Vantage Influencers Podcast

When most companies talk about employer brand, they mean the careers page, the job ads, the polished video of people laughing in a break room. But ask anyone who's actually worked somewhere, and they'll tell you the real brand is what happens after you sign the offer, how you're paid, how you're taken care of, whether the company keeps its word.  So today, we're looking at employer brand from the inside out, starting with the systems that quietly shape whether people trust an organization. And to help us, we have with us Annalee Malone, Benefits and Compensation Manager at Total Safety. 

In this episode of the Vantage HR Influencers Podcast, we explore how HR is evolving from a traditional cost center into a more strategic and commercially driven function that contributes directly to business growth.  Host Riha is joined by Shivali Anand, Country HR Head at Geidea, to discuss how HR leaders can build stronger business acumen, connect people decisions with organizational priorities, and demonstrate the commercial impact of HR initiatives. Together, they examine how HR can influence business strategy, use workforce insights to support better decisions, and become a more integral partner in driving performance, growth, and long-term business value. 

When most people picture Merger & Acquisition, they picture spreadsheets, valuations, deal structures, and closing timelines. But ask anyone who's actually lived through a merger or acquisition, and they'll tell you the deal that looks perfect on paper can still fall apart because of what happens to the people inside it.   So in this episode, we're looking at M&A from the workforce side, the part of the deal that rarely makes the press release but almost always decides whether the deal actually works. And to help us, we have with us Elizebeth Mack, Principal and Workforce in Transactions Leader at BDO USA.  

When most people picture Merger & Acquisition, they picture spreadsheets, valuations, deal structures, and closing timelines. But ask anyone who's actually lived through a merger or acquisition, and they'll tell you the deal that looks perfect on paper can still fall apart because of what happens to the people inside it.   So in this episode, we're looking at M&A from the workforce side, the part of the deal that rarely makes the press release but almost always decides whether the deal actually works. And to help us, we have with us Elizebeth Mack, Principal and Workforce in Transactions Leader at BDO USA.  

Almost every HR team today can point to AI somewhere in their stack. Screening, scheduling, skills mapping, internal mobility, interview notes, something is running on it. But if you talk to those teams honestly, there's usually a gap between having AI and actually changing how work gets done. The pilot impresses everyone in the demo, and then quietly fades the moment real hiring pressure returns.  So, we want to move past the theory and into practical lessons. What genuinely changes when AI moves into talent and workforce processes, and what it asks of the people running them.  And to help us with that, we have with us Meghna Punhani, Chief People Officer at Eightfold. 

In this episode of the Vantage HR Influencers Podcast, Srijith Nair, Director, Human Capital in the Middle East, shares thoughtful insights on the evolving role of artificial intelligence in HR. The conversation explores how HR leaders can move beyond the hype and apply AI meaningfully across recruitment, employee experience, workforce planning, and decision-making, while maintaining transparency, responsible governance, data privacy, and the human judgment essential to effective people leadership. 

Belonging is a word we hear a lot in HR, but usually among people who share a language, a culture, a hometown. Now picture a workforce where almost everyone has come from somewhere else, often far from home. There, belonging isn't a survey metric, it's what decides whether someone just works for you, or truly stays and gives you their best.  And nowhere is that more real than in the Gulf. So, let's explore what it takes to build belonging across a multicultural workforce with Manjeet Sahota, Human Resources Director at Gulf Catering and Support Services.  

For decades, we've built companies around one assumption: that work is done by people. But that assumption is now changing, and changing fast. AI agents are no longer just tools we use; they're becoming teammates we work alongside. And that raises a big question for every leader and HR professional, how do you build an organization where humans and agents don't just coexist, but actually make each other better? So today, we're exploring what it takes to build a superhuman company in the age of human-agent workforces. And to help us with that, we have with us Tami Rosen. She is a Board Member & Advisor at Pagaya.

