The 9th Edition of BW People HR Excellence Summit & Awards 2024, an event dedicated to shaping the future of HR, took place on 30 July 2024 at Four Seasons, Bellary Road, Ganganagar, Bengaluru. The summit brought together HR executives, experts and practitioners from all domains to explore emerging trends, strategies and innovations in human resources. With the theme "Unlocking the Future of HR," the summit provided a platform for knowledge sharing, networking, and recognising excellence in HR practices.
The awards ceremony served as a distinguished platform to honour organisations and individuals who have made significant contributions to the field of HR. The awards celebrated excellence in various categories, including Best HR Strategy, Best Emerging HR Strategy, Best Place of Work, Equal Opportunity Employer, Best HR Team of the Year, Lifetime Achievement CHRO of the Year, Woman Leader of the Year, and more.
Future Of Humans In A Tech World
SV Nathan, CEO & Co-Founder of Visara Partners remarked that while technology enhances job efficiency & connectivity, it has also led to people sleeping with their phones instead of their partners, calling it a ‘sad state of humanity’.
The CHRO Agenda: Reimagining Leadership & Talent Management for Tomorrow
Session Chair, Harbinder Narula, CEO, BW Healthcare World, BW Wellbeing World & BW PharmaWorld; Amarpreet Kaur Ahuja, Country Head- HR, AstraZeneca India; Chhavi Anand, VP & Zonal Head HR, Tata AIG General Insurance; and Ayaskant Sarangi, CHRO, Mphasis, talked to length about the challenges of aligning employees with the organisational goals and the lack of employee well-being culture.
Revolutionising Recruitment: Strategies for the Future Workforce
Session Chair, Anuja Singh, Chief People Officer, Ninjacart; Majid Ali Khan, Head of People & Culture, CMS IT Services; Manas Martha, CHRO, TTK Prestige; and Preet Boparai, Head HR- India, SABIC, shared insights on balancing technological efficiency with human touch in talent acquisition.
Lifelong Learning: Re-envisioning Development for Continuous Growth
Session Chair, Sreekanth Arimanithaya, CHRO & EIR, The Machani Group; Krupa NS, CHRO, Xoriant; Ritu Rakhra, Head of HR, Broadridge Financial Services India; Soumya Babu, Director HR, Wipro Technologies; and Prem Kumar, Head of HR for India, APAC, Cambium Networks, emphasised the necessity of ongoing learning and strategy alignment in order to maintain competitiveness and promote development.
Deliver What's Crucial, Rethink What's Possible - What The CEO Wants From HR
Sunil Khurana, CEO & MD of BPL Medical Technologies outlined key strategies for HR professionals, advising that HR should extend beyond recruitment to become integral to business success.
Equity at the Core: Advancing DE&I in Modern Workplaces
Subramani (Subbu) Soman, Global Head of HR – Strategic Business Partner, Atos Global; Session Chair- Surabhi Sharma, Head of People India, Zinnia; Pooja Malhotra, Head HR India, StoneX Group, (SNEX Technologies); Madhushree Dutta, Head of HR, India, Pure Storage India; and Rashmi Raghuraja, Chief of Staff – HR, D&I HR Lead, SAP Labs (joined virtually), discussed strategies and challenges in advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Harnessing the Power of HR Tech & Analytics to Drive Organisational Success
Session Chair- Subhashini Sriram, MD- HR, Carelon Global Solutions; Prabhakar Azad, Chief People & Process Officer, Ashwin Seth Group; Debasis Panigrahi, CHRO, Shriram Properties; Ameet Kumar, Corporate HR Head, Solara Active Pharma Sciences; and Thirukkumaran (Thiru) Nagarajan, VP & HR Head, IBM India & South Asia, discussed the innovations in AI, data integration and automation that drive efficiency and enhance employee experiences.
Employee Engagement & Retention In The Modern Era
Session Chair- Sunil Chemmankotil, Country Manager, Adecco India; Ankur Poddar, Head HR- India Consumer Business Lead Culture & HR Ops, Lenovo; Santana Ramakrishnan, CHRO, Carl Zeiss India (Bangalore); and Seema Unni, Head of HR, Fidelity Investments, discussed the importance of embracing new technologies, fostering a supportive work culture, and empowering employees to drive organisational success.
Strategic Talent Management: Tactics To Attract & Retain High Performers
Session Chair- Savi Khanna, Senior Correspondent, BW People & BW Businessworld; Bikram Keshori Nayak, CHRO, Vedanta Alumina Business, Vedanta; Trina Balakrishnan, VP – Global HR Head, Coforge BPS, Coforge; Atreyi Banerjee, Regional Head-HR, Tech Mahindra; and Vinoda Nand Thakur VP & Head HR, Aditya Aluminium, Hindalco Industries, discussed the future of talent management, emphasising AI, meritocracy, and well-being.
Road From CHRO To CEO
Ronesh Puri, MD, Executive Access remarks that while many believe that the lack of CHROs becoming CEOs is due to a missing element of destiny, in reality, becoming a CEO involves strategic planning.
The panel discussions were followed by the award ceremony inaugurated by Bilquis Naqvee, Business Head, BW People.
