Ajay Soni

Evaluator
DISC Type : CDS

Chief Learning and Leadership Development Officer at Aditya Birla Group

Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

Overview

Ajay Soni is the Chief Learning and Leadership Development Officer at Aditya Birla Group, driving talent and succession management for the multibillion-dollar global enterprise. An MBA from IIM Ahmedabad, he has extensive experience in HR transformation, P&L management, and sales. Colleagues describe him as energetic, business-focused, and empathetic.

Passionate about developing future leaders, Ajay frequently shares insights on coaching, personal transformation, and reflective leadership. He is deeply invested in creating environments where leaders can pause, reflect, and be co-creative. His passion for sharing knowledge is evident through his professional engagements and writings.

Unique fact: He is the co-author of the book "Manthan: Art and Science of Developing Leaders, " which synthesizes contemporary research with ancient Indian wisdom.

Personality Overview

Hard To Convince

Quality Focused

Fast But Analytical

They have a unique set of diverse traits where they are decisive and methodical but can sometimes be extra cautious and skeptical  They are not very likely to become strong advocates of your product or service They focus on the results, but can still be quite procedural and analytical about how to get there

Topics They Care About

Leadership Development
Central to his role, he is responsible for developing 300 senior leaders and a 1300-strong talent pipeline. He also co-authored a book on the art and science of this topic.
Building Coaching Cultures
He has been instrumental in embedding coaching at Aditya Birla Group, training over 3, 500 managers and certifying 225 colleagues as internal coaches.
HR Transformation
His career is defined by leading large-scale change, including growing a consulting business 10x at Aon Hewitt and now overseeing global talent strategy.

Media Appearances

Ajay has no verified media appearances

Work History

8-2014
Chief Learning and Leadership Development Officer at Aditya Birla Group
4-2000 - 8-2014
Asia Pacific Practice Leader and other roles at Aon Hewitt
1995 - 2000
Business Development Manager at Unilever
1992 - 1995
Export Manager, Business Planning Manager at ICI India
1989 - 1990
Planning Manager at HPCL

Education

1990 - 1992
Masters in Business Administration from Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad
2022 - 2022
Making Corporate Boards More Effective from Harvard Business School

More Information

Social Presence :

Prographics :

Exp : 37 Location : Mumbai, Maharashtra, India Job Level : Leadership Designation : Chief Learning and Leadership Development Officer at Aditya Birla Group
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Insights For Selling To Ajay

During A Call Or A Meeting

DO's

  • Be prepared for comments or questions that are critical of your product or your claims
  • Help them see both - the ‘big picture’ impact and the ROI of the investment
  • Keep a professional, business-like approach; especially if you tend to get informal quickly

DONT's

  • Don’t nudge them to do something by using the logic that others have done the same
  • Don’t focus on relationship, focus purely on the merit of your product
  • Avoid self-deprecating references or general informality, it could decrease their trust in you

When Cold Calling

When Writing An Email

While Negotiating & Closing

    The secret to closing fast with Ajay is

  • ROI matters the most to them, followed by process and finally proof of results
  • Will you ever get a clear answer from Ajay

  • They might hesitate a little, but will go ahead and say no when necessary (or asked)

Insights For Deal Planning

    How fast (or slow) will Ajay move?

  • They are unlikely to move very fast, especially when it comes to new products or services
  • Can Ajay take some risk or not?

  • They have relatively low risk-appetite and are not very likely to go for something unproven and risky

You And Ajay

Personality Compatibility


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