Blogs

Sahil Anand

Sahil comes with ~12 years of private equity, venture capital and management consulting experience. His investing experience ranges from minority venture capital investments to buyout/control-type private equity transformations across industries. Sahil’s consulting experience was focused on financial services where he played active roles on engagements involving the business and FinTech transformation of leading regional banks.

Prior to Cedar-IBSi Capital (SEBI AIF), Sahil spent his time between Cedar Consulting and IBS Intelligence, where he spent most of his time at IBS Intelligence working with global BankTechs and FinTechs on their growth strategy using IBSi’s proprietary tools and data. Sahil also co-created the Cedar-IBSi FinTech Lab, the region’s only FinTech lab that has been home to 48+ B2B FinTechs that have been dominating various verticals of the BFSI tech landscape.

Prior to Cedar-IBSi, Sahil started his career on the investments team at Everstone Capital, where he worked across deals and industries, and played an active role on the “platformification” of Everstone’s various theme focus areas along with the fund’s leadership.

Sahil holds an MBA from London Business School, and a BS in Finance from NYU Stern. He is the former Chapter Chair and founding board member for YNG (Young Presidents Organization) Mumbai and serves actively as a NYU Stern Alumni Association Committee Member. Sahil also serves as a board member of EO (Entrepreneurs Organization) Mumbai, a global network of leading entrepreneurs across industries.

Raveena Khandelwal

Raveena comes with experience in venture capital, private equity and IR. Her role at Cedar-IBSi Capital is focused on fund administration, compliance, investor relations, and a few areas around deal sourcing and execution.

In her prior experience with Venture Catalysts, she was responsible for end-to-end deal management and fundraising for early-stage startups. She was instrumental in expanding the organization’s investor network in India and UAE. At other prior firms, she also had experience in fund launches and subsequent closings of AIF funds.

Raveena has completed her B.Sc. in Finance from Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS) and Post Graduate Diploma in Foreign Trade from World Trade Centre Institute, Mumbai. She is currently pursuing her CFA and ACCA.

Subit Saurav

Subit comes with more than 13 years of experience across the investment cycle in the fund business, from deal-sourcing to leading exits. He is also an expert in equity and debt raises, structuring, and financial & business planning.

Before joining Cedar-IBSi Capital (SEBI AIF), Subit was with Aavishkaar Capital, an Impact Venture Capital focused on Financial Services and FinTech, where he was responsible for deal evaluation, portfolio, and exit management. He represented the fund in various board roles, guiding and working strategically with the leadership teams.

Subit holds a PGDM diploma from IIM Calcutta and B. Tech degree from IIT Guwahati. He has attended the Strategic Leadership in Inclusive Finance program at Harvard Business School.

Angleen Malik

Angleen comes with 30+ years of experience across wealth management and strategic advisory. At Cedar-IBSi, she has worked closely and interacted with the leadership teams of FinTech lab members and played a significant role in their next phase of product, market, and customer growth. She also identifies and plans their future capital-raise requirements through the Lab ecosystem.

As Lab Director, Angleen will spend her time between Cedar-IBSi Capital (SEBI AIF) and the FinTech Lab, in identifying breakthrough lab members and their use cases, as they prepare to raise their first round of institutional capital.

Prior to Cedar-IBSi and the FinTech Lab, she possesses a strong track record of wealth management, IPO, and investment banking experience between India and the GCC via roles at RAK BANK and Seven Capital. She is recognized for facilitating RAK BANK’s largest deal and managing a portfolio of structured products with an average ticket size of $2-5mn across corporates like ICICI and TATA Group. She was also responsible for the bank’s expansion into the UK, Africa, and India.

Pallavi Bhatia

Pallavi comes with 5+ years of experience in Consulting and Financial Services. She joined Cedar-IBSi Capital (SEBI AIF) after being an Associate Consultant in Cedar’s FinTech & Digital Transformation practice, where she worked on multiple engagements across technology transformations, FinTech program governance, and program management for large Banking clients globally.

