Former Accenture executive to head KPMG India's People, Performance and Culture arm
Former Global Managing Director for human resources at Accenture Consulting, Umnesh Pawar, has been awarded the role of Partner and Head of People, Performance and Culture at KPMG India. Pawar will lead the human resources segment of the firm, which incorporates talent management and strategy.
Big Four accounting and advisory firm KPMG has spent much of the last year rebuilding its operations, following a raid from rival firm Deloitte that involved the poaching of 20 Partners and over 350 professionals from KPMG’s India outfit. The raid served two purposes for Deloitte – bringing it closer to EY’s extensive advisory practice in India while simultaneously forming a dent in KPMG’s practice.
Shortly after the exodus, KPMG announced that it would add between 15 and 20 partners to its team in India over the following 12-month period, in a bid to remain strong in the highly competitive market. Late last year, the firm appointed a new Head of the Financial Services advisory segment in the form of Gayathri Parthasarathy – a former IBM and Accenture executive.
Now, the firm has made another senior appointment, this time in its People, Performance and Culture (PPC) segment, which includes the entire human resources function. Unmesh Pawar will be heading the segment, taking the reigns from Shalini Pillay, who will move on to the Bengaluru office as Office Managing Partner.
Pawar has well over two decades of professional experience, having obtained a bachelors in commerce before completing a three-year executive program in Human Resources Management and Development from the Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies.
His background in HR proved to be crucial for his professional career. He began at the Tata Share Registry, where he ascended to the position of Senior HR Generalist over a five-year spell. He then spent two years as HR Lead at Mastek, before joining strategy consultancy Accenture, where he would eventually spend 17 years.
At Accenture, Pawar began as the General Manager for HR and leader of the segment for the Mumbai office, before ascending to the position of Talent Acquisition Lead for the entire country practice. He remained at the helm of HR and Talent Management for India over the next decade, simultaneously delving into the Business Process Outsourcing practice of the firm.
In 2014, Pawar was made the Global Managing Director (GMD) for Talent Acquisition at Accenture, and was switched to GMD of Human Resources for the Products Operating Group two years later – a position that he has occupied till early this year. Pawar will now lead HR operations for KPMG India, where he will supervise the rebuilding and growth strategy of the firm in the foreseeable future.
