CEOs to CHROs: The C-suite appointments that shaped 2025

The headline appointments of 2025 spanned consumer goods, banking, technology, retail, media, aviation, manufacturing and professional services. Some were classic CEO transitions. Others signalled quiet rewiring: new HR chiefs, total rewards heads, talent leaders, operating officers and transformation executives.

Two patterns stood out.

First, organisations increasingly framed leadership appointments around technology-led change, especially AI, analytics and data. Second, people leadership roles expanded beyond “HR operations” towards transformation mandates: talent architecture, cultural redesign, skills development and multigenerational workforce planning.

The appointments

CEOs, presidents and managing directors

Mozilla named Anthony Enzor-DeMeo as Chief Executive Officer. Formerly the general manager of Firefox, he succeeded interim CEO Laura Chambers, who will return to the Mozilla board, with a stated focus on AI, privacy and user trust.
Britannia Industries appointed Rakshit Hargave as CEO and Managing Director (effective 15 December).The board approved a five-year term (subject to shareholder approval); Hargave previously led Birla Opus and brings experience across consumer goods, retail and manufacturing.
Reliance Retail Ventures appointed Jeyandran Venugopal as President & CEO. The former Flipkart executive will work closely with Isha Ambani under the guidance of Mukesh Ambani and Manoj Modi as the business sharpens strategy and scales technology-led retail.
PNB Housing Finance appointed Ajai Shukla as Managing Director and CEO (effective 18 December). The company said the appointment is for a five-year term; Shukla joined from Tata Capital Housing Finance after the October exit of former CEO Girish Kousgi.
Bank of America India confirmed Vikram Sahu as CEO following RBI approval. Sahu succeeded Kaku Nakhate after her 15-year tenure; Nakhate moved to Chair, India, as the bank emphasised continuity in client relationships.
Horizon Industrial Parks appointed Urvish Rambhia as Chief Executive Officer. The Blackstone-managed logistics platform tapped the former Blackstone principal to lead operations and expansion as the sector scales.
Coca-Cola said chief operating officer Henrique Braun will succeed James Quincey as chief executive at end-March. Quincey will become executive chairman while continuing to chair the board; Braun is expected to build on the company’s ongoing transformation.
Indigrators appointed Vishal Mani as Chief Executive Officer. The Hyderabad-based firm said Mani brings deep experience across GCCs, R&D, shared services and enterprise consulting to scale operations.
apna appointed Kartik Narayan as Chief Executive Officer. The hiring platform tapped the former TeamLease general staffing CEO to lead its next growth phase.
Unibic Foods India appointed Ajay Bathija as Chief Executive Officer. A former Coca-Cola leader with long regional experience, Bathija was hired to drive the packaged foods business’s next phase of growth.
OneAssist Consumer Solutions appointed Abhishek Maheshwari as CEO (effective 1 September). Maheshwari will also join the board; the company said his mandate includes expansion and faster AI adoption.
Jindal Steel appointed Gautam Malhotra as Chief Executive Officer (effective immediately). The company said Malhotra has strengthened the commercial value chain since joining in 2024, spanning sales, marketing, logistics, IT and HR.
Sanofi India appointed Deepak Arora as Managing Director (effective immediately). Arora brings three decades of leadership experience across multiple regions, most recently as AstraZeneca South Africa’s country president.
Hyundai Motor Group India named Tarun Garg as MD & CEO (effective 1 January 2026). Hyundai said the appointment makes Garg the company’s first Indian MD & CEO, following his tenure as COO.

COOs and operating leadership

Jio Financial Services appointed Venkata Narasimham Peri as Group Chief Operating Officer. The board approved the appointment on 17 December; Peri assumed charge from 22 December after the role remained vacant post-reshuffle, and has advised Jio Financial since October 2024 on AI and analytics capability build-out.
Khaitan & Co appointed Dr Vimal Choudhary as Chief Operating Officer. The firm hired the former McKinsey leader to spearhead operational excellence, digital transformation and growth as it expands.

