Padma Thiruvengadam - Member Profile

Padma Thiruvengadam has built her career on the solid reputation of elevating organizational performance across global enterprises by building multi-dimensional capabilities in the life sciences, pharmaceutical, and financial services industries. She leads through change, transformation, influence, and impact to establish and exceed breakthrough corporate and people objectives for both domestic and international markets. As a hands-on leader, Padma works smart, communicates well, and makes tough decisions. She balances proven business savvy and general management skills with forward-looking strategic vision.

Padma currently serves as a member of the Advisory Board or as an Advisor for several AI/SaaS/ML start-ups. She helps companies with value creation and growth strategies.
In her recent role as CHRO at Takeda Pharmaceutical Company – a $30BN+ global business with 50K+ employees in 85 countries – she led the business to achieve a Global Top Employer certification for 3 years in a row, while orchestrating the integration of the largest acquisition in the pharmaceutical industry. She transformed the entire global organization by architecting a new HR operating model, vision, and people platform; recreating board and executive compensation programs to meet shareholder expectations; and leading award-winning DEI initiatives in several countries around the world.

Additionally in this role, Padma demonstrated board leadership through her involvement with the Compensation Committee where she was instrumental in drafting the Compensation Committee Charter. She worked with the CFO to onboard new committee members and managed governance in Japan and the United States. Padma also worked with Takeda’s Board Chair, outgoing CEO, and Nomination Committee to define the candidate profile for a new CEO, review and assess candidates, and onboard the new CEO.

With strong business acumen, a deep grasp of strategy, and P&L experience, Padma brings hard-won wisdom required to align strategy and execution, business and people. Her integral roles in building platforms for organic growth, expansion through global M&A, and improvements in market share and profit margin demonstrate her expertise in positively impacting corporate success in markets around the world.

Padma completed her Master’s degree coursework at the University of Madras and holds a Bachelor’s degree from Osmania University, both in India. She regularly presents on topics that are relevant for today’s global marketplace, such as creating stability in uncertainty and building resilient companies, and was the keynote speaker for NARHES21 Virtual Summit.