WayCool Foods, an agri-commerce company, has brought onboard Alex Augustine as its chief people officer (CPO). Augustine, a business leader with over 27 years of multi-sector generalist experience in HR and operations, joined WayCool to help architect the future of its distributed workforce.

WayCool has recently announced aggressive expansion plans within and beyond India and is also closing its next round of fundraising to enable the same.

In this role, Alex will oversee best practices in human resources management, operations, organisational development, talent management and talent acquisition. He will also focus on the company’s culture and employee engagement as WayCool continues to grow its workforce throughout India and expands its international operations.

Karthik Jayaraman, CEO and co-founder, WayCool Foods said: “In the past 18 months, WayCool has grown four-fold, and has added over 1,000 family members in just the last six months. The company has continued to invest in people development, having recently launched one of the most comprehensive coaching, learning and organisational development programmes covering over 130 of its senior executives, besides extensive product and functional training to all its family members through its in-house university, MILL.

“Given the planned surge in the next 18 months, it is critical to take our people and culture building efforts to the next level. For close to three decades, Alex has been at the forefront in catering to complex models at scale across industries from hospitality to agricultural supply chains, technology and distribution enterprises to outsourced services. He has an unshakeable belief in success and clarity on how to achieve it”.

“We are excited to welcome Alex to the team as we continue to build capacities, capabilities, and talent for the vibrant future of agri-commerce in India and globally” further added, Jayaraman.

Meanwhile, Augustine said, “I am excited to join India's fastest growing agri-commerce companies, driving social impact while transforming India's food economy. My priority at WayCool will be to leverage and build on the success the company has experienced to date, understanding what we must accomplish from a business strategy point of view and then ensuring we have the organisational structure and people resources to achieve that in a diverse and inclusive manner.”

Alex has recently served as the chief people and culture officer for the India operations of ISS World, one of the world's leading outsourced services companies, operating in 30+ countries worldwide. Prior to ISS, Alex worked with CMS Infosystem, as a core member of the executive committee leading the HR function for a team of 24,000 employees. He also held roles with Ingram Micro, AVT McCormick and with the Taj Group of Hotels.

WayCool has been quietly building its leadership bench strength over the past few months, even as it raced to close its fundraising round.