NEW DELHI — Rachana Panda is stepping down from her role as GE's chief communications officer in South Asia, after more than seven years with the company.

One of India's top corporate communications execs, Panda joined GE in 2012, and has played a pivotal role not only in terms of leading the function but also protecting and enhancing the company's reputation in the region. 

"Rachana has been a great asset to GE and we thank her for her excellent leadership on building the GE brand in the region through innovative storytelling," said GE South Asia president/CEO Vishal Wanchoo, to whom Panda reported. "She built a strong communications team, trusted and credible relationship with the stakeholders and strong business centric communications strategy. Rachana’s strategic foresight, leadership and passion will be greatly missed."

Panda told the Holmes Report that she plans to take a break before deciding on her next move. "Once I am all rejuvenated, I will look forward to opportunities where I can take all my learnings at GE of curating global and local thought leadership campaigns, and more importantly how to up the game for communications as a strategic function, like any other business function."

Prior to GE, Panda served in senior communications roles at Alstom, UTStarcom and Alcatel.