EVP – Operations Transformation — Corporate Bank

The mandate

A multinational-owned corporate bank is preparing a core-banking renewal. The board needs one operations executive to stabilise current delivery and ensure renewal removes structural cost rather than digitising complexity.

The EVP – Operations Transformation will oversee operations supporting approximately ₹52,350 crore in loans and deposits and lead about 1,125 employees and material partners. Scope spans onboarding, loan and deposit servicing, payments interfaces, documentation, client service, operational controls, partners and change.

The target model should begin with corporate-client journeys, not system modules. Standard work, decision rights, data and service levels must be agreed before configuration. Variants need regulatory or economic evidence, with explicit residual ownership.

Migration creates dual-running and cutover risk. The EVP will govern volumes, reconciliation, rollback, client communication and colleague readiness. Benefits should count systems and manual work actually retired, not future run rates unsupported by exits.

Cost improvement will come from simpler work, lower rework and partner discipline. Vacancy savings that leave backlogs or controls dependent on overtime are not structural.

Corporate clients require carefully sequenced communication. Changes to files, cut-offs, entitlements or statements can disrupt their treasury operations even when the platform works. The EVP will segment migration by dependency, provide testing and establish escalation for high-impact exceptions. Conversion should reconcile balances, mandates, limits and transaction history to finance and risk standards. Rehearsals must include peak volumes, failed interfaces and manual fallback with actual decision makers present. Training will use representative cases; suppliers must commit named hypercare capacity and demonstrate knowledge transfer. Incident and complaint evidence should determine wave pace rather than adherence to a ceremonial timetable.

The operating model after migration needs equal attention. Product, operations and technology must agree who owns configuration, exceptions, release acceptance and client communication once the programme closes. Service teams require searchable guidance and authority to resolve common failure without creating new workarounds. Benefits will be reconciled to finance and workforce records after stabilisation.

Corporate clients require carefully sequenced communication. Changes to files, cut-offs, entitlements or statements can disrupt their treasury operations even when the platform works. The EVP will segment migration by dependency, provide testing and establish escalation for high-impact exceptions. Conversion should reconcile balances, mandates, limits and transaction history to finance and risk standards. Rehearsals must include peak volume, failed interfaces and manual fallback with actual decision makers. Training will use representative cases; suppliers must commit named hypercare capacity and demonstrate knowledge transfer. Incident and complaint evidence should determine wave pace.

Why this seat is open

This urgent new role replaces distributed ownership during core renewal. The board intends to move from shortlist to offer within six to eight weeks.

What you will own

• Stabilise current service, controls and capacity during renewal.
• Design target journeys, standard work and operating accountability.
• Steward operations across the ₹52,350 crore loan and deposit perimeter.
• Govern data migration, dual running, cutover and rollback.
• Remove manual exceptions and legacy work as technology changes.
• Lead 1,125 employees and partners with strong journey succession.
• Track benefits only when cost and failure demand are genuinely retired.
• Give the board transparent delivery, client and control trade-offs.

The first 12 months

In the first 90 days, baseline demand, service, cost, exceptions, incidents and renewal dependencies. Meet the 30 stakeholders most consequential to delivery, including corporate clients, frontline colleagues, technology, risk and vendors. Trace priority journeys, assess leaders, stabilise immediate failures and agree cutover gates.

Months four to nine should settle target work, remove priority exceptions and deliver a controlled migration slice. Fill leadership gaps and renegotiate partner obligations. The first value should appear in service reliability, lower rework, retired cost or released capacity.

By year end, stable delivery, structurally lower cost and accountable rhythms should be repeatable. The value case must remain within 10% of baseline and forecasts should reconcile volumes, cash, customer and people for three quarters. Priority risks need independent closure evidence; severe escalation cannot remain unresolved beyond 30 days.

What the board will measure

• Service, error and repeat-work outcomes across complete client journeys.
• Legacy processes, systems and partner cost demonstrably retired.
• Migration reconciliations, rollback readiness and client continuity.
• Capacity and unit cost after failure demand and overtime.
• Hold regretted loss among essential operations talent below 10% and create ready-now succession for 70% of direct-report seats.
• Quantified improvement in service and cost drift with named data ownership.

The person

You are an EVP Operations, Transformation COO or Corporate Banking Operations Head with 18–22 years in regulated banking. You have renewed core platforms while retaining operational accountability.

Your accountable P&L, book, budget or portfolio has been at least ₹30,350 crore, and you have led 800 or more people. You can evidence a migration whose service and structural-cost outcomes held for two reporting periods.

You can challenge technology sequencing, relationship exceptions and savings assumptions while maintaining client trust and frontline followership.

Compensation and terms

Fixed compensation is ₹2.2–3.0 crore plus performance variable. The permanent Chennai role is onsite and allows notice up to six months.

Confidentiality

The bank and renewal will be disclosed only under confidentiality. Composite facts prevent identification.