Bindu Sugunan on Driving AI Transformation at Unisys

In Conversation With Bindu Sugunan – Senior Director – HR, Unisys on AI Transformation

Bindu Sugunan is a seasoned HR leader and currently serves as the Senior Director of Human Resources at Unisys, based in Bengaluru, India. With over 15 years of experience in the human resources domain, she brings a strong track record of aligning people strategies with business objectives in complex, fast-evolving environments.

At Unisys, Bindu plays a pivotal role in driving core HR functions such as compensation and benefits, performance management, HR technology, and strategic HR business partnering.

Her approach combines data-driven decision-making with a people-first philosophy, enabling her to create scalable frameworks that support both business growth and employee well-being.

Bindu is also deeply invested in digital HR transformation, helping shape future-ready workforces that are agile, engaged, and empowered.

Q- There’s been a lot of enthusiasm around AI upskilling in the industry, but these programmes can actually backfire. What goes wrong, and what is Unisys doing differently?

AI is revolutionizing the way organizations operate and has the potential to make employees more productive. But this requires organizations to have a clear understanding of what AI is meant to solve and a plan for engaging their workforce.

Too often, organizations plan one-time trainings, implement one-size-fits-all models and focus too much on the tools themselves, rather than how employees will look to use them. Organizations that take this approach may inadvertently cause anxiety and a reluctance to use AI, rather than the confidence to experiment with the tools available to them.

At Unisys, we know that standalone, impersonal trainings will fail to upskill talent effectively. This is why we offer all employees trainings that focus on their own career growth, offering a mix of online, instructor-led, forum and peer-level instruction.

Our goal is to build our people’s confidence around AI tools, not simply offer a standardized training. Only then will employees feel empowered to use AI tools effectively and innovatively.

Q-Unisys has been rethinking how it approaches onboarding — can you walk us through that shift, and what the data is telling you about its impact on retention?

Onboarding employees used to focus on uniform, manual processes that took up a lot of time and overwhelmed new employees. Now, AI can provide instant, personalized guidance to employees, no matter if they were recently onboarded or have been in a current role for years.

AI can help map employees’ current skills and experiences, so they receive the support they need to achieve at their job faster. This works because it keeps employees engaged and connected to their roles, which is critical to retaining the best talent.

Q-HR leaders have traditionally played a supporting role in digital transformation, but 2026 marks a turning point. Why does HR need to move from being an AI adoption supporter to owning AI strategy outright?

HR, as a business function, works most closely with the people who actually use technology day-to-day, which is why they must play an important role in developing the strategy around it. At Unisys, we’ve seen firsthand that successful AI integration doesn’t come down to the technology itself, it comes down to its people.

If HR isn’t part of developing this strategy, organizations risk deploying tools their workforce isn’t ready for, widening skills gaps and ultimately limiting their return on investment.

The organizations that get this right are the ones where HR leaders understand the business deeply enough to connect people decisions directly to an organization’s growth strategy.

Q- How is Unisys adapting its pipelines at a time when generalist roles are plateauing and the premium for specialist skills is rising sharply?

The shift toward specialist skills is something we’ve been anticipating and building toward at Unisys. Our approach starts by moving away from credentials and years of experience as primary hiring criteria and instead prioritizing the specific requirements of the role. 

This approach drives skills matching and career pathing, using AI to rank skills and competencies. This will lead to development plans that reinforce employees’ career continuums, all of which come together under one roof.

Our internal AI-driven talent marketplace is supported by Career Hub – an intuitive platform that connects employees’ skills with opportunities. AI and machine learning help our people identify open positions, map their career path, and access upskilling opportunities that fit with their personal and professional ambitions.

This allows us to find the best talent that questions the status quo and proudly takes ownership of their work – contributing to our winning culture.

The growth and development of our people is fundamental to our success. We continue to provide AI training for all new hires and have focused initiatives that empower employees in specialized roles with advanced AI training. 

Thank you, Bindu!

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