Knauf India Appoints Pallavi Poddar as CHRO to Lead Talent Transformation

Knauf India has appointed Pallavi Poddar as Chief Human Resources Officer, effective April 2026, as the company strengthens its leadership bench to support expansion in India’s construction and infrastructure sector.

In her new role, Poddar will lead the company’s human capital strategy at a national level, with a mandate to drive organisational transformation, build a high-performance culture, and align talent initiatives with Knauf’s growth ambitions. Her appointment reflects the company’s increasing focus on people-centric transformation as it scales operations and capabilities in India.

Poddar brings over 22 years of experience across industrial, energy, and FMCG sectors. She joins Knauf India from Fenesta Windows, where she served as CHRO and played a key role in building a growth-focused HR structure while strengthening leadership pipelines and organisational capability.

Prior to that, she was Regional HR Director for India, Middle East, and Africa at Ingersoll Rand, leading HR strategy across the MEIA region. Her work focused on organisational design, talent management, and enabling business transformation through effective people practices.

She has also held leadership roles at Schneider Electric, where she worked as a Senior HR Business Partner across multiple geographies, and at Nestlé, where she led capability-building initiatives for large sales and marketing teams. Earlier in her career, she worked with Saint-Gobain, contributing to talent acquisition, performance management, and HR process development for manufacturing operations.

In addition to her corporate experience, Poddar has also had an entrepreneurial stint as Director at ASESA Talent Partners, further strengthening her expertise in talent strategy and organisational development.

She holds an MBA in Human Resources from Symbiosis Center for Management & Human Resource Development and was recently recognised with the HR TODAY Global Women Leader – HR Excellence Award 2026.

Her appointment comes at a time when companies in capital-intensive sectors are increasingly prioritising leadership development, workforce capability, and cultural alignment as key drivers of business performance. At Knauf India, Poddar is expected to play a pivotal role in shaping a future-ready organisation aligned with long-term growth objectives.