Sanjiv Mehta, Executive Chairman of L Catterton India and former CEO and Managing Director of Hindustan Unilever (HUL), joins Balbir Singh, CEO of Great Place To Work® India, for an insightful conversation on leadership, workplace culture, trust, and building organizations that create lasting value. With more than three decades of global leadership experience across Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, Sanjiv has led business transformation, driven innovation, and built high-performing organizations rooted in trust and purpose. Throughout his career, as a leader, he has always focused on people, assisting organizations with transformations while reaching success in business. In this episode of the For All Podcast by Great Place To Work® India, Sanjiv shares the leadership principles that have shaped his journey to leading one of India's most respected organizations. He explains why leadership is forged during adversity, how trust is built through consistent actions, and why organizational culture remains a competitive advantage. The conversation explores what it takes to build high-trust workplaces where employees feel empowered to innovate, take ownership, and continuously learn. Sanjiv discusses the importance of an ownership mindset, a growth mindset, psychological safety, and fairness in creating great workplace cultures that drive engagement, innovation, and long-term business success. A key highlight of the episode is Sanjiv's philosophy of humbition, which is the balance between humility and ambition to develop leaders who combine character, competence, and contribution. He also shares how initiatives such as Big Q and Project Symphony helped strengthen a culture of endless improvement and employee ownership at Hindustan Unilever. The discussion also examines compassionate capitalism, Sanjiv reflects on why organizations must balance business performance with purpose, sustainability, and inclusive growth to build enduring enterprises. Looking ahead, Sanjiv discusses the future of work, the growing impact of artificial intelligence and the need for leaders to concentrate on lifelong upskilling, and interpersonal skills development such as compassion, creativity and decision-making skills. The speaker describes how companies can prepare their workforce for the age of AI. Balbir Singh, CEO of Great Place To Work® India, adds perspective on the importance of building workplace cultures where trust, leadership, and employee experience enable people and organizations to thrive together. Listeners will gain insights on: Leadership during crisis and change Building high-trust workplace cultures Humbition and people-first leadership Psychological safety, trust, and ownership Compassionate capitalism and stakeholder value AI, leadership, and the future of work Creating resilient, future-ready organizations If you are interested in leadership, workplace culture, organizational transformation, employee experience, AI, or the future of work, this episode offers practical insights and timeless leadership lessons from one of India's most respected business leaders. Tune in to the For All Podcast by Great Place To Work® India to hear Sanjiv Mehta and Balbir Singh discuss how trust, humbition, compassionate capitalism, and people-first leadership can help organizations build great workplaces and lasting business success.