In this episode of the Vantage HR Influencers Podcast, Dr. Sarmistha Roychowdhury, CHRO, Group Head HR, and Principal HR Advisor at Vform Tecnopacks Limited, shares thoughtful insights on the evolving role of HR in boardroom decision-making. The conversation explores how HR leaders can move beyond traditional operational responsibilities and contribute more strategically through workforce insights, people analytics, business alignment, and a deeper understanding of organizational priorities. 

For decades, we've built companies around one assumption: that work is done by people. But that assumption is now changing, and changing fast. AI agents are no longer just tools we use; they're becoming teammates we work alongside.  And that raises a big question for every leader and HR professional — how do you build an organization where humans and agents don't just coexist, but actually make each other better?  So today, we're exploring what it takes to build a superhuman company in the age of human-agent workforces. And to help us with that, we have with us Tami Rosen. She is a Board Member & Advisor at Pagaya.

Performance management is something almost every employee experiences, yet it's often one of the most debated aspects of work. While it's intended to support growth and development, many employees still view it as a box-ticking exercise rather than a meaningful conversation.  And as workplaces continue to evolve, there's growing pressure on organizations to rethink how they measure, discuss, and develop performance.  So today, I'd love to explore what effective performance management really looks like and to help us with that, we've with us Kavitha Ramaiah. She is the Director, People Development at Global Logic.  

Growth is often seen as a sign that things are going right for an organisation. Bigger teams, new markets, rapid expansion, all of it sounds exciting from the outside. But internally, growth can also bring a lot of pressure, uncertainty, and cultural shifts that companies may not always be fully prepared for.  Because, I think we now understand the reality is, scaling a business and scaling a culture are two very different challenges.   So today, we're exploring what it really takes to preserve culture during periods of growth and transformation. And joining us for this conversation is Smitha Yadav, a seasoned HR leader with extensive experience in driving people and culture initiatives across global organisations. 

Every organisation wants to be called resilient. But when you look closely, resilience is no longer just about surviving disruption or handling uncertainty. It's also about how people adapt, recover, and continue moving forward during constant change.  And that's where HR has started playing a much bigger role than before. Because culture, leadership, communication, employee well-being, all of these things now directly influence how resilient an organisation actually is.  Let's unpack what organizational resilience looks like from an HR lens. And to help us with that, we've with us Kavitha Khurana, Assistant Vice President- HRBP and HRSS at BATA India Ltd.  

Conversations around Emiratisation often become very numbers-driven. We hear targets, percentages, and hiring goals. But somewhere in between all of that, there's also a very human side to the conversation. And honestly, that's what makes this discussion so interesting right now. Because the UAE is evolving rapidly, workplaces are evolving rapidly, and naturally, the expectations of Emirati professionals are evolving too.   Today, we want to explore the deeper realities behind Emiratisation. And to help us unpack this, we've with us Fizza Sabir, Principal People and Culture Advisor, HR Head of Section at DNV.  

In this episode of the Vantage HR Influencers Podcast, Vikas Singh Baghel, Associate Director, HR at HCLTech, shares thoughtful insights on how HR can move from reactive hiring to predictive talent planning. The conversation explores how workforce data, skills intelligence, business alignment, and proactive talent strategies can help organizations identify future talent needs before gaps become urgent. It also highlights how HR can strengthen internal mobility, build future-ready talent pipelines, support smarter workforce decisions, and create a more agile approach to hiring in a rapidly evolving business environment.   

In this episode of the Vantage HR Influencers Podcast, Ana Carolina Mason, Head of HR in the UAE, shares thoughtful insights on how HR can build culture in factories and high-pressure operational environments. The conversation explores how trust, clear communication, leadership visibility, employee safety, and consistent people practices help teams stay aligned, engaged, and resilient in demanding work settings. It also highlights how HR can strengthen frontline employee experience, support managers, create a sense of belonging, and build a culture where people feel valued while performing in fast-paced, high-pressure environments. 

