“Paradigm Shift in Banking - Moving Towards a Resilient, Inclusive and Sustainable Model”

Dr. K. Gangadharan

Director-Academics, IIBF

Prof. (Dr.) K. Gangadharan, is currently serving as Director (Academics) , in Indian Institute of Banking & Finance, Mumbai. He is a Post Graduate in Economics with 2^nd Rank from University of Calicut and obtained his M.Phil. and Ph.D. Degree from Pondicherry Central University. Before assuming as Director in IIBF, he served as Professor & Head in School of Economics and Dean of Faculty of Humanities, in Kannur University, Kerala, India. He has 30 years of Teaching and 23 years of research experience. Under his research supervision, 23 Doctorate Degrees were awarded in Kannur University in the area of Economics, Banking and Finance. He has undertaken six Independent Research Projects funded by funding agencies like UGC, ICSSR and ICMR etc. Published 12 books in the field of Economics, Banking and Finance and Social Sector Development. He has organized 3 International Conferences and 5 National conferences in Kannur University. He has published more than 65 research articles in national and international journals; participated and presented papers in more than 100 national and international conferences in India and abroad. He has worked as Director UGC, HRDC and also Campus Director, Thalassery campus in Kannur University. He has served as Chairman, P.G. Board of Studies in Economics of Kannur University for more than 5 years and also served as a Member in the Executive Council (Syndicate) of the University for more than 5 years. He also served as the Master Trainee of UGC in the field of National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 by acting as Resource person in the field of Holistic and Multidisciplinary Education and delivered NEP orientation lectures in many UGC MMTTCs in India. He had also served as Visiting Professor in the Department of Economics, North Bengal University and Governing Council Member in Madars Institute of Development Studies (MIDS), Chennai.

Ms. Wan-Hsin (Nina) Huang

AVP & Head of Financial Training Group, Taiwan Academy of Banking & Finance (TABF)

Ms. Wan-Hsin (Nina) Huang serves as the AVP and Head of the Financial Training Group at the Taiwan Academy of Banking and Finance (TABF), where she leads initiatives to advance Taiwan’s financial training landscape with a focus on innovation and industry relevance. Holding an M.B.A. in Finance from the University of Arizona and an M.A. in Economics from National Taiwan University, Ms. Nina brings both academic rigor and broad industry experience. Her past roles include Director and Deputy Director of TABF’s Training and Development Institute, as well as Project Manager of the Overseas Business Institute. With a career spanning research and fund management roles at institutions like First Commercial Bank and Cosmos Bank, Ms. Nina offers a well-rounded perspective on financial development and strategic training across the banking sector.

Ms. Suranjana Dutta

Chief General Manager & Head-Strategic Training Unit (STU), State Bank of India (SBI)

Ms. Suranjana Dutta is the Chief General Manager at State Bank of India (SBI), heading the Strategic Training Unit which is the Learning & Development Wing of SBI.

Ms. Dutta commenced her career at SBI as a Probationary Officer on August 1, 1991, and has since accrued extensive experience in various significant roles in a variety of financial fields, including human resources, international banking etc. within the Bank. She was assigned a prestigious foreign posting in Tokyo during her operational tenure. Her professional journey spans across diverse locations, including Odisha, Mumbai, Kolkata, and the Northeast region, where she consistently delivered exceptional results.

At Strategic Training Unit in SBI, she heads 6 Apex Training Institutes and 51 State Bank Institutes of Learning & Development and oversees Learning and Development of more than 2.3 Lakh employees of SBI. She has launched several strategic initiatives aimed at strengthening the bank's training infrastructure. As a strong proponent of employee upskilling, she stresses the importance of embracing new training methodologies that are effective in the fast-changing banking landscape.

She has also conceptualized a state-of-the-art contact centre designed to provide staff with real-time assistance for their inquiries, alongside micro-learning initiatives to enhance learning capabilities of employees. STU is poised to implement an Advanced Learning Management System under her guidance, further streamlining the Bank's training processes.

Prior to becoming the CGM, she was the General Manager of SBI’s Northeast Circle demonstrating exemplary leadership, leading her team to achieve notable accolades across multiple sectors. She laid special emphasis in cluster financing to promote dairy farmers, piggery, fishery, etc., in rural areas. She also promoted social security schemes like Atal Pension Yojana for the unorganized sector, for which she was felicitated by the Directorate of Financial Services, Govt. of India.

Her commitment to women's empowerment is evident in her promotion of Self-Help Groups (SHGs), facilitating economic contributions from women across various demographics. Under her stewardship, she successfully linked credit facilities to over 1.5 Lakh women in the Northeast, significantly advancing their financial independence.

