Standard Chartered has appointed Kavita Kulkarni as its new Chief Technology and Operations Officer (CTOO) for India and South Asia, strengthening its technology leadership as the bank continues to invest in digital transformation, operational resilience and artificial intelligence across the region.
Based in Mumbai, Kulkarni will join the bank's India Country Management Team and lead the execution of Standard Chartered's technology and operations strategy across India and South Asia. Her responsibilities include driving technology initiatives that support the bank's long-term strategic priorities while enhancing customer experience, operational efficiency and resilience.
Kulkarni joins Standard Chartered with more than 25 years of experience spanning banking, wealth management and enterprise technology. Before taking up the new role, she served as Managing Director and Chief Information Officer for Private Banking and Wealth Management at Barclays Bank. There, she led global technology and operations teams while overseeing large-scale digital transformation programmes and the adoption of artificial intelligence across technology delivery processes.
Her appointment comes at a time when financial institutions are accelerating investments in cloud infrastructure, AI-powered services, cybersecurity and automation to modernise banking operations. Standard Chartered has been expanding its technology capabilities globally to support faster innovation, simplify customer journeys and strengthen digital banking infrastructure.
Commenting on the appointment, P D Singh, Chief Executive Officer for India and South Asia at Standard Chartered, said the bank continues to invest in innovation and capability building. He said Kulkarni's global leadership experience and deep technology expertise would help deliver simpler, faster and more resilient banking experiences while supporting the bank's long-term growth ambitions in the region.
Kulkarni brings experience across technology strategy, digital transformation, engineering leadership, operations and enterprise architecture. Over the course of her career, she has held leadership positions across multinational financial institutions in India, the United Kingdom and the United States. Her work has focused on modernising banking platforms, improving operational efficiency and integrating emerging technologies into large-scale financial services environments.
She holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Computer Science from Karnataka University and an MBA in Finance from New York University's Stern School of Business. Her blend of technical expertise and business leadership is expected to support Standard Chartered's efforts to strengthen its technology and operations capabilities across the South Asia cluster.
The appointment also reflects a broader trend across the banking industry, where technology leadership has become increasingly central to business strategy. Banks are investing heavily in artificial intelligence, data analytics, automation and cloud-based platforms to improve customer engagement, streamline operations and meet evolving regulatory requirements. Technology leaders are now expected to balance innovation with governance, cybersecurity and operational resilience as financial institutions continue their digital transformation journeys.
Standard Chartered has made several technology and data leadership appointments over the past year as part of its broader transformation agenda. Earlier this year, the bank named Shebani Baweja as Group Chief Data Officer to strengthen enterprise-wide data strategy and accelerate the use of analytics and AI across the organisation. These appointments highlight the bank's continued focus on building leadership capabilities around technology, data and digital innovation.
Kulkarni's appointment is expected to play a key role in advancing Standard Chartered's technology roadmap across India and South Asia, where digital banking adoption continues to grow rapidly. As financial institutions increasingly rely on AI and intelligent automation to improve customer experience and operational performance, leadership with deep expertise in technology transformation is becoming an important differentiator across the banking sector.