In this episode of the Vantage HR Influencers Podcast, we explore how leaders can build a strong organizational culture that becomes a true differentiator during periods of uncertainty, disruption, and change.  Host Riha is joined by Sana Khammash, Culture and Leadership Consultant at EquaMind Consultancy, to discuss why culture matters most when business conditions are unpredictable. Together, they unpack how trust, clarity, shared values, leadership consistency, and employee connection help organizations stay resilient, make stronger decisions, and maintain momentum even in challenging times. The conversation also highlights how leaders can shape a culture that supports adaptability, strengthens engagement, and creates a lasting competitive advantage. 

When we talk about rewards at work, the conversation often goes back to familiar territory, pay bands, annual hikes, and benefits packages. But the reality is, the way people work today looks nothing like the systems these rewards were originally designed for. Work has become more fluid. Expectations have shifted.   Which brings us to a question that's hard to ignore: Is the traditional rewards model dead or is it just struggling to keep up?  To help us unpack this, we're joined by Sahiba Vadhera, Director – Total Rewards, APAC at JLL. With her hands-on experience shaping reward strategies across the region, she brings a grounded perspective on what needs to evolve in how organisations think about rewards. 

Discussions around high-performing teams tend to gravitate toward the end results, the metrics, the milestones, the victories. Yet what often goes unexamined is the journey that leads teams there. Rather than focusing on performance as an outcome, it's far more valuable to explore what lays the groundwork for it. And why things tend to fall apart even when everyone means well. To shed light on this, we have with us Kanu Priya, Chief People Officer- India & APAC at Credera. Kanu Priya brings rich experience in driving people and culture transformation within high-growth organizations.

In this episode of the Vantage HR Influencers Podcast, Hemdeep Singh, Director of Customer Success at Darwinbox, shares practical insights on how HR transformation impacts business outcomes by connecting people strategy, technology, and operational execution. The conversation explores how organizations can move from fragmented HR processes to more agile, integrated, and data-driven systems that improve decision-making, strengthen employee experience, and drive efficiency. It also highlights how leaders can align HR transformation with business priorities, create measurable value, and build organizations that are more responsive to change.

In this episode of the Vantage HR Influencers Podcast, Amit Thukral, Head of HR Information Systems at Fidelity International, shares practical insights on how AI-enabled HR systems are transforming global workforces through data and automation. The conversation explores how organizations can move from fragmented, manual processes to intelligent, integrated systems that improve decision-making, enhance employee experience, and drive operational efficiency. It also highlights how leaders can leverage AI to make workforce data more actionable, align HR strategies with business goals, and build more agile and future-ready organizations. 

We've all been in rooms where the loudest voice seems to take the lead. But if you really think about it, influence doesn't always come from who speaks the most. It often comes from who people choose to listen to.  And that's exactly what we're unpacking today. Because in a world that often rewards visibility and constant presence, there's a quieter kind of leadership that's just as powerful, maybe even more.  To explore this, I'm joined by Hassan Trad, Head of Talent Management at Finance House. Hassan brings a thoughtful perspective on leadership, influence, and what it really takes to make an impact without always being the loudest in the room. 

In this episode of the Vantage HR Influencers Podcast, Asrar Mohideen, Associate Director, Global Talent Acquisition at FoodHub, shares practical insights on how analytics is transforming recruitment from intuition-led decisions to measurable hiring impact. The conversation explores how organizations can use data to measure hiring speed, quality, fairness, and business outcomes with greater clarity. It also highlights how recruiters can define quality of hire objectively, identify candidate drop-off points, use AI more effectively, and build stronger data skills for better hiring decisions. 

Attrition in the tech industry has almost become a constant conversation. Companies are hiring aggressively, yet they're also losing talent just as quickly. And while market demand is definitely one part of the story, many HR leaders are beginning to realize that the real reasons behind attrition might be much deeper.  To unpack this, we're really excited to welcome Dr. Lakshman Kumar Kodupaka, Global Talent Acquisition Leader for Digital Engineering Services at Sutherland. With his experience working closely with tech talent and global teams, he brings a valuable perspective on what might actually be driving attrition today.  Host of this Episode: Sanjeevani Saikia

In this episode of the Vantage HR Influencers Podcast, Anish Lalchandani , Global Head of Talent Management at A.P. Moller, shares practical insights on how organizations can treat skills as a strategic asset in the age of workforce disruption. The conversation explores how shifting from role-based models to a skills-first approach enables businesses to build agility, close capability gaps, and respond faster to changing market demands. It also highlights how leaders can make skills visible, align them with business priorities, and create a more adaptive and future-ready workforce.   

