Dabur Research Foundation names Priyanka Gaur as HR Head

Dabur Research Foundation (DRF) has appointed Priyanka Gaur as its new Head of Human Resources, strengthening its leadership team as the organisation continues to support drug discovery and development through scientific research and innovation.

According to information shared by the organisation, Gaur will oversee DRF's human capital strategy, talent management, leadership development, organisational effectiveness and culture initiatives. Her appointment comes as research-driven organisations increasingly focus on building specialised talent pipelines and leadership capabilities to support innovation-led growth.

Leadership role spans talent, culture and organisational development

In her new position, Priyanka Gaur will be responsible for shaping workforce strategy across the organisation while supporting DRF's broader mission in preclinical research and drug development.

Her mandate includes several key areas:

• Talent management and workforce planning
• Leadership development initiatives
• Organisational effectiveness programmes
• Employee engagement and culture-building efforts
• Human capital strategy aligned with business objectives

The appointment brings to DRF a professional with experience across human resources, executive search, business consulting, leadership advisory and strategic business functions.

Career built across HR, consulting and business leadership

Before joining DRF, Gaur served as Associate Partner at FyneHand, where she advised organisations on leadership hiring, talent strategy and organisational growth initiatives.

Prior to that, she worked as Client Partner at NGS Global, an executive search and leadership advisory firm, partnering with Indian and multinational organisations on senior leadership hiring, talent interventions and organisational transformation programmes.

Her career also includes a business leadership stint at Reliance Entertainment, where she served as General Manager – Strategic Alliances and Sales with responsibility for the North region. In that role, she worked across client segments including professional services, consumer businesses, media, entertainment, outsourcing and digital industries.

Experience spans multiple sectors

Earlier in her career, Gaur held the position of Head of Human Resources at Proterial Ltd., formerly part of the Hitachi Metals Group.

During her tenure, she led initiatives across:

• Talent acquisition
• Leadership hiring
• Organisational development
• Compliance and HR governance
• Leadership pipeline development

She also helped establish digital integration knowledge centres in India and led programmes focused on employee development and high-potential talent.

Her professional background further includes leadership roles in consulting and learning functions. She previously ran her own consulting practice focused on talent management and organisational transformation and served as Chief Manager – Learning and Development at Escorts Kubota Limited.

Gaur has also worked with organisations including NDTV, Hindustan Times, and JLL, building expertise across compensation, benefits, learning, talent strategy and human capital management.

Academic credentials support leadership journey

Gaur's academic qualifications include:

• Post Graduate Program for Professionals in General Management from UCLA Anderson School of Management
• Post Graduate Program in Leadership from Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode
• Master's degree in Marketing Management from Pondicherry University

The combination of HR leadership, executive search expertise and business management experience positions her to lead people and culture initiatives at DRF as the organisation continues to expand its research capabilities.

Research organisation continues to support global drug development

Established in 1979, Dabur Research Foundation operates as a contract research organisation specialising in preclinical drug discovery and development services.

The organisation provides research support across areas including pharmacology, toxicology and drug metabolism studies, serving biotechnology, pharmaceutical, phytopharmaceutical, cosmeceutical and academic institutions.

Originally part of the Dabur Group, DRF transitioned into an independent preclinical services provider in 2008 and today supports research programmes across multiple scientific disciplines.

As competition for specialised scientific and research talent intensifies globally, leadership appointments such as Gaur's underscore the growing importance of workforce strategy, leadership development and organisational capability in research-led enterprises.