Bengaluru: Vikraman N took charge as the Director (HR) of Defence PSU Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) on June 1, 2023. He was serving as Executive Director (Radar) and Unit Head of BEL’s Ghaziabad Unit prior to his elevation to the Board.
Vikraman N has 35 years of vast, rich experience in handling various facets of HR and diverse functions such as Testing, Marketing and Customer Support in the field of Radars and Missile Systems. He is a recipient of the prestigious Defence Minister’s Award for ‘Innovation’. He holds a degree in Bachelors of Engineering (Honours) in Electronics & Communication and Post Graduate Diploma in Human Resource Management. He is also a certified Project Management Professional from Project Management Institute, USA.
As Executive Director (Radar) and Unit Head, BEL-Ghaziabad, he steered the second biggest Unit of BEL to its highest ever turnover and profitability and was presented ‘Achiever’ Award at the annual Roll-on-Plan Business Meet of BEL.
Vikraman has played a pivotal role in providing a strategic edge to the Human Resources function in BEL. During his previous tenure as General Manager (Human Resources) at BEL’s Corporate Office, he was responsible for institutionalising HR policies and strategies in alignment with the business requirements of BEL. He established new systems and procedures in areas such as Manpower Planning, Performance Management, Training & Development, Competency Development, Skill Development, etc.
He was responsible for introducing a comprehensive framework for various competencies for benchmarking performance standards and providing a more equitable method for career progression. Under his leadership, BEL received the certification for People Capability Maturity Model (Level 3).
Vikraman N has promoted an atmosphere conducive for learning within the company through the establishment of the BEL Academy for Excellence and fostering partnerships with both national and international academia. Some of his other major contributions to BEL in the field of HR include institutionalising ERP based Learning Management System for Talent Management, establishing Functional Competency Dictionary to build competencies required for different job roles, and introducing a blended e-learning platform to promote flexi-learning. He implemented changes in key HR processes to ensure safety of the workforce during the pandemic, thus ensuring business continuity.
In his previous assignment at BEL’s Missile Systems SBU, Vikraman developed multi-disciplinary competencies in his team to handle system integration projects. He nurtured the culture change required for the organisation to migrate from the role of a Radar manufacturer to that of a Weapon System Integrator.
During his tenure as Head of Testing, Marketing & Customer Support, the Missile Systems SBU achieved a record turnover of Rs. 1,000 Crores for four consecutive years. He managed over 100 major stakeholders who were involved in the prestigious Akash project and successfully completed the realisation of the country’s first indigenous missile system.