In this episode of the Vantage HR Influencers Podcast, Sarah Eryan, Human Resources Director for the Middle East and Africa, at Fragomen, shares practical insights on how emerging HR leaders can influence organizational culture without relying on formal authority or senior titles. The conversation explores how building credibility, fostering trust, and leading with intent enable HR professionals to shape culture, strengthen engagement, and drive meaningful change from within. 

When we talk about high-performing teams, the conversation often jumps straight to results, numbers, outcomes, and wins. But what usually gets missed is how teams actually arrive there. So, instead of starting with performance itself, it feels more useful to unpack what enables performance in the first place and why it often breaks down even when intentions are good.  To help us understand this, we've with us Rajat Bhatia- Senior Vice President & Head- People & Culture at Fareportal. Rajat has been deeply involved in shaping people and culture journeys across fast-growing organizations.

In this episode of the Vantage HR Influencers Podcast, Aline Khoury, HR Senior Business Partner for the Middle East and Africa at AVEVA, shares practical insights on how personal growth in leaders can drive meaningful organizational transformation. The conversation explores how self-awareness, continuous development, and purpose-driven leadership enable leaders to influence culture, strengthen engagement, and guide teams through change with confidence. 

In this episode of the Vantage HR Influencers Podcast, Ganesh Iyer, Global Head of Learning and Development at IBS Software, shares practical insights on personalizing learning at scale using assessments, adaptive pathways, and impact metrics. The conversation explores how organizations can move beyond one-size-fits-all training to deliver targeted development, track learning effectiveness, and demonstrate measurable business impact across large, diverse workforces. 

We all know that companies are setting ambitious commitments and sharing detailed reports, but increasingly the conversation is shifting to a deeper question, "how much of ESG is actually reflected in the everyday culture of the workplace?" Because ultimately, the real impact of ESG isn't just in policies or disclosures, but in how leaders make decisions and how employees experience the organization every day.  To explore this further, we're delighted to welcome Megha Goel, CHRO at Godrej Properties Limited.  Host of this Episode: Megha Goel  

When we talk about work today, we often focus on performance, productivity, and outcomes. But somewhere along the way, the human side of work, how people feel, how seen they are, can quietly slip into the background. And although, recognition is often mentioned as a solution, but it's not always clear whether it's actually making work more human or just more structured.  That's why we wanted to start this conversation by unpacking what "humanizing the workplace through recognition" really means. And to help us with that we've Binnni Rai, Chief HR Office at Omnipresent Robot Tech.   Host of this Episode: Sanjeevani Saikia  

In this episode of the Vantage HR Influencers Podcast, Josh Cardoz, Chief Creative and Learning Officer at Sponge, shares practical insights on how HR leaders can address the emotional fatigue often experienced by today's workforce, often described as Generation Numb. The conversation explores how organizations can rethink learning, leadership, and workplace support systems to help employees regain energy, purpose, and resilience, ultimately enabling teams to perform sustainably in high-pressure and constantly evolving work environments. 

