Prudential Financial Appoints Upasna Nischal as Head of HR, PFI Innovation Centre India

Prudential Financial, Inc. (PFI) has appointed Upasna Nischal as Head of HR for PFI Innovation Centre India, as the US-based financial services company builds its new India centre in Gurugram. Nischal joined PFI in April 2026 and will play a key role in shaping the organisation’s people strategy as the centre scales its operations.

Nischal brings more than two decades of experience across human resources, talent management, leadership development and organisational transformation. Before joining PFI, she spent several years with Fidelity International, where she held senior positions including India Site Head and Head of HR India. Earlier in her career, she held leadership roles at Evalueserve and Sapient.

At PFI Innovation Centre India, Nischal will be responsible for building the people and talent ecosystem as the centre develops its capabilities from the ground up. Her mandate includes creating high-performing teams, strengthening talent pipelines and preparing employees to take on strategically important global work.

The India centre is being developed as an integrated part of PFI’s global operations rather than simply as a traditional resource hub. Its planned focus areas include artificial intelligence, data engineering, global transformation and enterprise security. Nischal has emphasised the importance of combining technical capabilities with critical thinking, adaptability, problem-solving and business judgment.

The company is also focusing on upskilling employees and giving India-based teams greater ownership of global mandates. According to Nischal, the objective is to build teams that can take end-to-end responsibility for work while contributing directly to PFI’s wider global priorities.

Nischal’s appointment comes at an important stage for PFI Innovation Centre India as the company prepares to scale its presence in the country. Her experience in building talent strategies and developing organisations is expected to support the centre’s growth and help establish its culture from the early stages.

The appointment also highlights the growing role of HR leaders in building global capability centres, where talent strategy, technology skills and organisational culture are increasingly central to long-term business growth.