Director · Global Learning & Development

Building leaders,
shaping cultures,
unlocking human potential.

For more than three decades, I have helped enterprises turn people into their greatest competitive advantage — from grassroots communities in rural India to the leadership floors of global corporations.

Organisations I Have Consulted For

PwCL&TGAILDaimlerDanfoss Bharat PetroleumInfosysMaerskAmerican Express GEBechtelMARSLafargeEngineers India BlueStarJK TyresUnitechMotherson Sumi RBSHPNokiaAxis BankICICI AdeccoHTC Global Services
Shalini Nair — Director, Global Learning & Development

Director & Head of Global L&D
HTC Global Services

“I bring the value of human connection and faith in human evolution — physical, mental, emotional and spiritual — to everything I build.”

About Me

Where human values meet corporate rigor

I began my journey as a qualified social worker — a graduate in Psychology (Hons) from Indraprastha College, Delhi University, and an MSW from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai — training rural communities across Gujarat and Rajasthan in participatory development.

Three decades later, I lead the Global Learning & Development division at HTC Global Services, designing leadership programs and learning cultures that enable thousands of professionals to work better, think bigger, and step into senior leadership roles. Along the way, I have built an HR and training function from the ground up in Moscow, coached executives at some of the world’s most admired companies, and earned national recognition as one of India’s top L&D leaders.

The thread running through all of it: people development is strategy, not a support function. I am also a certified storyteller, counselor, life-skills coach and a Heartfulness trainer.

30+Years of experience
12+Years heading Global L&D at HTC
50+Organizations served
3National L&D awards
0Years transforming human potential
0Global enterprises & NGOs served
0+ Professionals developed
0National L&D leadership awards

Professional Journey

A career built on developing people

From grassroots NGOs to the global leadership floor — one consistent purpose.

Director & Head, Global Learning & Development

HTC Global Services Feb 2014 – Present

Joined as Senior Manager and now lead the Global L&D division of Human Performance — defining, creating and implementing leadership programs that equip the workforce with the right attitude, skills and mindset to carry the organization forward.

  • Designed and scaled the Talent Management Program (TMG) across all levels of management — a year-long journey of classroom sessions, literature, assignments, projects and presentations that builds a ready pipeline of leaders.
  • Established Assessment Centres to identify leadership potential, calibrate capability and strengthen succession readiness across management levels.
  • Launched women leadership programmes — dedicated development journeys enabling women professionals to step confidently into senior leadership roles.
  • Led Knowledge Management initiatives, curating learning assets, expert sessions and communities of practice that embed a sustained learning culture across the enterprise.
  • Refurbished the onboarding and induction experience, creating a “WOW” effect for every new joiner.
  • Spearheaded Organisational Values initiatives — value and culture-sensitization workshops aligning individual and organizational values.
  • Created Self-Renewal sessions — where attitudes, beliefs and behaviors are revisited and redefined.
  • Launched Prabodhana, a coaching-and-mentoring program fostering healthier interpersonal relationships and organizational awareness.

Trainer & Coach

LHH | Adecco Nov 2012 – Jan 2014

Delivered leadership programs for Daimler, Danfoss and Bharat Petroleum, and guided RBS, HP, Nokia and Infosys professionals through career transitions.

Read more about this chapter

Delivered leadership and soft-skills programs for Daimler (DICV), Danfoss and Bharat Petroleum; provided career-transition coaching to professionals from RBS, HP, Nokia and Infosys.

Training Coordinator (Russia) & HR Manager (North & East India)

Adecco Oct 2010 – Oct 2012

Built Adecco Russia’s HR and training function from scratch, leading a six-person team across two business lines.

Read more about this chapter
  • Set up the HR and Training department for Adecco Russia from scratch — training matrix, calendars, organization-wide programs, and a Train-the-Trainer program to enable delivery in Russian.
  • Led a team of six managing HR across two business lines — General Staffing and Key Accounts — covering manpower planning, recruitment, talent management, incentives, appraisals and exit formalities.
  • Partnered with operations to drive performance, profitability and the embedding of Adecco’s core values.