DEI conversations in the MENA region are often shaped by a wide mix of local realities, organizational priorities, and global influences. And because the region is so diverse, inclusion can mean very different things depending on the context. So before jumping into solutions or best practices, it's useful to first pause and explore how inclusion is actually understood and experienced within MENA workplaces today.  So to help us unpack this from a grounded, regional perspective, we'll be joined by Jihan ElSaghir. Jihan works as a Regional HR Partner for Pharma across the MENA region, where she's closely involved with people strategy, leadership, and inclusion across diverse markets.   Host of this Episode: Sanjeevani Saikia

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the individual speakers, shared for knowledge-sharing purposes, and do not necessarily reflect the official views of their respective organizations or the Vantage Influencers Podcast.   Lately, it feels like HR is being asked to do more than ever, move faster, think bigger, and still stay deeply human. And somewhere in the middle of all that, we keep using this phrase: high-impact HR. But do we all mean the same thing when we say it? That's something I would like to unpack in this episode.   And to help us understand it in-depth, we're joined by Ratnanjali Arora, Associate Director, HRBP at PwC India. She brings a very grounded, hands-on understanding of what it actually takes to create an impact on HR today. 

In this episode of the Vantage HR Influencers Podcast, Ujjal Sengupta, Deputy General Manager, Human Resources at Jio, shares practical insights on how gamified learning can drive productivity and performance across large, complex workforces. The conversation explores how organizations can leverage game mechanics, behavioral design, and data-driven feedback systems to increase participation in learning initiatives, accelerate skill development, and create a culture of continuous improvement at scale. 

Leadership conversations often feel a bit binary. We're usually told leaders are either introverts or extroverts. But in real workplaces, most leaders sit somewhere in between, constantly adjusting how they show up based on the situation and the people in front of them.  That's the space we're exploring today, ambivert leadership, and what it looks like when that balance is used intentionally. And to talk through this with me, I'm joined by Srividya Venkataramanan, Vice President – HR at FSS.  Host of this Episode: Sanjeevani Saikia

We often hear organizations say they're investing more in people, better pay, broader benefits, and more perks on paper. Yet burnout and disengagement are still everywhere. Somewhere between what's offered and how employees actually feel, something isn't landing. That's where I want to start today, by exploring what's missing and what needs to change for total rewards to truly support well-being. To help us explore this, Meera Mohandas, India Head of Rewards at Wipro, joins me. She's someone who works closely with rewards in practice, so I am very sure that her perspective will bring a very real, on-the-ground view.  Host of this Episode- Sanjeevani Saikia

In this episode of the Vantage HR Influencers Podcast, Aatmada Singh, Total Rewards Leader at Visteon Corporation, shares practical insights on how AI is transforming total rewards into a more personalized and employee-centric experience. The conversation explores how organizations can use data, automation, and intelligent HR systems to move beyond standardized reward models and design offerings that truly align with individual employee needs. 

In this episode of the Vantage HR Influencers Podcast, Jeri Doris, Chief People Officer at Just Works, shares valuable insights on how motherhood and marathons shape compassionate leadership in HR. The conversation delves into the personal experiences that inspire empathy, resilience, and a people-first approach to leadership. Jeri discusses how these life lessons influence her leadership style, fostering a culture of support, understanding, and growth within organizations, ultimately enhancing employee well-being and engagement. 

In this episode of the Vantage HR Influencers Podcast, Karie Willyerd, Head of Strategic Engagements at GP Strategies Corporation, shares valuable insights on how AI transformations can be aligned with organizational goals. The conversation delves into the key strategies organizations can adopt to ensure AI adoption enhances overall business performance, culture, and employee engagement. 

The more we look at how work is evolving, the more obvious it becomes that tech isn't just something HR uses anymore. It's basically shaping decisions, workflows, and even culture in real time. And HRBPs are kind of right at the crossroads of all of this. Their role has shifted from being mostly people-focused to this really interesting mix of strategy, data fluency, and emotional intelligence.  For this episode, I'm joined by Jessie Lloyd Roberts, Head of Talent Development at Nextdoor. She's someone who is living that evolution up close and has a front-row view of how the HRBP role is being redefined from the inside. Host of this Episode: Sanjeevani Saikia

We talk a lot about fairness at work, equal opportunities, unbiased pay, all the right things. But somehow, even with all the progress and policies, the numbers still tell a different story. The pay gap lingers quietly, but persistently.  And it really makes us wonder, if we already have audits, data, and so many conversations around pay equity, what's still holding organizations back from closing the gap for good?  To dive into that and a lot more, I'm joined by Arshiya Singh, Director of Global Compensation at Boston Consulting Group. 

