Mumbai: Acuité Ratings & Research Limited has announced a planned leadership transition, appointing Pankaj Bansal as its Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer, effective July 15, 2026.
Bansal succeeds Sankar Chakraborti, who is stepping down after leading the organisation for 12 years. During his tenure, Chakraborti oversaw significant growth, strengthened the company’s analytical and technological capabilities, and expanded its presence across the ratings and research ecosystem.
The company said the transition has been carefully planned to ensure leadership continuity, a seamless handover, and uninterrupted engagement with clients, regulators, investors, lenders and other stakeholders.
Commenting on the appointment, Santosh Kumar Mohanty, Non-Executive Chairman, said, “Acuité has strengthened its technological and analytical capabilities and diversified the business in the last twelve years under Sankar’s leadership. Pankaj brings in vast experience across ratings, banking and technology-led financial services with a deep understanding of the evolving nature of the industry. The Board believes he is well placed to lead Acuité through its next phase of growth.”
Reflecting on his tenure, Sankar Chakraborti said, “It has been an honour to serve capital market investors, issuers and lenders through Acuité Group’s Bond Ratings, Bank Loan Ratings, ESG Ratings, SME Ratings, Structured Finance and Credit Enhancement services. Throughout this journey, our commitment to analytical independence, transparency, regulatory discipline and investor protection has remained a priority and will continue to be so. I am confident that under Pankaj’s leadership, Acuité will continue to strengthen stakeholder trust and build on this strong foundation.”
Expressing his views on taking charge, Pankaj Bansal said, “I am delighted to lead Acuité at an important stage in its growth journey. The organisation has built a strong reputation for technological prowess, analytical rigour and stakeholder trust under Sankar’s leadership. My immediate priority will be to ensure seamless continuity for all our stakeholders, while building on the strong foundation already in place. We will continue to invest in technology and talent, uphold the highest standards of governance, and remain steadfast in our commitment to providing credible and objective credit opinions that support the development of India’s financial markets.”
Bansal brings more than two decades of experience across credit ratings, banking and financial services. Prior to joining Acuité, he served as Chief Business Officer at BankBazaar. Over the course of his career, he has held leadership roles at BankBazaar, Mastercard, CRISIL and HDFC Bank, where he led business growth initiatives, built client franchises, and worked extensively across lending, risk assessment and financial market ecosystems.
