Fire Chat Interview: GAURAV SHARMA

The event began with an Inaugural Address by Krishna Kashyap, student of XLRI Jamshedpur, who welcomed the guest speaker, Mr. Gaurav Sharma, Chief People Officer of Hindustan Coca Cola Beverages (HCCB) and the respected faculty and GST team offered a stole to welcome the speaker.

The session’s guest was Mr. Gaurav Sharma, an alumnus of XLRI himself, is the Chief People Officer for Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages (HCCB).

He is responsible for delivering and orchestrating a refreshed people strategy with a key focus on accelerating capability, strengthening our talent pipeline across all functions and all levels of our organization, simplifying our approach to business, as well as curating a high-performing and people-first culture that supports our overall growth agenda.

Gaurav joined the Coca-Cola system in October 2010 and has served a significant time as the Human Resources Director for The Coca-Cola Company’s Singapore, Malaysia, and Brunei businesses. He then moved to the Bottling Investments Group (BIG) office as Global HR Director to launch the Strategic Business Partnering and Organization Effectiveness practice` Gaurav played an important role in making BIG a more networked organization. He has also partnered closely with the entire BIG Senior Leadership Team in designing the organization, as well as delivering significant labour cost productivity to keep it flat to pre-pandemic levels. Gaurav has also strengthened the BIG functions by developing and implementing the functional people agenda. Gaurav is a Physics graduate from St Stephen’s College, after which he went to XLRI Jamshedpur for his MBA in Human Resources. Mr Sharma spoke about several pressing issues with regards to the ever-evolving landscape of organizational dynamics and provided great insights into the fire chat questions posed by the moderators, K.Krishna Kashyp and Oiendrila Mukherjee.

One of the key topics Mr. Sharma addressed was the evaluation of sales team performance. He shed light on the unique challenges faced by the beverage industry, where demand forecasting can be particularly challenging due to the impulse-based nature of consumer behaviour, and how HCCB tackles this challenge by prioritizing process-oriented measures and ensuring the availability of their products everywhere they are needed. He also spoke about diversified products related to HCCB and how they are catering to the various needs of the customer. He also spoke at length about the contemporary consumption patterns wherein he spoke on how the company caters to calorie conscious segment. In his address, Mr. Sharma emphasized the importance of embracing diversity and allowing individuals to express their own points of view and how the company values its organizational purpose and strives to maintain a positive reputation.

Mr. Sharma talked about the company's commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in giving back to the community and creating a sustainable future. He also talked about the various CSR initiatives undertaken by HCCB, including environmental sustainability, water conservation, women's empowerment, education, and community development. The speaker stressed about the company’s dedication to creating a sustainable and inclusive future aligns with their core values and resonates with stakeholders.

The session ended with the speaker’s insightful answers for a few questions from the audience. Mr. Sharma put forth his end notes on vision and DNA of HCCB, throwing some light on its unbeatable journey and tailoring its way to a promising future in the upcoming years. He also enforced his emphasis on how organizational culture is imbibed in every employee of HCCB.