CFOs and finance leadership

JioStar appointed G R Arun Kumar as Chief Financial Officer. Joining from Welspun Group (where he was Group CFO and Head of Strategy), Kumar will lead finance and commercial functions and join the board as the group seeks tighter financial discipline.
PeopleStrong appointed Gaurav Sawhney as Chief Financial Officer. The HR tech firm said the hire supports global expansion and stronger financial strategy, citing Sawhney’s experience across multinational firms and tech ventures.

CHROs, CPOs and top people leadership

Chanel appointed Elisabetta Caldera as Global Chief People and Organisation Officer. Caldera succeeds Claire Isnard, who is retiring after 17+ years; she joins from Aegon as Global CHRO and will report to CEO Leena Nair, based in London.
Biocon Biologics appointed Deepak Dobriyal as Global Head of Talent and HR Transformation. The company said Dobriyal will run the end-to-end talent agenda—TA, succession, performance, L&D, DEIB and HR transformation—bringing nearly three decades of HR leadership experience.
Kotak Mahindra Prime appointed Sandeep Rath as Head – Human Resources. Rath will lead people and culture and oversee HR functions as the NBFC scales retail lending; he brings 13+ years’ HR experience, most recently at Kotak Mahindra Bank.
Bharti airtel elevated Neha S. as EVP and Head of HR – Airtel Business. Neha, with an 18-year Airtel tenure, moved from leading HR for market operations and contractual workforce to the enterprise arm as Airtel Business scales connectivity, cloud and digital solutions.
AmbujaNeotia Group appointed Subhashish Das as Group CHRO. Das called it a return to the Ambuja fold after nearly three decades; he previously served as President-HR & CHRO at J M Baxi Group and earlier held the CHRO role at Alok Industries.
Scripbox appointed Prabhanjan Kulkarni as Chief Human Resources Officer. The wealth management platform hired the seasoned HR and tech leader after his nearly seven-year stint at redBus.
Relaxo Footwears appointed Manju Kohli as Chief Human Resources Officer. The company hired the HR veteran known for organisation design, HR transformation and high-performance culture building.
Granules India appointed Vinod Parur as Chief Human Resources Officer (effective 17 November). The company said the move follows outgoing CHRO Atul Dhavle’s resignation; Parur brings experience across pharma, manufacturing and infrastructure.
Pidilite Industries appointed Ashish Prasad as CHRO. The company said the appointment follows Rahul Gama’s resignation, with Gama staying until January 2026 to ensure a smooth handover.
Adventz Group appointed Supratik Bhattacharyya as Group CHRO (effective November 2025). The former RPG Group Chief Talent Officer will oversee HR strategy across Adventz’s diverse businesses.
Bajaj Finserv promoted Anupam Sirbhaiya as Group CHRO (effective November 2025). The promotion reflects an internal leadership move as the group scales across financial services.
Welspun Corp appointed Rakesh Mehta as CHRO. The company said Mehta will lead global people strategy with focus on leadership development and cultural transformation.
BMC Helix appointed Sakaar Anand as Chief People Officer. Anand brings nearly three decades of cross-functional leadership across HR, IT operations and global delivery.
Third Wave Coffee appointed Sandeep Sinha as CHRO. With experience across retail and QSR, Sinha was hired to steer people and culture as the chain expands.
Zepto appointed Sneha Arora as CHRO. The company said Arora will focus on building a workplace grounded in trust and belonging as Zepto scales.
Heritage Foods appointed Amit Shetty as VP & CHRO (effective 1 October). Shetty will report to the CEO and lead capability building and performance culture from Hyderabad.
Arvind Limited appointed Sunitha Lal as CHRO. The company hired the former Ather Energy CHRO to strengthen culture building and transformation.
Brigade Group appointed Sujaya Nag as CHRO and Senior Vice President. Nag joined from Booz Allen Hamilton and will lead people and culture for Brigade’s hospitality, facilities and foundation verticals.
IndusInd Bank appointed Amitabh Singh as CHRO (effective 10 November 2025). Singh joined from ICICI Home Finance and succeeded Zubin Mody, who stepped down in July after 20+ years at the bank.
Haldiram Snacks appointed Rohit Vishal Gupta as Group CHRO (effective November). The company hired Gupta to lead talent development, capability building and HR transformation during expansion.
Kanodia Group appointed Rajiv Andley as CHRO. The group hired the HR veteran with three decades of experience across automobiles, healthcare and manufacturing.
Kalamandir Jewellers appointed Prosenjit Mukherjee as CHRO. Mukherjee brings experience spanning IT, healthcare, manufacturing, BPM/KPO and luxury retail.
CaratLane appointed Subhashish Chakrabarty as Chief People Officer. Chakrabarty succeeds Benjamin Felix Rajkumar, who moved to Page Industries as Chief People Officer.
NCC appointed Bikram K Nayak as VP – Human Resources. NCC said Nayak will lead HR transformation across 15,000+ employees as the infrastructure firm scales.
NTT DATA Business Solutions appointed Tirumala Reddy Koduri as Executive Head of People & Culture (APAC and India). The company elevated Koduri, who joined in 2024, to lead people strategy across the region.
IndoBevs appointed Nupur Girdhar as Head of Human Resources. The company said Girdhar will lead people strategy and capability building as it expands in India and globally.
Lyric.ai appointed Srilakshmi Kesari as VP and Country HR Head, India. Kesari was hired to design people policies, strengthen employer brand and align talent development with scale-up needs.
NoBroker elevated Ira Joshi to Director of Human Resources. The prop-tech firm promoted Joshi after seven years, citing her role in strengthening HR systems during rapid growth.
Mukta Nakra moved to become HR Head, Crocs India. She exited M&S Reliance India after seven years and joined as Crocs accelerates retail and omnichannel expansion.

