Lakmé Lever names Shweta Mhatre head of HR and training

Lakmé Lever Pvt. Ltd. has appointed Shweta Mhatre as Head of Human Resources and Training, signalling a stronger focus on people capability as the salon chain sharpens its national expansion plans.

Mhatre will be responsible for shaping the company’s HR agenda, overseeing learning systems and strengthening workforce capability across Lakmé Lever’s growing salon network. Her remit spans talent acquisition, training design, leadership development and organisational culture.

The move comes as organised beauty chains in India compete not only on brand strength but on service consistency — an area heavily dependent on structured training and talent retention.

Strategic HR mandate

The beauty services market is becoming increasingly professionalised, with customers expecting uniform standards across locations. That shift has pushed salon operators to formalise recruitment pipelines and introduce standardised technical and behavioural training.

Lakmé Lever’s decision to elevate the HR and training function reflects that trend. As the company expands into new cities and formats, building scalable capability systems is seen as critical to sustaining growth.

Mhatre is expected to align HR processes with operational targets, strengthen internal mobility frameworks and embed structured learning pathways for stylists, managers and support teams.

Background in consumer businesses

Before joining Lakmé Lever, Mhatre spent over eight years in human resources roles within consumer-facing organisations, most recently at L’Oréal. Her responsibilities there included HR business partnering, campus hiring initiatives and people operations.

Her experience covers talent strategy, employee engagement programmes and organisational development — areas increasingly central to service-led businesses.

In a public post announcing her move, Mhatre described the transition into the salon industry as professionally meaningful and said she looks forward to contributing to talent-building efforts within the company.

Sector context

India’s organised salon segment has expanded steadily over the past decade, driven by urbanisation, rising disposable incomes and increasing demand for premium personal care services. With competition intensifying, companies are investing in training infrastructure to ensure consistent service quality and customer retention.

Workforce skill depth is now viewed as a commercial differentiator rather than a back-end function.

Lakmé Lever operates within this evolving landscape, where scaling physical locations must be matched by scalable people systems.

Looking ahead

While the company has not disclosed specific expansion targets, the appointment underscores its intent to institutionalise HR as a strategic growth lever.

As consumer businesses place greater emphasis on culture, performance management and structured development pathways, leadership roles overseeing both HR and training are gaining prominence.

Mhatre’s appointment positions Lakmé Lever to deepen that integration as it navigates the next phase of growth in India’s competitive beauty and salon market.