Before Cedar, Pallavi worked with Ernst & Young (EY), where she actively participated in consulting and research for three key Private Equity Clients – Apollo Global Management Inc., Blackstone Inc. and Carlyle Group. Preceding this, she worked with Encore Asset Reconstruction company, where she assisted the CEO Office with Board engagements and growth and fundraising plans of the company. She also has prior experience with S&P Global.

Pallavi has completed her MBA from SP Jain School of Global Management and holds a B.Com. (Hons.) degree from the University of Delhi

Alan Nigrel

Alan comes with 6+ years of experience across financial services, insurance, and consulting. He joined Cedar-IBSi Capital (SEBI AIF) after being a Senior Consultant in Cedar’s FinTech and Digital Transformation practice, where he spent his time evaluating and working with FinTech product platforms and the use cases they can bring to his banking clients.

Prior to Cedar, Alan worked at ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, where he worked with FinTech platforms to enhance the AI capabilities of insurance underwriting processes. Before this, he spent time at JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley, where he spent his time working with APAC hedge fund managers in corporate action operations.

Alan has completed his MBA in Finance from NMIMS Mumbai and holds a BSc. Statistics degree from Mumbai University.

Felipe Martinez

Felipe is the Chief Information Officer and Management Board member at Revolut Bank UAB, Revolut group’s largest entity, operating in all 30 EEA countries, with 15+ million customers.

Originally from Spain, he started his career at Accenture in 1997, assisting with core banking transformation programs around the world, living in Colombia, Venezuela, Spain, Austria, and the UK. Upon moving to Santander UK in 2008, Felipe led the integration of various acquisitions and the launch of Corporate Banking. His next role was that of CIO for retail and business banking.

Then, in 2019, he moved to Finastra as Senior Director of Universal Banking, Global Services. In addition to pre-sales, he was involved in the implementation and ongoing maintenance of numerous core banking programs.

Felipe will play an active role on Cedar-IBSi Capital’s investment committee, in light of his extensive global experience in assessing and working with emerging and established technology companies.

Sumit Gilitwala

Sumit comes with over six years of experience in FinTech consulting, program management, market research and partnership formulation. He has worked with global Financial services companies in their digital transformation journey, solving critical business problem statements through strategic partnerships. His expertise lies in identifying FinTechs that will solve problems for large organizations.

Prior to the Cedar-IBSi FinTech Lab, Sumit was a part of the digital transformation team at Ageas Federal Life Insurance, where he conceptualized the embedded insurance partnership. Prior to which, he was with Startup Réseau as Head of FinTech Initiatives, where he focused on corporate innovation programs, conferences and community building, accelerators, and market access programs for large Indian clients.

His earlier experiences include MEDICI – Global Fintech Market Network, where he led the FinTech innovation programs across Southeast Asia and India, and Zone Startups India, where he set up corporate accelerator programs.

Sumit holds an MSc. Economics degree from Symbiosis International University.

Chetan Parekh

Chetan is a Managing Partner in Cedar’s FinTech practice, and comes with 25+ years of experience in leading the technology transformation of banks across the region. Some of his financial services clients include Kotak, RBL, ADCB, ADIB, Mashreq, ENBD, Bank Dhofar, Bank Muscat, Barclays, among many others.

He is widely known as being a BankTech and FinTech thought-leader, serves on multiple global technology company forums, and is a frequent writer and speaker with international FinTech publications and platforms. His knowledge and understanding of Core Banking systems is also widely recognized.

Chetan has an MBA from Sydenham College, Mumbai, and has received his executive education from HBS. He is an Advanced Certified Scrum Master and is PMP certified. Prior to Cedar, 20+ years ago, Chetan worked with Tech Mahindra, Godrej & Boyce, and Larsen & Toubro.

V Ramkumar

Ram is a Senior Partner at Cedar, and brings over 27 years of consulting experience, assisting global financial services clients in their business transformations, across functions and verticals.

