Praful Kulkarni

About Praful Kulkarni

As Director – People & Culture at Yellow.ai, I currently serve our teams across India, US, Canada, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East.My journey here started in Talent Acquisition, where I had the opportunity to build and lead our global hiring function. Working closely with founders and business leaders, we scaled teams across engineering, product, GTM, and corporate functions during critical growth phases.Over time, my role has expanded beyond Talent Acquisition into broader People & Culture responsibilities—including HR Business Partnering, performance management, organisational design, rewards, HR operations, and leadership development.These are newer responsibilities for me, and I approach them with curiosity, humility, and a strong belief that great outcomes come from strong relationships.I care deeply about:• Building trust between people and leadership• Creating clarity in performance expectations• Designing simple, scalable people processes• Helping managers become better leaders• Ensuring culture grows intentionally—not accidentallyFor me, People & Culture is ultimately about alignment—between individuals, teams, and business goals.Always open to learning, exchanging ideas, and building meaningful connections.

Experience

1. Director- People & Culture

   Yellow.ai

   Apr 2024 — Present · Bengaluru, IN

   As a Director – People & Culture, My mission is to build an orgnization where people can do their best work while the business scales with clarity and integrity.In my role, I partner closely with founders, CXOs, and business leaders to scale teams sustainably across geographies—designing people strategies that enable growth, resilience, and long-term impact. From shaping culture and leadership capability to strengthening employee experience and governance, my focus is on creating systems that help both people and businesses thrive.What excites me most is transforming People & Culture into a true business enabler—not just a support function. I believe great cultures are intentionally designed, continuously nurtured, and deeply aligned with business outcomes. Areas of expertise: People & Culture Strategy Organizational Design & Workforce Planning Leadership Development & Succession Planning Employee Experience & Engagement Performance Management & Capability Building DEI, Culture Transformation & Change Management HR Tech, Analytics & Automation Strategic Stakeholder Management (Founders, CXOs, Boards)Beyond work, I’m passionate about mentoring people leaders, advising growing organizations on culture and scale, and exploring how technology and data are reshaping the future of work.Let’s connect if you’re building a people-first organization, navigating scale and change, or believe culture is a competitive advantage

Education

• Marathwada Institute of Technology

  B.c.s, computer science

  2008 — 2011

• MIT

  Master of Science (M.Sc.), Information Technology

  2011 — 2013

Skills

• Sourcing
• Screening
• Human Resources
• Campus Recruitment
• Employee Relations
• Team Management
• Customer Service
• Talent Acquisition
• Recruiting
• Microsoft Office
• Training
• Business Development
• Job Descriptions
• Technical Training
• Attrition Reduction
• Vendor Management
• Customer Relations
• Technical Recruiting
• Interviews
• Internet Recruiting
• Crm
• Executive Search
• Benefits Negotiation
• Leadership
• Performance Management
• Talent Management
• Employee Engagement
• Performance Appraisal
• HR Policies
• Cloud Computing
• Saas
• Personnel Management
• Business Intelligence
• Hris
• Management
• Interviewing
• Customer Relationship Management (Crm)
• Human Resources Information Systems (Hris)
• Software as a Service (Saas)