Leaders

Mr. Nirmal Jain is the Promoter and Managing Director on the Board of the Company. He founded IIFL Group in 1995. Under his visionary leadership, IIFL Group has grown to become one of the leading financial services players in post liberalized India with a combined market capitalization of USD 5.1 billion serving over 14 million diverse customers in wealth & asset management, consumer lending, securities trading & discount broking spaces. With an impeccable track record of governance and growth, the Group has attracted marquee investors and won accolades internationally. He has been a pioneer in technology led disruptions in financial services space creating new standards in securities trading, consumer finance, wealth and asset management. He is also one of the leading proponents of financial inclusion and financial literacy in India.

He holds a PGDM (Post Graduate Diploma in Management) from Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIMA) and is a rank holder Chartered Accountant and Cost Accountant. He started his career in 1989 with Hindustan Unilever Limited and founded IIFL Group as an independent equity research company in 1995. He has close to three decades of experience spearheading diverse businesses in the financial services sector.

Mr. R Venkataraman is the Co- Promoter and Joint Managing Director on the Board of the Company. He holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Management from Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Bangalore, and a Bachelor in Electronics and Electrical Communications Engineering from IIT, Kharagpur. He joined IIFL Group in 1999. He has been contributing immensely in the establishment of various businesses and spearheading key initiatives of IIFL Group over the past 25 years. He has previously held senior managerial positions at ICICI Limited, including ICICI Securities Limited, their investment banking joint venture with J P Morgan of USA and Barclays – BZW. He worked as an Assistant Vice President with GE Capital Services India Limited in their private equity division. He has varied experience of more than 33 years in the financial services sector.

Mr. Arun Kumar Purwar is the Chairperson & Non-Executive Director of IIFL Finance. He also serves as Chairman & Independent Director of Jindal Panther Cement as well as ERoute Technologies Pvt. Ltd. He is an Independent Director in companies across diverse sectors like Finance, Pharma, Media, Engineering consultancy, Investment Banking, Fintech sectors. He also acts as an advisor to Mizuho Securities, Japan. He was Chairman of the State Bank of India (SBI) from 2002 to 2006 and Chairman of the Indian Bank Association during 2005 to 2006. He has previously held positions such as Managing Director of State Bank of Patiala and was also associated in the setting up of SBI Life. Post his retirement from SBI, he was associated with a leading industry house in setting up the first healthcare-focused private equity fund as well as a non-banking finance company focused on funding real estate projects as well as educational institutions. He has won a number of awards, including the CEO of the Year Award from the Institute of Technology and Management (2004), ‘Outstanding Achiever of the Year’ Award from the Indian Banks’ Association (2004) and ‘Finance Man of the Year’ Award by the Bombay Management Association in 2006.

Mr. Ramakrishnan Subramanian is a Chartered Accountant, Cost Accountant and holds a Masters degree in Commerce. He has served several leading Banks, FIs in leadership roles since 1990 in India and abroad. He has also served as a Boards member of ING Vysya Bank and Shriram Capital, Shriram Transport, Shriram City Union, in the past apart from having done senior Executive roles such as CEO, MD, Country Head, Asia Regional head roles in domestic and international banks. He is currently engaged as a Sr. Advisor, Operating Partner, Consultant with PE, VC, FIs and Fintech in India. Within financial sector services, his deep expertise and experience are in Retail Financing – Mortgage, LAP, Personal Loans, Business Loans, SME, LAS, Gold, Auto, CV/CE, Securitisation. He has worked in senior capacities involving Strategy, Board, Governance coupled with strong track record on execution across functions covering Channels, Product, Pricing, Portfolio management, Funding, Credit policy, Credit underwriting, Collections management of large Universal banks, Non-Banking Financial Companies (‘NBFCs’) and Fintech.

Prior to taking over as the MD & CEO of LIC Mutual Fund, he was General Manager at LIC Housing Finance Ltd, one of the largest housing finance companies in India. Mr. Ramakrishnan started his career as a direct recruit officer with LIC of India in 1988 and has risen through the ranks to this position. In a career spanning over three decades in the corporation, Mr. Ramakrishnan has made his mark in the areas of training, Marketing and Pension & Group business. He has served as Regional Head of Pension & Group business of LIC’s South Central Zone. He was the Senior Divisional Manager In-charge of Delhi Division. He has also had a stint as Vice Principal in Zonal Training Centre. Mr. Ramakrishnan holds a B.Com (Hons) degree from the University of Delhi and a Post Graduate Diploma in Management. He is a Fellow of the Insurance Institute of India. He also holds a Diploma in Health Insurance. He was also on the Board of AMFI (Association of Mutual Funds in India).

