Meet our team
The pillars of IMS Group
United by a shared spirit of ‘Being Team’, our leaders are driven by a relentless commitment to excellence and unwavering ethical standards.
Working towards becoming a dominant workforce powerhouse, propelled by innovation and leading-edge technology, the team not only envisions to empower our partners (customers) with boundless potential, but also shape their future.
With a collaborative mindset that consistently chooses ‘we’ over ‘me’, our team transforms the company’s vision into reality, delivering exceptional results that drive strategic growth, continuous transformation, and sustainable success.
Collectively as a team, we bring 60 years of experience across multiple industries and sectors. We leverage our unwavering spirit and visionary leadership to becoming a workforce solutions powerhouse through our different divisions.
Ashok Vithlani is a part of the Sales and Marketing industry for more than four decades. From being a selling agent for a variety of products to climbing all the way to the top as Director for the Polad Group of Companies, his journey is embedded with hard work, determination, and self-belief. He was also the CEO of Rasna, India’s largest-selling soft drink concentrate, carrying it from local market to national and international markets, and converting it into an esteemed brand. Since then, he is successfully contributing to launching marketing communication plans for numerous products and brands. Today, he is a proficient business speaker, and an expert who is a part of the BOD panel of several companies. He was also a Board member of Mudra Communications, one of India’s leading advertising agencies, for 20 years. Right from providing consultation to various national and international organisations, he assists businesses and students acquire knowledge of marketing communications and branding.
In his journey of 25 years, Amit Somaiya has consistently showcased his ability and potential to understand, and bring value to an extensive variety of business interests across diverse fields. With 18 years of offshoring expertise, he’s an industry luminary who built an organisation from scratch, now thriving with a 3,000-strong team. His business spans 40 countries, serving over 250+ diverse clients and specialties worldwide.
His interest, experience, and expertise in an array of business specialisms have enabled him to make a significant impact throughout his career path. His skills have helped in driving foreign direct investments into multiple modern-day organisations and start-ups.
Known for his exceptional people skills and strategic acumen, his ability to connect with and inspire teams, coupled with his tactical thinking, has been instrumental in the organisation’s remarkable journey of growth and success.
He asserts in his own words, “Innovation in our culture; Passion in our hearts! We strive to bring cutting-edge solutions that help our clients deliver business excellence.”
Rhona Driggs is Director of IMS Group, and CEO of Empresaria Group, a publicly listed global staffing specialist based in the UK, operating across 6 sectors in more than 19 countries. She has over 30 years of experience working in international companies within the staffing sector, and has a proven record of delivering growth and driving innovation. She is recognised since the past six consecutive years as one of Staffing Industry Analysts’ ‘Global Power 150 – Women in staffing’. She was also named in 2020 and 2021 as one of Europe’s Top 100 most influential leaders in staffing. She is recognised as a thought leader in the sector, with an in-depth knowledge of contract/permanent staffing, MSP, RPO, and offshore recruitment. Passionate about supporting the advancement of women in business, she has recently published her first book called ‘Together We Rise’ with several industry colleagues. A member of the Women Business Collaborative (WBC) Advisory Council, an organisation that strives to achieve equal position, pay, and power for all businesswomen, she is also an active member of several industry groups advocating for women in staffing and supporting DE&I.
Tim Anderson has over 20 years of post-qualified experience working for listed and private equity-backed businesses across a number of sectors. He joined Empresaria in 2018 from a leading cellular immunotherapy company, where he was Group Finance Director. Prior to this, he held a number of finance positions in three FTSE 100 businesses, covering all aspects of finance. He has a proven track record in developing the finance teams and structures of organisations with a focus on driving efficiencies, developing strong control frameworks, and supporting strategic objectives. He has significant experience in mergers and acquisitions having worked for a number of acquisitive organisations. He is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, after qualifying with KPMG.
We manage key business functions, and are the driving force behind creating breakthroughs and addressing breakdowns. We utilise our experience and expertise to uphold operational excellence, effective decision-making, providing mentorship, and leadership development.
Jagdeep Kochar is a veteran of the IT industry, with 39 years of invaluable experience, and unparalleled credentials in implementing and managing large-scale and successful IT, IT services, and e-Governance projects. Out of his total experience, two decades of his journey were as the CEO of IT and IT services businesses, both in the Government and private sectors. During the initial years of his career, he was involved in implementing manufacturing projects for electronics and consumer durables in the private sector, and helped organisations with their automation plans using technology and IT. While the IT industry was picking up in India, he led his teams to set up large IT systems, networks, and software applications, including ERP.
Under his leadership, his teams have implemented many local and national level state projects, including the e-procurement initiative for the state of Gujarat, and the Government of India; and designed, built, and managed more than 30 Data Centres in India, including for Gujarat state, ONGC, Mazagon Docks Limited, and GUVNL. His teams were also involved in multiple noteworthy projects, such as the PKI project for Bharat Electronics Limited for securing Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), Mineral Administration solution meant to curb illegal mining for the states of Gujarat, Karnataka, and Maharashtra, and ‘Cashless Health Insurance Card’ project for millions of poor families of Gujarat (now, a national project). He has also led implementation of state-wide surveillance, and Intelligent Traffic Monitoring for Gujarat.
He has provided IT-related advisory services to the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY-GoI), IIM – Ahmedabad, GIFT City project, IFSCA, AIC for the Government of Vietnam, and several private organisations. He has received about 15 national and international awards for various e-Governance projects, and a distinguished alumnus award from the prestigious Institute of Chemical Technology, University of Mumbai. In the past, he has served as the President of Gujarat Electronics and Software Industries Association and IIM – Ahmedabad Alumni Association, Vice Chairman of Asia PKI Forum, and Chairman Gujarat for ESC India.
