Sumit Saluja

Background

About Sumit Saluja

‘To handle yourself use your head; / To handle others use your heart.’ — Eleanor Roosevelt These lines from Ms. Roosevelt’s poem Footprints In Your Heart have taught me two important lessons. One to remain in control of our lives we need to think before we act (using our heads). Two we can motivate others better by being empathetic towards them (using our hearts). As a human resource professional with 20+ years of experience I have used these lessons to improve company cultures and retain talent; I have ensured employees stay motivated by understanding their needs and making them feel heard and valued. I commenced my career with Dr. Reddy’s in a sales role. My seven plus years of experience in leading sales teams demonstrated to me how developing and up-skilling employees helped solve tough business challenges. This discovery piqued my interest in managing what I now believe is the most important asset of any organisation – its people! To explore the potential offered by a career in HR I moved (within the company) from sales to a role in HR. This experience not only provided me with exposure to crucial aspects of human resource management but also made me realise understanding what makes people tick fascinates me. Subsequently I completed my Executive MBA and joined Lupin as Senior Manager – HR in the year 2011. Since then I have progressed through several roles of increasing authority and am currently V.P. – HR in charge of mentoring my team to competently manage HR function for ~10 000 employees. Key highlights of my work at Lupin include: ❖ Driving several organisation-wide transformation initiatives ❖ Building a culture of productivity and collaboration ❖ Partnering with the leadership team for company’s expansion and helping it gain recognition for its people practices ❖ Achieving the lowest employee attrition rate in pharmaceutical industry My hobbies include mentoring young HR professionals and volunteering with NGOs. Also I have been invited as a speaker at several conferences and as a guest lecturer at several business schools. Let’s connect! You can write to me at salujasumit78@gmail.com.