EVP – Strategy and Portfolio — Risk And Controls Estate

The mandate

A privately held bank has carried unresolved choices across several planning cycles in its risk-and-controls estate. Remediation, data, resilience, financial-crime and technology-control programmes each claim urgency, but shared specialists and investment are finite. Sequencing is negotiated workstream by workstream, leaving the board unable to see which exposure receives protection and which delay it is accepting. One portfolio owner is now needed.

The EVP – Strategy and Portfolio will influence approximately ₹68,000 crore in loans and deposits and lead about 1,425 employees and material partners. The perimeter spans portfolio strategy, capital allocation, sequencing, benefits, capability and executive governance across risk and controls. Independent risk owners retain their statutory authority; the EVP makes investment and dependency choices coherent.

The portfolio needs a common evidence basis. Each initiative should state exposure changed, regulatory or risk obligation, critical dependency, delivery capacity, cost, benefit and consequence of delay. The executive will identify duplicated controls and programmes whose continuation reflects sunk cost rather than present need.

Succession requires clarity on enduring accountabilities. Temporary programme roles, control owners and strategic capabilities must be separated before appointments are made. A sequenced agenda should protect mandatory remediation while releasing capital from activity that cannot demonstrate material risk reduction.

Growth here means the bank’s capacity to operate and invest safely. The EVP will connect the controls estate to product and customer priorities, ensuring that control investment enables a specific business path rather than expanding as an independent empire.

Portfolio economics must include continuing run cost after programmes close. New monitoring, case teams and technology controls create capacity demand that approval papers often understate. The EVP will require operating owners, funding and retirement plans for legacy controls. Regulatory commitments must remain traceable, but supervisors should receive an honest sequence rather than parallel promises. Capability planning will expose shared specialists in data, testing, financial crime and engineering whose allocation determines the critical path. External advisers may provide surge or assurance, yet internal leaders must retain decisions and knowledge. Benefits will be defined in risk and operating terms, with ranges around avoided loss and leading indicators that can be observed before closure.

Portfolio economics must include continuing run cost after programmes close. New monitoring, case teams and technology controls create capacity demand that approval papers often understate. The EVP will require operating owners, funding and retirement plans for legacy controls. Regulatory commitments must remain traceable, but supervisors should receive an honest sequence rather than parallel promises. Capability planning will expose shared specialists in data, testing, financial crime and engineering whose allocation determines the critical path. Advisers may provide surge or assurance, yet internal leaders must retain decisions and knowledge. The portfolio office will distinguish assurance independence from delivery management.

Why this seat is open

The unplanned role became urgent through succession and split ownership. The board intends to move from qualified shortlist to offer within four to six weeks while preserving confidential, evidence-led diligence.

What you will own

• Create one portfolio view of exposure, obligation, dependency, capacity and cost.
• Steward strategic choices affecting ₹68,000 crore of loans and deposits.
• Sequence mandatory remediation, resilience, data and control investment.
• Stop duplicate or weak initiatives and make accepted delay explicit.
• Clarify enduring leadership roles through succession.
• Lead 1,425 employees and partners across the governed perimeter.
• Establish decision gates, benefits and independent closure evidence.
• Present capital alternatives and downside directly to board committees.

The first 12 months

In the first 90 days, inventory commitments, regulatory dates, capacity and dependencies. Meet the 30 stakeholders most consequential to portfolio choices, including regulators, risk owners, business heads, technology and audit. Test the largest initiatives against exposure and delivery evidence, assess leaders and agree board gates.

Months four to nine should publish the sequence, reallocate capital, remove duplication and settle critical appointments. The first value should appear in cash or specialist capacity released, a priority remediation accelerated or an accepted risk made explicit with ownership and expiry.

By year end, decisive capital allocation and a sequenced growth agenda should be repeatable. Delivery must remain within 10% of baseline and forecasts should reconcile investment, risk, operating and people assumptions for three quarters. Priority issues need independent closure evidence; severe escalation cannot remain unresolved beyond 30 days.

What the board will measure

• Capital and scarce capability directed towards the greatest evidenced exposure.
• Initiatives stopped, combined or resequenced with consequences documented.
• Remediation closure and risk reduction against the approved portfolio thesis.
• Succession clarity across enduring control and programme roles.
• Critical-talent retention above 90% and ready-now cover for 70% of direct reports.
• Quantified improvement in portfolio decision speed with named data ownership.

The person

You are an EVP Strategy, Portfolio Executive or Risk Transformation Leader with 22–28 years in regulated banking. You have exercised enterprise authority across control functions without weakening their independence.

Your accountable book, budget, P&L or portfolio has been at least ₹39,450 crore, and you have led 1,000 or more people. You can evidence a contested capital reallocation whose outcomes persisted for two reporting periods.

You are comfortable stating which risk will wait, challenging programme sponsors and distinguishing regulatory obligation from institutional preference.

Compensation and terms

Fixed compensation is ₹2.2–3.0 crore plus performance variable. The permanent Mumbai appointment follows a hybrid pattern and can accommodate notice up to six months.

Confidentiality

The bank, succession and control portfolio remain confidential until mutual relevance is established. Facts are composite.