Manish Punjabi

About Manish Punjabi

As a passionate and purpose-driven Human Resource Leader, I’ve had the privilege of shaping talent, leadership, and culture strategies across some of India’s most respected, dynamic, large & diversified organizations—Asian Paints, UltraTech Cement, Aditya Birla Group, Piramal Pharma, and Kotak Wealth Management.With a career that bridges business and HR, I bring a rare blend of frontline sales, brand marketing, and deep expertise in learning, talent, succession planning, OD, DEI, and culture transformation. This unique foundation helps me align people strategies with business impact—whether leading CXO-level programs, embedding future-ready cultures, or developing early-career talent.I’ve had the honor of designing and leading flagship leadership programs that reshape how top leaders—Chairpersons, CEOs, and CXOs—engage with people, strategy, and synergy.I’m humbled to have been recognized by Aditya Birla Group, UltraTech Cement, Asian Paints, and Piramal Pharma, as well as through external citations in the ATD Excellence in Practice Awards and the BML Munjal Awards.I believe continuous learning begins with us as HR leaders. That’s why I’ve pursued development skills like Hogan, Belbin Team Roles, Instructional Design, Facilitation Skills, HR Process Excellence, PMI-ACP Agile, 6 Disciplines of Breakthrough Learning, ACSTH Coaching (ICF ACC), Reimagining Performance Management (Josh Bersin Academy), and Hay Job Evaluation (Korn Ferry), among others.I’m deeply passionate about thought leadership and believe in sharing experiences, I’ve authored insights for leading publications like Economic Times – ETHRWorld & Human Capital Magazine on topics such as “Leadership Styles & Organizational Performance”, “Learning Agility”, “Seamless Collaboration”, etc. As a speaker and jury member, I’ve had the honour of contributing to premier industry platforms, including: Economic Times Future Skills 2025 (Speaker + Jury), UBS Forums - Future of L&D Summit (7th, 11th, and 19th Editions + advisory council and jury member).At the heart of my work is a deep belief in the power of people. I find purpose in enabling professionals to grow into their fullest potential, I am most fulfilled when I can help people see what’s possible within themselves—unlocking both personal transformation and meaningful business impact.

Experience

1. Head - Learning & Development and Campus Talent Management

   Piramal Pharma Ltd

   May 2023 — Present · Mumbai, IN

   Led the design and execution of transformative leadership development program (Summit 3.0) for the organization\'s leaders enabling impactful growth. Result: launch of 6 Synergy Projects, Launch of Summit Crest (i.e. v4.0) & design of ScaleUp for top 125 leaders of the organization- Enhanced functional expertise & further institutionalized the Functional Academies framework through strategic partnerships with CXOs and SMEs in Finance, IT, HR & Shared Services- Led a team of four and fostered a dynamic learning culture in a global pharma player with 3 distinct business – Initiatives like Piramal Learning Festival, Global Leaders Connect, Piramal Professional Certifications, Step 2.0. Result: Learning is amongst the top few strengths as indicated in the Engagement Survey 2023-24- Learning in the Flow of Work: Digital learning innovations like Piramal Learning University embedded with in MS Teams & Google Chrome making learning access easier and enabling better EX/Learning Experience (LX)- Entrusted with additional responsibility to Spearheaded PPL Culture Transformation (Result: Top few in Engagement Survey) ensuring universal understanding and Living of the PPL Culture through integration across the organization- Future Talent Pipeline Development: Crafted and launched the Campus Talent Management Portfolio, forging new partnerships and driving internal advocacy to cultivate a pipeline of fresh graduate and management trainees. Started multiple cohorts to meet the future Talent demand- Managed various additional responsibilities like development and launch of an organization development assessment, supporting DIBA sensitization workshops, Engagement Survey Action Planning, Goals Cascade, etc- PMO Core Team for HR Strategy – Partnered within HR Leadership to design, plan, organize and develop Strategy 2024-28.

Education

• Asian School of Cyber Laws

  Diploma in Cyber Laws, Cyber Laws

  2006 — 2007

• University Grants Commission (ugc)

  NET (National Eligibility Test), Commerce (Business Management)

  2010 — 2011

• SIES College of Management Studies - India

  PGDM/MBA, Management

  2007 — 2009

• R. A. Podar College of Commerce & Economics

  M.Com. Part 1, Business Management

  2006 — 2007

• University of Mumbai

  Doctor of Philosophy - PhD, Business Administration and Management, General

• JAI HIND COLLEGE, MUMBAI

  BMS, Management

  2003 — 2006

• JAI HIND COLLEGE, MUMBAI

  Junior College, Commerce

  2001 — 2003

• H.R. College Of Commerce & Economics

  M. Com. Part 2, Business Management

  2009 — 2010

Skills

• Customer Relationship Management (Crm)
• Fmcg
• Camtasia
• Training
• Brand Management
• Business Strategy
• Captivate
• Key Account Management
• Articulate Storyline
• E-Learning
• Sales
• Business Development
• Instructional Design
• Market Research
• Crm
• Team Management
• Competitive Analysis
• Management