Ashishh V Deshpande
Talent Acquisition Head
Pune
Summary
Talent Acquisition Lead with 18 years of extensive experience across IT, Automotive, Manufacturing, and Engineering sectors. Proven expertise in India / Asia recruitment strategies and diversity initiatives. Expertise in workforce planning and employer branding, effectively attracting top-tier talent through collaborative leadership. Worked with Fortune500s and high-growth tech/engineering companies. Led TA teams, 0→1 builds, campus-to-C-suite hiring, 100-300 hires/quarter across India, in sectors spanning Engineering / Tech, Automotive / Ancillary, Fintech, consultancies.
Overview
18
18
years of professional experience
2
2
Certifications
Work History
Talent Acquisition Head – COE of Hiring Strategy and TA Transformation
TKIL Industries Pvt. Ltd.
04.2022 - Current
- Designed and executed end-to-end hiring strategies to improve time-to-fill and cost-per-hire.
- Scaled the TA function from 1→24-member org (TA – Lateral + Campus, Analytics and TA Strategy), delivering 150+ onboardings/quarter and expanding hiring capacity 4x, enabling India headcount growth from 2470 - 2650 within a year (Attrition – 430 for 25-26).
- Designed campus strategy and launched TA Handbook – first of its kind for TKIL recruiters.
- Undergoing Six Sigma Green Belt training - Reduce the average time to Offer.
- Partnered with CXOs & BU heads to forecast workforce requirements and align hiring with business growth.
- Enhanced TA efficiency & candidate experience—standardized hiring SOPs (outreach, interview loops, offer process & 7-Embark onboarding); lifted offer-to-join 65%→88%, cut time-to-fill 109→42 days & reduced early attrition to ~0%.
- Championed Power BI dashboards and analytics for recruitment performance monitoring.
- Designed “Critical Manpower Pool Project” for blue-collar hiring.
- Established a TA/HR Analytics CoE delivering real-time insights across funnel, quality, branding & engagement.
- Introduced Talent Playbooks and recruiter/interviewer capability programs adopted across pods and global teams.
Manager – Talent Acquisition
Lear Automotive
10.2022 - 04.2024
- Responsible for all India 5 Plants and 1 Corporate hiring for Lear Corporation.
- Team size – 6 GBS Team, 1 direct and 2 RPO team members.
- Led engineering & manufacturing recruitment, reducing hiring cycle time by 20%.
- Built first recruitment Power BI dashboard in Lear Asia (awarded).
- Implemented employee referral strategy, boosting referral hires by 25%.
- Conducted competency-based interviews ensuring right-fit leadership hiring.
- Campus from Tier 1/2/3 Engineering Institutes – 110 Hires in a calendar year.
RPO Consultant
CIEL HR
06.2021 - 10.2022
- Served as an on-site recruitment partner, managing end-to-end hiring.
- Handled requirement gathering, sourcing, candidate engagement, compliance, and reporting.
- Conducted weekly workforce forecast meetings with business leaders.
- Delivered market insights on salary benchmarks & competitor hiring trends.
Branch Head
Search Quest
01.2019 - 05.2020
- Spearheaded large-scale recruitment drives across IT, BFSI & Manufacturing.
- Managed vendor ecosystems and strategic sourcing models.
- Effectively handled Middle to Sr. Level Positions for various industry verticals and niche skill set.
Practice Lead
Calibro Placements
04.2017 - 12.2019
- Effectively handled Middle to Sr. Level Positions for various industry verticals and niche skill set.
- Sourcing and screening the right candidates through various sources like Head Hunting, Industry Mapping, Social Networking sites, References, Job Portals and Job Postings.
Associate Consultant
BNY Mellon
03.2016 - 03.2017
- Executing entire gamut of resourcing & recruitment process sourcing, screening, shortlisting, selection and appointment, etc.; introducing welfare measures like employee development plans, resource deployment, etc.
- Formulating & sharing reports & HR dashboards with management periodically and as required.
- Conducting manpower planning and talent acquisition through multiple channels like campus, portals, vendors with a track record of closing positions at all levels.
Recruitment Consultant
Future Info Line
01.2008 - 02.2016
- Resourceful in serving as Single Point of Contact for End to end Recruitment, Sustaining efforts for sourcing & On Time Delivery, as well as for resolving.
- Serving as a Subject Matter Expert for Insurance and BPO hiring needs.
- Analyzed recruiting metrics to share reports and recommendations with stakeholders.
Education
APHRM (Advanced Program in HRM) -
IIM Lucknow
01.2016
PG Diploma in Marketing Management - undefined
INDSEARCH, Pune University
Pune01.2008
B.Com - undefined
Pune University
Pune01.2007
Skills
Certification
Undergoing Six Sigma Green Belt training - Reduce the average time to Offer.
Accomplishments
· Reduced time-to-fill by 30% through digital hiring models & data analytics.
· Successfully closed CXO & Director-level mandates across industries.
· Implemented ATS training programs for hiring managers, boosting compliance.
· Designed referral & weekend hiring drives, improving offer-to-join ratios.
· Built cross-border recruitment capability, managing global hiring projects.
Key Achievements
Reduced time-to-fill by 30% through digital hiring models & data analytics., Successfully closed CXO & Director-level mandates across industries., Implemented ATS training programs for hiring managers, boosting compliance., Designed referral & weekend hiring drives, improving offer-to-join ratios., Built cross-border recruitment capability, managing global hiring projects.
Career Gap
Due to covid laid off.
Timeline
Manager – Talent Acquisition
Lear Automotive
10.2022 - 04.2024
Talent Acquisition Head – COE of Hiring Strategy and TA Transformation
TKIL Industries Pvt. Ltd.
04.2022 - Current
RPO Consultant
CIEL HR
06.2021 - 10.2022
Branch Head
Search Quest
01.2019 - 05.2020
Practice Lead
Calibro Placements
04.2017 - 12.2019
Associate Consultant
BNY Mellon
03.2016 - 03.2017
Recruitment Consultant
Future Info Line
01.2008 - 02.2016
PG Diploma in Marketing Management - undefined
INDSEARCH, Pune University
B.Com - undefined
Pune University
APHRM (Advanced Program in HRM) -
IIM Lucknow