The end of the year brings departures and change, and one unexpected change comes in the Aditya Birla Group, where Group HR Director Santrupt Misra (above, left) has expressed his decision to leave the corporate world and pursue other interests.

Misra's decision was revealed to the other Aditya Birla leaders in an internal email on Wednesday. The group subsequently informed news platform Mint that his time at Aditya Birla will formally end on 15 January 2024 - concluding 28 years of service during which he not only moved through the ranks of the Aditya Birla HR function, but also, rarely for a HR leader, took leadership of multiple business units. He has led the group's IT function, been the CEO of its Carbon Black business and Chemicals business, and at this point in time, is not only Group HR Director but also Group Director of Birla Carbon and Director of Chemicals.

As HR leader, Misra's many achievements include establishing the Aditya Birla Group as a strong employer brand and growing Birla Carbon into a major global business. He is also known to have mentored the sixth generation scions of the Birla family, Aryaman and Ananya Birla.

At least one of Misra's successors has already been confirmed by Aditya Birla Group. His role as Group HR Director will be filled by Ashok Ramchandran (above, right), the Group Executive President of Human Resources, although it's not yet known who will take up his other directorships.

Ramchandran joined the group from Vodafone in 2015, where he was Director of Human Resources. Throughout his tenure with Aditya Birla Group, he has been a strong advocate of providing employees with good opportunities, especially younger people, and has maintained that young, emerging leaders will be critical for driving the journey of transformation in HR and in fact, the entire business.

Check out Dr Santrupt Misra's  views on HR in these articles penned by him over the years.