Building the People, Process, and Performance Engine of a Diversified Indian Conglomerate
DS Group has appointed Subrat Chakravarty as Chief Human Resources Officer & Head of Business Excellence, marking a strategic inflection point as the diversified FMCG, hospitality, packaging, and agri-business group sharpens its focus on scale, governance, and performance excellence.
As Indian conglomerates evolve from founder-driven enterprises into professionally managed global platforms, DS Group is betting on a leader who has already designed and run enterprise-grade HR and transformation engines at some of the world’s most complex organizations.
With nearly three decades across HCLTech, Birlasoft, Aon Hewitt, and global consulting, Subrat brings a rare blend of HR strategy, digital HR platforms, operating-model design, and enterprise transformation leadership–making him uniquely suited to build DS Group’s next-generation people and performance architecture.
A CHRO Built for Enterprise Scale, Not Just HR
Subrat Chakravarty is not a traditional HR leader focused on policies and administration. His career has been forged at the intersection of:
- Global operating models
- HR technology and analytics
- Workforce transformation
- Governance, compliance, and business excellence
Before joining DS Group, Subrat spent over a decade at HCLTech, one of India’s largest global IT services firms, where he held two of the most powerful HR leadership roles in the organization:
- Head of Human Resources – Europe & Africa (31 countries)
- Global Program Director – HR Process & Technology Transformation
From London, he was responsible for the people strategy across 31 countries, managing regulatory complexity, talent mobility, compensation frameworks, and cultural integration at scale.
At the same time, he ran HCLTech’s global HR technology and transformation agenda, driving enterprise-wide adoption of:
- SAP SuccessFactors
- SAP HR
- UKG (Kronos) platforms
- Digital HR shared services
- Global payroll, workforce analytics, and compliance engines
This made him not just the CHRO of a region–but the architect of how HR worked as a global operating system.
From HR to Enterprise Architecture
Earlier at HCLTech, Subrat served as Global Head – Enterprise HR, overseeing:
- Global compensation & benefits
- Talent management & engagement
- Learning & leadership development
- HR shared services and payroll
- Employee relations across continents
This role gave him a board-level view of how people strategy connects directly to:
- Cost structures
- Attrition
- Revenue per employee
- Productivity
- Customer delivery
At DS Group–where businesses span FMCG brands, hospitality, packaging, and manufacturing–this integrated HR-business lens becomes a strategic advantage.
Chief People Officer at Birlasoft: Running HR for a Global IT Business
Before HCLTech, Subrat was Chief People Officer at Birlasoft (CK Birla Group), where he led end-to-end people operations for a publicly listed global IT services company.
There he ran:
- Global HR shared services
- Compensation and rewards
- Learning and performance management
- Payroll and compliance
- Talent acquisition and leadership pipelines
This gave him deep experience in running enterprise HR in a P&L-driven, delivery-oriented business–exactly the discipline DS Group needs as it scales its professional management layer.
The Consulting and Analytics Foundation
Subrat’s leadership style was shaped earlier at:
- Aon Hewitt (Group Manager / VP) — advising enterprises on compensation, organization design, and workforce strategy
- HCL Consulting (People & Technology) — helping companies build tech-enabled HR operating models
- L&T Infotech and Kenya Airways — building analytics-driven business and workforce insights
This consulting DNA is why he thinks in systems, platforms, and business outcomes, not just HR programs.
What His Appointment Means for DS Group
DS Group is transitioning into a multi-business, professionally governed, performance-driven enterprise. Subrat Chakravarty’s mandate will go far beyond traditional HR.
He is positioned to:
- Build a group-wide talent, leadership, and succession engine
- Create common HR platforms and governance across businesses
- Drive performance management, rewards, and accountability systems
- Integrate business excellence, process discipline, and people strategy
- Enable digital HR, analytics, and workforce productivity at scale
In a conglomerate where brands and businesses grow fast, Subrat will provide the organizational spine that holds scale together.
CXO Gateway Reflection
At CXO Gateway, we see Subrat Chakravarty’s appointment as a clear signal that DS Group is moving into its next era of professionalized, performance-driven growth.
This is not about hiring an HR head.
This is about installing an enterprise architect for people, process, and productivity.
With three decades across global IT, consulting, and conglomerates, Subrat brings exactly what DS Group now requires:
the ability to turn human capital into a structured, scalable, and competitive advantage.