Marks & Spencer CHRO Mukta Nakra steps down, joins Crocs India

Mukta Nakra has resigned as Chief Human Resources Officer of Marks & Spencer Reliance India and has taken up the role of Head of Human Resources at Crocs India, she disclosed in a LinkedIn post.

Nakra said in her announcement that her time at M&S offered “rhythm, clarity, and a culture that let me build with clarity and scale with conviction,” and expressed gratitude to colleagues and mentors as she embarks on her new role at the global footwear brand.

Her departure marks the end of a more than seven-year tenure leading people strategy, culture and sustainability efforts for the Marks & Spencer Reliance India joint venture, where she was responsible for HR across retail, digital and corporate operations. Industry sources note her exit comes amid an evolving talent landscape within India’s organised retail sector.

At Crocs India, Nakra steps into a market where the casual footwear brand has been expanding its retail footprint and omnichannel reach, supported by partnerships with major retail operators. Crocs India, established in 2007 and employing over a thousand people, operates a growing network of stores and digital platforms.

During her M&S tenure, Nakra spearheaded initiatives including workforce planning, leadership development and employer branding. Under her leadership, the company’s ranking in the Great Place to Work listings reportedly improved significantly — a reflection of internal talent and culture priorities.

Her move to Crocs India signals an emphasis on strengthening organisational capability as the brand scales. “Stepping into a new HR leadership role at a time of rapid expansion positions the company to better align talent strategy with business growth,” said one retail sector observer.

Nakra’s career spans multiple senior HR roles across multinational companies including Wiley, American Express and Walmart, bringing to Crocs a depth of experience in talent planning, succession and cultural transformation.

In her post, she characterised Crocs as “a brand that’s bold, vibrant, quirky and unapologetically itself,” and said she is “here for the adventure” of building the next chapter of her career.

The appointment will likely focus on bolstering leadership pipelines, embedding culture and supporting rapid workforce scaling as the brand seeks deeper market penetration in India’s competitive retail environment.