He has assisted 100+ clients in business transformations and enterprise-wide initiatives. He has also led six significant banking mergers, including RBS, BNP Paribas, and Barclays. Some of his clients include HDFC Bank, Kotak, Mashreq, KVB, Network Intl, ENBD, FAB, among many others.

Ram also chairs the iconic IBSi SLT panel, speaks frequently at major global industry events, and writes on traditional banking technology and disruptive Fintech.

Before joining Cedar, Ram worked at PWC in management consulting. He holds a Postgraduate degree in Management from BITS Pilani, India, and has completed executive learning programs at INSEAD Singapore and Harvard Business School. Additionally, he is certified as a Lean Six Sigma Greenbelt and Agile Scrum Master.

Amit Jain

Amit brings 20+ years of experience in areas of growth strategy, via new product ideation, and new market entry for FinTech clients globally. He is a Partner and Co-Head at IBS Intelligence, where he advises top technology suppliers, FinTechs, banks, and consulting firms on their market and competitive intelligence needs, among other areas.

His clients include the world’s leading traditional FinTech companies as well as emerging FinTech players who are seeking to partner and disrupt. Some of his clients include Temenos, Oracle, Finastra, Infosys, TCS, Sopra, ERI, Avaloq as well as leading banks such as Deutsche Bank, APS Bank, RBS, HSBC, Revolut, Starling Bank, Allica Bank, Aion Bank, and Credit Suisse.

Amit also co-chairs key IBSi properties like the Sales League Table (SLT), Global FinTech Innovation Awards, and NeoChallenger Bank Awards. He frequently speaks at major global FinTech conferences, including SIBOS, Money2020, Paris FinTech Forum, and London FinTech Week.

Amit holds an MBA from S.P. Jain and has completed executive education programs at London Business School and Harvard Business School.

Ramakrishnan Viswanathan

Ramki is a Senior Partner at Cedar in the firm’s Financial Technology practice. He is an expert in technologies in areas of retail, corporate, transaction banking, payments, treasury, capital markets, wealth management, credit risk, compliance, corporate finance, cutting across conventional, and Islamic banking.

In his 25+ years of experience, he has led multiple banking and capital market technology transformation assignments across the region. In addition to this, he has also assessed, designed, selected & executed 25+ large banking & core platform programs across India, Asia, ME, and Europe.

Ramki is an MBA from Thiagarajar School of Management, Madurai, and has done his GNIIT from NIIT. He is also a Cost Accountant from ICWAI. He has previously worked with Deloitte, Protiviti, Accenture, Oracle, Citigroup, ABN Amro and HDFC Bank.

Sanjiv Anand

Sanjiv is a recognized global thought-leader in strategy formulation, execution, and performance management powered by the Balanced Scorecard Framework. Cedar’s heritage is being part of the firm founded by Prof. Kaplan, HBS, co-creator of the BSC. For over 30+ years Sanjiv has helped boards and CEOs globally develop strategy, merge financial institutions, and transform their business & organizations. Global PE funds have also leveraged his expertise in development of their fund strategy, assessing investment targets and improving performance of portfolio companies.

His Financial Services clients have included HDFC, Deutsche Bank, RBL, ADCB, American Express, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Standard Chartered, ADIB, CBD, DIB, Dubai Investments, EmiratesNBD, FAB, Mashreq, Nedbank (South Africa), among others. In more than 30 years of his career, Sanjiv has worked across sectors and driven significant FDI into Asia for clients including Whirlpool, Emerson Electric, Kellogg, Kraft, Honeywell, General Motors, and many others. He started his career in the US as a telecom strategist.

Sanjiv has been a member of the NYU Stern Alumni Council in New York, and a Chapter Chair of the Young Presidents Organization (YPO) & YPO Gold Mumbai. He is also the author of two best-selling books – “Unlocking Human Capital to Drive Performance | A CEO HANDBOOK” by McGraw Hill & “Execution Excellence using the Balanced Scorecard”.

