2. The CEO Path
Historically, heads of HR haven’t been contenders for the CEO’s post as they
were perceived to be lacking in financial acumen and business knowledge.
Are HR heads ready for the transition to the top job, now that organisations
are open to the idea of CEOs from HR? People Matters gathers insights from
industry leaders and experts on what it takes for a CHRO to become the top
executive
By Esther Martinez Hernandez
and Deepshikha Thakur
3. Why don’t we see many CEOs who have come from an HR
background?
4. “If you survey the smartest kids in college who
want to do an MBA, most of them won’t choose
HR. The social identity associated with the role
as a support role influences the kind of people
who get into it”
Santhosh Babu, Managing Director, OD Alternatives Consultants
5. What are the challenges that CEOs face in today’s times?
6. “CEOs face four key challenges in India today.
Business growth is the first. The second challenge is
margin pressure and improvement in profitability.
The third is intense competition and fourth is
globalisation”
Ajay Soni, Asia Pacific Practice Leader-Leadership Consulting, Aon Hewitt
7. What does it take to be a CEO? Here’s what the coaches
have to say……..
8. Ganesh Chella, Founder, Totus Consulting
“Commercial acumen, understanding of the
business context, natural orientation towards
numbers, appetite for risk and a strong execution
focus are the prerequisites to being a successful
business leader or a CEO”
“Early on, HR professionals must have a cross
functional exposure and understand how to
run a line function. They should get out of their
comfort zone. They need to work on building
financial acumen and understand the business
context”
Anil Sachdev, Founder & CEO, School of Inspired Leadership
9. HR Heads who made it to the CEO position reveal the
secret recipe of their success…a glimpse into their
stories…
10. “Multi-functional experience should be an essential
part of your career development even if it slows
down your promotions.”
“Pay attention to business processes and how they
operate and most of all learn how the business
makes money.”
John Hofmeister, former President, Shell Oil Company and Founder
& Chief Executive, Citizens for Affordable Energy Consulting
11. Dr Anil K. Khandelwal Ex-CMD, Bank of Baroda and
Chairman, Anugyan Consulting
“In order to move to the CEO position, HR
professionals need to have a deeper understanding
of the business”
“Transition from HR to business role and vice
versa is seamless when HR plays the role it is meant
to”
Navnit Singh, Chairman and Country Head, Korn/Ferry India
12. Dr Santrupt Misra, Director, Group - HR, Aditya Birla Group &
CEO of Carbon Black Business
“HR gives you a 70 degree view of the business
whereas when you are a CEO you need to have a
360 degree view”
“You must have the humility to acknowledge that
you don’t know and have the willingness to go out
and learn from anyone”
Pratik Kumar, President, Wipro Infrastructure Engineering, Member of
Corporate Executive Council and Executive Vice-President-HR, Wipro
13. Elango R., Executive Vice President, Emerging Geography SBU &
Global Chief Human Resources Officer, MphasiS
“In HR, nine out of 10 things are under your control
because our area of influence is within the company.
But, business is driven by many factors which are not
under your control I have been in a business role”
“HR professionals should go back to classroom to
learn about the business. In order to succeed in a
business role, you have to re-skill yourself. Nothing
in HR trains you for that”
Smita Anand, Senior Partner and Managing Director, Leadership
Talent Consulting, Korn/Ferry India
14. And the journey of those who went on to set up their own
companies…..
15. Pankaj Bansal, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, PeopleStrong
“HR professionals have low-risk taking abilities
and are reluctant to step out of their comfort zone”
“One of the challenges that I keep coming across
occasionally is that we get too process oriented
in dealing with people”
Ajit Isaac, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, IKYA Human Capital
Solutions
16. The few who took the reverse journey from being a
business head to an HR Head….
17. Rajeev Dubey, President-Group HR, Corporate Services and Aftermarket
Sector & Member of Group Executive Board, Mahindra & Mahindra
“While strategy, metrics and processes are
critical for a company’s success, they are not sufficient
because it is people who bring ideas to life”
“Having worked in the technical field, I knew each
activity of the company: How it is done, the
issues and problems with those activities”
Dr A.K. Balyan, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Petronet LNG
18. To read the complete story click here “The CEO Path”
19. For Further Information
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June 2013
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