Ola Electric has hired N Balachandar as Chief Human Resources Officer. In his new role, Balachandar will accelerate Ola Electric’s journey to becoming a world-class talent organisation, with a focus on people and culture globally, the company said in a press release.
Balachandar is a 33-year industry HR veteran and brings global experience to the company, having worked across India, Europe and Asia. He worked with GE Healthcare & GE Capital in several senior HR leadership and M&A roles, with Strides Arcolab, with the Standard Chartered Bank and with Asian Paints early in his career, and most recently as Group Director with the Coffee Day Group.
Bhavish Aggarwal, Chairman and Group CEO, Ola, said, “As we work on driving growth and building a global EV company, we are ramping up our focus on building a world-class people organisation. Bala’s over three decades of experience across various consumer-facing segments will help us ensure we rapidly scale up the organisation’s structure, capacity, and capability to meet our global growth ambitions.”
Upon joining Ola Electric, N Balachandar, CHRO, said, “I am excited to join Ola’s mission to transition the world to sustainable mobility. Having the best talent from around the world is integral to this mission, and I look forward to building a global organisation that will offer a lifetime of opportunities for employees and enable them to make a difference.”
Balachandar’s appointment comes close on the heels of Wayne Burgess, who joined Ola Electric recently as Head of Vehicle Design. Ola is gearing up to launch the first in its range of electric scooters in the coming months.
The Ola Scooter will roll out from the Ola Futurefactory in Tamil Nadu, India.