In this episode of the Vantage HR Influencers Podcast, Kriti Mehrotra, Senior Lead – Total Rewards at Synamedia, shares practical insights on how Total Rewards strategies are evolving to meet the demands of hybrid and remote work. The conversation explores how organizations are rethinking compensation, benefits, well-being, recognition, and flexibility to remain relevant in a distributed workforce. The speaker explains how modern Total Rewards programs can balance personalization with fairness, align with changing employee expectations, and support long-term engagement and retention.  

Acquisitions look great on paper. But most of them fail where it actually matters-people, culture, and execution. And that's where HR is usually brought in too late. More as a support function, not a strategic one.   Today's conversation is about flipping that narrative.  We're talking about why HR should lead integration and performance after an acquisition.  Joining us for this conversation is Maher Sabbagh, Head of Human Resources and People & Culture Advisor at AmicaVerse. With deep experience across acquisitions, integration, and culture-led transformations, Maher has worked closely with leadership teams to turn complex people challenges into performance outcomes 

For a long time, HR has been seen as the function that manages policies and paperwork. But what if HR could actually influence how fast a business grows, how well teams perform, and how sustainable that growth really is? As expectations from HR continue to rise, the real question is: what needs to change for HR to move from a support role to a business growth driver? To unpack this shift, I'm joined by Kareem Galal, a senior HR and Organizational Development leader with over 17 years of experience across the Middle East. 

In this episode of the Vantage Influencers Podcast, we will be discussing HR's real role in acquisitions, not as a support function, but as a strategic force driving integration, culture, and performance turnarounds.  Host Shabana is joined by Maher Sabbagh, a leader who has not only witnessed acquisitions, but also led people transformations across some of the most complex markets in the world.  This episode unpacks HR's true influence in making or breaking acquisitions from early involvement and cultural integration to rebuilding trust during uncertainty. Drawing from real-world turnaround experiences, we explore how HR aligns leadership, manages tough people decisions, and accelerates post-acquisition performance.

In this episode of the Vantage HR Influencers Podcast, Host Shabana is joined by Srijith Nair, who draws on nearly three decades of his professional experience, and busts the most prominent myths about 'leadership' in the corporate world. Whether you're an HR leader or a decision-maker, this episode offers actionable insights to optimize your leadership strategy and drive success within your organization. Tune in for expert advice on designing leadership structures that propel your business forward!

In this episode of the Vantage HR Influencers Podcast, Pooja Malhotra, Head HR India at StoneX Group Inc., shares practical insights on how employee feedback can be leveraged to shape effective policies and enhance engagement. She discusses the growing importance of structured feedback systems in understanding employee needs, building trust, and creating policies that reflect real workplace realities. Pooja Malhotra explains how feedback-driven decision-making can strengthen HR practices, improve the employee experience, and drive sustainable engagement, offering actionable insights for HR leaders and decision-makers looking to create more responsive, people-centric organizations. 

In this episode of the Vantage HR Influencers Podcast, Kiran Steven, COE - Talent Management at Jockey & Speedo, shares valuable insights on how leadership architecture is a key driver of organizational success. He discusses the critical role of designing effective leadership models that foster a strong company culture, enhance decision-making, and build high-performing teams. Kiran Steven highlights how leadership architecture can transform HR practices and drive long-term success within organizations, offering actionable advice for HR leaders looking to optimize leadership frameworks and achieve sustainable growth. 

In this episode of the Vantage HR Influencers Podcast, John Sansoucie, Chairman and CEO of CogNet, shares valuable insights on how back office outsourcing is quietly redefining the way HR teams work. He discusses the significant impact of outsourcing non-core HR functions, enabling HR leaders to streamline operations, improve efficiency, and focus on more strategic priorities. John highlights how this shift is transforming HR practices and driving long-term success in organizations, offering actionable advice for HR leaders looking to leverage outsourcing for a more effective and impactful HR function.