Ahtesham Siddiqui
Business Transformation Leader
Summary
A Business, People and Organization leader with 3 decades of corporate and consulting experience. I have led several Business Transformation and Change Management programs.
Overview
28
28
years of professional experience
1967
1967
years of post-secondary education
Work History
Business Transformation Consultant
Self Employed
06.2016 - Current
- Helped businesses create their business strategy starting with their vision
- Helped create plans to achieve results
- Helped several business achieve 3X revenues
- Helped a Not-for Profit organizations in their Women Leadership and Kirana modernizations projects
- Worked with various corporate and government bodies to facilitate small businesses
HEAD HR (SENIOR HR ADVISOR)
LANDMARK ARABIA
12.2014 - 05.2016
- Facilitated as HR lead, a major organizational restructuring from three independent territories and four legal entities to one Landmark Arabia with five business divisions, common functions, and shared services. The restructuring involved 2,300 of 18,000 people.
- Established an efficient and effective HR and L&D function, reducing HR headcount from 226 to 165 people. Introduced Business Partnering, Specialist Corporate Function, and Shared Services in five regions. Achieved a score of 3/4 on user satisfaction with HR services within 6 months of establishing HR Shared Services.
- Harmonized all policies and revamped HR processes to meet the requirements of the new organization, and established the HR Process Excellence function to measure the impact of HR processes and programs.
- Achieved 60% Saudization in the HR and L&D functions, and 35% overall Saudization in the company. Developed 4 senior Saudi HR professionals. The achievement of Saudization supported business continuity, expansion, with visa support from the Ministry of Labour, and compliance.
- Introduced talent management and career paths, and developed a succession planning process for leadership roles.
- Reduced Saudi employees' attrition by 38 percentage points in one year.
- Streamlined HR processes for increased efficiency and reduced administrative workload.
- Facilitated conflict resolution among team members, promoting collaboration and teamwork.
- Collaborated with management to develop succession planning strategies for key leadership roles within the organization.
- Evaluated compensation packages regularly to maintain competitiveness in the market while adhering to budget constraints.
- Partnered with departmental leaders in establishing clear performance goals aligned with organizational objectives.
- Maintained compliance with labor laws, reducing legal risks associated with employment practices within the organization.
- Reduced turnover rates by designing targeted retention strategies and fostering a positive work culture.
- Managed performance evaluation programs, ensuring fair assessments and career advancement opportunities for employees.
- Oversaw benefits administration, ensuring accurate enrollment and timely processing of claims.
- Led training programs aimed at enhancing employee skills, knowledge, and productivity levels across various departments.
HEAD HR
TRENT HYPERMARKETS LTD. (TATA AND TESCO Joint Venture)
11.2011 - 11.2014
- Established the HR function for Trent Hypermarket Ltd and TESCO Wholesale Ltd as two independent companies, and subsequently facilitated the merger of the two companies upon FDI approval in 2014.
- Facilitated co-creation of 'Our Purpose,' and ensured alignment through communication and events. Achieved over 80% alignment (as measured by a survey) within one year.
- Developed the leadership team and nurtured three candidates for director roles.
- Established shared HR services based out of Pune.
- Appointed as the Chief of Ethics for the company by Tata Group and TESCO, and achieved 100% compliance.
- Supported the productivity improvement project of Operations, which improved productivity by 23%.
- Played a significant role as an owner of HR strategy and the people plan for the business, and functioned with TESCO to bring in best practices to the HR operations of the Indian business.
- Acted as part of Tesco Asia Personnel Directors' Forum for increasing people programs in the areas of embedding new capacity building, engagement, performance, and talent management. Contributed to improvement projects like Employee Engagement, New Ways of Working at TESCO, Leaders at TESCO, and Culture Building. Brought in governance through People Matters Group to ensure delivery as per project plans.
CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER
MAHINDRA RETAIL PVT. LTD
05.2008 - 11.2011
- Created strategy and plans for a new store brand and on board approval, executed all plans including Store design & layout, Merchandise mix & range plan, sourcing & buying, marketing and customer experience plans.
- Accomplished roll out of stores with success and achieved all planned KPIs including sales, margin and inventory at 103%.
VICE PRESIDENT HUMAN RESOURCES & BUYING & MERCHANDISING
MAHINDRA RETAIL PVT. LTD
05.2008 - 11.2011
- Established the HR function in the company, developed a successor within 18 months, and was recognized with an award from the Mahindra Group for Best HR Practices.
- Participated in the Mahindra Group HR Council and contributed to all major HR decisions pertaining to the Group to remain one of the best employers in India.
