ABB Names Praveen Voona as HR Leader for Robotics Business in IMEA Region

ABB has appointed Praveen Voona as HR Leader (People & Culture Business Partner) for its Robotics business across India, the Middle East and Africa, strengthening the company’s people leadership in a key growth segment. Voona announced the move in a LinkedIn post, sharing that he has taken on the new role at the global technology and engineering company.

Based in Bengaluru, Voona will partner with leadership teams across the region to drive people strategy, organisational effectiveness and talent development for ABB Robotics. The role is expected to focus on aligning workforce capabilities with the rapid evolution of robotics, automation and advanced manufacturing technologies.

Voona brings more than 15 years of experience from Airbus, where he held several senior HR leadership roles and played a significant role in building large-scale global capability centres. Most recently, he served as Head of HR for Airbus India’s Digital & Information Management Global Capability Centre (GCC), partnering with global leadership to shape workforce strategy, culture and organisational design for the digital hub.

During his tenure, he helped scale the digital organisation from approximately 25 employees to nearly 1,500 in five years, supporting the rapid growth of Airbus’ technology and digital operations in India. He also worked closely with leadership to develop a strong leadership ecosystem, mentoring and developing more than 80 leaders across different organisational levels.

In parallel, Voona served as the business owner for the end-to-end Workday implementation at Airbus India, leading HR digital transformation initiatives aimed at enhancing decision-making, employee experience and HR service delivery.

Earlier in his career at Airbus, he led talent acquisition, employer branding and HR digitalisation initiatives for India and South Asia. As Head of Talent Acquisition and Employment Marketing, he played a central role in scaling engineering, digital and customer services teams, helping expand Airbus’ India workforce from around 300 to nearly 2,000 employees over several years. His efforts also strengthened Airbus’ employer brand, improving its Universum ranking in India significantly and securing multiple Great Place to Work recognitions.

Voona began his career with Mercedes-Benz Research and Development India as a Management Trainee in HR and later gained early HR exposure through an internship at Max Life Insurance. He has also contributed to the broader HR community, serving on the Young Advisory Board of the NHRD Bangalore Chapter, where he helped lead initiatives connecting HR practitioners and industry innovators.

His appointment comes at a time when ABB continues to expand its robotics and automation footprint globally. As industries accelerate adoption of advanced manufacturing, AI-driven automation and smart factory technologies, talent strategy and leadership capability are increasingly central to sustaining innovation and operational scale.

In his new role, Voona will help shape the people and culture agenda for ABB Robotics across India, the Middle East and Africa, supporting the company’s growth in one of the most transformative sectors of industrial technology.