Former SBI Chairman, Rajnish Kumar, joins Mastercard

Mastercard, the leading credit card company has appointed Rajnish Kumar as Chairman of Mastercard India. Kumar, former Chairman of the State Bank of India (SBI), will take over the critical, non-executive advisory role and will guide Mastercard’s South Asia executive leadership team led by Gautam Aggarwal, Division President for South Asia & Country Corporate Officer, India. The team is responsible for the domestic payments landscape. Kumar is expected to augment the local leadership team in expanding Mastercard’s domestic footprint and forge strategic partnerships with stakeholders across the payments ecosystem including banks, fintech, government and non-profits. Kumar, a veteran banker with nearly 40 years of service with the SBI, was the Chairman from October 2017 to October 2020. He held a wide range of leadership roles at SBI and its subsidiaries, managing critical operations across India and international locations in the United Kingdom and Canada. He spearheaded the development of SBI’s digital platform and is recognised for his expertise in corporate credit and project finance. He is a director on several company boards and prestigious institutions, including HSBC Asia Pacific, L&T, and Brookfield Property Management. He also chairs the Board of BharatPe and the Board of Governors with a leading management institute Management Development Institute (MDI), in Gurgaon.

Jagdishan reappointed as HDFC Bank CEO

Sashidhar Jagdishan

Sashidhar Jagdishan has been reappointed as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of HDFC Bank Ltd., for another three years till October 26, 2026, following the mandatory RBI approval. Jagdishan became the MD and CEO in October 2020, following former CEO, Aditya Puri’s retirement. He brings 31+ years of career experience, beginning his journey as a Manager with HDFC in 1996, becoming the Business Head (Finance) in 1999, and being further promoted to Chief Financial Officer (CFO) in 2008. Jagdishan shouldered the responsibility as Group Head, HDFC Bank, overseeing finance, human resources, legal and secretarial, infrastructure, corporate communications, and corporate social responsibility, including administration. Jagdishan is a Science Graduate (Physics) and a Chartered Accountant, who holds a Master’s degree in Economics of Money, Banking & Finance from the University of Sheffield, UK. In April 2022, it was under Jagdishan’s leadership that HDFC Bank announced the merger with HDFC, which came into effect in July 2023. He has been lauded for his commendable journey from being a Finance Manager and transitioning to that of the bank’s CEO, bringing forth his dedication, expertise, and leadership within HDFC Bank.

Marico’s International Business elevates Goupal as CEO

Ashish Goupal

Ashish Goupal has taken over as Marico Limited’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), International Business, effective October 1, 2023. He will lead Marico’s international businesses across geographies including Southeast Asia and South Africa. A strategy management professional, he was the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Marico’s Bangladesh-MENA and New Country Development. He deployed his diverse and cross-functional corporate expertise across Marico’s multiple geographical locations in India and international markets. He has been a board member of FICCI, IBCCI, the American International School of Dhaka, and various industry-led skill development forums. He began his journey with Marico in 2006 and has had 17+ years innings with the company. He was the CEO & MD of Marico Bangladesh Limited (MBL) in July 2018. In February 2022, he moved on as CEO of the Middle East & North Africa (MENA) business, and New Country Development (NCD) business with Bangladesh. Goupal is an expert in revenue and brand management, new product development, trade marketing and demand planning, which equipped him to successfully launch new brands and drive business and process transformations, building cost optimisations. He is an alumnus of the Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies (JBIMS) and holds a B.E. Mechanical Engineering degree from Amravati University.

Veteran Subramaniam takes charge as Intel India President

Gokul Subramaniam

Intel has appointed its veteran executive Gokul Subramaniam as the President of Intel India. He is currently Vice President, of the Client Computing Group (CCG) and General Manager of Client Platforms and Systems. He will helm Intel India as its President in addition to his existing responsibility for the company’s Client Platforms and Systems in CCG. Subramaniam, an Intel veteran has been with the company for 11+ years. His new responsibilities entail driving the company’s engineering and design operations nationwide, building innovation, cross-group efficiencies and execution for on-site Intel products. In his long innings with Intel, Subramaniam has held several technical and business leadership positions in product and systems engineering, driving innovation, cross-group efficiencies and execution of Intel products from the site. In his previous stints, Subramaniam spent 8+ years of his career innings with Texas Instruments. He began his career journey with Nortel (1994) and moved on to startup, Cyneta Networks. An electronics and communications engineering graduate from the University of Madras, he has a master’s degree in computer science and engineering from the University of Texas. He holds six patents with an additional five filed across computing, power management, systems, industrial design, software and wireless technology. He underwent an executive program in general management certification from MIT Sloan School of Management.

Byju’s ropes in Former UpGrad CEO

Arjun Mohan

Arjun Mohan, former CEO, upGrad, has rejoined edtech firm Byju's (Think & Learn Pvt. Ltd.) as the new chief executive officer (CEO) of its India operations. Arjun replaces Mrinal Mohit, one of the founding partners, leading Byju's' India operations since May 2022. Mohit has resigned from the startup to pursue personal goals. Arjun’s elevation marks his second innings with Byju’s. He was one of the founding team members at Byju’s, beginning as a consultant with the edtech firm in 2016 and helming the office as its Chief Business Officer till 2020. Arjun has been collaborating with founder and Group CEO, Byju Raveendran, for the past few months, and his onboarding is an indication to re-strengthen Byju’s senior leadership and streamline operations in overcoming its current financial and operational challenges. In previous roles, he was the National Sales and Operations Manager with Titan Company Limited, TAS Manager at Tata Services, with a stint with the Corporate Relations & Placements Committee of the Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode. His diverse experience reflects his previous roles focused on sales, marketing, and product development across edtech, finance and banking, including an early internship with HSBC Bank. He is a board member with Sharekhan, the Mom Store, and Talentedge. He is a member of the Board of Advisors to the electrical engineering department (National Institute of Technology Calicut).

