Meet the jury of Are You In The List 2014

There are some new faces in the jury of the most prestigious award for young HR professionals

The race for the Emerging Future HR Leader has just hotter! More than 400 professionals have been shortlisted for the final 25 winners. The selection process of the most prestigious award in the field of HR for emerging HR professionals kicked off on 13th June, 2014 with online applications. It was just the first stage of the five-stage process. Through October 2014, candidates were required to take DDI’s Cognitive Ability Test, which is an online tool that assesses one’s cognitive ability as it relates to the success on the job and the Leadership Insight Inventory, which is a tool to identify leadership potential.

The tests for Stage II were conducted between October 1 and October 10. In Stage III, the shortlisted candidates undergo DDI’s Leadership Assessment test, which is an online tool to identify the candidate’s readiness to take managerial roles. Currently, the candidates are recording their video interviews and in parallel their backgrounds are also being fact-checked.

The selection process will be overseen by a jury of some of the most experienced HR professionals in the HR and business landscape of India. They will assess the candidates not just on their objective assessments but also judge their behavioural and personality traits. There are new faces and old faces in the jury panel.

They are: P. Dwarakanath, Advisor, Max Group; Elango R., Executive Vice President, Emerging Geography SBU & Global CHRO, MphasiS; Dr. Aquil Busrai, Chief Executive Officer, Aquil Busrai Consulting; Anuranjita Kumar, Managing Director and CHRO, Citi South Asia; S. Varadarajan (Raja), CHRO & Head of Corporate Affairs, Tata SIA Airlines; Jyoti Rai, Vice President & Chief of Staff, Human Resources, American Express; Jacob Jacob, Chief People Officer, Apollo Hospitals Enterprises Ltd.; Gajendra Chandel, Chief Human Resource Officer (CHRO), Tata Motors; Rajesh Padmanabhan, Chief Human Resource Officer (CHRO), Vedanta Group; Rajesh Rai, Chief People Officer, Eicher Motors; L. Prabhakar, Vice President - Human Resources, ITC Limited; Meenal Jadhav, Director - Talent Management & Organizational Development, Schneider Electric India; D.P. Singh, Vice President & Head HR, IBM India / South Asia; Kamlesh Dangi, Group Chief People Officer, Religare; and Yuvaraj Srivastava, Senior Vice President - Human Resources, MakeMyTrip.com.

Looking back at Are You In The List

Here is Part III of the past Are You In The List Winners:

Anu Anand

Before Are You In The List Award: HR Head, Central Projects Organization, ITC Limited

After Are You In The List Award: Head-Talent Acquisition, RB (Reckitt Benckiser) India

I am passionate about Human Resource Development in organizations as well as society. I believe that to help people realize and attain their potential, one needs to align their 3 Hs: Head-through logic; Heart-through emotions and Hands-through the right actions.
After completing Chemistry Honors from Hindu College, Delhi University, and MBA from SCMHRD in 2007, I joined ITC as a Management Trainee and within a short span of five years was heading the HR function for their Central Projects Business. In January this year, I joined RB (Reckitt Benckiser) as the Talent Acquisition Head for the India Region. I love to sketch, swim and am passionate about bikes.

How did Are You In The List Award change your life?
For me, winning the ‘Are You In The List Award’ was not just an achievement but a reviviscence of faith in my abilities and potential. Participating in this contest was indeed a great experience!

Dhruv Desai

Before Are You In The List Award: Sr. Vice President & Head, Angel Broking Pvt. Ltd.

After Are You In The List Award: Sr. Vice President & Head, Angel Broking Pvt. Ltd.

When I saw the application mailer for Are You In The List Award in mid-2012, the question for me was whether ‘to participate or not’. At 33, I was already the Head of HR for a leading financial service company and with an employee strength of 6,500 and an 80-member HR team. Over the past couple of years, I had been recognized by the media and the HR fraternity through various awards and recognitions as an individual. All along this, there still lingered an urge to know where I stood in relative comparison to my peers in the same age group. At the same time, the question which kept bothering me was what if I don’t make it to the top 25 or if I am out of the race within the first couple of rounds of selection. How this would affect me and my confidence and raise the ugly head of self-doubt? Unfortunately, being the Head of HR is quite lonely. Everyone comes to you for advice, coaching and guidance, but whom do you go to? To ensure that I didn’t procrastinate, I announced my participation in Are You In The List Award to my team and ensured that I did my best in the selection process.

How did Are You In The List Award change your life?
Today, I could satisfy my need for self-affirmation and gratification about my self-worth. The ‘Are You In The List’ journey was meticulous and the selection process was robust. Personally, it was about putting myself out there and taking a risk. Whatever your reason for embarking on this journey, participate and go with the flow with no regrets. At the same time, put your best foot forward. This is one of the few opportunities in your professional life where you get to Learn, Win and Grow all at the same time.

Reju Mathew

Before Are You In The List Award: Manager, Talent Management, ITC Infotech

After Are You In The List Award: Consultant, Broad Based Compensation, AON Hewitt

I am a graduate from the 2010 batch of XLRI Jamshedpur and am currently working as a Compensation Consultant at AON Hewitt. I work closely with the IT and ITeS sectors and provide consulting in the areas of Cash Compensation, Incentive Design and Benefits. Prior to AON, I was working with ITC Infotech where I handled expatriate compensation. I also handled campus hiring for one cycle. Prior to my MBA, I worked with TCS as a software engineer for two years. I love to read, take quizzes, travel and play sports.

How did Are You In The List Award change your life?
Personally, it has provided me a lot of confidence and reaffirmed the fact that if one does good work, recognition is not too far away. The recognition that I got after winning the award has proved to be a catalyst for a lot of opportunities!

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