Pradip Shah

Pradip Shah is a prominent figure in the Indian Financial Services sector, known for his instrumental role in establishing two of India’s leading financial institutions, Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) and Credit Rating Information Services of India Limited (CRISIL).

Pradip’s contributions to the Indian financial services sector go beyond the establishment of HDFC and CRISIL. He has been actively involved in shaping policies, reforms, and regulatory frameworks, promoting the growth and stability of the financial system in India. Shah’s vast experience and expertise have made him a sought-after advisor to government bodies, financial institutions, and corporate entities.

He is also the Chairman of Pfizer India, a former senior advisor to the World Bank, and sits on the boards of multiple other corporations of repute.

Bobby Parikh

Bobby Parikh is the Managing Partner of Bobby Parikh Associates, a boutique firm focused on strategic tax and regulatory advisory services.

Over the years, Parikh has successfully led the structuring of transactions for private equity funds, institutional investors, and business owners from a tax and regulatory perspective. He also works closely with regulators and policy formulators in providing inputs to aid in the development of proposed regulations and policies.

Parikh was most recently co-founder of BMR Advisors, a highly regarded tax, and transactions firm which he helped establish and run for over 12 years. Prior to forming BMR Advisors, Parikh was the Chief Executive Officer of Ernst & Young in India and held that responsibility until December 2003. Parikh worked with Arthur Andersen for over 17 years and was its Country Managing Partner until the Andersen practice combined with that of Ernst & Young in June 2002. Parikh led the Financial Services industry practice at Arthur Andersen and then also at Ernst & Young.

Niomi Parikh

Niomi has a diverse educational background and is a successful business transformation and FinTech consultant. For the last two years, Niomi has played a crucial role in engaging with FinTech Lab members, understanding their needs, and aligning solutions to help them grow. She has worked on various consulting projects, focusing on Change Management, Diagnostic Workshops, Fee Income Strategy, and Vendor Selection for banks and institutions.

She holds a postgraduate degree in Management from ISME School of Management and Entrepreneurship, specializing in Finance with minors in Entrepreneurship. Additionally, she is a Chartered Accountant (Group 1) and has completed her MCOM from H R College.

Niomi’s dedication extends beyond her professional life; she secured the 5th Rank in her PGDM course and is a recognized “Super Hero” for her contributions to training underprivileged girls for job readiness through Bright Future India. She’s multifaceted, pursuing hobbies via sports (Badminton and Swimming), Dancing and Music (Guitar), and is a passionate traveler.

Sandeep Chouhan

Sandeep Chouhan is a senior banking executive known for his expertise in business transformation and technology management, currently serving as the Group Chief Business Transformation and Technology Officer at Network International.

With a career spanning over 34 years, Sandeep has garnered extensive experience in the financial services industry demonstrating his leadership abilities, deep understanding of technology, and track record of successful transformations across 33 countries across the US, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa.

Sandeep has held prior leadership roles as CTO/CIO at Citi, Morgan Stanley and Barclays, and Group COO roles at leading Middle Eastern banks such as Mashreq, ADIB and CBQ, among others.

Niranjan Dubey

Niranjan comes with prior experience in FinTech research and consulting across Cedar-IBSi, where he worked with global FinTech clients seeking to use IBSi data and competitive intelligence in their growth. He also played an active role in the build out of the IBSi Galaxy product, a one-stop-shop self-service data portal containing global FinTech research and intelligence with 100+ enterprise subscribers globally.

Niranjan has a post-graduate degree from the Indian School of Management and Entrepreneurship (ISME) (ATLAS), where he received a degree in business analytics and research.

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How can the banking industry get its enterprise AI data right?

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Top 5 Lending Trends in the GCC: What to Expect in 2025

How Finance Teams Can Avoid Falling Behind in the AI Race

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Regulatory foundation critical for open banking and finance

The Future of Central Bank Digital Currency

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