Ms. Dutta was appointed as the Corporate Development Officer in Kolkata, a position that was distinct from operations. In this capacity, she demonstrated her expertise by adopting a strategic approach to Human Resources. She implemented innovative solutions designed to enhance organizational effectiveness.

An avid reader and keen traveller, Ms. Dutta is dedicated to continuous learning and has explored numerous countries to gain insights into diverse cultures and traditions.

Dr. Chetna Pandey

General Manager – L&D, Union Bank of India

An inspiring HR leader at Union Bank of India, she is currently holding the position of General Manager – HR and Project Head of HR Transformation ‘EKAM’. She is also heading the Learning & Development department.

Graduated from Patna Women’s College as a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in English Honours and has completed her PPGDHRM & MBA from IGNOU. She also has completed her Ph.D. in English Literature.

She is having more than two decades of Banking experience and before assuming the present role she has served the bank in various capacities as Centre-In-charge of Staff Training College of Union Bank at Gurgaon, Faculty at many training centers in various disciplines and engaged in sessions on Credit management, Rural & Agribusiness Management, General Banking and Human Resources.

She is ICF certified Executive coach and is also a recipient of Apex India Emerging HR of the Year Award 2021. The HR Transformation Project, for which she is the Project Head, has received various HR awards.

Dr. Srinivasan R. Iyengar

Director/Professor, Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies (JBIMS), Mumbai

Dr. Srinivasan R. Iyengar is a distinguished academician, consultant and trainer with significant contributions in the fields of management and business education. He was Director at Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies (JBIMS), Mumbai, one of India’s premier business schools. His areas of expertise include strategic management, business innovation, leadership and corporate governance.

Dr. Iyengar has a rich academic background, having published numerous research papers in reputed national and international journals. He is a recognized speaker at various national and international forums and has conducted corporate training sessions for numerous leading organizations. As a consultant, he has worked with several corporate and government entities, providing insights and strategies for business development, growth and sustainability. He guided 12 Doctoral students and registered 4 patents on his credits.

Dr. Iyengar is also known for his dedication to mentoring young professionals and students, aiming to bridge the gap between academic theory and practical application in the corporate world. His leadership at JBIMS has been instrumental in enhancing the institute’s reputation for academic excellence and industry relevance.

Mr. L.V.R. Prasad

Director-Training, IIBF, India

Mr. LVR Prasad is qualified as Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) and holds Masters degree in MBA (Banking & Finance). He is also a Certified Associate of Indian Institute of Bankers (CAIIB). He retired as Chief General Manager from Canara Bank, a premier Nationalized Bank in India. Post retirement, he worked as Internal Ombudsman in Central Bank of India for more than 2 years. He has 42+ years' experience in banking in different arenas like forex, HR related fields, credit matters & branch operations etc. During his service in Canara Bank, he was deputed to Central Vigilance Commission, New Delhi, as Advisor (Banking). He was on the board of M/s. Canara HSBC OBC Life Insurance Co Ltd., which is the 10th largest Life Insurance Company, during the period July 2020 to March 2022. He was on various committees of IBA on HR matters, when he was HR head at Canara Bank, overseeing 90,000+ employees.

Ms. Carrie Leung

Chief Executive Officer, The Hong Kong Institute of Bankers, Hong Kong

As the Chief Executive Officer of The Hong Kong Institute of Bankers (HKIB), Ms. LEUNG is responsible for driving the ongoing development of competency and professional standards among local banking practitioners.

Prior to joining HKIB, Ms. LEUNG was Head of Service Quality and Training at one of the note-issuing banks where she acquired extensive experience in building and managing “total quality excellence”. Under her leadership, the bank obtained several highly-regarded industry awards for the quality of its training and customer service.

Ms. LEUNG also actively participates in the development of the Hong Kong Banking Qualifications Framework (QF) which sets the professional standards for industry competency amongst the local banking practitioners.

In addition, Ms. LEUNG is extensively involved in the education and human capital development of the banking and financial industry in Hong Kong and is a member of numerous committees organised by different government departments and public organisations including the Committee on Self-financing Post-secondary Education (CSPE), under the Education Bureau and a Council Member of Lingnan University. Of the particular notes, she was appointed as the Council Member of the Hong Kong Council for Accreditation of Academic and Vocational Qualifications (HKCAAVQ).