Learning, rewards and specialist people roles

EXL appointed Seepika Singhal as VP and India Head – Total Rewards. Singhal joined to strengthen reward strategy, bringing experience across Brillio, R1 RCM, HT Media, Luminous and Capgemini.
Publicis Groupe appointed Divya Kathuria as VP – Learning, Capability Development and Talent Management. Kathuria joined after leading learning and talent transformation at JioStar, with experience across EY, Mercer and IBM.
Capgemini rehired Sarang Brahme as Director of Talent Attraction, India. Brahme returned for a second stint, with the company signalling renewed focus on recruitment marketing and employer branding.
ADP appointed Gaurav Rathee as Divisional VP and Head of HR for Global Shared Services International (India & Philippines). Rathee will lead HR strategy for 15,000+ associates across locations, focused on scaling and capability building.
NetApp appointed Ranjit Kumar Singh as Site HR Leader (India) and Senior Director – HR Business Partnering. Singh’s expanded role spans India HR strategy and global HRBP initiatives, aligned to the company’s growth strategy.
Dr Reddy’s promoted Manish Shukla as Global Head, HR – Corporate, and Head, HR Strategy. The company said Shukla will spearhead global HR strategy across corporate functions.
HONO appointed Raghav Datta as COO and Head of Human Resources. Datta will lead operational and people strategy as the HR tech firm deepens AI-led, data-driven solutions.
Incture appointed Major Prashant Palai as Head – People & Culture. The company hired the former Army officer and TCS HR leader to drive culture building and talent transformation.

Advertising, AI and business development leadership

Omnicom appointed Kartik Sharma as CEO of the newly integrated Omnicom Media India. The move followed Omnicom’s takeover of Interpublic Group, with IPG’s India leadership shifting into advisory roles.
Apple appointed Microsoft veteran Amar Subramanya as Vice President of AI. The company hired him as it accelerates foundation-model work and pushes more visible AI experiences across devices.
apna Group appointed John Philip as Chief Business Officer for BlueMachines.ai (enterprise Voice AI). Philip was hired to drive go-to-market and enterprise pipelines as Indian firms move from AI pilots to deployment.

What 2025’s appointments say about 2026

C-suite hiring in 2025 reflected a practical recalibration.

Companies hired CEOs with execution mandates rather than reinvention rhetoric. They elevated CFOs and COOs to tighten control over costs and delivery. They expanded HR roles into transformation posts, treating skills, leadership depth and culture as operational requirements. And they strengthened policy leadership as regulation and public scrutiny shaped business strategy.

If 2025 was about filling seats, 2026 will test what these appointments can deliver: measurable productivity, credible transformation and leadership stability in an environment where technology and workforce expectations keep moving faster than organisational charts.

Leadership