Bala V Sathyanarayanan

Executive Vice President & Chief Human Resources Officer, Greif, Inc.

Bala is a recognized thought leader, a sought-after speaker, and a respected Fortune 500 C-Suite Executive. Bala currently serves as Chairman and Board Director for Balmer Lawrie – Van Leer Limited, a public industrial manufacturer in India. He also serves as a Director on the Columbus Council for World Affairs board, an education-driven Columbus, USA-based organization. Bala’s passion for giving back to his profession is exemplified by his service on the Center for Executive Compensation Board in Washington, D.C., and serving on Gartner’s CHRO Global Leadership Board. Bala is an NACD Certified Corporate Director (the highest corporate director recognition in the U.S.) and is passionate about advancing the highest standards of boardroom excellence.

Bala is Executive Vice President & Chief Human Resources Officer at Greif, Inc. a 14-year-old Fortune 500 size global leader in industrial packaging products and services operating over 300 locations in 45 countries across 4 continents. He is focused on delivering a world-class, diverse, and engaged workforce that can execute on Greif’s global vision of best-in-class service.

Prior to joining Greif, Bala was an Executive Vice President at Xerox Corporation where he headed Human Resources and Business Transformation for the Technology Business spread across 145 countries worldwide. Previously, Bala lead Human Resources for Hewlett-Packard’s Americas Enterprise Business organization.Earlier in his career Bala held positions of increasing responsibility at
Avaya Inc., Coca-Cola, and United Technologies/Otis Elevator Company. Bala graduated from the Advanced Management Program at the Harvard Business School. In addition, he holds a Master of Human Resources Management (MHRM) degree from Rutgers University in New Jersey, an MBA in General Management and BE in Electronics & Communications Engineering from the University of Madras. A recipient of many global awards, Bala was named to the list of Outstanding 50 Asian Americans in Business by the Asian American Business Development Center (AABDC), Executive of the Year by Columbus CEO Magazine, Top inspiring Business Leaders of the Year issued by Industry Wired Magazine in 2020, 10 Most Influential Business Leaders to Follow in 2021 by CIO Insights Magazine to name a few.