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Atul Mathur
Executive Vice President HR, Aditya Birla Capital
Mr. Atul Mathur brings rich leadership experience in Human Resources across diverse industries including Telecommunications, BPO, Insurance, Search Consultancy, and Media. He has successfully partnered with business and HR functions while setting up and leading large national teams. Known for conceptualising and driving large-scale HR initiatives, he is also a thought leader and an active champion of digital innovation in HR.
Q:What key leadership lessons have you drawn from managing large, geographically diverse teams?
A:I strongly believe in a glocal philosophy—anchoring teams to a shared vision while enabling contextual flexibility at regional levels. Equally important is maintaining a strong human connection through meaningful recognition and encouraging co-creation to drive ownership. Building a digital-first mindset has also been critical in scaling impact.
Q:How has your cross-functional experience across business and HR shaped your leadership approach?
A:My early experience on the business side gave me deep frontline empathy, helping me design HR and L&D interventions that are both practical and commercially aligned. This, coupled with consulting and corporate exposure, allows me to balance strategy with execution.
Q:What are the critical leadership capabilities organizations must build to remain competitive in a rapidly evolving business environment?
A:To stay competitive, organizations must build leaders who demonstrate humility, strong interpersonal effectiveness, digital acumen with an integrated lens, resilience, and solid business understanding.
Q:Could you share a transformation initiative that significantly strengthened organizational capability?
A:We implemented a GenAI-led learning ecosystem delivering just-in-time capability building, real-time feedback, and scalable frontline enablement. This includes leveraging a ChatGPT 4.0–based solution along with agentic AI to drive both knowledge access and self-paced skilling, enabling continuous, personalized learning at scale.
Q:How do you integrate behavioural tools like MBTI and FIRO-B into leadership and talent strategies?
A:Tools like MBTI and FIRO-B enhance self-awareness, helping leaders understand behavioural preferences and lead more inclusively and effectively. They also play an important role in designing targeted leadership interventions, enabling more personalized and impactful development journeys.