At our recent Q1, FY26 CHRO Dialogue session in Mumbai, we explored two important subjects: the role of culture in business transformation; and skill-based hiring in today’s rapidly-evolving landscape. Leading discussions during the first session, and moderating the conversation in thesecond, open-house-style session was Sanjay Menon, Managing Director of Publicis Sapient India and Global Head of Service Lines for SapientRazorfish.

The attached podcast summarises these discussions, but in brief:

• Culture remains the invisible force behind all business transformation – whether successful or otherwise. 
• Purpose anchors change; without it, transformation drifts and loses focus. 
• Rituals, peer stories and visible leadership behaviours drive change. 
• CHROs hold the key to turning culture into an engine of growth.  
• Honest, confrontational and uncomfortable choices protect cultural integrity. 
• Micro cultures, when shaped well, can strengthen innovation without weakening the organisation’s core values.
• Cultural contradictions show up first in how leaders behave, not in what they say. Closing this gap is vital.
• Together, generative AI, regulatory complexity and commoditised markets have made skills-based hiring essential for businesses.
• Data fluency, AI integration, curiosity, agility and an ownership mindset are today non-negotiable enterprise-wide competencies required at all levels to 'do more with less' and buffer against shocks. 
• Human-AI hybridity is essential. Client-facing roles demand human judgement; pragmatic AI adoption is constrained by regulation.
• Progressive CHROs advocate flexible structures, parallel tech leadership tracks, 'culture co-creation' and an HR/CEO partnership for strategic risk-taking.