Anandkumar Desai
Toronto,ON
Summary
An experienced professional with an owner's mindset and a strong advocate for risk excellence, possessing 18 years of progressive experience in Operational Risk Management, Governance, Internal or Business Controls, Project Management, and Business Analysis within the financial services industry.
Overview
19
19
years of professional experience
6
6
years of post-secondary education
1
1
Certification
Work History
Special Projects - PCC Strategy (Transaction, Screening and Credit Risk Central Utility)
State Street Bank and Trust Company
2023.11 - Current
- Led multiple projects, ensuring overall execution, workstream management, adherence to the Change Management Framework, reporting to senior management, managing issues, and handling necessary escalations.
- Collaborated and facilitated discussions with relevant business functions across custody and other State Street business lines, as well as external partners, to deliver projects in line with the framework, driving stakeholders to define and complete required activities for initiative outcomes.
- Interacted with leadership across custody functions and the broader State Street organization to advance progress with clear accountability and ownership among stakeholders.
- Communicated and tracked progress, dependencies, assumptions, roles and responsibilities, issues, risks, and key milestones with input from stakeholders.
- Promptly escalated all risks and issues to the appropriate governance level, providing mitigation proposals where suitable.
- Created, maintained, and managed the approval of necessary project documentation, ensuring alignment with the tollgate requirements of the change management framework.
- Ensured adherence to the project scope or managed agreed changes to keep the project focused on expected outcomes and target deliverables.
- Engaged stakeholders to identify opportunities for process alignment and standardization through common, robust solutions, and to find ways to mitigate risk and enhance controls.
- Provided clear, timely, and transparent project updates through appropriate forums and mediums to all relevant parties, including senior management committees, fund/legal entity boards, and regulatory forums.
- Identified conflicts as they arose and involved the appropriate parties to resolve them.
Globalization Governance, Location Strategy, and Transition Oversight
State Street Bank and Trust Company
2017.06 - 2023.10
- Developed and maintained a robust governance and oversight program to enhance the enterprise control environment and ensure adherence to State Street standards across five global legal entities/global processing hubs.
- Managed Governance forums to ensure proactive engagement of stakeholders and timely management of key issues and escalations.
- Governed the outsourcing demand management process to prevent major deviations from agreed numbers.
- Managed and approved global transitions across three global hubs, moving from high-cost to low-cost locations
- Standardized the transition process methodology across all legal entities to ensure uniform definitions and interpretations
- Served as a Transition Risk Assessment consultant to evaluate transition risks, including but not limited to concentration risk, BCP, regulatory risk, client consent, and data privacy, to ensure smooth transitions across global footprint locations in compliance with regulatory requirements.
- Successfully led the Global Transition Outsourcing Committee.
- Completed a comprehensive Risk Assessment for all functions, covering transitions of 2,500 FTEs across three global locations within three months.
- Project Management / Transformation Initiatives: Successfully executed key projects to enhance efficiency and achieve overall strategic business objectives.
- Reporting, communication and analytical skills / abilities : Delivered timely reports and communications to Senior Management, enabling effective decision-making.
Risk Governance, Special Projects, Third Party / Vendor Risk Oversight
State Street Bank and Trust Company
2013.09 - 2016.12
- Redesigned and restructured the "Risk Governance & Control" framework to include two Joint Ventures, five global locations, and 9,000 employees, ensuring alignment with regulatory expectations, meeting stakeholder anticipations and enhancing the control environment.
- Established a "Risk Management" function as the second line of defense for the State Street captive, strengthening their risk framework.
- Implemented a "first line of defense" model for two business lines, fulfilling State Street's strategic objectives and vision.
- Enhanced the Joint Venture Risk Oversight framework to ensure it met State Street standards, fostering transparency and accountability.
- Led risk assessment initiatives, created comprehensive risk registers, and conducted thorough testing programs to identify critical vulnerabilities.
- Developed intuitive dashboards that revolutionized decision-making processes and increased risk visibility across various departments.
- Refined client due-diligence protocols, significantly reducing compliance and regulatory risks.
- Participated in cross-functional risk review sessions, cultivating a culture of continuous improvement and proactive risk management within the organization.
- Organized Risk Forums provided a unified platform for State Street businesses and joint ventures to proactively address their concerns and risks, facilitating collaborative problem-solving.
