Board of Directors

Mr. Navin Puri brings over thirty years of experience in the banking and financial services sector, with significant roles at HDFC Bank and ANZ Grindlays Bank. His deep understanding of the Indian financial retail market and strong drive for digitalization have notably enhanced customer experiences.

Mr. Puri's expertise extends to regulatory and legal compliances, demonstrated by his leadership as the convener of the Indian Bankers Association (IBA) sub-committee from 2016 to 2018, where he played a key role in policy formulation. He holds a Chartered Accountant certification and an MBA, with earlier education from Mayo College, Ajmer.

Dr. H. K. Pradhan is a prominent educator and researcher with 35 years of experience in finance and economics. He serves as the Chairman of the Governing Council of ICCE and has held a professorship at XLRI, Xavier School of Management, Jamshedpur. Dr. Pradhan's academic credentials include a master's degree from Utkal University, and an M.Phil. & Ph.D. from the University of Pune.

He was also a Fulbright Post-Doctoral Fellow at Columbia University Business School in New York. His research and published works span several facets of financial markets, including asset management and pricing, SME financing, and exchange rates.

Ms. Hema Malini Ramakrishnan is an esteemed actuary with 33 years of experience in the insurance sector, specializing in risk management, product development, and more. A Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries of India since 1998, she has been an influential independent consulting actuary based in Bengaluru since 2011, and a partner at Acumen Professional Services.

Her previous roles include significant tenures at Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India, as Officer on Special Duty within the Actuarial Department, Exide Life as Appointed Actuary and at the Life Insurance Corporation of India, contributing profoundly to regulatory and development sectors.

Mr. Muralidharan Ramachandran brings a robust mix of deep IT and cyber security expertise, governance experience, and leadership from global tech firms.

He brings over 34 years of experience in the IT/ITES industry, having worked with major firms including Tata Consultancy Services, Satyam, Epicenter Technologies, Transworks, and Atos/ Syntel. Mr. Muralidharan joined Atos when Atos acquired Syntel, where he had served as CIO for over eight years, and also held roles as Vice President and Global Head in Quality  and Cyber security before the merger. He spent over fifteen years at the Atos Group. He ascended through multiple senior management levels, culminating in his appointment as Managing Director/ CEO of Atos India Pvt. Ltd., a position he held until June 30, 2020. After stepping down as CEO, Mr. Muralidharan continued with Atos as Vice President of Growing Markets, where he focused on expanding the company’s footprint and delivery of digital transformation services across emerging geographies.

He also more recently held key consulting technical leadership roles in other organizations, such as Chief Information Officer at Startek Inc. and at Medikigai India Pvt. Ltd. He has also served as an IT and Cybersecurity Advisor/Consultant to a large Health Insurance company. Mr. Muralidharan serves as an Independent Director on the Board of Angel One Limited.

Mr. Chandra Shekhar Ghosh has been one of India's foremost proponents of financial inclusion. He has more than three decades of experience in microfinance, banking and development terrain. He setup Bandhan in April 2001, with the objective of changing the lives of the underprivileged by giving them small loans and handholding them in their entrepreneurial journey. The entity transformed from an NGO to an NBFC in April 2006, and finally into a universal bank in August 2015. Under Mr. Ghosh’s leadership, the Bank, with a pan-India presence, catered to 3.44 crore customers with more than 76,000 employees on its payroll as of June 2024.

On July 2024, Mr. Ghosh retired from the services of Bandhan Bank and assumed the office as the Chairman of Bandhan Group, which is a NBFC - CIC aimed at investing in business with a purpose to create sustainable and meaningful impact in the lives of people. Under his leadership Bandhan Group has evolved into a global institution and is now present across 3 continents. Over the next decade Bandhan Group is aiming for large scale expansion to create much larger impact in the lives of people across the globe. Today, Bandhan Group’s diversified portfolio includes Bandhan Bank, Bandhan AMC, Bandhan Life, and Bandhan Technologies.

As Director of Bandhan AMC and Bandhan Life, Mr. Ghosh brings his deep commitment to financial inclusion, governance, and purpose-led institution building.

Mr. Karni Singh Arha is an accomplished leader in financial services with over two decades of experience. As Managing Director of Bandhan Financial Holdings Limited, he has demonstrated expertise in capital management, business strategy, and mergers and acquisitions.

His career began in the US with Aetna Inc and Swiss Re, followed by foundational roles at Reliance Capital and leadership positions at Aviva and Bharti Financial Services. Mr. Arha holds an MBA from Marriott School of Management, Brigham Young University, and a bachelor's degree in economics from Delhi University.

Mr. Satishwar B, MD & CEO of Bandhan Life, is the architect behind the company's transformation into a leading digital-first life insurance provider. Under his leadership, Bandhan Life has embraced a fully digital approach, streamlining processes from policy issuance to claims and renewals, significantly enhancing customer service and operational efficiency.

His strategic focus on leveraging data analytics has propelled the company to new heights by optimizing customer engagements and internal operations. Satishwar has championed a culture of innovation, which has positioned Bandhan Life at the forefront of the digital insurance wave. With over two decades of experience in the insurance and finance industry, his expertise is crucial in navigating the complex landscape of digital transformation in insurance. He is a Chartered Accountant and holds a bachelor’s degree from Mumbai University, grounding his leadership in solid academic and professional foundations.