Dehviaa (Diya) SK.

Led learning & development, leadership capability and people operations initiatives across organisations with workforces exceeding 15,000 employees collectively. Partnered with business leaders and HR teams to strengthen leadership readiness, workforce capability and organisational effectiveness through learning solutions, talent development initiatives and people operations improvement projects. Working across diverse organisational environments exposed me to a recurring challenge: managers were often expected to lead people, drive performance and navigate change without sufficient preparation or support. That experience continues to shape my perspective on leadership development and the importance of equipping managers to navigate people, performance and pressure effectively.

Led talent acquisition and workforce planning initiatives across the BPO, Banking, Hospitality and Retail sectors, supporting SMEs and multinational organisations with regional hiring and talent strategy. As Head of Talent Acquisition, I led a team of 10 recruiters while partnering closely with business leaders on hiring decisions, workforce planning and talent challenges across multiple industries and markets. Working across diverse organisations exposed me to a recurring pattern: employee engagement, retention and performance were often influenced more by the quality of management than the availability of talent. This experience reinforced a belief that continues to shape my work today: organisations rarely struggle because of a lack of talent. More often, they struggle because managers are not sufficiently equipped to lead, develop and retain that talent effectively.

Supported HR transformation, workforce development and operational leadership initiatives across a 300+ employee organisation, with a strong focus on aligning people practices to measurable business outcomes. Working closely with business leaders, I helped design and implement capability development initiatives that contributed to a 25% improvement in team productivity within 60 days. Beyond learning and development, I led HR operational improvements, digitalisation initiatives and governance practices that strengthened employee experience, operational efficiency and HR compliance. This experience reinforced an important lesson: workforce development creates the greatest impact when people initiatives are directly connected to business performance, not delivered as standalone HR activities.

Supported leadership development, workforce transformation and people initiatives within a large-scale manufacturing and corporate environment. A key focus of my role was partnering with business leaders to strengthen management capability through structured leadership development. This included managing the end-to-end delivery of a 90-day leadership development roadmap for 35 management-level employees, designed to build leadership effectiveness and long-term organisational capability. I also led workforce digitalisation initiatives, supporting the rollout and adoption of HRMS and biometric systems across a 500+ employee workforce while driving employee engagement and change management efforts alongside senior leadership teams. Working closely with managers across different functions reinforced an observation that continues to shape my work today: technical expertise may earn someone a leadership role, but success as a manager often depends on their ability to lead people, navigate change and build trust under pressure.

Supported Learning & Development and HR Operations across multiple business entities within a dynamic education and workforce development environment. Designed and delivered capability-building programmes for more than 70 employees across five business entities, using classroom, on-the-job and blended learning approaches to support workforce development and organisational effectiveness. I also coordinated large-scale apprenticeship recruitment initiatives involving more than 500 participants under the PERKESO Penjana Kerjaya programme, while partnering closely with senior leadership to strengthen learning effectiveness, programme administration and operational governance. This experience laid the foundation for my passion in learning and development, reinforcing the belief that meaningful growth happens when learning is practical, relevant and connected to real workplace challenges.

Focused on academic research, business analysis and postgraduate studies, with a particular interest in leadership, organisational behaviour and workforce development. Conducted research, literature reviews and data analysis on topics related to leadership, human capital and organisational effectiveness, while supporting the development of academic content at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. This experience strengthened my ability to bridge research and practice, using evidence-based insights to better understand workplace challenges, leadership behaviours and organisational performance.

Supported HR operations, recruitment, employee relations and workforce administration within a large-scale manufacturing environment employing more than 1,000 employees. Coordinated onboarding, training, recruitment and employee administration activities while working closely with operational leaders to support workforce planning, compliance and day-to-day people operations. This role provided my first exposure to the realities of managing large and diverse workforces, shaping my interest in employee development, workplace dynamics and the impact leadership has on organisational performance.

• 𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐧’𝐬 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐎𝐮𝐭𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐀𝐜𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐜 𝐀𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭: Recognized for exceptional academic performance and placement among the top-performing graduates of the MBA cohort. • 𝐌𝐁𝐀 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐬: Conducted strategic research on the barriers to women’s career advancement within Malaysia’s manufacturing sector, focusing on organizational culture, workplace inclusion, and leadership dynamics. • 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐜 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩: Served as Team Captain for Entrepreneurship & Strategy coursework initiatives, supporting collaboration, strategic thinking, and leadership development among postgraduate peers.

Built foundational knowledge across core Human Resources disciplines including Learning & Development, HRIS, Compensation & Benefits, Talent Management, and Industrial Relations. Active in university business society initiatives, supporting teamwork, collaboration, and organisational engagement beyond the academic environment.

Developed foundational knowledge in information technology, analytical thinking, and problem-solving, providing early exposure to digital systems and structured technical learning environments.