BASF has appointed Pooja Venkatram as Human Resources Director, bringing extensive experience in human resources leadership, talent management, organisational development, employee engagement and strategic business partnering.
Venkatram has built her career across regional and India-focused HR leadership roles, working with organisations across the consumer products and global business sectors. Her experience includes HR business partnering, organisation design, employee engagement, HR transformation, change management and talent development.
Prior to joining BASF, Venkatram served as Regional HR Head – South Asia at Mattel Asia Pacific. In this role, she led the HR function across India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. A 2024 profile by Human Resources Online described her as leading HR teams across India and Southeast Asian markets, with more than 17 years of experience in the HR field at that time.
Earlier, she served as Head HR – India at General Mills. Her tenure at General Mills followed several HR leadership roles at Mondelēz International, where she worked across integrated supply chain, corporate functions, talent and organisation effectiveness. Publicly available career information also records her progression through roles at Mondelēz International before moving to General Mills.
Venkatram began her career in talent and organisational development at Godrej Consumer Products Limited. Her earlier experience also includes a consulting role at Right Management.
Her professional background has included working across multiple markets and business environments. Her experience at Mattel involved HR leadership across South Asia and Southeast Asia, while her earlier roles covered India-focused HR responsibilities and organisation effectiveness. Human Resources Online has also highlighted her experience across India, the Middle East, South Africa, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia and Indonesia.
At BASF, Venkatram will take on the Human Resources Director role, bringing her experience in people strategy, talent development, organisational effectiveness and HR transformation to the company.
Her appointment adds to BASF’s people leadership as the company continues to operate across its global businesses and functions. Venkatram’s career across consumer products and multinational organisations provides experience in aligning HR strategies with business requirements and supporting organisational development.