- Part of the Mahindra Rise team that was responsible for delivering a new brand promise through all Mahindra companies globally.
- I participated as a senior member of the leadership team in an innovation drive at the company and spent one week with customers in their environment to gather true insights, and I supported strategy building based on those insights.
- I took on the additional responsibility of the Non-Apparel business and increased its contribution to the business from 45% to 60%. Established all the functions in HR with high capability and engagement, as well as created and executed an HR strategy aligned with the business strategy. This accomplishment was rewarded by the Mahindra Group based on the decision of a panel of external judges.
VICE PRESIDENT& HEAD OF HUMAN RESOURCES
RELIANCE LIFESTYLE HOLDINGS LTD
04.2007 - 04.2008
- Deliberated and steered all the daily operations associated with established HR function for different Lifestyle retail formats of the business by representing as a head of human resource.
- Contributed in joint venture formation and created a leadership team for joint ventures.
- Supported in creation of different formats and brands of stores through manpower availability and training.
HEAD OF HUMAN RESOURCES
FAWAZ AL HOKAIR GROUP
09.2005 - 04.2007
- Established a professional HR function with strong processes and increased partnership with business with enhanced services to employees and integrity of the function.
VICE PRESIDENT RETAIL & HR
ZODIAC CLOTHING CO. LTD
06.2004 - 09.2005
- Participated in designing a modern store to enhance the brand image and experience.
- Proficiently contracted 30+ properties and opened new stores by establishing a retail team in the company.
HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGER
AL-FUTTAIM GROUP
07.1997 - 03.2004
- Established a professional HR function in Al Futtaim Sons Group with effective Business Partnering for all the businesses and high employee engagement.
- Introduced a 360 degree approach to Customer Service with Communication, Training and Rewards & Recognition programme.
- Successfully led closure of the group's unprofitable Stationery business and over achieved all KPIs including outplacing employees, Receivables / Bad debts and inventory liquidation overachieving the targets by two times. This was possible through people leadership and engagement of departing employees.
- Led a cost rationalization project for corporate overheads with a cost reduction of 10%.
- Led People part of the programme management upon merger of Al Futtaim Sons and Al Futtaim Group. Established common policies, ensured people re-deployment, managed redundancies and ongoing change communication.
- Worked with the MD of Famco (Al Futtaim Auto & Machinery Company) on a major transformation journey of the company involving culture change to enhance performance and employee engagement. This led to doubling of turnover and tripling of profits in less than 2 years.
Education
Post-Graduate, Masters Degree in Human Resources - Human Resources Management
Symbiosis Institute of Business Management
Pune, India 04.2001 - 01.1985
B.Com - Commerce
Lucknow Christian College
Lucknow, India05-1983
Skills
Business Strategy and Planning
Business Process Excellence
Change Management
Technology Enablement
Leadership Development
Performance Management
Project Management
Innovation and Problem Solving
Disclaimer
19 August 2024
ADDITIONAL EXPERIENCE
- WOOLWORTHS LLC
- Dubai, UAE
- Oct 1995 - Jun 1997
- RETAIL MANAGER
- SHOPPERS' STOP LTD
- Mumbai, India
- Jan 1993 - Oct 1995
- GENERAL MANAGER - OPERATIONS
- HEAD OF HUMAN RESOURCES
- CEAT LIMITED
- Jun 1985 - Dec 1992
- PERSONNEL MANAGER
Timeline
Business Transformation Consultant
Self Employed
06.2016 - Current
HEAD HR (SENIOR HR ADVISOR)
LANDMARK ARABIA
12.2014 - 05.2016
HEAD HR
TRENT HYPERMARKETS LTD. (TATA AND TESCO Joint Venture)
11.2011 - 11.2014
CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER
MAHINDRA RETAIL PVT. LTD
05.2008 - 11.2011
VICE PRESIDENT HUMAN RESOURCES & BUYING & MERCHANDISING
MAHINDRA RETAIL PVT. LTD
05.2008 - 11.2011
VICE PRESIDENT& HEAD OF HUMAN RESOURCES
RELIANCE LIFESTYLE HOLDINGS LTD
04.2007 - 04.2008
HEAD OF HUMAN RESOURCES
FAWAZ AL HOKAIR GROUP
09.2005 - 04.2007
VICE PRESIDENT RETAIL & HR
ZODIAC CLOTHING CO. LTD
06.2004 - 09.2005
Post-Graduate, Masters Degree in Human Resources - Human Resources Management
Symbiosis Institute of Business Management
04.2001 - 01.1985
HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGER
AL-FUTTAIM GROUP
07.1997 - 03.2004
B.Com - Commerce
Lucknow Christian College
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