Prashant Parikh owns asset management, and IT and infrastructure development experience, after having worked with numerous industries over many years. Before moving into the healthcare sector, where he played a pivotal role in setting up and managing a plant of medical disposables for Core Healthcare, he used his knowledge in developing sales and marketing strategies for Gujarat Steel Tubes. At the same time, he gained expertise in manufacturing, sales and marketing, supply chain management, people management, procurement, and so on. In 2001, he became the CEO of Ashima Ltd. for its garment division, where he worked with several international clients. In 2005, he became the Director of the Cross Byrne Design Studio, where he served for 13 years. His extensive expertise in negotiation and analytical skills enables him to take up the responsibility for defining strategic company goals and objectives, whilst working on new commercial and technology-driven opportunities. His everyday role includes building partnerships with stakeholders and suppliers, strategically overseeing company infrastructure, and monitoring budget & resource allocation.
Swati Pandit has 16+ years of wealthy experience as an HR professional. She holds a strong belief in listening to people, and cares about the relationships built with people. Right from the design of HR processes, policies, and best practices to the implementation of them, she does it efficiently for the organisation. And because of these practices and consequent engagement, IMS Group has bagged the title of ‘Great Place to Work’ for consecutive years. She strongly believes that development and continuous learning brings people closer to their professional milestone.
Julie Fouad is a recruitment industry veteran with a career spanning 4 decades. She has worked with and within Top 5 Blue Chip multi-site global/national, government, and single-site SMEs, and is equally comfortable and competent working independently, with teams delivering outcomes at the front line or producing and driving strategic business plans and change programmes across multiple sites, teams, and operations. Her broad skill set, and experience enable her to understand the challenges recruitment businesses face to develop effective and sustainable recruitment solutions for their clients and maximise profit for their business.
Julie first experienced outsourcing as a client in 2011, and now as a Chief Operating Officer – UK, Europe and APAC for IMS, she supports Recruitment Agencies in these regions to incept game-changing offshore strategies for their businesses and is a regular speaker on the subject.
Driven by the passion to provide customised, value-added workforce solutions for customers, Bryan Tweed’s contribution has been immense. A self-described “staffing industry lifer” for over 18 years, he has gained experience in nearly every aspect of the recruitment world, ranging from executive recruitment to workforce management operations, and global national account management to offshore delivery leadership.
Fenil Shah is a qualified Chartered Accountant, and an esteemed member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India. He has 8+ years of experience in the corporate world, and extensive experience working with clientele across diverse global businesses. He has experience with the UK, India, UAE, Singapore, and Australian accounting, where he offers his analytical and problem-solving skills.
Mit Somaiya has 15+ years of experience in consulting and business operations. He was associated with various social businesses in Europe and Asia, consulting them on operational excellence and minimum quality standards. He specialises in strategic planning, operational benchmarking, optimising workforce efficiency, and foraying into newer business markets. He is responsible for expanding workforce solutions for the mortgage industry in the US, building partnerships and managing operations. His ability to make sound decisions in a fast-paced, dynamic setting with an ever-optimistic mindset has helped propel the business.
Roger Smith has a total experience of 19 years, with 4 years in BPO, and 15 years in the recruitment industry. He is a Subject Matter Expert (SME) for the Healthcare sector, managing the UK and other European countries, and is taking care of non-healthcare sectors as well, including IT, Engineering, and Architects. He has successfully managed the top two companies across the UK in the healthcare space, with the prime objective of operational excellence and risk mitigation by process improvement. He has also headed the Healthcare academy team that remarkably transformed the regular source of healthcare-trained candidates for clients. Instrumental in key account management process implementation to service delivery, he has managed the largest back office and end-to-end recruitment for a strategic client, right from sourcing to the time candidates receive payment in their accounts. A firm believer in team engagement and team building, he has ensured working together with clients, understanding their requirements, and providing an unprecedented experience.
Smit Gajjar has over 13 years of expertise in the Business Process Offshore and Recruitment industries. He has been managing various clients across North America, and has consistently delivered remarkable results and performance. His exemplary management skills have enabled him to develop a healthy bond with his teammates and build large, highly-skilled teams. His teams have proved themselves by delivering high-quality results for his clients. His experience is spread across industries like IT, Engineering, Pharmaceuticals, and Finance. He is a leader who is not just a great listener, but also shares his acumen and mentors others towards a prosperous career in recruiting. He is a visionary who foresees his client’s needs, which facilitates him to get a clear view to strategise, develop, and maintain performance and service standards.
In his journey of 25 years, Amit Somaiya has consistently showcased his ability and potential to understand, and bring value to an extensive variety of business interests across diverse fields. With 18 years of offshoring expertise, he’s an industry luminary who built an organisation from scratch, now thriving with a 3,000-strong team. His business spans 40 countries, serving over 250+ diverse clients and specialties worldwide.
His interest, experience, and expertise in an array of business specialisms have enabled him to make a significant impact throughout his career path. His skills have helped in driving foreign direct investments into multiple modern-day organisations and start-ups.
Known for his exceptional people skills and strategic acumen, his ability to connect with and inspire teams, coupled with his tactical thinking, has been instrumental in the organisation’s remarkable journey of growth and success.
He asserts in his own words, “Innovation in our culture; Passion in our hearts! We strive to bring cutting-edge solutions that help our clients deliver business excellence.”
We bring together diverse talents to form the heartbeat of our company. Hiring the right talent, training and empowering them with breakthrough vision, and supporting them with conducive workplace environment, we also support all our brand leaders in their endeavours in creating breakthrough performance for our business.
