People Matters Unplugged

As AI rapidly reshapes business models, work and workforce structures, the CHRO mandate is expanding beyond traditional people priorities. HR leaders are increasingly expected to understand technology, anticipate emerging capabilities and work alongside other CXOs to shape enterprise transformation. 

In this episode of People Matters Unplugged, Cheshta Dora, Head of Content & Research at People Matters, explores this shift with Yashwant Mahadik, President – Global Human Resources, Lupin. The conversation looks at why organisations need to move from managing transformation to continuously reimagining how they operate, build talent and create value. Mahadik also shares his perspective on AI adoption across HR and the broader enterprise, the emergence of agentic and physical AI, the changing definition of the workforce, and the leadership capabilities organisations will need as technology evolves. 

If economic uncertainty is becoming the operating environment rather than a temporary phase, what does it mean for how organisations think about people, work and talent? From workforce confidence and fair compensation to skills, talent mobility, flexible work and the growing role of AI, this conversation explores how HR can respond to disruption while keeping people and business needs in balance.

In this episode of People Matters Unplugged, Cheshta Dora, Head of Content, Research and Community at People Matters, speaks with Tan Toi Chia, Chief of People, Organisation and Communications at StarHub, about building a more agile and adaptable workforce. Toi Chia shares insights on creating a culture of curiosity and learning, enabling talent to move across organisational boundaries, designing work around trust and using AI to reimagine how work gets done.

If conversations around fairness, inclusion, and workplace equity often feel limited to policies and promises, this episode takes the discussion several layers deeper. From unconscious bias and equitable hiring to supporting working mothers, artisan communities, and differently abled employees, this conversation explores what it truly takes to build workplaces where opportunity is genuinely accessible to all.

In this episode of People Matters Unplugged, Cheshta Dora, Head of Content, Research and Community at People Matters, speaks with Swadesh Behera about how organisations can move beyond performative DEI and build fairer talent systems. Swadesh shares insights on tackling bias through leadership, governance, technology, and listening-led HR practices. The episode also explores AI-powered talent marketplaces, inclusive career mobility, and maternity support frameworks that are helping shape more equitable workplaces today.

Today, AI is emerging as one of the most defining forces shaping the future of work. As it reshapes roles, redefines skills, and raises complex ethical questions—from bias and surveillance to data privacy—it’s also compelling organizations to rethink how they support, protect, and empower their people. The challenge for leaders is no longer just adoption, but responsibility: how to move beyond reactive workforce strategies and actively shape the development and use of AI.

In this episode of People Matters Unplugged, Cheshta Dora, Head of Content and Community at People Matters, is joined by Laura Maffucci, VP and Head of HR at G-P. Bringing a pragmatic yet forward-looking perspective, Laura unpacks what it takes to navigate ambiguity, adopt AI with intent, and build organizations that balance innovation with accountability.

Today, organisations are confronting a reality where skills expire faster than they are acquired, and traditional education systems alone can no longer prepare the workforce for constant disruption. The question for leaders is no longer whether to invest in learning, but how to build lifelong learning at scale.

In this episode of People Matters Unplugged, Cheshta Dora is joined by Shana Kruse, VP – HR, Starbucks Asia Pacific. Leading people strategy across one of the most dynamic regions in the world, Shana is embedding learning into the very fabric of the Starbucks Partner Promise — from frontline baristas to regional leaders. Together, they explore what it takes to democratise access to education, design micro and cohort-based learning experiences, and create cultures of belonging that fuel continuous growth. This conversation unpacks how organisations can move beyond episodic training to build scalable, purpose-driven learning ecosystems that prepare people, and communities, for the future.

Today, organisations are grappling with intertwined challenges across talent, business and societal wellbeing. For Priyank Parakh, Director–HR at Haleon India, health, safety and wellbeing are no longer compliance mandates — they are leadership and performance priorities that shape culture, productivity and long-term resilience.

In this episode of People Matters Unplugged, Priyank joins Cheshta Dora to discuss how organisations can embed wellbeing into everyday systems — from flexible work and caregiver support to capability building across sales, supply chain and corporate teams — and what it takes to move from policy intent to cultural impact.

Hiring and retaining talent today goes far beyond merely paying them a salary to do work. For Dr. Guruvayurappan PV, CHRO of Omega Healthcare, it is a commitment employers make: to ensure that people are equipped not only for their roles, but also to advance in their careers at the organisation.

In this second episode of Season 4 of People Matters Unplugged, Dr. Guru tells us about the work that he and his team have done to bridge the employability gap and ensure that talent in his organisation has the opportunity for lifelong learning.

What do you do if AI can perform parts of your job better and more consistently than you yourself can? For Larissa Murmann, Digital CHRO of Unilever International, the answer was clear: use it to augment her and her team's productivity.

In this first episode of Season 4 of People Matters Unplugged, Larissa shares her journey with AI and her thoughts about how to use it responsibly and thoughtfully.

A leader’s most powerful tool is their ability to communicate with the organisation. For Seema Nair, CHRO of Flipkart, this means ensuring that people know the culture, the ethos, the successes, the failures. It’s about finding your voice as a leader and using it to advocate for yourself and your team. In this episode, Seema joins host Cheshta Dora, Head of Research & Community at People Matters, in a dialogue about the power of communication and transparency.

Key Takeaways

• Advocate courageously for yourself and your teams, even if everyone else thinks differently.

• It’s HR’s job to communicate who and what the company is: what the culture is, what kinds of skill sets you’re looking for, and what ethos you want to continue building within the organisation.

• Communicate your successes and failures from all across the organisation, so that people know what worked and what didn’t.

• Over-communicate: people understand different things in very different ways, so be ready to use different means, different modes, different methods, or different languages, whichever works.

• You can establish consistency across the board, or you can let the system evolve in the way it needs to - there’s no one correct way to make a decision.

• People managers are the fulcrum that connects multiple different parts of the organisation, and leaders must continue to inspire, motivate, guide, and provide clarity to them.

• Empower your HR partner teams to customise people solutions based on what their businesses need.

Only you can truly build and shape your organisation’s culture. To Sitaram Kandi, CHRO of Tata Motors, every leader must take ownership of the shared values that make a company special. With that foundation, it becomes possible to drive business direction, to engage and keep talent, to make your people future-ready.

In this episode, Sitaram joins host Cheshta Dora, Head of Research & Community at People Matters, to share the approach that has kept the culture and values of Tata Motors so strong over the years that people come and stay just for it.

Key Takeaways

• Business owns the teams, and business must drive the culture; HR is the facilitator helping the action plan to happen.

• Ask yourself: How can we do more for our people, more for society, more to give back to society? That brings a fresh burst of energy to every conversation.

• Engaging people is about giving them the opportunity and the foundation to better themselves in multiple different ways, so that they in turn can better the business.

• Challenge your high performers, give them the opportunity to compete, and appreciate their efforts; that is the best way to keep them with you.

• Make your niche capabilities broad-based, spread them to as many people as possible, in order to be future-ready.

• Organisations must remain agile with their policies and systems, constantly revisiting and reviving them to ensure that they meet the expectations and aspirations of each new generation.

• Keep structure, process, and people part of every discussion, so that your talent needs are pre-emptively met as part of every initiative.