The Bank of New York Mellon (BNY Mellon) has named Shekar Ranganathan as its new Asia-Pacific regional financial controller, the bank's highest finance position in the region.
Based in Pune in India, Ranganathan will support the bank's regional growth strategy, work to build its finance infrastructure and oversee regulatory reporting. He will work with all of BNY Mellon's Asia-Pacific business and shared services heads to fulfil his duties.
"We are in growth mode in Asia," said Christopher Sturdy, Hong Kong-based Asia-Pacific chairman at BNY Mellon. "As we move to accelerate the growth of our business, we are assembling a team of top talent from both inside and outside the company to ensure we achieve our ambitions, and we are extremely pleased that Shekar has accepted this key position."
The regional financial controller position is new at the bank and Ranganathan will work with Sturdy. He reports to BNY Mellon's London-based international chief financial officer John Roy and New York-based controller John Park.
Ranganathan remains based in Pune because, according to a BNY Mellon spokesperson, the position's regional nature allows for "flexibility" in its location.
Last week, the bank appointed Navneet Singh country executive and chief representative in India. Referring to the importance of the country to the bank, Sturdy said: "India, with its high growth trajectory and expanding savings and investment pool, is a key focus for our company".
BNY Mellon began operations in India in 2004 with the opening of a captive operations centre in Pune, a city that is a three-hour drive from Mumbai. Ranganathan joined the bank in 2004 and a year later a second office was opened in the city.
Prior to his promotion, Ranganathan worked as the bank's chief financial controller and chief administrative officer for India. He has worked in various head finance roles in Africa and India.
In 2008 the Asia-Pacific region generated $794 million in revenue for the bank, representing 6% of global revenue. BNY Mellon currently operates in 12 Asia-Pacific markets.
