Bala Purushothaman assumed the role of chief human resources officer at P&G on Jan. 1. He steps in for Tracey Grabowski, who is retiring on Feb. 15.

Purushothaman most recently served as senior vice president for global total rewards; global employee and labor relations; and corporate services, a role he assumed in 2020. He first joined P&G in 1992, serving in various human resources roles in Singapore, Thailand, India and Cincinnati before being appointed HR director of Eastern Europe in 2004. He went on to become HR director of global grooming for Gillette in 2007 before being named vice president of North American human resources in 2010.

He was promoted to senior vice president of human resources over global beauty in 2015. Purushothaman earned a master's degree in human resources from the Xavier Labour Relations Institute of India in 1992. He earned a bachelor's degree in computer science and engineering from the University of Madras that same year.

Grabowski was first named chief human resources officer in 2018. She first joined P&G in 1989, after graduating from the University of Dayton, becoming an HR manager in the Cincinnati sales office in 1991. Since 2015, Grabowski had served as a P&G vice president and the HR lead for North America, the company's largest and most profitable market.

Grabowski was previously named vice president of global compensation and benefits in 2011, when she also held the title of vice president of human resources for P&G's Global Business Services division.