Gaurav Pokhariyal to take over from PV Murthy at Indian Hotels

PV Ramana Murthy, executive vice president and global head – human resources, Indian Hotels, has retired and Gaurav Pokhariyal has been named the senior vice president and global head – human resources. Until now, Pokhariyal was senior vice president – operations.
Murthy has a degree in law, a PhD in strategic human resource management, and an executive master’s degree in change management from INSEAD. He spent close to seven years at Indian Hotels, and prior to that he was with The Coca-Cola Company in various capacities for a period of 15 years.
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After completing a postgraduate diploma in personnel management from the National Institute of Personnel Management in 1985, Murthy started his career with Ferro Alloys as management trainer, and was later promoted to deputy manager – HR. In the eight years that he spent with the Company, he worked in several roles, including personnel, employee relations, administration and legal functions.
In 1999, he joined Bellary Steels and Alloys as head of HR. The role involved managing the sponge iron division, electric arc furnace, rolling mill and the integrated steel plant project with a manpower of 2000 employees.
Murthy had his longest stint with Coca Cola, where here he grew up the ranks  from senior manager HR to executive director – HR.
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In an official communique, Puneet Chhatwal, managing director and chief executive officer, thanked Murthy for his invaluable contribution, and welcomed Pokhariyal saying that this was in line with the commitment to recognise and cultivate talent from within the organisation.
In his new role, Pokhriyal will  also join the Executive Committee (ExCom) of IHCL (Indian Hotels).
Pokhariyal brings with him three decades of rich experience in operations and has held a number of critical roles, the most recent one being head of operations for key markets in the northern region. He is known for his decision-making ability, commitment and passion towards his work.
A formidable executer with customer-centric focus being one of his key strengths, Pokhariyal has successfully led key positions across marquee IHCL hotels, including those in the western region.
He is an alumnus of the Glion Institute of Higher Education, Switzerland, and the Institute of Hotel management, Pusa.