HRTech Interview Sagar Khatri, CEO of Multiplier

Welcome to HRTech Cube, Sagar! To begin, can you please share your professional journey and what led you to co-found and lead Multiplier as its CEO?
Before founding Multiplier, I worked in investment banking and corporate development, and I also helped companies expand into new markets, such as Japan and Australia. That experience showed me how difficult it was for businesses to hire across borders, with months of paperwork, entity setup, payroll, and compliance before you could even get started. On a personal level, my cofounders and I had all left our home countries to find opportunities, and we didn’t want the next generation to face that same barrier. We started Multiplier with a simple belief: careers and talent should never be limited by geography. Our vision is to create a world without limits, where companies can reach talent anywhere and people can build global careers without uprooting their lives.

There’s been a lot of vague, aspirational talk around AI in the workplace. Why do you think this kind of messaging backfires when it comes to adoption?
Messaging around AI often backfires when it focuses only on hype without showing the real, practical benefits. Employees want to know how AI can actually make their work easier – helping them be more productive, creative, and effective in their roles. If those benefits aren’t made clear, it leaves room for assumptions and anxieties.

AI works best when it assists and augments people, not when it’s treated as a replacement. Productivity gains come from pairing human expertise with AI tools, where the tech handles mundane tasks and people focus on higher-value work. As technology evolves quickly, workers who continue to upskill will be the ones who get the most out of these tools, and companies should support that growth.

The truth is, AI can assist and augment, but it can’t deliver results on its own. Ultimately, it’s the people who bring it to life, and their concerns and sentiments can’t be trivialized. Explaining the real problems you’re solving, setting measurable goals, and being upfront about challenges sets the stage for free-flowing, open-minded dialogue and collaboration. Vaguely namedropping buzzwords might just do the opposite.

Poor communication is often cited as a major barrier to AI integration. From your experience, how does weak messaging affect adoption rates and employee trust?
Your internal communication plan can make or break the momentum of AI integration. People naturally approach uncertainty with scepticism and fear, and that’s not the ground you’d want to build your AI strategy on. Employees will have many questions – Will this change my role? Am I going to get the right training? Is this about replacing me or helping me? The answers must come from a place of trust, transparency, and thoroughness. If their questions aren’t promptly addressed, that creates resistance before the project even gets off the ground. That uncertainty can quickly turn into frustration or fatigue. It’s even tougher in global teams, where different time zones and cultures make it easier for miscommunication to snowball.

What, in your view, does a well-executed internal AI rollout actually look like? Can you share a few practical steps leaders should take?
I’ve found that when leaders are transparent, consistent, and proactive in treating the rollout as a collaborative exercise, trust builds itself. Don’t just announce plans; take employees along from day zero, before you make the plans. For example, in a global company, starting with region-specific case studies can show employees exactly how a certain tool will make their daily work easier. Pairing that with interactive workshops and town halls gives people space to ask questions, voice concerns, and even contribute ideas. Many of our most innovative solutions have come from experimenting directly, such as during internal hackathons.

Before locking anything in, you need to hear from those who will be using it every day. Just imagine the amount of effort, time, and resources it would take if you had to retroactively fit in real, crucial feedback into an already airtight strategy. You need adoption to stick because employees feel ownership, not because change was imposed on them. When people feel included in the process, AI shifts from being something scary and ominous to something they’re genuinely curious to explore and integrate.

How do you see AI transforming HR practices and broader workforce strategies in the years ahead?
HR’s role in the age of AI is really multi-dimensional. On one hand, HR needs to guide the organisation through AI rollouts, making sure employees feel sufficiently informed, supported, and included every step of the way. On the other hand, HR’s own processes are being transformed, which adds a new layer of responsibility. AI is already transforming how routine tasks are carried out, from screening resumes to handling candidate communications to running assessments. This allows HR teams to dive deeper into building human connections, shaping talent strategies, and driving engagement on a personal, meaningful level.