Ms. LEUNG also contributes to the banking industry at an international level. She was a member of the Accreditation Council, Finance Accreditation Agency (FAA), Malaysia and is the Vice-Chairperson of the Global Banking Education Standards Board (GBEStB). She is instrumental in helping to shape the global banking education standards.

Ms. LEUNG was one of the recipients of the Most Extraordinary Women in Finance Award 2009 from Benchmark Magazine. She was awarded with the Medal of Honour (MH) by the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in 2018.

Mr. SOU Visal

Chief Executive Officer, Institute of Banking & Finance, Cambodia

Mr. Visal Sou is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Institute of Banking and Finance (IBF) Cambodia. He holds a Master’s degree of honor in Educational Leadership and Management from the University of Hong Kong in 2011, and later IDLTM from the University of Queensland in 2015. Mr. Sou is highly experienced and skilled in instructional design and e-learning, coaching, strategic planning and organizational development with a demonstrated history of work in the education management industry. Prior to joining IBF, Mr. Sou managed one of the biggest campuses of the Australian Centre for Education, IDP Education Cambodia for 8 years, and used to serve as the Bachelor Program Coordinator at the Institute of Foreign Languages, RUPP, for 9 years. He was also a member of the Advisory Councils for the National ELT Accreditation Scheme (NEAS), Australia, from 2018-2022.

Mr. Suresh Shankaran

Senior Vice President, ISG-HDFC Bank, India

Mr. Suresh Shankaran has approx 3 decades of experience in Banking and Financial services industry. He has been working with HDFC Bank Ltd for the last 23 years.

Mr. Suresh is part of the Information Security Group at HDFC Bank and he manages cyber security domains which includes Identity and Access Management, Data Protection, Information Security Awareness and training domains at HDFC Bank.

He is a Post graduate from Mumbai University and has done his PGDBA in Finance and in addition he holds information security certifications like CISA, CRISC, CDPSE, ISO 27001, Cyberlaws etc.

Mr. E. Ratan Kumar

General Manager-IT, Central Bank of India

Mr. E. Ratan Kumar is working as General Manager-IT with Central Bank of India, currently handling Digital Transformation of the Bank.

He has done his B.E. (Computer Science) from NIT, Allahabad and M.Tech in Artificial Intelligence (AI) & Robotics from Hyderabad University. He has a degree in Masters in Financial Management from NMIMS, University of Mumbai.

As General Manager –IT (Digital) he is driving digital initiatives and spearheading the most important Project “Digital Strategy and Transformation” in the Bank.

Mr. Biswa Ketan Das

Chief Executive Officer, Indian Institute of Banking & Finance, India

Mr. Biswa Ketan Das is the Chief Executive Officer of the Indian Institute of Banking & Finance. He is also the Chairman of Global Banking Education Standards Board (GBEStB) and has been appointed as a Member of the Planning Board of Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), New Delhi. He has served as the General Manager, State Bank of India-Managing Treasury between 31-05-2014 to 16-03-2020. As the Chairman of FIMMDA, he has overseen number of seminars and panel discussions in India and abroad. Also, he has overseen the investments in an international joint venture Oman India Joint Venture Ltd and SBI Macquiry India Pvt Ltd. Further, he has supervised four training centres of SBI and been a Guest Lecture at ASCI Hyderabad. Over his rich banking career of more than 3 decades, he has delivered Guest lectures/Panel Discussions at FIIB- New Delhi, Department of Financial Studies -DU and FMS-Delhi. He has also delivered lectures at Apex Training colleges of SBI at Hyderabad and Gurgaon.

Mr. Simon Thompson

Managing Director, Global Capacity Building Coalition (GCBC)

Mr. Simon Thompson is Managing Director of the Global Capacity Building Coalition (GCBC). Launched at COP 28, the GCBC is an unprecedented alliance of UN agencies, multilateral development banks, private finance and others encompassing more than 5,000 public and private financial institutions,160 financial centres and exchanges and millions of finance professionals in almost every country in the world.

Mr. Simon was previously Chief Executive of the Chartered Banker Institute; Founding Chair of the UK’s Sustainable Finance Education Charter and a former Vice President of the European Bank Training Network. He is the author of Green & Sustainable Finance: Principles and Practice, published by Kogan Page (www.koganpage.com/product/principles-and-practice-of-green-finance-9781789664546).

Mr. Simon is a Fellow of the Chartered Banker Institute and a Member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. He was awarded Honorary Doctorates by Bangor University (2022) and BPP University (2015) for his contributions to banking, business and education.

