The months of July, August and September has seen some major developments in the BFSI sector and some important appointments which made into headlines. While the space witnessed the quarterly results, G20 developments, soaring inflation, companies filing for IPO, etc, top BFSI companies have been changing their leadership board with fresh appointments.
The top movements included CXO appointments of top BFSI companies like LIC, Bank of Baroda, SBI Cards, BharatPe, Future Generali India Life Insurance, Visa, PB FinTech, Pine Labs, ICICI Lombard, SBI General Insurance, etc. It also involved appointment announcements of government bodies like the appointment of IFSCA Chairman by the government and the appointment of RBI Executive Director.
Here are some of the major appointments that made into headlines in the third quarter of 2023:
Major appointments in July 2023:
Government appointed K Rajaraman as IFSCA chairman
The government has appointed Telecom Secretary K Rajaraman as the chairperson of International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA). He will succeed Injeti Srinivas, the first chairperson of the regulatory authority, appointed in 2020.
RBI appointed P Vasudevan as new Executive Director
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) appointed P Vasudevan as Executive Director (ED) and he will look after three departments, including that of currency management. The appointment is with effect from July 3, 2023, RBI said in a statement.
Debadatta Chand appointed MD & CEO of Bank of Baroda
Debadatta Chand has assumed charge as the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Bank of Baroda (BoB). He takes over from Sanjiv Chadha, whose tenure ended on June 30, 2023.
Sat Pal Bhanoo appointed Managing Director of LIC
Sat Pal Bhanoo has been appointed as the Managing Director of Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India vice Siddhartha Mohanty (presently serving as Chairperson) with effect from the date of assumption of charge of Office and upto the date of his superannuation (31.12.2025), or until further orders, whichever is earlier. Bhanoo is currently serving as the Additional Zonal Manager of LIC in Bhopal.
Peuli Das named Chief Insurance Officer of Future Generali India Life Insurance
Future Generali India Life Insurance Co. Ltd. announced the appointment of Peuli Das as the Chief Insurance Officer on July 04, 2023. In this role, she would be responsible for the company’s Insurance Function, which entails Product Development, Management, Pricing, and Reinsurance.
Global Insurance group Howden appointed Amit Agarwal as CEO of Howden India
Howden announced the appointment of Amit Agarwal as CEO, Howden India, effective 1 August, 2023. Agarwal takes over the reins from Praveen Vashista, the former CEO, who will now step up to the position of Chairman.
Visa appointed Rishi Chhabra as VP, Head of MS&A for India and South Asia
Visa announced the appointment of Rishi Chhabra as Vice President, Head of Merchant Sales & Acquiring (MS&A), India and South Asia. In this role, he will lead the Merchant Acquiring and CyberSource strategy and its implementation in India and South Asia.
BharatPe appointed Pankaj Goel as CTO
BharatPe Group, a leading fintech firm, has announced the appointment of Pankaj Goel as the Chief Technology Officer. Goel is a seasoned engineering leader with nearly three decades of experience in technology and engineering roles.
SBI appointed Abhijit Chakravorty as SBI Card’s CEO
SBI Cards appointed Abhijit Chakravorty as Managing Director and CEO. He will replace Rama Mohan Rao Amara, who will cease to be MD from August 11.
Major appointments in August 2023:
PB Fintech appointed Sarbvir Singh as joint group CEO
Listed fintech company Policybazaar, or PB Fintech, has elevated Sarbvir Singh as an executive director being designated as joint group chief executive officer, the company said in a stock exchange filing on August 26.
Singh was initially the chief executive of Policybazaar designated as president of Policybazaar Insurance Brokers, the insurance vertical within PB Fintech.
Pine Labs appointed former OnePlus India CEO Navnit Nakra as Chief Revenue Officer
Pine Labs has brought on board Navnit Nakra as Chief Revenue Officer. Nakra will be responsible for developing and executing growth strategies, new business generation, streamlining processes to attain efficiencies and maximising revenue streams for the payments business in India.
Smita Aggarwal appointed as Director of UNSGSA Office
Smita Aggarwal gets appointed as the new Director of the Office of the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development (UNSGSA). She will assume the leadership role in supporting Queen Máxima’s efforts as the UNSGSA, based in New York.
FIDC appointed Umesh Revankar as its new Chairman
Finance Industry Development Council (FIDC) has appointed Umesh Revankar as its new Chairman. Revankar assumes Chairmanship for a 2-year Term commencing August, 23.
RBL Bank appointed Buvanesh Tharashankar as Head of Finance
Private sector lender RBL Bank has appointed Buvanesh Tharashankar as the Head of Finance. The bank further said that Tharashankar shall be considered for the position of Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and key managerial personnel of the bank.
Major appointments in September 2023:
Sanjeev Mantri to takeover from Bhargav Dasgupta as MD & CEO of ICICI Lombard
ICICI Lombard’s Board of Directors have approved the appointment of Sanjeev Mantri, presently Executive Director of the Company, as Managing Director & CEO of the Company. He will take on the position with effect from December 1, 2023 or the date of approval from Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI).
YES Bank appointed Manish Jain as Country Head-Wholesale Banking
YES Bank announced the appointment of Manish Jain as Country Head – Wholesale Banking. In his role, he will be responsible for spearheading the Wholesale Banking business at the bank encompassing the large corporates portfolio.
Aviva Life appointed Gyanendra Singh as its new Chief Technology Officer
Aviva Life announced the appointment of Gyanendra Singh as the Chief Technology Officer. He will play a pivotal role in shaping Aviva’s digital transformation, Product Development, innovation, R&D, Information Security and innovation initiatives.
Max Life Insurance elevates Sachin Bajaj as Head – Investments as Mihir Vora leaves
Max Life Insurance announced the appointment of Sachin Bajaj as Executive Vice President & Head – Investments. Sachin takes over from Mihir Vora who will be leaving the organization on 30 September,2023 to pursue opportunities outside of the company after a 9-year long association.
Liberty General Insurance appointed Parag Ved as CEO
Liberty General Insurance announced the appointment of Parag Ved as its chief executive and a director on the board. Prior to joining Liberty, he was the president of consumer lines at Tata AIG General Insurance.
SBI General Insurance appointed Jitendra Attra as CFO
SBI General Insurance announced the appointment of Jitendra Attra as its Chief Financial Officer. In this new role, Attra will be responsible for leading the company’s finances, formulating and monitoring policies, setting up internal controls, accounting, taxation, budgeting & financial planning, MIS, and capital planning for the company.
MasterCard appointed former SBI chief Rajnish Kumar as chairman
MasterCard India appointed Rajnish Kumar, the former leader of State Bank of India (SBI), as its chairman in a non-executive advisory role. Kumar has nearly four decades of service with the largest lender in the country and has held a wide range of leadership roles at SBI and its subsidiaries across India, United Kingdom and Canada. He has also spearheaded the development of SBI’s digital platform YONO.
Aye Finance appointed 3 independent directors
Aye Finance said it has appointed three independent directors to its board. The newly appointed directors are Govinda Rajulu Chintala, Sanjaya Gupta and Kanika Bhal. Rajulu has also served as the Chairman of the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard).
