Top 10 Chief People Officers - 2025

Chief People Officers (CPOs) in India are leading the charge in modernizing organizations by creating people strategies in alignment with a people vision, with organizational goals in mind. The rapid transformation of workplace technology for not only workers, but also customers and suppliers; changing workforce expectations; and the tight labour market have paved the way for the traditional CPO role to be more than simply HR Management, but also a fundamental contributor to organisational growth & future resiliency. Indian CPOs are taking the lead in behaviours that reshape work cultures, drive inclusivity, and create agile, future-ready workforces and bringing leadership development, workplace digitization, hybrid work arrangements, and employee wellness, as well as strategic and organizational visions - initiatives to the table. The CPO's leadership role goes further than internal processes, as they are also responsible for building their employer brand and implementing the value proposition to top talent as an organization of choice, in another global employment struggle.

"A great Chief People Officer doesn’t just build teams, they build cultures that grow people and performance together"

The CPOs are tasked with creating an organization that has a purpose beyond the bottom line – such as families, people, the world and/or sustainability and are emerging to a future that focuses on values that ensure sustainable resilience and provides impact to future generations. Indian CPOs are adapting in the context of everchanging regulatory frameworks, managing stakeholder expectations, particularly in a multigenerational workforce, changing mindsets in entrenched organizational mindsets, and guiding organizations toward work. Digital acceleration against the need for human connection, while relying on their influence in environments of uncertainty for morale. However, in India CPOs are increasingly becoming strategic partners of the CEO and board, driving broad business outcomes and completely influencing business results. CPOs are able to shape the workforce strategy with business strategy, and thus becoming central architects of growth and transformation initiatives in India's dynamic and changing corporate landscape. With innovation, presence of mind, empathy, and persistence, needed to drive the challenges continuously, CPOs continue forging the future of work and organizational success.

CEO Insights in this issue presents a list of ‘Top 10 Chief People Officers - 2025' who have leveraged their extensive industry expertise and experience in offering effective skills to the market. The following list has been prepared after being closely scrutinized by a distinguished panel of judges including CXOs, analysts and our editorial board. We recognize their valuable contribution to the ever expanding and competitive market and their ability to sustain themselves and emerge as top contestants through their reliable knowledge.