Ms. Nirnita Talukdar

Asia Pacific Lead for UNEP- FI (The United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative)

Ms. Nirnita Talukdar is leading the work on implementation of UNEP FI’s strategy to mobilize sustainable finance in Asia Pacific, and providing support to financial institutions in their journeys towards achieving the Paris Agreement Goals and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

She comes with more than 14 years of experience with thematic expertise in sustainable finance, along with proficiency in research on financial sector accountability. Through her work, Ms. Nirnita has helped draw attention to the bond market’s role in climate transition and has worked extensively on strengthening the narrative and policies on sustainable finance in Asia. She has coordinated research and co-authored publications on Asian cross-border financial flows, health and safety of migrant workers, analysis of key non-financial disclosure policies, among others.

Ms. Shobana Chawla

Head of Sustainable Finance Origination - South Asia, Standard Chartered Bank

Ms. Shobana Chawla is Head of Sustainable Finance Origination - South Asia for Standard Chartered Bank. In her role she focuses on the Bank’s sustainable finance strategy by working with clients on their sustainability agenda and supporting them through suitable sustainable finance products.

Prior to this role, Ms. Shobana has been a career corporate banker with over 25 years’ experience in development and corporate banking with ICICI Bank and Standard Chartered Bank across various locations in India. Her areas of expertise include corporate, project and structured finance and more recently sustainable finance. She has abundant experience in driving business initiatives with strong revenue focus.

Ms. Shobana Chawla earned her Bachelor of Engineering in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from College of Engineering, Chennai and her PGDM Finance, from Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta. Besides that, Ms. Shobana has been awarded certificate of Sustainable Finance from Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL).

Mr. Ankit Jain

Co-Founder & CEO, StepChange, India

Mr. Ankit Jain is the Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer of StepChange, a leading corporate sustainability platform that empowers enterprises and financial institutions to accelerate their transition to NetZero via a suite of targeted product offerings and decision-making tools. He drives the organisation's business strategy and is focused on growing StepChange into an ESG leader by developing and deploying a suite of world-class sustainability tools.

Mr. Ankit is a successful tech entrepreneur, with previous experience in the sustainability and mobility industries. Prior to StepChange, he ran Ola Electric Mobility where he was a Board Member and a Co-Founder. He was a Vice President at Ola Cabs where he also built multiple 0 to 1 businesses including Ola Play and Ola Corporate. He holds an MBA from MIT Sloan School of Management and a B.Tech in Computer Science from IIT Bombay. He has previously worked at Opera Solutions, Accel Partners and McKinsey & Co.

Mr. V. Chandrasekar

Senior Advisor, Corporate & International Banking, Indian Banks’ Association (IBA), India

Mr. V. Chandrasekar is a career banker having more than 39 years of banking experience. He joined State Bank of India (SBI) as a Probationary Officer and gradually rose through the organization to retire as General Manager. During his long career, Mr. Chandrasekar handled the portfolios of Corporate Banking, International Banking, MSME/SME Banking, Agri Banking and Resolution of Stressed Assets. Mr. Chandrasekar was also posted abroad at Paris, France during his career in SBI.

He joined IBA in March 2021 as Senior Advisor handling the portfolios of Corporate & International Banking along with Risk Management, Taxation and Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) portfolios. As the convenor of the IBA ESG Committee, Mr. Chandrasekar is involved in organizing seminars/webinars and knowledge sharing sessions for member banks in collaboration with renowned ESG practitioners.

Dr. Narinder Kumar Bhasin

Head – PDC-NZ, IIBF

A distinguished senior banking professional and researcher with 30 years’ experience in the Banking industry and 10 years’ academic experience. Dr. Narinder Kumar Bhasin is presently working as Zonal Head, North Zone, New Delhi. He has worked in foreign banks like ANZ Grindlays Bank, Standard Chartered Bank and private sector banks like ING Vysya Bank and HDFC Bank Limited. His last assignment was as Vice president of Axis Bank Limited and Professor in Amity School of Insurance, Banking and Actuarial Science (ASIBAS) at Amity University, Noida, UP. His qualifications include a PhD. Degree in Management, MBA, CAIIB, Professional Certificate Programme in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence from IIM Kozhikode. Author of multiple publications, related to the BFSI industry, in Scopus indexed journals, Web of Science indexed journals and other banking journals. He was awarded AIMS International Award for Outstanding Management Teacher Award and the Outstanding Researcher Award by MTC Global in 2022. He has been awarded as Distinguished Service Award by AIMS International, USA, Houston for his exceptional contributions to BFSI Industry in 2023.

