HRKatha Rising Star Leadership Awards Honours the Next Generation of HR Leaders at its Inaugural Edition

HRKatha Rising Star Leadership Awards, designed to recognise and celebrate the exceptional talent shaping the future of HR in India, concluded the inaugural edition on 31st October 2025, honouring the emerging HR leaders from the corporate word. The event aims to spotlight individuals poised to redefine HR practices and honour those making significant contributions to their organizations and the industry as a whole. By providing a stage for these rising stars, the awards foster a culture of excellence and innovation within the HR profession.   HRKatha Rising Star Leadership Awards   The inaugural HRKatha Rising Star Leadership Awards drew 129 entries from across India’s corporate landscape over a two-month nomination period. After rigorous evaluation, 59 entries were shortlisted and honoured during the event.   The Jury Composition The jury’s composition reflected the breadth of India’s corporate landscape. Led by Sandip Ghose (MD & CEO, Birla Corps) as Jury Chair, with Ramesh Mitragotri (Group Executive President – Human Resource, Aditya Birla Group) as Jury Co-Chair, the panel included: Ashwini Prashara (CHRO, Hydrocarbons, Reliance Industries), Rajorshi Ganguli (President & Group Head-HR, Alkem Laboratories), Ayush Gupta (Director-HR, GAIL), Praveen Purohit (CHRO, Vedanta Aluminium), Subir Verma (ED & CHRO, Power Business, RP Sanjiv Goenka Group), S Parthasarathy (iMeT, EVP, L&T Technology Services), Rupesh Tripathi (Head-People and Culture, KPMG), Saba Adil (CHRO, Edelweiss), and Pooja Manocha (CHRO, Bata India).   Over two weeks, this distinguished panel evaluated cases with surgical precision. The margins proved razor-thin—often separated by a mere 0.2 to 0.5 points. At times, the difference between finalist and winner was negligible in numerical terms.   Sandip Ghose, MD & CEO, Birla Corps , articulated the jury’s philosophy, “ As a jury, we weren’t just looking for good HR practices — we were looking for creativity that redefines value creation. It wasn’t about who had the most polished process or the biggest scale, but about who dared to think differently, who connected people and performance in a way that drove measurable business impact. What stood out for us were those entries that showed HR not as a support function, but as a co-creator of strategy, innovation, and growh .”   Praveen Purohit, CHRO, Vedanta Aluminium , expanded on the evaluation criteria, “ While evaluating the case studies, what truly impressed us were the initiatives that went beyond policies and processes to create real business value. We looked for stories where HR wasn’t working in isolation but driving innovation hand-in-hand with business leaders. The best entries demonstrated how people practices can fuel performance, build agility, and create an ecosystem where both talent and organisation grow together .”   Rupesh Tripathi, Head-People and Culture, KPMG , captured the jury’s sentiment, “ I thoroughly enjoyed reading the entries and case studies. Some very good work. Thank you for providing these young professionals a platform to showcase their work. ”   Rajorshi Ganguli, President & Group Head-HR, Alkem Laboratories , said, “ The experience was good. The work done by different applicants were good. It’s good to know so many innovative work being done by different people in different organisations and especially the hard work behind it .”   The Winners Sn No. Name Designation Company Status of win Category 1 Anil Kumar Sagiraju Dy Manager Business HR Amara Raja Energy & Mobility Winner Business Catalyst 2 Meenakshi Thakur AGM - HR Bharat Aluminium Company Winner Culture Bridge Builder 3 Chintala Siva Sankar AM-HR Amara Raja Energy & Mobility Winner Experience Wizard 4 Mandeep Patter Senior Manager - Employee Experience Axis Max Life Insurance Winner Happiness Ambassador 5 Varun Jain AVP HR HSBC Winner HR Technovator 6 Lionel Paul David CHRO Watertec India Winner HR Trailblazer 7 Gaurav Modak Rewards Manager HEMPEL A/S Winner Rewards Guru 8 Akhilesh Rai Deputy General Manager Maruti Suzuki India Winner Shop Floor Diplomat 9 Sumit Rastogi DGM-HR HyFun Foods Winner Talent Magnet 10 Richa Alagh Chief Manager - HR Operations Head Axis Max Life Insurance Winner Transformation Titan 11 Deepanjan Sinha Manager - HR Uflex Winner Young HR Turk 12 Soumavo Chatterjee Assistant Vice President Aditya Birla Fashion & Retail First Runner Up Business Catalyst 13 Riddhi Bhupendra Sonavia Senior HR Executive Draeger India Private Limited First Runner Up Culture Bridge Builder 14 Sonal Manilal Harsiddhe Assistant Manager EPL Limited First Runner Up Happiness Ambassador 15 Amit Kaul Head HR ONGC Petro Additions First Runner Up HR Trailblazer 16 G Suresh Kumar Executive, AI Business TA Amara Raja Infra First Runner Up Talent Magnet 17 Vineeta Pandey Senior Manager Century Enka Limited First Runner Up Transformation Titan 18 Himanshu Gupta AVP  Performance & Rewards HSBC First Runner Up Young HR Turk 19 Shiv Shankar Khandelwal Sr. Manager (HR) IFFCO/ IFFCO eBazar Ltd. Second Runner Up Business Catalyst 20 Hevin Verghese C MANAGER (HR & ADMIN.) Petronet LNG Second Runner Up Happiness Ambassador 21 Subrata Kr Saha Sr. General Manager - HRD Ambuja Neotia Second Runner Up HR Trailblazer 22 Aaron Dsouza Head - HR Dr. Reddy's & Nestle Health Science Second Runner Up HR Trailblazer 23 Janvi Ashar General