Sonal Agrawal

With over 25 years of search experience, Sonal serves clients in Private Equity, Conglomerates, Financial Services for Board, CEO and CXO searches. She also anchors the Board and Diversity practice for the firm.
Sonal co-founded and serves on the global board for AltoPartners, the leading global partnership of executive search and leadership consulting firms across the Americas, EMEA and APAC, and of the AESC (the global association for executive search and leadership consulting), as well as on the boards of Accord, ABC Consultants, and has held roles at YPO (Young Presidents Organization – a peer network of 25,000+ global leaders in 100+ nations). She is also on the FICCI Diversity & Inclusion task force and has previously served on the boards of Watson Wyatt India and other listed board.
Sonal has been named by the Economic Times as one of the Top 10 Headhunters in India, by Businessweek, USA as one of the 150 Most Influential Headhunters in the World and by Business Today magazine as one of the Next 30 Most Powerful Women in business in India. She wrote a monthly column on career issues in the Mint (erstwhile affiliate of the Wall Street Journal in India) and remains a frequent advocate and speaker on leadership, gender and diversity, and doing business in India.
Born in East Africa and raised in Kolkata, Sonal read for a B.Sc. in Economics at St Xavier’s College Calcutta, and then completed her MBA from the London Business School, UK.
Articles mentioning Sonal Agrawal
Working towards equity - International Women’s Day 2023 | 08 March 2023Ask Alto: What are the top diversity, equity and inclusion learning topics that leaders need to include in their training to create a more inclusive culture? | 02 March 2023
AltoPartners Guide to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Religion in the workplace: making the festive season – and the year – comfortable for all | 15 December 2022
The AltoPartners Guide to Diversity and Inclusion : What are white privilege and white fragility? And how can people and companies change things? | 13 October 2022
Starbucks appoints Indian-origin CEO; trend points to "Super-Choice" by multinationals for future leadership | 06 September 2022
Diversity on company boards – from tokenism to genuine change | 23 March 2022
International Women's Day 2022 : Breaking The Bias – one placement at a time | 08 March 2022
Salary negotiations: It's a (white) man's game …or is it? | 22 February 2022
Executive hirings up 30% over pre-Covid levels | 27 October 2021
Peoplement Denmark Join AltoPartners: AltoPartners Boast Strongest Nordic Grouping Globally | 17 August 2021
How to look at your LinkedIn profile through headhunters' eyes | 23 June 2021
The Post-Covid Working World – Implications for Employers & Employees | 06 April 2021
AltoPartners - The Biggest Global Executive Search Partnership You've Never Heard Of | 10 March 2021
World Book Day: AltoPartners' Top Reads for New CEOs - 15 Must Reads For Newly Appointed CEOs | 05 March 2021
AESC Announces 2021 Officers and Directors to its Global Board - Sonal Agrawal Serving Second Term | 27 January 2021
The People At Work Joins AltoPartners: AltoPartners Cements Foothold Across South East Asia and Shanghai | 06 January 2021
Sonal Agrawal named AltoPartners Global Chair: Strengthens international strategic focus & commitment to diversity | 08 December 2020
The Director's Dilemma - October 2020 Edition | 01 October 2020
7 FAQs About Thriving In The Workplace — Answered | 22 September 2020
The Rant In The Resignation Letter | 23 July 2020
Back to Base : A Leader's Guide To Getting Buy-In | 11 June 2020
Remotely Possible - The New Normal | 08 April 2020
Video Interviewing - A Primer for the Uninitiated | 23 March 2020
Dead Ends, Deviations and other Deal Breakers | 25 February 2020
The Future of Executive Search and Leadership Consulting - A Focus on Growth (Part 2) | 31 October 2019
The Future of Executive Search and Leadership Consulting - A Focus on Growth (Part 1) | 31 October 2019
India Rising: The State of Talent in the World's Fastest Growing Economy | 23 July 2019
Private Equity and the Big Talent Squeeze: A victim of its own success? | 08 July 2019
Leaders Who Inspire: Accelerating the Path to Gender Coherence | 28 February 2019
Workforce engagement: What we need is an app for every millennial worker | 14 August 2018
Ten insights from Ladies Who Lead—Women on Top | 17 July 2018
Collaborative Leadership and Diversity of Thought : Driving Business Innovation - Hunt Scanlon 2018 State of Industry Report | 20 June 2018
Hofer Tan & Partners Singapore Join AltoPartners: Expands Global Footprint – Strengthens Pan Asian Presence | 06 June 2018
Diversity & Women's Leadership: The Industries Leading Diversity | 19 February 2018
Diversity & Women's Leadership : Diversity As A Search Criteria | 12 February 2018
Diversity & Women's Leadership : An Increased Focus on Diversity | 07 February 2018
Take Charge of Your Narrative | 15 January 2018
AESC Announces New Appointments to its Global Board of Directors: Sonal Agrawal Joins & Represents Accord Group India / AltoPartners | 09 January 2018