Mr. Reginald C. Nery

Board Member, Bankers Institute of the Philippines (BAIPHIL), Philippines

CPA, CIA, CISA, CISSP, CISM, CFSA, CCSA, CRMA, COBIT (F), COBIT (I)

Mr. Reggie Nery, currently Board Member, Bankers Institute of the Philippines (BAIPHIL), is also the Chief Audit Executive (CAE) of Bank of Commerce (BOC) with the rank of Senior Vice President. Prior to joining BOC, he was a Partner and Head of Technology Performance and Governance (TPG) group and IT Committee Chairman of Diaz Murillo Dalupan and Company, Certified Public Accountant (CPAs). He is a former Risk Advisory Service partner, Chief Information Officer (CIO) and National IT Security Officer (NITSO) of KPMG Philippines. He is credited with more than 40 years of business exposure in external and internal audit, IT audit, corporate governance, risk management, project management, business process improvement, IT security, compliance and AML management, and IT governance and management.

Mr. Nery also contributed articles to KPMG Corner under the Business Section of The Philippine Star, such as “Moving Towards Enterprise Risk Management”, “Moving Towards Information Technology Governance”, “Moving Towards Risk-Based Approach to Internal Audit” and “Who Audits the Internal Auditors”.

Mr. Rajesh Kumar Ram

General Manager, Digital Banking, Bank of India, India

Mr. Rajesh Kumar Ram is a visionary leader with a passion for innovation and social service. With an illustrious career spanning over three decades, he continues to drive digital adoption. Mr. Ram joined the banking sector as a Probationary Officer in 1990 and brings over 34 years of expertise in banking operations, with experience in India, Kenya and Singapore. Currently overseeing Digital Banking Operations at Bank of India, he previously served as the Chief Information Officer, managing domestic and foreign Data Centre operations, including those of sponsored Regional Rural Banks (RRBs).

He sits on the boards of SWIFT India, Bank of India Uganda Limited and Bank of India Shareholding Limited and holds certification from the Institute of Directors. A leader in digital transformation, Mr. Ram is actively involved in digital adoption and exploring the potential of Generative AI in banking.

Mr. Ram is a recognized expert in Data Centre operations, IT migrations and banking-related IT processes. He has served as a guest speaker at National Institute of Bank Management (NIBM) and Institute for Development & Research in Banking Technology (IDRBT) and has a diverse academic background, including a degree in Science from Calcutta University, CAIIB certification and diplomas in Cyber Law and Rail Transport Management.

He is also a graduate of the Leadership Development Program from IIM Bangalore and holds an Advanced Management Program certificate from Welingkar Institute, Mumbai. Beyond his professional achievements, Mr. Ram is a recipient of the President’s Scout Award and actively participates in social service initiatives.

Mr. Jalpesh Shah

Head-Data Science- Credit Analytics & Innovation, HDFC Bank, India

Mr. Jalpesh Shah is part of the Credit Analytics & Innovation unit at HDFC Bank, where he spearheads Data Science, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and the integration of alternate data sources.

With extensive experience across multiple industries, including banking, telecommunications, insurance and consulting, Mr. Jalpesh has consistently driven analytics initiatives that deliver substantial business value.

His proven track record spans diverse domains such as credit risk assessment, fraud analytics, collections, Anti Money Laundering (AML), churn management and cross-sell/upsell.

Mr. Burra Butchi Babu

IT Advisory Board Member, Punjab & Sind Bank, India

Mr. Burra Butchi Babu is a seasoned IT professional with over 40 years of experience in the banking industry, specialising in Digital Transformation, Cybersecurity and Emerging Technologies. He was the Bank of India's Ex-General Manager (IT), CIO, and Advisor (IT). He was an Advisor to many banks on Information Technology and Cyber Security. He holds key positions as a member of the IT Advisory Board, the Information Security Steering Committee of Punjab and Sind Bank and the Expert IT Committee of the Indian Institute of Banking & Finance (IIBF). The IIBF's Certificate course material on "Emerging Technologies," was authored by Mr. Butchi Babu.

His specialisation areas are Cybersecurity, IT Governance, Cloud Computing, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), Blockchain, Data Science and Big Data Analytics. He is associated with many leading banking and educational institutions like IIBF, NABARD, IDRBT, UBI, Indian Bank, IOB, PSB, BOM, BOI, TMB, JKB, ALB, IDBI, RBI(IFTAS), SICOM, IGNOU as an author/committee member/guest speaker/interview panellist. He is also a Startup Mentor for T-Hub, Hyderabad and the Telangana State Innovation Council.