Senior Manager (2nd Line of Defense - Operational Risk Management & Enterprise-Wide Strategic Projects)
Birla Sun Life Asset Management Company
2011.10 - 2013.08
- Designed, drove and monitored the Operational Risk Management Strategy and Framework to proactively identify, assess risks and review mitigation strategies in a manner that fulfills the strategic goals of an organization
- Evaluated, executed, and supervised a business continuity planning framework to guarantee readiness for recovery in the event of business interruptions caused by natural disasters.
- Kept the Board and Internal Risk Review Committee informed about the Organization's principal business risks through committee meetings and risk reports. Facilitated suitable risk reporting to the CEO, Risk Review Committee, and Board.
- Implemented and developed operational standards, policies and procedures.
- Developed relevant risk management policies, guidelines, and best practices in collaboration with the relevant functional heads.
- Launched new risk management initiatives to manage the risk assessment process in key business projects in line with the Risk Model. Introduced novel risk methodologies, earning praise from executive management for risk management prowess.
- Fostered a risk-aware culture by web-based training, personalized training, train the trainer and content reinforcement to ensure that benefits of risk management are clearly recognized by the workforce and risk management practices are accepted as a business practice by intent.
Project Management and Business Analysis
MSCI Inc
2009.12 - 2011.09
- Led, drove, and managed projects to successful completion within defined timelines, across multiple automation and change initiatives to enhance efficiencies, mitigate risks, and reduce costs.
- Documented project requirements, specifications, plans, and timelines to prevent redundancy.
- Collaborated closely with IT to design, develop, and implement system solutions for process simplification and automation.
- Served as a liaison between IT and the user community/business for UAT Testing, production go-live, and coordinated the release of new products with various groups across the organization.
- Maintained project risk registers, action logs, and escalation metrics to ensure proactive issue resolution and risk management.
- Managed the Process Manual. Documented processes and prepared process flow charts.
- Prepared and communicated process notes to the Sales-operations team for new product releases, ensuring alignment with Sales Operations processes after comprehending product behavior from the product manager.
- Provided active support to the product management team in setting up product details in the system to ensure the sales operations process remained uninterrupted.
- Coordinated the release of new products, providing proactive training to stakeholders to guarantee a smooth launch.
- Collaborated closely with IT Development to design, develop, and implement system solutions that simplify and automate processes.
Business Planning and Analytics Manager - Operational Risk Management
Standard Chartered Bank
2008.06 - 2009.11
- Implemented Operational risk management program, achieving measurable improvements in risk profiles
- Maintained comprehensive risk documentation, ensuring accurate and up-to-date risk registers, Risk Control Self Assessments (RCSAs), and Key Risk Indicators (KRIs) for informed decision-making
- Led Operational Risk Review Committee, fostering collaboration to drive strategic decisions for effective risk reduction across the organization
- Conducted risk reporting and analytics, providing actionable insights for risk mitigation
- Developed and presented Operational risk profiles, performed root cause analysis, and prepared lesson learned documents, resulting in improved risk awareness and management
- Reported key risks and participated in audit socialization ( sharing of best practices), enhancing the organization's ability to address critical risk issues effectively.
Regional Manager - Internal Controls
ICICI Bank Ltd
2008.05 - 2008.05
- Implemented a SOX (Internal Control) framework and performed biannual SOX testing/reviews across 17 branches to comply with regulatory requirements and ensure adherence to 264 guidelines per branch.
- Executed quarterly process reviews, internal assurance, and thematic reviews, serving as an independent first line of defense for Senior Management.
- Coordinated with Branch Managers, Regional, and Zonal Operational Managers to report, review, and monitor findings for management action and resolution.
- Regularly presented key issues and findings to Senior Management as part of proactive reporting for prompt resolution.
- Oversaw process modifications and implemented a balanced scorecard across all 168 branches in India to meet regulatory requirements and enhance branch performance.
- Successfully led a team of six members.
- Internal Controls & Internal Assurance Audit: Conducted SOX Audits, testing, walkthroughs, process documentation and reviews, systems audits, internal control audits, process audits, snap audits, and coordinated with IAD CAD audits, among others.
- Risk Management: Performed control reviews, business planning and analytics (newsletter, dashboard, etc.), risk control mapping, GAP analysis, and operational risk management (RCSA, loss data, KRIs).
