upGrad elevates Koell Hemdev to dual role of General Counsel and CHRO
CE DESK 
upGrad has elevated Koell Hemdev to the dual role of General Counsel and Chief Human Resources Officer. Hemdev joined upGrad in 2017 and has led the company’s legal function for the past nine years. She will now take charge of the human resources charter as well. The move brings upGrad’s governance and people strategies under one leadership mandate.
In her expanded role, Hemdev will lead upGrad’s legal and people agenda. She will work on strengthening the company’s culture, governance structure and people systems. Her responsibilities will include legal compliance, risk management, employee experience, talent strategy and workplace policies. She will also spearhead a new initiative to build a stronger community for upGrad alumni and prospective learners. This initiative will aim to create deeper, long-term engagement beyond the learning programme itself.
Hemdev has played an important role in upGrad’s growth journey. She built the company’s legal function from the ground up. Over the years, she has supported upGrad through fundraising, acquisitions, international expansion, new business launches and regulatory changes. As the company grew from an early-stage education startup into an integrated skilling and workforce development business, the legal team had to manage increasingly complex requirements. These included contracts, corporate governance, intellectual property, data protection and business partnerships.
The expanded role reflects a wider shift in how high-growth companies view legal and human resources functions. In many organisations, these teams work separately. Legal focuses on compliance, contracts and risk. HR focuses on people, culture and capability. upGrad is now bringing these functions closer together. The company believes that sustainable scale requires both strong governance and a clear people strategy. By placing them under one leader, it wants to create more aligned decision-making.
Hemdev said that as upGrad has grown, the need for functions that once worked independently to speak with one voice has also grown. She said taking on HR alongside General Counsel is a natural extension of this need. It means that the company’s people strategy and governance strategy can now be built by the same team and from the same playbook. Her focus will be on strengthening upGrad’s people, culture and governance foundations. She also wants to build a more connected community of alumni and prospective learners.
The appointment comes at an important time for upGrad. The company recently completed its acquisition of Unacademy in an all-stock deal valued at about $200 million. It is also expanding its B2B advisory and corporate upskilling business. upGrad Enterprise is reportedly growing at around 40% annually. The company is also preparing for a potential public listing in 2027. These developments require stronger governance, deeper talent capability and clear internal systems.
