Raily Ghosh
🚀 HR & Talent Strategist | Scaling High-Performance Teams | Crisis & Change Leadership | Organizational Development
Work & Impact
For over a decade now, I have worked closely with senior leadership and founders to solve business problems through curated people programs.
With extensive experience in Organisational Development and Talent Strategy, I’ve led programs across organisational design, talent strategy, learning, performance, and transformation, tailored for scale and culture.
My work spans across multiple sectors, global enterprises, and high-growth startups, but the goal has always remained the same: to build high-performance cultures that are resilient, inclusive, and built to last.
WazirX - Cryptocurrency Exchange
Associate Director – Human Resources | Jul 2021 – Present
About the company:
WazirX is one of India’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, with over 17 million users. The company’s journey began in 2018, at a time when crypto and Web3 were still nascent in India. A surge in growth in late 2019 led to a rapid scale-up, with the team expanding from 20 to 200 in just six months. I joined WazirX in 2021 to bring structure, systems, and strategy to its evolving people function during this hyper-growth phase.
📍 What I Delivered
Partnered with co-founders and senior leadership to embed WazirX’s vision, mission, and values through structured org-wide workshops
Designed and launched the WazirX Leadership Principles, anchoring culture across remote teams
Developed a performance management framework incorporating OKRs and 360° evaluations
Led recruitment strategy and hired C-suite leaders, with a strong focus on niche technical and business-critical roles
Streamlined TA using automation, improving offer-to-join ratios and reducing recruitment cycle time
Built a skills and competency matrix to support succession planning and career development
Launched the WazirX Academy and a blockchain education program, boosting internal capability by 40%
Designed onboarding & training programs that reduced time-to-productivity by up to 50%
Led department-specific OD interventions using surveys, data insights, and targeted workshops
Spearheaded employer branding and Glassdoor strategy, improving talent perception and positioning
Co-created leadership development tracks for succession and scale readiness
💡 Impact: Scaled a high-performing people function and led cultural evolution through hyper-growth and beyond.
In July 2024, WazirX faced a cyber-theft attack resulting in the theft of user assets valued at ~$235 million. What followed was one of the most high-pressure periods in the company’s history and a defining moment for its culture of resilience.
I led several key tracks during the recovery phase, working closely with internal and external stakeholders to steer the organisation through the crisis.
📍 My Role during the Crisis:
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Spearheaded the internal recovery framework: "Restructure, Restart, and Repay", to drive alignment, restore operations, and rebuild trust
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Collaborated with legal, financial, and PR firms to shape the multi-track crisis response with transparency and compliance at its core
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Led internal communication during high-stress periods to keep employees engaged, informed, and focused
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Unified cross-functional efforts across legal, compliance, tech, ops, and customer service for a consistent and clear response
💡 Impact: Orchestrated people-first crisis leadership, helping the organisation navigate reputational risk, restore internal confidence, and stay anchored to its mission.
Program Manager – People Practices | Apr 2018 – Jul 2021
(MBA Intern – Summer 2017)
VMware was where I learned how to think in systems, lead through structure, and bring people strategy to life across scale and complexity.
About the company:
VMware is a global leader in cloud infrastructure and enterprise software solutions. I joined first as an MBA intern, delivering two global programs in just two months — and then returned full-time to lead large-scale people initiatives that shaped how I approach design, leadership, and transformation today.
📍 What I Delivered
Conceptualised and implemented global people programs across learning, leadership, and operations — impacting 2,500+ employees
Co-led an India Leadership Team initiative to optimise M&A processes, including org role mapping and stakeholder workflows
Designed & rolled out process training frameworks, reducing new hire ramp-up time by 35–40%
Used IBM Blueworks Live to map and optimise critical HR and business processes
Built a leadership development framework with competency models, training design, KPI governance, and business reviews
Created and managed programs under VMware’s “50:50 by 2030” inclusion vision, including:
⛳️ Leading Women@VMware for GTM Shared Services
⛳️ Coordinating global DEI panels and initiatives
⛳️ Managing "VMInclusion Taara" — a return-ship program for women in tech
Led knowledge management and learning measurement strategies across functions
🏆 Recognition
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Above & Beyond Award (Global HR innovation)
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MIA Business Transformation Award (India Leadership Team)
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Spotlight Award for process optimisation
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4× At Our Best Awards for people programs and inclusion impact
💡 Impact: Built scalable people systems across a global workforce, combining business process design with inclusion, capability, and change enablement.
Early Career Foundations
Where I learned the craft : from building HR systems to crafting content with clarity and voice.
Ncyclo Decision Sciences
Associate Manager – Human Resources
Feb 2014 – Oct 2014 |
Set up HR systems from scratch in a fast-moving product startup.
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Established HR structure, policies, and onboarding
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Recruited the initial team of 20 core tech hires in 3 months
Managed Business Operations, strategic partnerships and vendor operations
UB Group
Officer – Human Resources
Jan 2012 – Feb 2014
My first HR role — built hands-on experience across the employee lifecycle.
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Led hiring for mid-to-senior technical roles
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Managed training, engagement, and grievance resolution
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Ran end-to-end HR operations and exit formalities
Freelance Content Specialist
Independent | Remote
Nov 2014 – Mar 2016
Delivered content and messaging strategy for clients across sectors.
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Wrote blogs, web copy, and marketing content
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Aligned brand voice with audience needs
Collaborated with clients to deliver clear, effective messaging
Education
2016 - 2018
Masters in Business Administration (MBA)
Business Strategy & Human Resource Management
Xavier Institute of Management & Entrepreneurship, Bangalore, India
2010 - 2011
Masters in Human Resource Management (Organisational Psychology)
Leeds University Business School, Leeds, United Kingdom
2007 -2010