Tata Motors on Wednesday announced the transfer of Sitaram Kandi, the Chief Human Resources Officer of the company, to another company within the larger Tata Group with effect from May 28.
The company did not specify the name of the company where he will take his new posting. DP Nambiar will take his place as CHRO beginning May 29, the company stated in a regulatory filing.
Kandi joined Tata Motors in July 2019 as Vice President, leading HR for the Passenger & Electric Vehicle Business and leading Employee Relations & Skill Development for Tata Motors. He later climbed the ladder to become CHRO in April 2024.
Kandi's elevation to CHRO came around the time when the Board of Directors of Tata Motors Limited (TML), in March 2024, approved the proposal for the demerger of Tata Motors Ltd into two separate listed companies, housing the Commercial Vehicles business and its related investments in one entity and the Passenger Vehicles businesses, including PV, EV, JLR and its related investments, in another entity. Kandi's role remained crucial in the entire process as it led to the separation of employees, accounting, IT, vendors and a lot of other functionalities into two separate entities, which was considered to be a humungous task, as happens with separations in large companies.
Also, Kandi's tenure coincided with Tata Motors' effort to seal the €3.8 billion deal for Iveco Group's commercial vehicle businesses. The regulatory approvals are expected to be completed by Q2FY27, after being delayed by a few months.
Prior to joining Tata Motors, Kandi worked at other blue-chip companies. The last such posting was with GE as Director HR (Global Supply Chain) for around eight years. At GE, he was mandated with the end-to-end HR responsibility for the supply chain in the South Asia region with 20+ manufacturing sites and sourcing organisations with $5+ billion output and 6,000+ employees in the region.
Kandi also worked with Oman's Mustafa Sultan Enterprises, Bosch Group and others. The industry veteran started his career with now-defunct Videocon Industries way back in December 1994 as an HR executive.
Academically, he is a graduate from Osmania University, specialising in mathematics, economics and statistics. Kandi also honed his legal skills at Symbiosis Institute of Management Studies, specialising in labour laws and human resources. Furthermore, he also studied Business Analysis at IIM Calcutta.
As per the company filing, Nambiar, who boasts around three decades of experience as an HR leader under his belt, has served at TCS across industry units, horizontal units, corporate functions, and major geographies, including leadership roles in the USA and Europe. Currently, he leads HR for TCS Geographies and all Corporate Functions, partnering closely with the CHRO and C-suite on strategic programmes, including “The TCS Way” culture campaign (focused on newer/next-generation employees) and organisation right-sizing to future-proof the company. In addition, he also owns compliance and adherence to the Labour Codes and their implementation.
During Nambiar's tenure across roles, the HR team under his guidance, the company statement noted, has led major recruitment and reskilling drives across the globe; integrated talent from insourcing and acquisitions; ensured progressive and positive relations with the organised workforce in Europe and other markets; helped shape the Employer Brand/EVP; supported restructuring initiatives; and enabled enterprise-level recognition as a Global Top Employer certified in 34 countries.
Nambiar also serves as an official spokesperson, representing TCS with media, forums, and government/regulatory bodies, and chairs the NASSCOM chapter for Mumbai.
The Tata Motors split is now almost done and dusted; Nambiar's responsibility will now be to see the successful integration of Iveco Group's CV acquisition when it happens a few months down the line.