Mr. Bijou Kurien is a well-respected consumer leader with over 40 years of experience in building brands, businesses and creating organizations. He has been associated with marquee brands in the fastmoving consumer products, consumer durables and retail industry in India. After receiving his MBA from XLRI Jamshedpur, he joined Hindustan Unilever as a Management Trainee in 1981. During his successful tenure of over six years, he served across various sales and marketing roles. Later, he moved to Titan, India’s largest manufacturer and marketer of watches and jewelry. He also created India’s largest exclusive brand retail chains. He joined Reliance Industries as the President & CEO of their ambitious Retail venture — Reliance Retail. Currently, he is a member of the Strategic Advisory Board of Premji Invest. He is also serving as an Independent Director on several listed and unlisted companies. Additionally, he advises select consumer product companies and mentors a few start-ups. Mr. Bijou has been associated with the India Retail Forum & Retailers Association of India and has significantly contributed to its development. In addition, he is the Mentor of the FICCI National Retail Committee, member of the Advisory Council of the RAI and Governing boards of various academic institutions.

Mr. Nihar Niranjan Jambusaria is a Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI). His illustrious career includes serving as the President and Vice President of the ICAI for the year 2021-22 and 2020-21, respectively. Since 1984, Mr. Jambusaria has been a senior partner at N. N. Jambusaria & Co., Chartered Accountants. His consultancy services extend to the renowned Reliance group and various organizations in the private and public sectors. He specializes in Direct Tax, International Tax, Mergers & Acquisitions, FEMA, and Business Restructuring. Previously, Mr. Jambusaria held the position of Senior Vice President at Reliance Industries Ltd. from 2011 to April 2020. His contributions to the field extend beyond the corporate realm. Mr. Jambusaria has served as a Member of the Government Accounting Standards Advisory Board (GASAB) and the Audit Advisory Board of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), highlighting his commitment to excellence and professionalism in the accounting industry

Mr. Gopalakrishnan Soundarajan is the Chief Operating Officer at Fairfax India Holdings Corporation and the Managing Director at Hamblin Watsa Investment Counsel Ltd. Prior to this, he was the Chief Investment Officer of ICICI Lombard, the largest private sector property and casualty insurance company in India. He held the position of head of investments at ICICI Lombard from 2001 to 2018 and was a member of the investment committee. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Madras, is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and is a Qualified Chartered Financial Analyst (“CFA”) and Member of the CFA Institute in the United States. He serves on the board of directors of Fairfax India Holdings Corporation, FIH Mauritius Investments Ltd, FIH Private Investments Ltd, 10955230 Canada Inc., Bangalore International Airport Ltd, Quess Corp Ltd, Thomas Cook (India) Ltd, Anchorage Infrastructure Investments Holdings Ltd, Go Digit Life Insurance Limited and Primary Real Estate Investment Fund.

Ms. Nirma Anil Bhandari is a Cost Accountant and embodies an extensive experience of 20 + years. Ms. Bhandari mentors the Information Risk Management segment of a leading advisory firm, wherein, during the last 20 years, she has acquired substantial knowledge in the areas related to Information Technology Risk, Audit, Cyber Security, Governance, Risk and Compliance, Data Privacy and Robotics GRC. Thanks to her indepth experience in assessing risks for data centres, networks, varied technology platforms and core IT processes, Nirma has helped large enterprises by consulting/implementing cutting-edge solutions in cybersecurity and the best practices for critical technology risk functions. She has led teams in various engagements for regulatory advisory assessments, frameworks, consulting, reviews, audits, training, etc., for large Banking, Telecom, Insurance, Mutual Funds, and Other Financial and Non-Financial Services companies.

Ms. Bhandari devotes her time to philanthropic activities through her family foundation that focuses on child welfare and also actively volunteers through several NGOs that support various causes.