Martha Desmond named Apollo Tyres’ new head of human resources

Martha Desmond has been appointed Apollo Tyres’ new chief human resources officer. She replaces Tapan Mitra, who retires from the role at the end of the year, and is based in the company’s office in London, reporting to vice-chairman and managing director Neeraj Kanwar. As chief human resources officer, she takes on responsibility for all aspects of human resources within the organisation. Desmond has also been appointed a member of Apollo’s Management Board.

“We believe that people are our biggest assets who would help the organisation with its next phase of growth,” stated Neeraj Kanwar. “I am confident that Martha, with her vast experience across geographies, will help us improve on our global HR systems and processes, [and] at the same time, make Apollo Tyres a highly people-centric organisation.”

Desmond’s most recent assignment was with Genel Energy, where she worked in Turkey as human resource director. Prior to that, she was associated with the BG Group as human resource director and later, in Mumbai, India, as deputy managing director for the group’s Exploration and Production division. She has also worked in the UK with RWE Thames Water, HFC Bank and Resourcing Solutions in various capacities and in all aspects of human resources at senior levels.

Speaking about her appointment, Desmond commented: “Having witnessed the company’s impressive growth in the past few years, I look forward to driving continuous improvement and innovations in HR practices and processes in the organisation.”