Mumbai: Citi has announced the appointment of Behzad Merchant as Business Execution Lead for India, with additional oversight for Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. He will report directly to Varittha Prichapanich, Business Execution Lead, Asia South, with a matrix reporting line to K Balasubramanian, CEO, Citi India, and Banking Head, Indian Subcontinent.
In his new role, Behzad will be responsible for driving strategic, business-critical and regulatory initiatives and programmes across India, while strengthening governance frameworks and further enhancing Citi’s risk and controls environment.
Commenting on the appointment, K Balasubramanian, CEO, Citi India, and Banking Head, Indian Subcontinent, said: “Behzad’s appointment reflects our continued focus on strong execution, disciplined risk management, and robust governance across our India franchise. His deep experience, familiarity with Citi, and leadership capabilities will be valuable as we support growth, while maintaining high standards of control and operational excellence.”
Varittha Prichapanich, Business Execution Lead, Asia South, added: “Behzad brings a rare combination of operational depth, technology acumen and risk mindset – exactly what is needed to deliver at scale in a dynamic environment. His understanding of India and the Indian Subcontinent, combined with his execution focus, will be instrumental in strengthening governance and delivery across the business.”
Behzad brings over 25 years of experience across banking, operations, technology, and risk and controls. He moves into the role from Citi’s Asia South Technology Controls team, where he supported key markets including India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh.
Prior to this, he spent two and a half years at JPMorgan as Business Risk & Controls Lead for the Payments business in Asia, where he oversaw regional frameworks and also served as India Site Lead for Global Payments Risk and Controls. Earlier in his career, Behzad spent nearly two decades at Citi in leadership roles spanning operations, technology, and control functions.
He is a Commerce graduate and an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore.
