People Matters Are You In The List Awards, for the past 13 years, has been a beacon for emerging HR leaders as it endeavours to identify talent powerhouses of tomorrow, who are bold, courageous, resilient and future-forward through a rigorous evaluation process. As we open the application process for this year, powered by AON, we look back at the past winners who have brought about transformation within the HR industry and risen the ranks to hold important roles. They’ve been innovative, solution-focused and agile in their approach and have learnt through the tough times that plagued the world of work.

As we go back in time from 2012 to 2021, we look at the career trajectory of People Matters Are You In The List winners, who have led renowned companies through the unconventional times and are geared up for more. From Vice President of Human Capital to CHRO, CEO, CPO and even Director of People, our winners have gone place across geographies. Here is a glimpse into where they are today:

Saurabh Nigam - 2012 Winner

Saurabh Nigam, who is currently the Vice President - Human Capital at Omidyar Network India, was holding the position of Vice President - HR at SnapDeal when he applied for People Matters Are You In The List Award in 2012. And since then, he has risen the ranks as well as became an angel Investor for True Elements, Klaar, Thriving Springs Inc, Jellybean and RNIT Solutions and Services Limited. He’s known to set up people practices in startups, where his expertise lies in talent acquisition, enhancing employee lifecycle, building agile performance systems, high-performance culture, leadership development and team effectiveness. He firmly believes that ‘it is all about the people’ rather than products and we couldn’t agree more. 

Dr Tooba Modassir - 2013 Winner

In 2013, when Dr Tooba M won the People Matters Are You In The List Awards, she was VP - Lead, HR Strategy at Citi India but within a span of 10 years, she has risen the ranks to hold the position of Director, CHRO at Citi Malaysia. In her current role, she’s responsible for covering the bank (Citibank Berhad), and Citi Labuan & Solution Centres (CTSM). With two decades of experience in global organisations, her expertise lies across HR business partnering, performance and talent management, diversity and inclusion, learning and development, leadership training and talent acquisition. She is an ardent believer that each one of us has an integral role to play in nurturing the HR community and it’s all about levelling the playing field for all. 

Sakshi Khosla - 2014 Winner

Sakshi Khosla was an HR leader at GE at the time of winning the People Matters Are You In The List Award. And today, she is the CHRO and Head of People at CBRE. In the last two decades of her career, she has worked across diverse sectors and organisations including TCS, AON, The Max Group and Max Life Insurance. In her current role, she is responsible for strengthening the company's global culture and HR practices. Her domain expertise encompasses board governance, HR strategy, executive compensation, PMS and total rewards, organisational development, talent management, organisation structuring, leadership hiring, succession planning, employee lifecycle management, employee relations, change management and HR business partnering. As she steps into 2024, she believes in embracing challenges and encouraging her workforce to be the best version of themselves. 

Neha Saxena Shenoy - 2015 Winner

For Neha Saxena Shenoy, who was the Senior Manager at the time of winning People Matters Are You In The List Award in 2015 and now, she is the Deputy CHRO at Cairn Oil and Gas. In the last eight years, she has worked as a rising HR leader responsible for business, diversity and inclusion in well-known companies including Microsoft, Reckitt and Honeywell before assuming the role of Deputy CHRO. Possessing 20 years of experience, she has worked across multiple geographies strengthening and developing strategic HR business partnering, organisation change, leadership development, talent development, learning and staffing. 

Aditya Adyar - 2016 Winner

At the time of winning People Matters Are You In The List in 2016, Aditya Adyar was the Chief People Officer at Faasos. And today, he is the Head of HR at Piramal Wholesale Finance. In his long association with Piramal Group, he has been involved in establishing and strengthening key client relationships while building a high-quality granular book. His expertise lies in setting up progressive HR practices as he aims to build world-class teams that help in realising the vision of the organisation. His mantra is structured around “If you don’t allow yourself the risk of failure, you are never winning”, which is essential in times of uncertainty. 

Sneha Arora - 2017 Winner

Sneha Arora, who was the Senior HRBP Consultant at SAP in 2017 when she won the People Matters Are You In The List Award, today holds the position of CHRO at Simpl. In her current role, she is responsible for spearheading the organisation's expansion, fostering a robust talent pool, and cultivating a dynamic culture to support the firm’s growth trajectory. She is an HR leader known for her ability to collaborate with multiple stakeholders and with her vision grounded in first-principle thinking, it has enabled her to navigates ambiguity with exceptional skill. She believes her core differentiatior is agility, which has helped her adapt, deliver and create value in dynamic, complex and diverse setups.

Mythili Sarathy - 2018 Winner

The Talent Management Head at Reliance Industries Limited, Mythili Sarathy won the People Matters Are You In The List Award in 2018 and since then, assumed the role of CHRO and Head of Strategy and Senior Management Advisor at Sloanebuilt. In her current role, she is driving business growth through product and market diversification, leading brand building, consumer awareness, channel expansion, organisation technology transformation, driving change management and coaching leaders in business plan execution and organisation development. With 15 years of experience, she strongly believes that organisations are built to grow, provide opportunities to the industry ecosystem, enable and empower employees, thrive amongst competition and build great products. 

Malavika Sahoo - 2019 Winner

As the Senior Manager at Flipkart, Malavika Sahoo won the People Matters Are You In The List Award in 2019 and since worked in Myntra before assuming the role of Director of People at FalconX. With over 13 years of experience, she is adept at driving large-scale change management, organisational design and mergers & acquisitions. Her innate passion as an HR leader lies in building teams and managing people. Her mantra in life is to hold on to a purpose that drives her so she is socially responsible and gives back to society through knowledge, experience and time.

Sakshi Gupta - 2020 Winner

Sakshi Gupta, who was the Director-Human Resources at Grail Insights Pvt Ltd. won the People Matters Are You In The List Award in 2020. And now, she is the CEO at Roka, a dating app that is set to redefine the journey of love. With over 15 years of experience leading people strategy, she is known to be a result-oriented and inclusive leader with a hands-on attitude. For Sakshi, HR is more than a profession—it’s a launchpad to influence both the human and business dimensions. A key ingredient for any CEO is their leadership style and for her, it is more coaching-centric as she believes in nurturing talent. 

Sajal Mittal - 2021 Winner

Sajal Mittal, who was the Manager - Employee Relations, Training and OD at Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., at the time of winning People Matters Are You In The List Award in 2021 now holds the role of People Experience Manager at the leading brand, Pfizer. A HR professional with over seven years of experience, his expertise lies in talent management, employee relations, learning and OD. He is eager to gain experience in diverse sectors and industries as he evolves as a leader. 

If you are eager to share your prowess and potential as a leader, register now before the application deadline closes on March 17. The six-stage evaluation process powered by AON, includes personality, functional and cognitive assessments, case-based SJQs and video interviews, CHRO coaching from the likes of Shraddhanjali Rao, Girish Menon, Ritesh Rana and Vikram Tandon, CEO Jury Evaluation by Kamal Bali, Ayushi Gudwani, Samir MC and Amit Malik and finally recognition at Asia’s largest HR and Work Tech Conference, People Matters TechHR India.