upGrad bolsters HR leadership to enhance operational efficiency

Edtech firm upGrad has appointed Shailesh Mahale as Corporate HR Head and Kumar Anshu as Head of Human Resources for the working professional, study abroad, and offline segments to enhance operational efficiency and wider employee engagement across the organisation.

As part of the ​​key appointments in India, the Mumbai-based company also elevated Vandana Kaushik Goel to Head of Human Resources for upGrad’s enterprise division.

Mahale, in his role, will lead the Corporate HR functions including operations and digitisation, employee experience, payroll, compliance, and HR audits. He has earlier worked with another unicorn, Zepto, and has also been associated with other firms including TCS, Dow Chemicals, and HDFC Life Insurance.

Having worked at Siemens, EY LLP, OLX, and Wipro, Anshu brings 15 years of diverse experience spanning business HR, consultancy, HR strategy, and software engineering. In his prior role, he was with EY.

Meanwhile, Goel, who comes with over 17 years of experience in the HR domain across sectors including education, software, and professional services, will maintain her leadership role in HR business partnering across the entire enterprise arm at upGrad.

“With the rapidly evolving business landscape, it’s important that we bolster our HR capabilities to ensure seamless operations and an enriching employee experience...These strategic hires are not just tasked with traditional HR functions but would be instrumental in shaping the future of skilling and workforce development,” Saurabh Deep Singla, CHRO of upGrad, said.

Also Read

With schools, PhysicsWallah wants to “catch ’em young”

Over the past 9-10 months, upGrad has strengthened its leadership team through key hires. The startup now has nearly 5.000 employees on its payroll.

Earlier this month, upGrad appointed Venkatesh Tarakkad as its first Chief Financial Officer. In February, Ankur Nyati was named President of its study abroad segment, succeeding Ankur Dhawan, who will assume a new role.

At the beginning of 2024, upGrad appointed CP Gurnani, the former Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Tech Mahindra, as an Independent Non-Executive Director to its Board. This was preceded by Asheesh Sharma’s appointment as President of Short Courses and Bootcamps at upGrad.

In 2023, upGrad made strategic leadership appointments, hiring Ipshita Kajla as HR Head for upGrad Abroad, Avnish Datt as Chief Business Officer at upGrad Harappa, along with Raj Dogra as Chief Information Officer and Rajiv H Singh as Vice President for New Initiatives.

In FY23, upGrad recorded a revenue of Rs 1,194 crore, up 96% from the previous financial year’s Rs 608 crore, while the adjusted EBITDA loss amounted to Rs 558 crore, as opposed to Rs 572 crore in the prior year.

Founded in 2015 by Ronnie Screwvala, Mayank Kumar, and Phalgun Kompalli, upGrad operates across various educational sectors, encompassing test preparation, study abroad programmes, undergraduate degrees, and courses in collaboration with over 300 university partners.