Senior HR Professional · Global HR Icon
Susheel Kumar
Industrial relations professional and employee relations expert
Good day. I am an HR business partner with 21 years in industry, more than ten of them in human resources across steel, power and fertilizer. I am also a registered Independent Director.
01 — About
Independent director and consultant, rooted in Jamshedpur.
At Talcher Fertilizers Limited — a joint venture of CIL, GAIL, RCF and FCIL — I am Manager, Human Resources, on one of India’s large greenfield fertilizer projects. The Managing Director recognised the statutory and legal coordination that supported financial closure of a ₹12,250.06 crore rupee term loan.
Before this, as Personnel Officer at Madhya Pradesh Power Generating Company Limited, I led HR for about 1,200 employees and more than 3,000 contract workmen, with 13 direct reports, nearly 13 trade unions, more than 30 conciliations and eight domestic enquiries.
I began at Tata Steel, Jamshedpur, in electrical maintenance. Eleven years on the shop floor still decide how I listen to workmen, contractors and plant heads. I am registered on the Independent Directors Databank, certified as a Factory Labour Welfare Officer, UGC-NET qualified in Labour Welfare and Human Resource Management, and pursuing XLRI’s programme in Building Future CHROs.
- 21+
- Years in industry
- 10+
- Years in HR leadership
- 5,000+
- Contract workforce
- 30+
- Conciliations handled
02 — Core HR expertise
East India HR, practised with the workforce.
Talent acquisition, employee relations and HR operations sit at the centre. Around them is the industrial-relations and compliance practice a manufacturing employer actually needs.
- 01
Talent Acquisition
Critical hiring, reservation rosters, manpower planning and a clear onboarding path for executives and non-executives.
- 02
Employee Relations
Grievances, domestic enquiry, welfare and the daily trust between management, staff and workmen.
- 03
HR Operations
Establishment, attendance, records, payroll support and the service routines a plant HR office is judged on.
- 04
Industrial Relations
Trade-union engagement, preventive forums and dispute handling that keeps operations moving.
- 05
Labour & Employment Law
Contract labour, wages, safety, standing orders, EPF and ESI — advised from the statute, not from habit.
- 06
Contract Labour Governance
Contractor oversight, gate-pass discipline, compliance trackers and MIS for large contract workforces.
- 07
Performance Management
A structured PMS for executives and non-executives, tied to role clarity rather than a once-a-year form.
- 08
Statutory Compliance
Registrations, returns, inspections and the documentation lenders, auditors and authorities actually ask for.
- 09
HR Systems
SAP HCM, biometric attendance, dashboards and contractor MIS used for decisions, not decoration.
03 — Professional experience
Towards a future CHRO, through XLRI.
April 2024 — Present
Manager – Human Resources
Talcher Fertilizers Limited · Talcher, Odisha
Joint venture of CIL, GAIL, RCF and FCIL
- Partner to the Head of HR and project leadership on organisation effectiveness, workforce capability and statutory governance for a large greenfield fertilizer project.
- Industrial and employee relations covering company employees and more than 5,000 contract workmen, with contractors, representatives and statutory authorities.
- Compliance framework across the Contract Labour Act, inter-state migrant workmen provisions, the Code on Wages, the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, and related employment law.
- Recruitment for critical positions, reservation rosters, manpower planning, onboarding, and a performance management system for executives and non-executives.
- Contractor labour MIS, digital compliance trackers, biometric attendance and HR dashboards.
- Recognised by the Managing Director for statutory and legal coordination supporting financial closure of a ₹12,250.06 crore rupee term loan.
November 2016 — April 2024
Personnel Officer (Human Resources)
Madhya Pradesh Power Generating Company Limited · Madhya Pradesh
State thermal power generating company
- HR business partner to the Plant Head for a large thermal station: about 1,200 employees, more than 3,000 contract workmen, and a team of 13 HR professionals.
- Collective engagement with nearly 13 recognised trade unions, with negotiations and dispute resolution aimed at uninterrupted generation.
- Recruitment and onboarding of about 120 executives and non-executives, with induction, confirmation, transfers, promotions and employee records.
- More than 30 conciliation proceedings and eight domestic enquiries, conducted with labour law and the principles of natural justice.
- SAP HCM, HR digitisation, biometric attendance, dashboards and process standardisation.
- Compliance with the Factories Act, Industrial Disputes Act, Contract Labour Act, Apprentices Act, EPF, ESI and standing orders, including CAG, RTI and statutory inspections. Republic Day Awards in 2017 and 2023.
September 2005 — October 2016
Associate / Junior Technician
Tata Steel Limited · Jamshedpur
Electrical maintenance, integrated steelworks
- Eleven years from apprentice to associate in electrical maintenance — breakdowns, preventive work, shutdowns and safe working practice.
- Kaizen, quality circles and suggestion schemes, with SAP PM master data, planning and equipment reliability.
- Member of the Joint Department Council, alongside safety and canteen committees.
- The shop-floor years still shape how I partner with plant leadership on people, discipline and productivity.
Education
- LL.B. — Awadhesh Pratap Singh University
- MBA, Human Resource Management & Marketing — Kolhan University
- B.Sc., Information Technology — Sikkim Manipal University
- Senior Executive Development Programme, Building Future CHROs — XLRI (pursuing)
Credentials
- Registered Independent Director — Independent Directors Databank
- UGC-NET — Labour Welfare / Human Resource Management
- Certified Factory Labour Welfare Officer
- POSH compliance
- Compensation & Benefits
- Labour Codes & Employment Laws — VVGNLI and NHRD XLRI
- IIT Kharagpur — Ethical and Legal Outsourcing
- NPTI — HR practices for executive trainees
- Naukri Maestro Recruiter
- AI for Human Resources
Recognition
- Top 15 Global HR Icon 2026 — CHRD
- Managing Director’s Appreciation — Talcher Fertilizers Limited, ₹12,250.06 crore financial closure
- Republic Day Award, 2017
- Republic Day Award, 2023
- Kaizen and suggestion awards — Tata Steel