From Army Colonel to Corporate HR Icon: Dr Sanjay Verma Launches Perfect Palette and Third Book

Former Reliance and Dhirendra Group HR Leader Opens a New Learning Consultancy While His Third Book, The Anatomy of the Siren in the Crossfire, Debuts on Amazon

Dr Sanjay Verma, a retired Indian Army Colonel and former Chief Human Resources Officer of the Dhirendra Group, has launched a new HR and training consultancy, Perfect Palette, alongside co-founder Mona Verma. The launch coincides with the release of his third book, The Anatomy of the Siren in the Crossfire, which went live on Amazon earlier this month, following his two previous titles, Corporate Cocktail and Catastrophe.

Dr Verma's career spans two distinct worlds: 20-plus years of military leadership and an equally long second career in corporate human resources, where he held senior roles including VP and Head of Learning & Development at Reliance Industries. That combination now forms the foundation of Perfect Palette, a leadership and learning consultancy built around what the company describes as veteran-led expertise.

A Career Bridging the Army and the Boardroom

An alumnus of RIMC Dehradun, Dr Verma underwent military training at the NDA and IMA before being commissioned into The Central India Horse, an armoured regiment of the Indian Army, in June 1983. A graduate of the Defence Services Staff College, he served in three operational assignments, including an active tenure in the Gurez Sector of Jammu & Kashmir on the Line of Control in a high-altitude area, before taking premature release to join the corporate world.

In his corporate career, he has worked with organisations including Tata Power, HCL Technology, Larsen & Toubro, and Reliance Industries, where he superannuated as VP and Head of the Petrochemical Academy. He later served as Group Chief Human Resources Officer of the Dhirendra Group. He holds an MSc, an MBA in HR, and a PhD in Sustainable Human Development from Jamia Hamdard University, New Delhi, and has served as a Mentor of Change with NITI Aayog, Government of India.

His contributions to the HR profession have been formally recognised in recent years. In 2025, he received recognition as the Great Indian CHRO Icon by Transformance and as the Most Iconic CHRO by the Golden Aim Awards. He was also named among the 25 Most Influential Training & Development Professionals by the World HRD Congress in both 2016 and 2018. Over the course of his career, he has trained more than 10,000 employees, largely engineers and MBAs, across subjects including HR policy, labour law, leadership, negotiation, conflict management, emotional intelligence, change management, culture & etiquette and business communication to name a few.

Perfect Palette: A New Leadership and Learning Consultancy

Perfect Palette, co-founded by Dr Verma and Mona Verma, positions itself as a premier leadership and learning consultancy delivering bespoke programs in personal development, executive leadership, communication, and operational excellence, both onsite and virtually. The firm's course catalogue spans a wide range of topics, including executive coaching, campus-to-corporate transition, business communication and etiquette, emotional intelligence and resilience, negotiation mastery, conflict management, presentation skills, executive presence, customer relationship management and team building, designed for audiences ranging from early-career talent to senior executives and specialised cross-functional teams.

The consultancy has already been active in the market. In February 2026, Dr Verma conducted a full-day workshop on HR and labour laws in Mumbai for HR heads, and he has also delivered a session on emotional intelligence and resilience for the top management of a cement plant in Jhansi in July 2026. Perfect Palette's stated framework moves through need analysis, measurement using tools such as the Kirkpatrick and 6D models, and continuous improvement, delivered through physical, virtual, and blended learning formats.

Co-founder Mona Verma brings her own cross-industry background to the venture, with postgraduate qualifications in HR from IIM Calcutta and in Hospitality Management from the ITC Welcome Group, along with experience delivering training in facility management & administration, soft skills, personality development, and corporate grooming across the automotive, hospitality, media, and service sectors.

A Parallel Career as an Author

Alongside his HR and consulting work, Dr Verma has built a body of published fiction and non-fiction. His first book, Corporate Cocktail, released in August 2017, draws on his corporate journey to explore stories of humility, positive attitude, and caring behaviour in professional life. His second book, Catastrophe, released in October 2018, is his first novel, a work of fiction inspired by real incidents in the life of a soldier who is capable of protecting his motherland but finds himself unable to protect his own family.

His third book, The Anatomy of the Siren in the Crossfire, is a global thriller that went live on Amazon just days ago. Billed as the story of "a global war, a human cost, and a race against time," the novel follows nations colliding in brutal conflict while voices of temptation and betrayal pull leaders, lovers, and soldiers into impossible choices. Corporate Cocktail and Catastrophe are both available on Amazon and Flipkart, and the publishers can be contacted directly for bulk orders.

Author and Consultancy Details

Connect

Dr Sanjay Verma writes regularly on LinkedIn and can be reached at linkedin.com/in/drsanjayverma. For training and consultancy enquiries with Perfect Palette, contact perfectpalette1@gmail.com or call +91 9999991015 / +91 9999993134.