Lionel Paul David has been elevated as the Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) at Watertec India, a Warburg Pincus portfolio company. In this elevated role, Lionel joins the Senior Leadership Team, where he will lead the people and culture agenda to support Watertec’s bold transformation into a global, professionally managed, high-growth organization in the building materials sector.
Lionel has been associated with Watertec since January 2024 as Head – HR and has already played a pivotal role in shaping the company’s people strategy. With over two decades of experience across marquee brands such as Stellantis, Olam, RR Donnelley, and Exemplarr Worldwide, Lionel has built a reputation as a transformative HR leader known for designing forward-looking talent strategies, building future-ready HR functions, and enabling business outcomes through people innovation.
Prior to joining Watertec, Lionel served as Workforce Head and HR Business Advisor – Asia Pacific and India at Stellantis, where he led critical post-merger workforce integration, regional org design, and HR transformation across nine countries. His work has spanned brands like Jeep, Citroën, Peugeot, and Maserati, showcasing his ability to drive scalable people strategies in highly dynamic environments. Across earlier roles, he has set up HR capabilities from the ground up, led large-scale digital HR interventions, and championed people-first cultures across multiple industries and geographies.
A widely respected voice in the HR community, Lionel has served as a Board Member at the National HRD Network, and was part of the Advisory Committee to the Government of Tamil Nadu’s CSR Alliance. His contributions to the HR ecosystem have been recognised by The Economic Times, Business World, EY, PwC, and Times Group, and he has been consistently featured in prestigious recognitions including #HR40under40 four times.
Lionel holds a BA from Loyola College, a master’s from the Madras School of Social Work, and professional certifications from Stanford Venture Lab, XLRI, IIM-Bx, and others. At Watertec, he continues to focus on building a culture of excellence, equity, and innovation, aligning talent priorities with long-term business growth and stakeholder value creation.