Manager - HR & Admin Unipath Specialty Laboratories Second Runner Up Transformation Titan 24 Ramratan Yadav Manager Maruti Suzuki India Second Runner Up Young HR Turk 25 Amiit Kumar Lead - Business HR Aditya Birla Money Finalist Business Catalyst 26 Kashmira Sharma Director - HR Business Partners, India Marvell Semiconductors Finalist Business Catalyst 27 Hiral Patel Senior Manager - Human Resources Reliance Industries Finalist Business Catalyst 28 Sujata Phukan HR Partner Associate Manager Accenture Solutions Finalist Business Catalyst 29 Sri Deepti Kocherlakota People and Culture Business Partner Vendavo Finalist Business Catalyst 30 Jagannathan U Deputy Manager‚ AI Biz HR Mangal Industries Finalist Business Catalyst 31 Ankit Dangi Chief Operating Officer SenseHR Finalist Business Catalyst 32 Anubrata Chatterjee GM HR Rupa & Co Finalist Business Catalyst 33 K R Ramakrishnan Lead - Center of Excellence Reliance Retail Finalist Business Catalyst 34 Ishita Agghi Co-Founder CLiKD.ai Finalist HR Technovator 35 Dakshdeep Singh Senior Vice President PeopleStrong Technologies Finalist HR Trailblazer 36 Jitendra Kumar Rajpurohit Sr Manager HR UltraTech Cement Finalist HR Trailblazer 37 Ruben Arun Kumar Senior Manager, HR Quest Diagnostics HTAS India Finalist HR Trailblazer 38 G Harikrishnama Raju Assistant General Manager JSW Cement Finalist HR Trailblazer 39 Chinhita Bose Assistant Director- Human Resources Parul University Finalist HR Trailblazer 40 T K Bharath Kumar Regional Rewards Lead Americas Novartis Finalist HR Trailblazer 41 Shreysa Gardner Senior Officer JK Cement Finalist Talent Magnet 42 Vandana Saxena HR Professional Voyage Ahead Solutions LLP Finalist Transformation Titan 43 Adithiya Venkataraman CHRO Hinduja Renewables Energy Finalist Transformation Titan 44 P Padmaja Assistant Manager Amara Raja Energy and Mobility Finalist Transformation Titan 45 Keerthi Narayanan Manager Aspire Systens Finalist Transformation Titan 46 K R Ramakrishnan Lead - HR Center of Excellence Reliance Retail Finalist Transformation Titan 47 Shukla Asitkumar Niranjanbhai Senior Manager Zydus Lifesciences Finalist Transformation Titan 48 Kirti Poddar Head -Human Resources Mintifi Finserv Finalist Transformation Titan 49 S S Mythraye Senior Manager Intas Pharmaceuticals Finalist Young HR Turk 50 Bharath Kumar M Sr. Executive ‚Äì Business HR Amara Raja Energy C Mobility Finalist Young HR Turk 51 Prasanth PP Assistant Manager, Group OD and L&D Amara Raja Energy C Mobility Finalist Young HR Turk 52 Vedansh Dubey Assistant Manager Business Catalyst Wipro Finalist Young HR Turk 53 Divay Bhardwaj Chief Manager - Human Resources Axis Max Life Insurance Finalist Young HR Turk 54 Chinmay Jha Deputy Manager DS Foods Finalist Young HR Turk 55 P NAGESWARA RAO Senior Manager - HR & Admin SEIL Energy India Finalist Young HR Turk 56 Hevin Verghese C Manager HR & Admin Petronet LNG Finalist Young HR Turk 57 Tushar Kanti Asst. Manager - HR Wipro Finalist Young HR Turk 58 Mugdha Mahambrey GM HR Chalet Hotels Finalist Young HR Turk 59 S Sunil Kamath Senior HR Business Partner Microsoft Finalist Young HR Turk Beyond recognition The event’s intimate format—deliberately boutique rather than expansive—enabled depth impossible in larger ceremonies. Panel discussions explored ideas thoroughly rather than rushing through talking points. Winners engaged in substantive conversations with jury members about implementation challenges and measurable outcomes.   Lionel Paul David, CHRO, Watertec, reflected on the significance, “ I thoroughly enjoyed being part of the event and am truly grateful to HRKatha for this recognition. It’s encouraging to see platforms like these celebrating meaningful HR innovations and the people behind them .”   Sumit Rastogi, Deputy General Manager at HyFun Foods, found particular value in the intellectual exchange: “ I truly enjoyed the panel discussions — they were so thought-provoking and insightful. I’m deeply grateful for the recognition and the opportunity to be part of such a wonderful celebration. The entire setup was beautiful, and the evening couldn’t have been better to honour young HR talent alongside their mentors and guides .”   Jaya Suri, CHRO at Kimbal , who spoke at the event, praised the approach, “ The content was really insightful and full of learning. I also loved the idea of keeping it a boutique, small event focused on meaningful content rather than size .”   Dwarakanath noted the quality of exchange, “ The quality of speakers was outstanding, and the discussions were truly in-depth and to the point. You rarely come across such closed-door events with this level of meaningful exchange — and that’s exactly what HRKatha has built. I thoroughly enjoyed being part of it and look forward to seeing more such events in the future .”   Jaikrishna B, President Group HR at Amara Raja Group , who served as both speaker and awards presenter, captured the event’s potential, “ Everything about the event was wonderful — from the discussions to the overall energy. It would be exciting to see it grow even bigger next time. It truly has the potential to become one of the most anticipated events of the year .”   The inaugural HRKatha Rising Star Leadership Awards didn’t just recognise emerging talent—it validated that the future of HR leadership in India is already here, challenging convention and redefining what it means to build organisations where both people and performance thrive.