JCPenney India appoints Kaushik Das as MD

Kaushik Das

Kaushik Das will join as Managing Director of JCPenney India, the Indian arm of the renowned US-based fashion and lifestyle retailer. Based at JCPenny’s Bengaluru office, he is expected to lead business innovations with a focus on AI and overseeing the company’s transformation strategy. Das’s 22+ years of global experience showcases his cross-functional capabilities across operations, strategy, and business transformation in retail and finance areas. His understanding of strategy and competencies around operations, transformation, customer experience and enterprise programmes are expected to steer future growth at its Bengaluru center. Before joining JCPenney, Das worked for Giant Eagle as its Global Senior Director (Operations and Analytics) and with Target and Kabbage Inc. His early career stints include positions with IBM (Lead Finance and Accounting), Genpact (Process Specialist), and Sabtech Computers (Management and Operations Executive). He is an alumnus of Kolkata’s Presidency College (Masters in Genetics, Molecular Biology, Applied Statistics), with a PGDBA in HR and Finance from Symbiosis Center for Distance Learning, Pune. JCPenney was founded in 1902 by James Cash Penney and retails apparel, home furnishings, cookware, jewellery, cosmetics, and other lifestyle goods. It launched its business in Bengaluru in 2016 and has since expanded its workforce in the metro to 700 employees.

Glenmark Pharma ropes in Alpana Vartak as SVP(HR)

Alpana Vartak

Alpana Vartak joins Glenmark Pharmaceuticals as Senior Vice President (HR) - Global Formulations and has relinquished her role as Chief Human Resources Officer, at Bajaj Consumer Care. She brings in 18+ years of HR experience, working with leading brands on building and implementing people strategies, including 12 years of independent HR strategic business partnering experience. Her astute business acumen steered independent business units, providing strategic consultation to senior leaders and leadership teams, in building and implementing people-focused strategies. Before joining Glenmark, and before her role with Bajaj Consumer Care, she had stints working across diverse sectors in leadership roles including Mondelz International (Head Human Resources), Cipla (Global Head Talent Acquisition) and The Coca-Cola Company (General Manager - Human Resources, India & Southwest Asia), Levi Strauss & Co. (Senior Manager - Human Resources). Her role with Coca-Cola enabled her business partnering acumen, keeping her at the forefront of business challenges. She kick-started her career with Whirlpool Corporation and has played significant HR leadership roles from 2006 to 2010. She joined as Whirlpool’s Deputy Manager HR and enhanced her capabilities as HR Head - Corporate Technology Organisation, moving up as Senior HR Manager at Benton Harbour, Michigan, U.S. She holds a Master’s in Business Administration - Human Resources, from the Symbiosis Institute of Management Studies, Pune.

ICICI Lombard appoints Mantri as MD&CEO

Sanjeev Mantri

Sanjeev Mantri takes charge as the new Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of ICICI Lombard, for five consecutive years, effective 1st December, 2023, or the date of IRDAI approval, whichever is later. Mantri is currently an Executive Director at ICICI Lombard General Insurance and joined the private insurer in 2015. Mantri will replace Bhargav Dasgupta, former MD&CEO who resigned recently. ICICI Lombard will soon seek approval of the members of the company through a postal ballot for Sanjeev Mantri‘s appointment as the MD and CEO, as per the company’s filing with the stock exchanges. Mantri brings 28 years of experience to the table, beginning his career with Bennett Coleman and Co., followed by other key leadership roles at BNP Paribas. He began his career with ICICI Bank in 2003 and has had a long innings of 20+ years with the ICICI group steering the bank’s Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and its rural and inclusive banking group. Mantri is a certified Chartered Accountant from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and, a Cost Accountant from the Institute of Cost and Work Accountants of India.

Marico’s Gupta appointed as ASCI Chairman

Saugata Gupta

The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) has onboarded Saugata Gupta, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Marico Ltd, as its new Chairman. Gupta was on the ASCI Board of Governors for two years and four years as a special invitee. Saugata’s vision is to reimagine the context of what responsible advertising means and consumers’ protection needs in the digital age. With the advent of the ASCI Academy, Gupta’s team is expected to architect a more responsible future in the advertising and marketing space. As Saugata’s almost 19 years of experience with Marico continues, he has been active as an Independent Director with Delhivery, Ashok Leyland and JSW Paints. In previous stints, he was Chief Of Marketing, corporate sales and business intelligence with ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company Limited and the Marketing Manager/ Group Product Manager of chocolates at Mondelz International. He is an alumnus of the IIM-Bangalore and IIT-Kharagpur (B.Tech, Chem Eng).

SBI Life Insurance onboards Jhingran as MD&CEO

Amit Jhingran

The SBI Life Insurance board of directors has appointed Amit Jhingran as its new Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), effective 1st October, 2023. Jhingran steps into former MD and CEO Mahesh Kumar Sharma’s role, who has been posted as Deputy Managing Director with the parent State Bank of India’s Corporate center. In his most recent role before his promotion as the MD and CEO, of SBI Insurance, he was Assistant General Manager with the flagship national bank. He began his career with SBI as a probationary officer in August 1991 and has since held multiple positions across international and retail banking, including branch management. Jhingran has represented SBI in leadership roles in his 30 years of association with the national bank including that of the SBI, CEO in Chicago, and as Chief General Manager with the parent bank’s Hyderabad circle. He led several other bank branches during his multiple tenure and roles.