Indian companies tap cross-sector CXOs as leadership playbook gets rewritten

From traditional manufacturing companies to startups, more firms are hiring chief experience officers (CXOs) across sectors as market volatility, artificial intelligence and digitisation redefine business models.

Hiring a chief executive officer (CEO), a managing director (MD), or a chief financial officer (CFO) who has led acquisitions in unrelated sectors will not result in a myopic outlook that a top hat in the same industry might have.

CXOs from unrelated sectors ask sharper questions, bring fresh thinking, and help reimagine how things can be done, experts said.

Over the past year, the boardroom shuffle has seen Neelendra Singh move from footwear major Adidas to Lemon Tree Hotels as managing director last month. Abhishek Maheshwari joined fintech platform OneAssist as CEO from alternative asset manager Blackstone in September, and Shubbam Sharma took charge as chief growth officer at furniture startup Pepperfry from crowdfunding platform ImpactGuru in October.

Harsh Chitale, who is expected to join auto major Hero MotoCorp in January 2026, comes from lighting products maker Signify.

Other similar hires include Niranjan Gupta as chief financial officer at FMCG giant Hindustan Unilever in September from Hero MotoCorp and Mayank Gupta from Jindal Steel as group CFO of CarDekho, an online marketplace for buying vehicles, in July. Interestingly, both marked their second stints at their respective firms.

“When it comes to traditional firms, the initial comfort is to find people from within the industry, but inadequate depth of talent within the sector or the need to differentiate causes the need to look at adjacent sectors and not hire from a rival," Puneet Kalra, MD of executive search firm Russell Reynolds Associates told Mint.

Hospitality, telecom, and FMCG can be collectively seen as pan-India distribution businesses for a large part, and therefore, the shift from one to another is plausible.

“The startup sector needs CEOs from other sectors as their business model is typically unique and the key skill needed is systems thinking, i.e., connect the dots and imagine new business models," said Kalra, who also advises on boards and CEOs for the search firm.

Hiring from different sectors adds new expertise, strengthens strategic thinking, and drives innovation, which is critical in today’s consumer landscape, an HUL spokesperson said. "This approach also helps us stay competitive and adapt to a fast-changing market."

The outsider appeal

The hunt to zero in on the right CXO also takes long. Search firms often spend months to find a suitable candidate. All checks and balances must be in place to ensure that the senior executive is shortlisted, which includes a higher success rate if they are from a different industry.

Companies believe cross-sector CXOs will question existing practices, introduce new ways of working and often draw parallels from sectors that have seen similar crests and troughs amid market volatility, tariff struggles, and rapid pace of digitisation.

Pepperfry has made several such cross-sector hires in the past, and is “open to continuing — especially because innovation often comes from looking at old problems through new lenses", said Joee De Choudhury, head, human resource, at the company.

“Furniture e-commerce, as a category, is still relatively nascent and evolving in India. Unlike more mature sectors, it continues to benefit immensely from diverse thinking and cross-industry expertise," said Choudhury.

Listed broking firm AngelOne said it hires leaders who can connect the various facets of the business that spans finance, product, and technology rather than operating within just one segment.

The company hired former Flipkart executive Arief Mohamad as chief business officer in October last year and Rohit Chatter (previously at Walmart) as its chief data officer in March.

“When you bring in CXOs from unrelated sectors, you get what I call productive distance… For us, it’s not about where someone has worked, but what they have solved and how they think," said AngelOne chief human resource officer Subhash Menon.

"We hire for mindset, adaptability, and proven excellence, because building the next decade of leadership requires capability over category," he added.

Pharma to tyres

Jyoti Bowen Nath, managing partner at search firm Claricent Partners is getting CXO’s from the consumer space to old economy sectors like manufacturing, including metals and mining.

“With the fast-changing global scenario, Indian companies want CXOs who are in multinational exposure," Nath said. Recently, the head of a precious metals company was hired by a green energy business and a chief of marketing moved from a pharma company to a tyre firm, Nath added.

Industry watchers who work with clients across sectors said the shift of CXOs from traditional firms to startups will get more prominent going ahead.

Global investment and advisory firms, such as Elara Capital, note that top-level management skills are more important than sector familiarity.

“It is crucial for the top-level hires to effectively conduct business and collaborate with partners, suppliers and other relationships," said Karan Taurani, executive vice president at Elara Capital. “We can expect to see more such hires happen as startups continue to build and grow into large organizations."