It’s not all about automating workflows, but with AI, HR now has the opportunity to rethink how people work, learn, and grow within the organization. It can reveal patterns in engagement, skills development, and career trajectories that were previously invisible. This allows HR to anticipate workforce needs, tailor development programs, and design experiences that are more inclusive and equitable. The real challenge lies in ensuring that technology makes more room for empathy and connection rather than diminishing it.

Beyond AI, you’ve spoken about scaling operations across borders. What are some of the biggest lessons you’ve learned in building and leading global teams?
One of the most important lessons I’ve learned is that an organisation is only as strong as the people it brings together. Assemble the best talent, no matter where they are from. Thinking globally about talent, rather than being limited to local options, opens up incredible opportunities. Early in my career, while leading expansions into markets like Japan and Australia, what should have been exciting growth quickly became a grind, navigating red tape, slow processes, and endless administrative hurdles. Today, technology leaves almost nothing impossible. Teams can connect across borders, and building diverse, high-performing teams has never been easier.

Another lesson is that, as a leader, you don’t have to do everything yourself. Compliance is one of those areas. It’s a rabbit hole that keeps moving and shape-shifting. While you obviously need to oversee what you have to, it’s easy to get lost in the details. The best approach is to let experts handle what they do best, leverage technology as much as possible, and create structured, repeatable frameworks. That allows you to stay on top of critical requirements while focusing your energy on building the business and expanding into new territories. At Multiplier, that’s what we work towards every day: enabling the best use of technology to bring together the best of human talent so that organizations can focus on growth.

Gender equity continues to be a pressing issue worldwide. How do you ensure inclusivity and fairness when leading diverse, global teams?
When you build teams across different parts of the world, you quickly realize that people bring very different experiences with them, some positive and some not so much. Their expectations and perceptions of fairness also vary depending on where they come from. That’s why it’s important to first have a set of universal structures based on principles of trust, transparency, and thoroughness. Think fair pay reviews, clear promotion criteria, and inclusive hiring processes. Then, dive into the nuances you learn by working closely with each team. In short, HR brings the frameworks and expertise, while leaders bring the culture and accountability.

At the same time, inclusivity can’t be reduced to policies or checklists It’s about whether people feel valued, respected, and recognized for the work they do. When team members trust that their contributions are acknowledged on merit, regardless of gender or background, it builds a culture of belonging. It creates a level playing field that duly rewards efforts and ensures that everyone brings their best self to work, free from apprehensions about how their contributions will be received.

Talent shortages are a reality many organizations are facing. From your perspective, what’s the real cost of these shortages—and how should companies prepare?
Talent shortages are one of the biggest costs companies face today. It’s not just about unfilled roles; it’s the lost growth, revenue, and innovation that never happens. The only way to prepare is to widen the lens. Our own data shows that about 70% of global tech hires on Multiplier have come from the Asia-Pacific region. India is still a major hub, but we’re also seeing strong growth in countries like Pakistan and the Philippines. The message is clear: the skills companies need exist, but you have to be willing to look beyond your own borders to find them.

On a personal note, what’s your strategy for staying grounded and effective while leading at the intersection of technology, people, and global operations?
For me, it starts with remembering that this is a people business. No matter how advanced the technology, at the end of the day, we’re dealing with people’s livelihoods. It reminds me why we’re building Multiplier.

Finally, what message would you like to leave with our readers about AI, leadership, and building resilient organizations for the future of work?
Technology will keep evolving. New tools will arrive, many old ones will become redundant, but the show has to go on. The workforce is evolving, and so are individuals. As leaders, our job is to help these evolutions coexist in harmony and reduce friction. Let technology and people grow in their own lanes, but make space for intersections where they can thrive together. It’s the growth of people that allows organizations to use technology in smarter, more impactful ways, and it’s our job as leaders to enable that. At the end of the day, culture is what keeps this balance alive, and leaders have both the privilege and the responsibility to guide it with intention.