The Standard India appoints new HR, Talent Acquisition and Technology heads

The Standard has announced a series of senior leadership appointments in India, including new heads for Human Resources, Talent Acquisition and Technology, as the US-based provider of insurance, retirement and investment products accelerates the expansion of its Global Capability Centre (GCC) operations.

The appointments come months after the company inaugurated its new Bengaluru office in April. Operating as The Standard India, the company's Bengaluru and Pune centres support its global technology, digital transformation and operations strategy.

New leadership team takes shape

According to the company, the latest appointments are intended to strengthen capabilities across technology, finance, people, talent, operations and communications as its India organisation continues to scale.

The newly appointed leaders are:

• Atul Agrawal as Head of Technology
• Manishekaran Amalasekharan as Head of Finance
• Neeti Khanka as Head of Human Resources
• Sanjay Pathak as Chief of Staff and India Site Operations Lead
• Aditya Pal Singh as Head of Talent Acquisition
• Santosh Varier as Head of Administration
• Neeta Sharma as Head of Communications, The Standard India

Focus on technology, talent and operations

The company said the appointments bring leadership expertise across critical business functions supporting its India growth strategy.

According to The Standard:

• Atul Agrawal brings more than 30 years of technology leadership experience, with expertise in building global teams and driving enterprise technology execution.
• Neeti Khanka joins with experience in people transformation and talent strategy, supporting business growth through workforce initiatives.
• Aditya Pal Singh brings expertise in strategic talent acquisition, with experience building hiring functions for high-growth organisations.
• Manishekaran Amalasekharan has more than 20 years of finance leadership experience, specialising in financial governance, transformation and operational excellence.
• Sanjay Pathak brings over 24 years of experience across business and technology, leading transformation programmes and operational scaling in the insurance and healthcare sectors.
• Santosh Varier contributes more than 20 years of experience spanning workplace services, hospitality, corporate real estate and administration.
• Neeta Sharma joins with expertise in corporate communications, crisis management and cross-cultural storytelling.

India centre supports global capabilities

The appointments follow the launch of The Standard India's new office at Embassy Tech Village, Bengaluru, which serves as a key hub for the company's global operations.

According to the company, the Bengaluru centre focuses on:

• AI engineering
• Digital platforms
• Cloud technologies
• Data and analytics
• Building high-impact, in-house technology capabilities aligned with global priorities

The Bengaluru and Pune centres together play a central role in the company's technology, operations and digital transformation roadmap.

Leadership sees India as a strategic growth hub

Commenting on the appointments, Mohua Sengupta, Senior Vice President and Country Head of The Standard India, said the Bengaluru Global Capability Centre represented an important milestone in the company's 120-year history.

She said strong local leadership would be critical as the company expands its presence in India, adding that the newly appointed leadership team brings technical expertise, operational capability and a people-focused approach to support future growth.

With its expanded leadership team now in place, The Standard India is strengthening the capabilities needed to support its global business while increasing India's role in technology, operations and enterprise transformation.