Description

Payal Nambiar is a seasoned HR leader with over 18 years of experience shaping people, culture, and talent strategies across leading global organizations in India. Her expertise spans high-growth industries including FMCG, Retail, E-commerce, and Technology, with leadership roles at Genpact, Samsung, Vodafone, Arvind Fashions (B2C Lifestyle Retailer), Metro Cash & Carry (B2B Wholesale retailer), and Spinny (Car Retailer).

As a strategic advisor, Payal has deep expertise in designing and institutionalizing HR operating systems — including Performance and Talent management, Organizational design, and scalable people policies and frameworks. She has led large-scale organization restructuring, operating-model redesign, and capability architecture development to build lean, agile, high-performance organizations. Her work emphasizes clarity in role design, future-skills readiness, leadership enablement, outcome-based performance cultures, and employee experience excellence.

Her consulting approach blends strategic insight with empathy, pragmatism, and a deep understanding of evolving workforce dynamics across emerging markets.

Currently resides in Dubai, she serves as an Advisor with World Class Health (WCH)—a U.S.-based global healthcare organisation—where she works with Fortune 500 clients and large enterprises to unlock significant cost efficiencies and employee well-being outcomes.

She holds a Masters degree in Human Resource Management, and is certified in Big 5 Personality training, UAE Labour Laws, Dale Carnegie Train the Trainer & Six Sigma. Further she has attended multiple training programs on Coaching for Leadership, Women in Leadership, Steven Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, DeBono 6 Thinking Hats.

Industry field of expertise

Languages

English
Native or bilingual
Hindi
Native or bilingual

Workplace preferences

Can work on-site

Dubai (up to 50km)

World Class Health,
Consultant &Advisor
July 2025 - Today (11 months)
● Enterprise account expansion - Collaborate with CHROs and global Reward leaders based in India to deliver strategic healthcare alliances and cost efficiencies within employee medicare
strategic business development Negotiation
Spinny,
Senior Vice President & Head HR
September 2022 - November 2023 (1 year and 2 months)
India
● Served as a strategic advisor to the Founder/CEO and Business Leaders across 14 workshops, 55 Hubs and 22 City offices. The HR Team consisted of 55 members.
● Led Workforce planning and right-sizing initiatives across the organisation during volatile market conditions, ensuring seamless implementation, employee communication and business continuity.
● Embedded a performance culture by designing & implementing a High Performance Framework aligned to business KPIs, appraisal outcomes and capability building. Championed a culture of collaboration, inclusivity, empowerment and transparent feedback, fostering leadership agility.
● Introduced an LMS platform organisation-wide to host learning curriculums. Led the development of First time managers programs and coaching frameworks to support leadership transitions.
● Implemented Operational excellence & Compliance: GPA & GMC benefit enhancement, Policy Formulation , Engagement & Communication calendars, People metric dashboards, Reward & Recognition, Road Safety training for 5000+ frontline staff)
● Large scale project management: Transitioned 1500 employees into a new HQ with optimised operational planning.
Metro Cash & Carry,
Senior Vice President (Head HR)
October 2019 - August 2022 (2 years and 10 months)
India
Head HR for 12000 employees pan-India. The HR Team consisted of 92 members.

Partnered with Business and Operations leadership to achieve 57% EBITDA & opening of 3 stores during 2021
Championed strategic workforce planning, performance management, and Employee Relation solutions across
stores and Corporate
Developed and executed the HR Masterplan 2020-22 anchoring multiple development programs and initiatives

for emerging and executive talent:
Aggressive Retention plans for Top and Critical Talent amidst dynamic market landscape

Country lead for Cornerstone HRMS platform rollout, streamlining learning and talent management across the company
Elevated leadership experiences through the Reward & Recognition (#MetroHeroes!) program, performance coaching,
succession readiness planning
Created and operationalised a roadmap to improve diversity metrics and employer branding, resulting in an
elevation of the Employer brand from Rank 94 to Top 25 Best Workplaces in India and Top 70 amongst Best
Large Workplaces in Asia (Recognition: Great Places to Work-GPTW).
Partnered with Board members and Operations leadership teams on manpower optimization to build a
cost-effective, agile structure that is aligned to organisation priorities.
As lead member in the Crisis Management committee, oversaw COVID strategy including implementation of
several best in class practices.
Steered several committees – POSH, Compliance, Employee Grievance and Harassment to provide counsel and
diagnose and resolve grievances.