Neha Kalia

Judge
DISC Type : Dc

Country HR Manager - Akzonobel India at AkzoNobel

Pune District, Maharashtra, India

Overview

Neha Kalia is a Country HR Leader at AkzoNobel with over 20 years of experience, responsible for the people strategy for more than 1, 400 employees. She specializes in organization design, culture transformation, and building leadership pipelines. People who have worked with her describe her as a diligent, target-focused team player who leads by example.

Outside of her core responsibilities, Neha is a vocal advocate for diversity and inclusion. She actively celebrates and supports the LGBTQ+ community, emphasizing the importance of creating safe, welcoming, and equitable spaces where everyone can be their authentic selves.

She recently led her team in finalizing the companys comprehensive 2026 HR strategy for India, focusing on measurable business impact and an enhanced employee experience.

Personality Overview

Demanding

Objective Thinker

Generally Skeptic

They respond better to strong and respectful interactions.  They put a lot of effort into ensuring personal success. They prefer to move quickly, and expect the same from others.

Topics They Care About

Culture Transformation
A core part of her current role is driving culture transformation and strengthening organizational culture to enable business growth at AkzoNobel.
Future-Ready Talent
She frequently highlights the importance of building leadership pipelines and ensuring future skill readiness, a key pillar of her team's 2026 strategy.
Data-Driven HR
Her professional summary emphasizes a commitment to "data-driven HR leadership, " and past roles involved creating data-driven sourcing and talent strategies.

Media Appearances

Neha Kalia Promoted as Country HR Manager – India at AkzoNobel. Featured in HR Today

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AkzoNobel Appoints Neha Kalia As Country HR Manager For India. Featured in BWPeople

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Work History

11-2025
Country HR Manager - Akzonobel India at AkzoNobel
5-2024
HR Lead GBS, IT and Finance at AkzoNobel Global Business Services
5-2021 - 5-2024
Talent Acquisition Lead, Campus Strategy & Employer Branding Head India & Subcontinent at AkzoNobel
6-2019 - 3-2021
Talent Acquisition Leader - DSCI at DuPont
8-2014 - 5-2019
Leader Talent Acquisition & HR Business Partner, South Asia & Sub Saharan Africa at Avery Dennison

Education

2010 - 2012
PGD in HRM from Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai
2000 - 2003
Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) from Delhi University

More Information

Social Presence :

Prographics :

Exp : 21 Location : Pune District, Maharashtra, India Job Level : Middle Designation : Country HR Manager - Akzonobel India at AkzoNobel
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Insights For Selling To Neha

During A Call Or A Meeting

DO's

  • Hold your ground without indulging in one-upmanship
  • Objectively showcase the impact that your product creates
  • Make sure that you circle back fast on any action items, it wins their trust

DONT's

  • Don't try too hard to forge relationships with them
  • Don’t focus on process and rules, give the impression of being a ‘gets it done’ person
  • Don’t be in a rush to invite them for a social meet and greet

When Cold Calling

When Writing An Email

While Negotiating & Closing

    The secret to closing fast with Neha is

  • Conviction around the impact matters the most to them, followed by a sense of achievement and ROI.
  • Will you ever get a clear answer from Neha

  • If they are not convinced, they will say no without any hesitation.

Insights For Deal Planning

    How fast (or slow) will Neha move?

  • If convinced, they can reach decisions quite fast.
  • Can Neha take some risk or not?

  • They do not shy away from taking risks, but can be quite binary about them.

You And Neha

Personality Compatibility


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