Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Pankaj currently leads the Financial Services Sector business for IBM Consulting across India and South Asia. With a focus on collaborating with banks, NBFCs, capital markets players, insurance firms, and market infrastructure institutions, Pankaj helps organizations drive digital transformation, optimize costs, and achieve growth through technology consulting, platforms, and IT services. A passionate advocate for the early adoption of emerging technologies, Pankaj believes in their power to create long-term, sustainable value. He is particularly enthusiastic about AI and thrives on turning bold ideas into measurable business outcomes in partnership with clients and tech partners. With over 30 years of experience in IT services and consulting, Pankaj has worked across geographies and held multiple leadership roles. Prior to joining IBM, he led the Tata Group Business Unit at TCS, where he was instrumental in setting up shared services and technology platforms for Group companies, aligning with the broader "Simplify, Synergize, and Scale" strategic vision set by the Group Chairman. Before that, Pankaj spent more than two decades leading Financial Services engagements and building long-term relationships within the sector. At the core of his approach is a dedication to helping businesses navigate change with the right mix of technology, strategy, and collaboration.
§ Own P&L for the Financial Services sector in India, covering banking, NBFCs, insurance and capital market clients, with accountability for growth, profitability and technology transformation outcomes. § Drive sector wide enterprise IT strategy and digital roadmap for CXOs, covering core platforms, hybrid cloud, data and digital engineering, AI/GenAI and omnichannel digital experiences. § Oversee execution of large, mission critical transformation programs with strong technology governance, BCP/DR and audit compliance. § Consult customers on Data & AI initiatives to drive business growth, risk management and operational efficiency across onboarding, underwriting, servicing, collections and fraud. § Manage ecosystem of OEM and hyper-scaler partners to deliver cloud, data and AI, digital transformation, security and observability solutions, aligning with regulatory, risk and compliance expectations. § Work closely with CIOs/CTOs, CISOs, risk and compliance leaders and business heads to strengthen cyber security posture, data protection, regulatory readiness and technology risk management for FS clients
§ Led TCS India’s Data & AI practice, responsible for strategy, sales, solutions and partner ecosystem management across 10 industry verticals, with a strong focus on financial services and NBFCs.
§ Established and scaled the dedicated Global Capability Centre (GCC) for the Tata Group § Delivered 95% client satisfaction while managing a peak team of 4,400 consultants across 16 Group companies § Advised group companies at different maturity levels on IT strategy, group IT policies and best practices, and platform standardization to align with the Group Chairman’s 3S Strategy – Simplify, Synergize and Scale. § Worked closely with Group level executives, MD/CEOs, business heads, CIOs and functional leaders to secure stakeholder buy in for common platforms, shared services and large technology investments. § Transformed business operations for Tata Projects, Tata Chemicals, Voltas, IHCL, Tata Housing, TACO, Tata Communications, Tata Capital, Tata AIG and Tata AIA through SAP S/4HANA, digital platforms, data and analytics, and cloud based solutions. § Led teams supporting core systems of Tata Capital and Tata AIG, strengthening technology governance and enabling IT organisations to meet regulatory compliance and audit requirements. § Conceptualised and executed a platform led shared services model (business, IT and security operations) in partnership with the Group Synergy Officer, reducing operational costs by 30% for 10 group companies. § Piloted GenAI projects across group companies, creating a pipeline of outcome driven AI/GenAI initiatives. § Built a 120+ member technology and business solutions team supporting 10 business units across India.
§ Generated ₹1,000–1,400 Cr annual OBV from new and renewal deals, contributing 40%+ to TCS India revenues. § Conceptualized “Retail Brokerage in a Box” solution for a green field retail brokerage setup, winning a ₹150 Cr deal and the “Innovative Deal Making” award from the TCS CEO. § Created “Lending Business as a Service” offering, enabling the largest private bank to launch a new lending vertical in 90 days and generating ₹1,000+ Cr cumulative business from 6 banks/NBFCs in India. § Established an Enterprise Payments Hub for a major private bank, repositioning payments as a strategic business unit for fee based income and value added services § Set up a Data & Analytics Centre of Excellence for a large private bank, delivering strategic insights across all business lines. § Executed financial inclusion programs through digital banking transformation of 160+ Urban Co operative Banks on the TCS cloud platform, partnering with ecosystem players for outreach and compliance. § Designed and implemented commercial partnership models including transaction based, strategic outsourcing and outcome based pricing structures