Raghav Rao
Former COO, Deutsche Bank
EX-CAO, Lazard India
Former Director Fidelity Investments
Raghav Rao, an accomplished senior banker with over 25 years of experience in the Banking & Financial services, across the competency landscape of Investment Banking, Global In-House Center (Captive), KPO’s, has led organisations through strong leadership, effective governance, seamless execution and achieved sustained growth in value and size, in an ever evolving global regulatory environment.
Raghav’s contributions include setting up greenfield sites, platforms and teams, research & analytic hubs, incubating new ideas and backing it up with enhanced delivery teams, and driving rapid growth through innovation. He has also successfully led transformational agendas and sustained the growth of large mature organizations across multiple sites.
A chartered accountant with a rich and diverse professional background, Raghav has worked with renowned organizations such as Ford Motors, General Motors, HSBC Investment Banking, Fidelity Investments and Lazard. Most recently, he served as COO and member of the board in Deutsche Bank, managing 17,000+ employes and revenues of US$700 mn across technology, operations, financial control and Risk at 4 locations. Currently, he is CEO and member of Board at Strelitzia Consulting, an initiative in career counselling leveraging edutech.
Over the last 16 years, Raghav has honed his leadership skills with vital roles at various Boards (India & Mauritius) and under direction of the Board, held chair positions of Executive / Operating committees, Risk & Governance committees, Business, Financial, Regulatory, Legal, Compliance Forums and Corporate Societal responsibilities. He actively promoted diversity, inclusion, and employee engagement.
He has also successfully led cross-functional teams with clear result oriented missions in a complex and rapidly changing business environment Some of the niche and complex functions led by him at a global level are Group Strategy, Group Client Relationship Management, Group Governance, Group Corporate Services, Group Transition Risk and Analytics/Reporting Centers of Excellence which involved managing teams located at multiple locations within India and at global sites (Jacksonville, Florida; Birmingham, UK; Manila, Philippines and Colombo, Sri Lanka).
Raghav has been actively involved in Industry thought leadership across banking and financial services peer groups with advocacy, strategic partnership, and skill development. He held positions of national council member of NASSCOM’s GIC and was the Chair for the Mumbai chapter of NASSCOM GIC.
Raghav is a passionate golfer and active at various tournaments