Hema Rengaswamy
Before Are You In The List Award: Senior Manager – HR, Standard Chartered Scope International
After Are You In The List Award: Associate Vice President HR, Standard Chartered Scope International

I am a global HR professional with 10+ years broad-based experience in managing a full spectrum of HR programs and services; successfully cascading “employee first” philosophy and helping in transformation of multinational, multi-location, fast-paced environment of large multi-billion dollar organizations. I have played the role of a results-oriented HR Business Partner and am passionate about building strong, trusted advisor relationships and delivering high-impact HR programs. I have had an enriching experience of managing geographically diverse teams for many years. My hobbies include traveling and discovering new places, culture; Reading everything under the sun and writing.

How did Are You In The List Award change your life?
The award gave me nationwide recognition among HR & business leaders, organizational acclaim and created a personal brand. The leaders selected in the first edition were very special. We came from diverse backgrounds, industries, experience and exposure yet this common thread made us reflect on our strengths and forged a vision for making a difference as a leader and contributing to the HR profession. This gave me a platform to spread my wings and participate in many seminars across the country as a guest speaker and share my thoughts with young minds. In a nutshell, it gave me more credibility as an HR professional, strengthened my network, broadened my vision as a leader and enabled self-awareness.

Indu Kapoor

Indu Kapoor
Before Are You In The List Award: Sr. AVP HR – India Vertical HR Head – F&A, EXL Service Pvt Ltd
After Are You In The List Award: VP HR – Global Vertical HR Head - F & A and Finance Transformation Vertical - EXL Service Pvt Ltd

I head HR for F&A and Finance Transformation vertical at EXL, a KPO and consulting organization with 23,000 employees across the globe. A passionate HR leader with over 14 years of experience, I am known for my business acumen. I have being a strong business partner and have championed people strategies that deliver tangible results. I have been a guest faculty on multiple HR topics at various B-schools like IMT Ghaziabad, IMI Bangalore, TAPMI and am a Certified 360 Degree Coach from PDI.

How did Are You In The List Award change your life?
The Are You In The List Award is not just a platform for recognizing and rewarding emerging HR leaders, but a gateway to a host of opportunities, providing diverse and enriching experiences for all involved. Winning this award has certainly brought a lot more than recognition from internal and external stakeholders and has resulted in rapid expansion in my role and responsibility at EXL. Thanks to this platform, I could reach out to other young HR leaders and some of the veterans in the industry and connect, share and learn from each other. Also, after winning this award, a number of opportunities came across my path to reciprocate and use my HR knowledge and experience in a volunteer, mentor or speaker capacity. For any HR professional, our knowledge is a great part of our personality, and this platform provided avenues to utilize this professional expertise.

Nidhi Jain

Nidhi Jain
Before Are You In The List Award: Associate Director, Head – Corporate HR, EY
After Are You In The List Award: Associate Director, Head – Corporate HR & Lead – Global Mobility, EY.

In the last couple of years, I have been a core member on prestigious project teams, with our global leadership at EY, set up to deliver on critical elements of our new people strategy. I started my career with Asian Paints at their Mumbai plant and then moved on to Nestle in the Corporate HR team before joining EY in 2005.

How did Are you in the List award change your life?
Winning Are You In The List Award was a profound experience both professionally and personally. As post-award reflection sets in, seven months of self-discovery and a robust assessment process that tested almost all facets of one’s leadership traits and potential enabled me to benchmark myself with the best in the industry. In today’s times, when the role of HR has evolved into that of a strategic business partner, a consultant and a coach, Are You In The List has helped me further establish myself as a trusted business advisor at EY in India and globally. It has been an outstanding platform to leverage newer opportunities to learn and collaborate with HR Thought and Business Leaders and contribute to breakthrough thinking in HR.
Being amongst India’s 25 Young HR Leaders 2012 has been a significant step towards building my leadership brand and will always stay as one of the most coveted experiences in my professional journey.

Parjit Singh Bhatia

Parjit Singh Bhatia
Before Are You In The List Award: Sr. Manager HR - Regional at Max Healthcare
After Are You In The List Award: Sr. Manager HR – Corporate at Air Works India (Engineering) Pvt. Ltd.

I am an HR professional with over eight years of work, distinguished by commendable performances and proven results. I have an extensive background in HR generalist affairs, including experience in compensation and benefits, employee recruitment and retention and others. I am also a certified ISO auditor and green belt Six Sigma.

How did Are you in the List award change your life?
Very often, a change of self is needed more than a change of scene and Are You In The List Award gave me such an opportunity. It changed me, not only as a person but did wonders for my professional self-belief. I was often intrigued by the simple writings of Mahatama Gandhi and one such quote fits perfectly here – “You must be the change you wish to see in the world”. Are You In The List Award is that change.
People Matters and the award is a step that has given the HR fraternity the wings to do things differently. The recognition has helped us evolve from the small cocoon to a larva that is not afraid to explore and is heard. For me personally, every time that I feel down and out, I ask myself “Are you in the List?” – “Yes I am in the List.”

Prachee Sonchal

Prachee Sonchal
Before Are You In The List Award: HR Development Manager​, TATA Services Ltd
After Are You In The List Award: Business HR Manager​, Voltas Ltd

With an MBA and M.Phil. in HR, I now have a decade of experience in corporate HR encompassing all verticals. During my longest associations with TATA Motors Ltd, I extensively contributed towards institutionalizing the HR function in the research and development center. Identifying learning capabilities, catering to learning interventions, establishing robust processes, initiating contract hiring, addressing engagement issues and hunting and retaining the best talent were some of the challenges we surmounted during this time. I was one of the founding members who pioneered in creating a niche Business HR model of Strategic Alliance with the business, which is now being replicated for apt results at TATA Motors. My work also got me selected for the flagship HR Development Program of the TATA Group very commonly known as the ‘TAS for HR’.

How did Are You In The List Award change your life?
The Are You In The List Award was the first feather in my cap at an all-India level. It gave me great publicity and increased my reach. It also built in tremendous self-confidence and belief that I can do anything if I have the will, skill and zeal. I proudly keep the award on my desk to remind me of this honor and since then there has been no looking back. A big thanks to People Matters for creating such a wonderful platform for budding HR Leaders; I surely believe myself to be one!

Rahul Kandhal

Rahul Kandhal
Before Are you in the List Award: Regional HR Manager (North India), Glaxo SmithKline Consumer Healthcare Ltd.
After Are you in the List Award: Change, Communication and Learning Lead (Singapore), Glaxo SmithKline Consumer Healthcare Ltd.

I am currently working as a Change, Communication, and Learning Lead for a global HR transformation initiative at Glaxo SmithKline. With an experience in multidisciplinary roles involving Change Management, Communications, Learning, Sales Strategy & Development, and HR Business Partnering - I keenly look forward to enrichment through challenging roles. My varied interests and insatiable eagerness to learn is what keeps me going!

How did Are you in the List award change your life?
Besides providing me an excellent opportunity to connect with some very interesting and fabulous people to learn from, it gave me a unique (social) identity as an HR professional. I can now tell people with pride, “To find out more about me, please Google me”

 

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Topics: Strategic HR, #AreyouintheList?

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