Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI) has appointed Amit Mehta as its Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO), effective October 1, 2026. Mehta will succeed Manu Wadhwa in the role and will join the company’s Senior Management Team. Wadhwa, who previously served as SPNI’s CHRO, will continue her association with the organisation as Strategy Advisor.
Mehta brings more than 16 years of experience in human resources, with a career spanning people strategy, leadership development, organisational capability, talent management and transformation. He joins SPNI from upGrad, where he served as Chief Human Resources Officer and led the company’s people agenda, with a focus on organisational effectiveness, talent development and performance management.
At SPNI, Mehta will lead the People & Organisation, Administration & Facilities functions. He will partner with the company’s CEO and leadership team on areas including talent and succession, leadership development, culture, employee experience and organisational effectiveness. His mandate will cover the people priorities supporting SPNI’s next phase of growth.
Mehta joined upGrad as CHRO in October 2024 after a career of more than 14 years with Hindustan Unilever (HUL). At upGrad, he was responsible for driving the company’s global people strategy and organisational effectiveness, while also focusing on talent development and performance management. His appointment there followed a long career with Unilever across several HR leadership responsibilities.
Before joining upGrad, Mehta most recently served as HR Head – Home Care and Talent & Organisation Director for South Asia at Unilever. In this role, he led people-related responsibilities for the Home Care business and worked on strategic talent development and growth initiatives across South Asian markets.
His more than 14-year journey with HUL included several other HR leadership positions. He worked across HR business partnering for sales and marketing, talent and organisation assessment, organisation development, workforce planning, employer branding, talent acquisition and leadership development. His experience also included working on people strategies across Unilever’s India, Sri Lanka and European markets.
Mehta began his Unilever career as a Business Leadership Trainee after completing his studies at XLRI Jamshedpur. He subsequently moved through roles covering talent and leadership development, HR business partnering and organisational development before taking on broader leadership responsibilities. His career at HUL included leadership roles associated with talent, employer brand, organisation design and business HR.
His move to SPNI also marks a transition from the HR leadership of a high-growth, founder-led organisation to a senior people leadership position within an established media and entertainment company. At upGrad, Mehta was responsible for supporting people strategy during the company’s growth phase, while his earlier HUL experience provided exposure to HR leadership within a large multinational organisation.
Mehta holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Human Resources from XLRI Jamshedpur and a Bachelor of Technology degree in Information Technology from Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute (VJTI), Mumbai. His combination of technology education and extensive HR experience has formed part of his career across people strategy, organisational effectiveness and talent development.
The leadership change follows SPNI’s earlier announcement in April 2026 that Manu Wadhwa would transition from CHRO to Strategy Advisor, effective July 1. Wadhwa had spent seven years at SPNI and had worked on strengthening the company’s people and organisational agenda, including leadership capability, performance and rewards frameworks, and organisational change. SPNI had said at the time that it would begin the search for a new CHRO.
With Mehta taking over as CHRO from October 1, SPNI will have a new leader overseeing its people and organisation functions. His mandate will include working with the CEO and senior leadership on talent and succession, leadership development, culture, employee experience and organisational effectiveness, while also overseeing Administration & Facilities.
Mehta’s appointment brings to SPNI experience across both a large established enterprise and a high-growth organisation. His career at HUL and subsequent leadership role at upGrad have covered multiple areas of HR, including talent development, organisation design, employer branding, business partnering and people strategy. He will now bring this experience to SPNI as the company’s new Chief Human Resources Officer, effective October 1, 2026.
 has appointed Amit Mehta as its Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO), effective October 1, 2026. Mehta...){kind=link}