Training Consultant

Lee Hecht Harrison (Adecco Group) Apr 2009 – Sep 2010

Designed and delivered emotional intelligence, communication and leadership programs for a blue-chip clientele including PwC, L&T, GAIL and Bechtel.

Read more about this chapter

Spearheaded content development and delivery in emotional intelligence, business communication, work-life balance, gender sensitization, team building and leadership — serving a blue-chip clientele including PwC, L&T, GAIL, Bechtel, MARS, Lafarge, Motherson Sumi and Engineers India Ltd.

Freelance Trainer-Consultant

Empanelled with Adecco, IL&FS, Bizvantage, Advait Foundation 2008 – 2009

Delivered customer-service excellence for Axis Bank, an accredited ICICI sales-management program, and personality development for engineering and MBA students.

Read more about this chapter

Delivered corporate trainings — including customer-service excellence for Axis Bank (FDOs) under IL&FS, an accredited ICICI sales management program, and personality development for B.Tech & MBA students at ABES Engineering College.

Roots — Social Sector & Community Development

Viksat · Unnati · Drishti · V.V. Giri National Labour Institute · Drishtee · The Leprosy Mission 1991 – 2008

My professional foundation: participatory training, capacity building and community organizing across Gujarat, Rajasthan and beyond.

Read more about this chapter

My professional foundation: participatory training, capacity building and community organizing across Gujarat, Rajasthan and beyond — from regenerating forests with Vikram Sarabhai’s Viksat, to organizing pan-India media-advocacy workshops for The Leprosy Mission.

Signature Work

Flagship leadership initiatives

Wooden letter blocks spelling leadership
01

Talent Management Program (TMG)

A year-long, multi-level leadership pipeline program combining classroom sessions, literature, assignments, projects and presentations — ensuring people are ready to take on new challenges and added responsibility.

02

Prabodhana — Coaching & Mentoring

An enterprise coaching-and-mentoring initiative sensitizing employees to projects, organization and one another — establishing healthier interpersonal relationships across the enterprise.

03

Self-Renewal Sessions

Intensive two-day workshops where attitudes, beliefs and behaviors are revisited — giving participants the opportunity to consciously redefine their thought processes and personal agency.

04

Onboarding & Induction Redesign

Refurbished the enterprise onboarding experience end-to-end, creating a “WOW” first impression and accelerating new-joiner productivity and belonging.

05

Value & Culture Alignment

Organization-wide workshops aligning individual values with corporate values — strengthening identity, commitment and the everyday practice of organizational culture.

06

HR & Training Function Build (Adecco Russia)

Designed and stood up an entire HR and training function in Moscow — including a Train-the-Trainer program enabling program delivery in Russian at scale.

07

Assessment Centres

Enterprise assessment centres that identify leadership potential, calibrate current capability and build a credible succession pipeline for senior roles.

08

Women Leadership Programme

Purpose-built development journeys for women professionals — sharpening presence, voice and influence so they can lead at every level of the enterprise.

09

Knowledge Management & Learning Culture

Curated knowledge assets, expert sessions and communities of practice that turn learning from an event into the everyday culture of the organization.

Expertise

Capabilities that move organizations

Leadership & Talent

  • Leadership Development & Pipeline Building
  • Talent Management Programs
  • Coaching & Mentoring
  • Career Transition Coaching
  • Succession Readiness

Organization & Culture

  • Organizational Development
  • Culture & Values Alignment
  • Onboarding & Induction Design
  • Employee Engagement & Retention
  • Change Management

Learning Design

  • Learning Strategy & Architecture
  • Curriculum & Content Development
  • Training of Trainers (ToT)
  • Facilitation & Storytelling
  • Soft Skills & Behavioral Training

HR Leadership

  • HR Function Set-up (Greenfield)
  • Manpower Planning & Recruitment
  • Performance & Appraisal Systems
  • HR Policy Implementation
  • People Operations (North & East India)

Recognition

Awards & accolades

2024

“The Great Indian L&D Leaders”

L&D Vision & Innovations Summit · Transformance · February 2024

Shalini Nair receiving the Great Indian L&D Leaders award
2023

“Top 20 L&D Visionary Leaders”

9th L&D Vision & Innovations Summit & Awards · March 2023

Shalini Nair honoured among Top 20 L&D Visionary Leaders
2022

“L&D Innovation in Leadership Development Program”

7th L&D Vision & Innovations Summit & Awards (won by HTC Global Services) · December 2022

L&D Innovation in Leadership Development Program award, 2022

Featured in PeopleMatters

LinkedIn post celebrating a national L&D leadership recognition
LinkedIn post celebrating an L&D award achievement

bedrock

People before programs — where it all began

My first fifteen years were spent in the social sector — where I learned that genuine development always starts with people and participation.

