Sujith Krishnan

Fifteen years in HR, and the work that excites me most sits at the intersection of people and process — where a well-designed system or a timely conversation changes how an organisation feels to the people inside it. I have led HR for some of India's largest organised retail operations — managing 1,100+ employees across 19 stores and a warehouse at Lifestyle, and now driving dual-vertical HR strategy at Malabar Group. Before retail, I spent three years supporting 600 employees across Kerala at MetLife, which gave me a discipline around data, documentation, and stakeholder communication that has stayed with me ever since.

Over the years I have developed a habit of building tools alongside managing people — BI dashboards, automation workflows on MS365, Excel Macros for reporting — because good HR data, presented clearly, changes the quality of decisions at the top. I hold a certification in Generative AI and actively explore where AI can reduce friction in HR workflows without losing the human element.

What I bring to any role: the ability to run complex HR operations at scale, the credibility to influence senior leadership, and the technical instinct to build smarter processes when the existing ones slow the business down.

Senior Manager – Human Resources at Malabar Group (2023-01 – Present)

Provide strategic HR leadership for Malabar Gold & Diamonds — one of India's largest jewellery retail networks — overseeing HR operations, policy governance, and people initiatives across the region. Lead and develop a team of two Regional HRs, setting performance expectations, reviewing outcomes monthly, and mentoring them on business partnering and stakeholder management. Function as the primary HR voice at the leadership table — contributing to organisational design, headcount approvals, HR policy drafting, and people-related business decisions.

Act as SPOC for all HR policy documentation — owning the full lifecycle from drafting through communication to compliance monitoring across geographies.

Note: Eham Digital (a Malabar Group entity) ceased operations during this period; HR responsibilities for that vertical were absorbed and wound down accordingly.

• Drive employee engagement, apprenticeship frameworks, and culture-building initiatives that reinforce retention in a high-churn retail environment.

Area Manager – Human Resources at Lifestyle International Pvt. Ltd. (Part of Landmark Group) (2021-06 – 2023-01)

Promoted from the IC role to leading the same geography — now accountable for 19 stores + 1 warehouse, 1,100+ employees, a team of 10 Cluster HRs, and 2 Area Business Manager partnerships.

• Led 10 Cluster HRs across Tamil Nadu and Kerala — setting individual performance targets, running monthly reviews, and building a feedback culture that converted a previously reactive HR team into a proactive one.
• Held primary accountability for HR delivery across assigned TN & KL locations while also providing extended consolidation and strategic support to Area Managers in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Karnataka — driving cross-region initiatives, reporting standardisation, and best-practice sharing beyond the primary geography.
• Owned workforce budgeting for the cluster in partnership with Area Business Managers — translating headcount projections into cost plans, managing variances, and providing inputs for new store opening HR readiness.
• Designed and implemented strategic weekly and monthly HR MIS for South Region leadership — building Power BI dashboards and Excel models that delivered actionable workforce insights, not just data — cutting report preparation time by 50%.
• Automated the trainee hiring pipeline and exit process end-to-end — removing manual bottlenecks that had persisted for years, freeing Cluster HRs for higher-value work, and standardising documentation quality across the region.
• Maintained 100% statutory compliance across all 20 locations — PF, ESI, professional tax, shop establishment, and contract labour — throughout the tenure with zero regulatory escalations.
• Awarded the Certificate of Excellence (April 2022) — recognising contributions to critical South Region HR initiatives; one of a small number of recipients across the region that year.
• Reporting automation tool institutionalised as the standard South Region HR reporting process — the first HR-built tool adopted at scale across the cluster.

Assistant Manager – Human Resources at Lifestyle International Pvt. Ltd. (Part of Landmark Group) (2017-03 – 2021-06)

4+ years as the sole HR professional handling 2–3 stores end to end, while simultaneously supporting the then-Area Manager with consolidation, reporting, and regional coordination across TN & KL. No team. No delegation. Every HR function, every cycle — owned personally.

• Manpower Planning — Translated store-level business targets into headcount plans; forecasted seasonal hiring needs; raised and tracked requisitions to ensure zero critical vacancies during peak retail cycles across 2–3 assigned stores.
• Talent Acquisition — Managed end-to-end recruitment independently: JD finalisation, sourcing, screening, scheduling, offer rollout, and pre-joining engagement for frontline through mid-management roles.
• Talent Management — Tracked internal movements, promotions, and role transitions; maintained succession visibility; coordinated with store managers on critical role gaps before they became escalations.
• Payroll — Consolidated monthly attendance and variable pay inputs, managed deductions and arrears, and coordinated with the payroll team to resolve discrepancies before cut-off — zero payroll holds in the tenure.
• MIS Reporting — Built store-level and cluster-level HR reports weekly and monthly; consolidated data across locations for the Area Manager's regional review; over time, these reports became the standard format used across the cluster.
• Performance Management (PMS) — Drove the full appraisal cycle from launch to closure: coordinating rating submissions, calibration scheduling, increment letters, and employee communication for every cycle without exception.
• Exit Management — Managed the complete exit lifecycle: resignation acceptance, exit interviews, clearance coordination, full-and-final settlements, and attrition trend analysis — with consistent TAT adherence.
• Statutory Compliance — Maintained PF, ESI, professional tax, shop establishment, and contract labour compliance independently across assigned stores; handled inspections and filings with no escalations to legal or senior HR.
• Regional Consolidation Support — Supported the then-Area Manager by consolidating HR data, preparing regional summaries, and coordinating activities across TN & KL — functioning as the operational backbone of the regional HR function well before taking the AM title.
• Promoted to Assistant Manager in March 2017 — recognition for stepping beyond the Senior Executive scope and consistently delivering at the next level before being formally elevated.
• Sustained full HR operations across 2–3 stores as a solo contributor for 4+ years — the hands-on depth accumulated here across every HR sub-function remains the foundation of every leadership decision made since.

Senior Executive – Human Resources at Lifestyle International Pvt. Ltd. (Part of Landmark Group) (2015-01 – 2017-03)

Joined Lifestyle as a Senior Executive — the direct move from Big Bazaar — and took ownership of a single store's complete HR function independently from day one. Handled the full spectrum of store-level HR: recruitment, onboarding, attendance, payroll inputs, employee query resolution, compliance filings, HRMS maintenance, and coordination with corporate HR — without a team or a dedicated HR manager on site. Built early familiarity with Lifestyle's systems, processes, and retail HR rhythm — laying the groundwork for the scope expansion that followed the promotion to Assistant Manager.

Executive – Human Resources at Future Retail Ltd. (Big Bazaar) (2012-01 – 2015-01)

Managed the complete HR function independently for two store locations — recruitment, onboarding, payroll inputs, compliance, welfare, performance appraisals, and exit — with no HR team; every function was owned and executed personally. Designed and delivered orientation and soft skills training programmes for frontline staff; received consistent positive feedback from store managers on post-training improvement in customer interaction quality. Maintained HRMS records, documentation audits, and vendor compliance as part of the daily HR operating rhythm.

• Awarded Best Store People Officer — Q1 2014, South Region — given to one HR professional across all Big Bazaar South Region stores each quarter.

HR Coordinator at MetLife India Insurance Co. Ltd. (2009-01 – 2012-01)

Coverage: 600+ employees