Managing Partner – Sector Advisory — Retail Bank

The mandate

A listed advisory organisation is creating a retail-banking sector franchise after discovering uneven partner economics across loosely connected offerings. Strong individual relationships exist, but propositions overlap, delivery leverage varies and intellectual property is rarely reused. A cost-to-income reset makes further investment conditional on an explicit market and economic thesis.

The Managing Partner – Sector Advisory will influence approximately ₹71,400 crore in client loan and deposit books and lead about 1,000 employees and material partners. The role owns practice P&L, anchor clients, proposition, delivery, partner performance, talent, risk and investment. It reports to the Global Managing Partner and regional partner council.

The franchise should address a bounded set of board problems: retail growth quality, distribution economics, service productivity, credit and collections, platforms and cost. Each proposition needs identifiable buyers, credible outcomes, reusable methods and economics that support appropriate senior attention.

Partner productivity is central. Origination, delivery sponsorship and talent development must be visible, while credit for collaborative work is fair. The leader will stop offerings dependent on one individual or unsupported claims.

Anchor clients should create depth, not concentration dependency. The practice will build multi-year relationships across board and executive agendas while protecting independence and avoiding speculative cross-sell.

Delivery quality must survive scale. Reusable assets need governed evidence and client adaptation. Staffing should deepen sector capability and create a route for future partners.

The commercial model should recognise the full cost of senior attention. Pursuits, quality review, specialist input and non-billable asset development must be attributed to propositions and accounts rather than absorbed centrally. Pricing should reward distinctive sector value while remaining transparent about implementation dependency. The Managing Partner will distinguish qualified pipeline from relationship optimism by requiring a buyer, decision date, access and funded problem. Lost pursuits and declined work will be reviewed for market learning without pressuring teams to chase every adjacency. Alliance partners may add data, technology or delivery capacity, but their role, economics, intellectual-property rights and conflicts need explicit governance. The practice should publish internal evidence of which methods improve client outcomes, update or retire weak assets and prevent unverified claims from entering proposals. Promotion and reward will recognise account collaboration, delivery sponsorship, apprenticeship and reusable contribution alongside personal sales.

The leader will also develop a resilient client portfolio. Anchor accounts need multiple trusted relationships, independent quality challenge and succession plans so one departure does not threaten revenue or delivery. New-client investment should follow propositions where the firm has an observable advantage rather than general brand aspiration.

Sector insight will be refreshed through primary evidence. The practice will maintain structured dialogue with customers, regulators, technology providers and bank executives while separating privileged client knowledge. Research should generate useful hypotheses and board access, but investment depends on conversion into propositions and delivery methods. Each publication or event needs a target audience, commercial pathway and learning objective.

Why this seat is open

The unplanned requirement became urgent through the cost reset. The council expects a qualified shortlist-to-offer process within four to six weeks.

What you will own

• Define an investable retail-banking advisory thesis and proposition set.
• Steward advisory work across the ₹71,400 crore client perimeter.
• Build anchor-client depth while diversifying origination.
• Improve partner productivity, leverage, pricing and collaboration.
• Create reusable sector methods with defensible outcome claims.
• Lead 1,000 employees and partners with strong succession.
• Stop offerings whose demand, delivery or economics cannot scale.
• Give the partner council transparent investment and downside choices.

The first 12 months

In the first 90 days, review clients, pipeline, offerings, margin, staffing and quality. Meet the 30 stakeholders most consequential to the franchise, including boards, buyers, non-buyers, partners and delivery leaders. Test market themes, assess leadership and agree investment gates.

Months four to nine should concentrate propositions, form account teams and convert selected anchor relationships into signature work. Fill partner gaps and release capacity from weak pursuits. The first value should appear in qualified pipeline, pricing, leverage, repeat mandates or a validated client result.

By year end, anchor-client growth, partner productivity and an investable proposition should show sustained progress. Delivery must be within 10% of baseline and forecasts should reconcile pipeline, cash, delivery and people across three quarters. Priority quality issues require independent closure proof; severe escalation cannot remain unresolved beyond 30 days.

What the partner council will measure

• Revenue and pipeline quality across anchor and new clients.
• Partner origination, delivery sponsorship and talent contribution.
• Margin, leverage and reuse by proposition.
• Client outcomes, referenceability and repeat board mandates.
• Retention of nine in ten critical people and immediate cover for seven in ten direct roles.
• Quantified improvement in partner economics with named data ownership.

The person

You are a Managing Partner, Banking Practice Leader or Senior Advisory Partner with 28 or more years in banking or consulting. You have built sector propositions and carried their delivery and economic consequences.

Your accountable book, portfolio, P&L or budget has been at least ₹41,400 crore, and you have led 700 or more people. You can evidence a practice reset whose client, partner and margin outcomes held for two reporting periods.

You invest selectively, share clients across partners and will close a popular offering when its economics or evidence cannot scale.

Compensation and terms

Fixed compensation is ₹5.0–7.5 crore plus performance variable and LTI. The advisory appointment is onsite in Chennai and can accommodate notice up to six months.

Confidentiality

The firm and client relationships will be disclosed only under confidentiality. Composite facts prevent identification.