Corporate Governance

Mr. Nirmal Jain is the Promoter and Managing Director of IIFL Finance Limited and the founder of the IIFL Group. Since founding the Group in 1995, he has led its transformation into one of India’s most respected and diversified financial services institutions. Under his leadership, the Group has established a strong presence across wealth and asset management, consumer lending, securities trading, and discount broking. IIFL today serves a rapidly expanding customer base and commands significant market capitalization across its listed entities. IIFL Finance Limited, the flagship company, is widely recognized as a leading player in India’s financial services landscape.

Mr. Jain is widely respected for his visionary leadership and pioneering role in driving technology-led transformation in the financial sector. His emphasis on digital innovation, customer-centricity, and product excellence has fueled the Group’s consistent growth and earned the trust of marquee global investors. Beyond business, Mr. Jain is a strong advocate for financial inclusion and girl child literacy, actively working to broaden access to financial tools, education, and opportunity across India. He is also an active member and supporter of the Jain International Trade Organisation (JITO).

Mr. Jain holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Management from the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad and is a rankholder Chartered Accountant and Cost Accountant. He began his career with Hindustan Unilever in 1989 before founding IIFL as an independent equity research firm. With over three decades of industry experience, Mr. Jain continues to play a defining role in shaping the future of financial services in India.

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Mr. R. Venkataraman is the Co-Promoter and Joint Managing Director of the Company and has been an integral part of the IIFL Group since 1999. Over the past two decades, he has played a central role in driving the Group’s strategic direction, guiding its transformation into a diversified and future-ready financial services institutions. As a Co-Promoter of IIFL Finance Limited, he has been instrumental in shaping the Company’s expansive presence across lending, wealth management, and capital markets. Under his leadership, IIFL Finance has emerged as one of India’s leading financial conglomerates and is recognized as one of the leading independent financial services Company in the Country. With more than 34 years of experience in the financial services industry, Mr. Venkataraman has led several high-impact business initiatives, fostering innovation and growth across key verticals. His vision and unwavering focus on execution have been critical to the Group’s sustained performance and its reputation as one of India’s most trusted financial brands.

Mr. Venkataraman is known for his strategic acumen, operational discipline, and strong execution, which have collectively contributed to enhancing the Group’s value proposition and investor confidence. Before his tenure at IIFL, he held senior positions at ICICI Limited, Barclays BZW and GE Capital Services India Limited. His diverse background across banking, investment, and financial strategy has enriched the Group’s capabilities and vision.

Mr. Venkataraman holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Management from the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore and a Bachelor’s degree in Electronics and Electrical Communications Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur.

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Mr. Ramakrishnan Subramanian is a Chartered Accountant, Cost Accountant and holds a Master’s 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.

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Mr. Tritala Subramanian Ramakrishnan held the position of General Manager at LIC Housing Finance Ltd, one of India’s leading housing finance companies, before being appointed as the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of LIC Mutual Fund. 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 Incharge 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).

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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. He has served as President of South Asian Federation of Accountants (SAFA) in 2023.

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Mr. Bijou Kurien is a highly regarded consumer leader with more than 40 years of experience in developing brands, businesses, and establishing organizations. He has worked with prominent brands in the fast-moving consumer products, consumer durables, and retail sectors in India. Upon completing his PGDBM at XLRI Jamshedpur, he began his career at Hindustan Unilever as a Management Trainee in 1981. Throughout his accomplished tenure of more than six years, he held multiple positions in sales and marketing. Subsequently, he transitioned to Titan, the largest manufacturer and marketer of watches and jewellery in India. He contributed to the start-up team, assisting in the creation of some of India’s most sought-after lifestyle and accessories brands, and played a key role in building the largest exclusive brand retail chains. During his 19 years at Titan, he contributed significantly to the company’s success and established the groundwork for India’s most valued consumer lifestyle brands. Motivated by the chance to establish a new standard in Indian retail, he took on the role of President & CEO at Reliance Industries for their bold Retail initiative — Reliance Retail. He played a key role in its establishment and development from 2006 to 2014. Currently, Reliance Retail stands as a leader in Indian retailing and ranks among the fastest growing retailers globally. He has transitioned from operational roles to advisory positions within private equity firms and their investee companies. He is presently a member of the Strategic Advisory Board of Premji Invest and KKR, helping companies like Lenskart, Lighthouse Learning, GIVA, and others to evolve into unicorns and beyond. He serves as the Chairman of the Retailers Association of India (RAI), reflecting his extensive involvement in the growth of retail in India. He has been linked to the World Retail Congress (WRC) since it was established in 2007. Alongside these positions, he holds the role of Independent Director on the Boards of various listed and unlisted companies across the technology, infrastructure, hospitality, and education sectors.

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Mr. Gopalakrishnan Soundarajan is a Non-Executive Director of our Company. He is the Chief Executive Officer and Director of Fairfax India Holdings Corporation and the Managing Director, India, at Hamblin Watsa Investment Counsel (Hamblin Watsa), a wholly owned subsidiary of Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited (Fairfax). Before his roles with Fairfax and Hamblin Watsa, he was the Chief Investment Officer of ICICI Lombard from 2001 to 2018 and was a member of the Investment Committee.

He is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and holds a bachelor’s degree in commerce from the University of Madras. He is also a Qualified Chartered Financial Analyst and a Member of the CFA Institute in the United States. He is currently serving as Director on the Board of Quess Corp Limited, Thomas Cook (India) Limited, Go Digit Life Insurance Limited, Go Digit General Insurance Company Limited, Digitide Solutions Limited, Bluspring Enterprises Limited, Primary Real Estate Investments, FIH Private Investments Limited, FIH Maurius Investments Limited, 10955230 Canada Inc. and Fairfirst Insurance Limited, Sri Lanka. He is a Nominee Director at Bangalore International Airport Limited and chairman at Anchorage Infrastructure Investments Holdings Limited.

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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 in-depth 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.

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Mr. B. P. Kanungo is a former Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India. He is a career central banker with nearly four decades of experience of working in all the major functional areas of the Reserve Bank. As the Deputy Governor, during 2017 to 2021, he was responsible for overseeing Currency Management, Foreign Exchange Regulations, Regulation and Development of the Payment and Settlement Systems, Government Debt Management, Reserve Management, Government and Bank Accounts, Information Technology, Consumer Protection, Financial Inclusion, etc. He also was a member of the Monetary Policy Committee for some time.

Mr. Kanungo was RBI’s Banking Ombudsman for Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.  He also oversaw implementation of RBI’s policies at ground level as the Regional Director of Rajasthan and also as Regional Director of West Bengal and Sikkim. Mr. Kanungo served as the Nominee Director of RBI on the Boards of Punjab and Sindh Bank, Punjab National Bank, National Housing Bank and NABARD. He represented RBI in international Committees of the Bank for International Settlement in its Markets Committee and Committee for Financial Stability. He was chairman of Bharatiya Reserve Bank Note Mudran Nigam Private Limited. He also headed RBI’s external Committee for Review of Customer Service Standards in RBI Regulated Entities(REs).

Post his tenure as Deputy Governor of RBI, Shri Kanungo was Director of Centre for Advanced Financial Research and Learning (CAFRAL), a RBI- funded research and learning organisation devoted to cutting-edge research in Macro-Economics, Finance and skill development of top management of regulated entities.

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