Viksat · Vikram Sarabhai

Forest regeneration through tripartite cooperation of NGOs, the forest department and local villagers. Formed women’s organizations to protect forests and co-create participatory management rules in Sabarkantha and Mehsana, Gujarat.

Unnati · Participatory Training

Built capacity of grassroots organizations across Gujarat and Rajasthan — developing participatory training methodology and Training of Trainers (TCBT), and studying Panchayati Raj implementation and women’s empowerment in Beawar, Rajasthan.

The Leprosy Mission

Led capacity building for project staff from managers to field volunteers; organized theme-based workshops for other NGOs and single-handedly delivered a pan-India “Media Advocacy for Health” workshop.

Drishti · Media for Empowerment

Contributed to the script of “Tu Zinda Hai” — a film documenting the heroic struggle of women workers of Ekta Parishad for tribal land and forest rights in Bastar and Rajnandgaon.

V.V. Giri National Labour Institute

Organized training for Labour Adjudicators (“Making Adjudication Effective”) and Liaison Officers (“Implementation of Reservation Policy”) at this autonomous government body on labour laws.

Drishtee Foundation

Led a team of trainer-professionals using “Training as a Strategy” to achieve organizational goals in ICT-enabled rural development.

Education & Credentials

A foundation in psychology & human development

Masters in Psychology

Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU)

2023

MSW — Urban & Rural Community Development

Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai

1991

BA (Honours) Psychology

Indraprastha College, Delhi University

1989

Certifications

Certificates & credentials

Formal certifications that complement three decades of practice — in coaching, leadership development and human wellbeing.

Career Coaching Certification

Professional career & career-transition coaching credential, comprising:

Ascend — Leadership Development, HTC Global Services Advanced Achieve — Advanced Leadership, HTC Global Services

Organizational Development Certificate

International Institute of Organizational Development · 2010

Counselling Certification

Chennai Counsellors Foundation · 2018

Certified Natural Healer — Reiki Master

Reiki Master certification in natural healing

Also a certified Storyteller, Counselor, Life Skills Coach, and a trained Heartfulness Meditation Trainer with the Heartfulness Institute.

Thought Leadership

Insights & articles

Reflections on learning, leadership and the human side of work — organized into two streams: professional perspectives on L&D, and personal musings.

Learning & Leadership

A young plant growing in sunlight, symbolizing growth

Still Waiting to Be Nominated?

A session scheduled for two hours of collective learning — two people showed up. Sixteen did not. Why isn’t learning a priority, and what would McKinsey’s 3-Horizon model say about how we grow?

Read article

L&D in Organizations: What Should the Focus Be?

Is leadership a skill to be built or an attitude to be nurtured? A reflection on education, heart, mind and evolution — and what L&D should really be developing.

Read article

Su una nota più leggera! — On a lighter note

Cherry blossoms in full bloom, symbolizing serenity

The Independence Day Fiasco

A call to feel another’s pain — on disconnectedness, contracted thinking, and why we must call out the wrongs when we see them.

Read article

Blossoms — Off the Cuff!

An ode to Chennai — a city that respects women — and the liberating feeling of walking its streets without being stared at.

Read article

Here I Am Again — Off the Cuff! (Part 2)

The Chennai Chronicles continue — observations on kindness, straightforwardness, and the Rajni phenomenon.

Read article

Me & Magical Moments

On finally discovering her own free spirit, laughing at the absurd, and welcoming “darling zindagi” instead of the past.

Read article

The Bad Times and the Good

From world-weariness to a man waving at a bus driver — reflections on where we are headed, and the kindness that still shows up.

Read article

Contact

Let’s build the future of work together

Open to leadership conversations in L&D, people strategy, and organizational development — across industry and geography.