- Process Management: Managed new process rollouts, process changes, comprehensive process reviews, and process documentation.
- Quality Management & Review: Implemented 5S and Level 3 audits (process standardization), balanced scorecard rollouts, and lean projects, including re-engineering and process policy mapping.
Area Operations Manager
ICICI Bank Ltd
2005.05 - 2007.04
- Loan Administration & Appraisal: Oversaw the loan sanction and disbursement process.
- Banking: Conducted centralized and non-centralized banking reconciliation (Hub and Spoke Model) to ensure cash, cheque, and fund transfer reconciliations resulted in zero open items and prevented financial leakage.
- Managed the cash counter to ensure deposits and denomination tallies were accurate.
- Maintained customer service at predetermined service levels to enhance customer experience.
- Channel Migration: Improved the delivery capability of channels by directing customer traffic to alternative delivery channels, utilizing various promotions and a consistent channel migration plan aligned with the service strategy.
- Lead Generation: Created leads for loan products and relayed them to the sales team.
- Managed the productivity of eight staff members to balance workloads during peak and lean times.
- Selected and recruited operating agents to perform cash and cheque reconciliation services for spoke locations.
Education
Bachelor of Engineering - Industrial Engineering
Saurashtra University
1999.08 - 2003.05
MBA - Business Management
NIILM- CMS
2003.07 - 2005.05
Skills
Operational Risk Management
Third Party Risk Management
Outsourcing /Transition / Migration Risk Oversight
Project Management
Business Analysis
User Acceptance Testing (UAT)
Business Continuity and Resiliency
Regulatory and Client Due Diligence
Process Walkthrough, Risk Control Self Assessment (RCSA), KPI's / KRI's, Service Level Agreements (SLAs), Standard Operating Procedure (SOP)
Microsoft Office Excel, Word, Power Point
Tableau
JIRA & Confluence
Accomplishments
- Redesigned and restructured "Risk Governance & Control" framework covering 2 Joint Ventures, 5 global locations and 9000 employees to meet regulatory expectation and enhance overall control environment.
- Established "Risk Management" function (2nd line of defense) for State Street captive to strengthen their risk framework.
- Deployed "1st line of defense model" for two business lines to meet State Street's strategic objective.
- Successfully completed Risk Assessment for all the functions covering 2500 FTEs transitions across three global locations within a three-month period.
- Pioneered new risk methodologies, earning executive management recognition for functional excellence in risk.
- Developed and Implemented a comprehensive SOX program for 17 ICICI Bank branches, enhancing governance and regulatory adherence
Functionalskills
- Operational Risk Management, Proficient
- Third Party Risk Oversight, Proficient
- Project Management, Advance
- Business Analysis & UAT Testing, Advance
- Transition / Off sourcing Oversight, Proficient
- Business Continuity & Resiliency, Proficient
- SOX & Internal Control, Advance
- Regulatory & Client Due Diligence, Advance
Languages
English
Full Professional
Certification
Chartered Manager
https://badges.wes.org/Evidence?i=1ca4b4dc-285e-4048-88db-77765b124b3e&type=ca
WES Verified International Academic Qualifications
Timeline
Special Projects - PCC Strategy (Transaction, Screening and Credit Risk Central Utility)
State Street Bank and Trust Company
2023.11 - Current
Chartered Manager
2018-12
Globalization Governance, Location Strategy, and Transition Oversight
State Street Bank and Trust Company
2017.06 - 2023.10
Risk Governance, Special Projects, Third Party / Vendor Risk Oversight
State Street Bank and Trust Company
2013.09 - 2016.12
Senior Manager (2nd Line of Defense - Operational Risk Management & Enterprise-Wide Strategic Projects)
Birla Sun Life Asset Management Company
2011.10 - 2013.08
Project Management and Business Analysis
MSCI Inc
2009.12 - 2011.09
Business Planning and Analytics Manager - Operational Risk Management
Standard Chartered Bank
2008.06 - 2009.11
Regional Manager - Internal Controls
ICICI Bank Ltd
2008.05 - 2008.05
Area Operations Manager
ICICI Bank Ltd
2005.05 - 2007.04
MBA - Business Management
NIILM- CMS
2003.07 - 2005.05
Bachelor of Engineering - Industrial Engineering
Saurashtra University
1999.08 - 2003.05
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