#LeadershipSeries : Mr. Sumit Neogi, Vice President (HR Services), Reliance Industries Limited

Thursday 26th, 2018 | Mr. Neogi with the International Master in Business Class of 2020

Mr. Sumit Neogi, Vice President (HR Services), Reliance Industries Limited, is a veteran in the field of Human Resource Management and Organizational Development. An alumnus of XLRI, Jamshedpur, he did his Post Graduate Diploma in Personal Management and Industrial relations. He holds a Bachelors in Mechanical Engineering from MANIT, Bhopal. Adding to his PGDM, he has multiple certifications from renowned institutes, both national and international. Some of which are

• Post Graduate Diploma in Counselling from TISS, Mumbai
• SAP HCM certification as an HR professional
• Global Professional in Human Resources, HRCL, USA
• Senior Professional in Human Resources, HRCL, USA
• Senior Certified Professional in HR, SHRM, USA

It is not the number of certifications that featured Mr. Sumit Neogi, as future HR leader in People Matters and DDI- ‘Are you in the list of 2012?’ And by Jombay as one of the ‘Top 40 under forty HR leaders’, but the sheer amount of experience he has had in the field of HRM while working for Cipla and Reliance carrying out different roles like Sr. Director and Head HR commercial for chronic & emerging alternate channels &super specialities therapy and Corporate functions (HR) while in Cipla. In Reliance he previously handled Capability development centre of excellence as HR Head. He also led the HR business partnership for Nagothane manufacturing division.
Considering the plethora of experience and knowledge, Mr.Sumit was invited to SDA Bocconi Asia Center, Powai, to hold a guest session for the International Master in Business batch who have just begun their journey in the field of management studies. Since practicality is an important part to theoretical knowledge, Mr. Sumit took the guest session, in the direction of Organizational development and structure to give the students a clear view of how theory is put into practice. He was extra interactive throughout the session and jotted down all points of discussion and doubts from the students on the whiteboard and proceeded to eliminate each and every question with precision.
Some of the points of discussion included:

• Organizational structure and development: How it is handled in real time?
• Recent HR trends like AI, Gamification, Blind hiring etc.
• Automation in HR
• Talent management and development
• Talent Retention
• Firing

One interesting topic that Mr. Sumit covered was how the needs of the employee’s in different management level like Junior, Middle, Senior and Top management corresponded well with the Maslow’s theory of the hierarchy of needs. Based on their positions, how and individuals needs varying from security to social to recognition to self-esteem. This is important since based on this employee satisfaction and talent management is achieved. Furthermore, the task of changing/preparing an organizational structure based on the needs of an organization was explained splendidly by quoting a situation he faced during his work.
Overall, the entire session was a bomb of knowledge and experience which exploded right in the centre lodging shrapnel shells within the IMB students which will leave a lasting impression of how the real world functions.

Written by Jeffin Johnkutty | IMB Class of 2020