DS Group appoints Subrat Chakravarty as CHRO and head of business excellence

DS Group has appointed Subrat Chakravarty as its Chief Human Resources Officer and Head of Business Excellence, strengthening the leadership team of the diversified FMCG conglomerate as it sharpens its focus on people strategy and operational transformation.

In the newly created dual role, Chakravarty will oversee the group’s human resources agenda while also leading business excellence initiatives, including process transformation, capability building and enterprise-wide performance improvement aligned with long-term growth priorities.

The appointment comes at a time when large Indian consumer companies are investing more deeply in leadership depth, talent systems and productivity frameworks to support scale and complexity. Dual HR and transformation roles are becoming more common as organisations seek tighter alignment between workforce strategy and business execution.

Chakravarty joins DS Group after a long tenure in the technology services sector. Most recently, he spent over a decade at HCLTech, where he held several global leadership positions. For nearly eight years, he served as head of human resources for Europe and Africa, alongside a global role overseeing HR process and technology transformation, managing operations across more than 30 countries.

During this period, he led large-scale digital HR programmes, including the rollout of platforms such as SAP SuccessFactors and UKG, and the redesign of HR processes to support global expansion. Earlier at HCLTech, he also served as Global Head of Enterprise HR, with responsibility for compensation frameworks, shared services and employee engagement for a rapidly growing workforce.

Between his stints at HCLTech, Chakravarty was Chief People Officer at Birlasoft, part of the CK Birla Group, where he led organisation design, talent strategy, payroll and leadership development across multiple geographies. Reuters has reported that Indian IT firms have increasingly leaned on senior HR leaders to drive governance and integration as they scale internationally.

Earlier in his career, Chakravarty held senior roles at Aon Hewitt, HCL Technologies, Kenya Airways, L&T Infotech and Indian Petrochemicals Corporation Ltd, building experience across consulting, aviation, manufacturing and IT services. He began his career at Bata India in core HR and industrial relations roles.

An alumnus of Xavier Institute of Social Service and St. Xavier’s College, Ranchi, Chakravarty brings more than three decades of cross-industry experience to DS Group.

Founded in 1929, DS Group operates across FMCG, hospitality, agri-business, luxury retail and tobacco, with brands such as Rajnigandha, Catch, Pulse and Pass Pass. The group has also expanded its focus on sustainability and community initiatives, alongside investments in process efficiency and governance.

With Chakravarty’s appointment, DS Group is signalling a sharper emphasis on aligning people leadership with operational excellence as it navigates its next phase of growth.