About ABSLI

Mr. Kumar Mangalam Birla is the Chairman of the US$ 40 billion multinational Aditya Birla Group, which operates in 36 countries across six continents. Mr. Birla took over as Chairman of the Group in 1995. In the years that he has been at the helm of the Group, he has accelerated growth, built meritocracy and enhanced stakeholder value. From a turnover of US$ 2 billion in 1995, today the Group's revenues are at US$ 40 billion and its operations from 8 countries then, span 36 countries today. He has made 31 acquisitions in these 19 years in India and globally, the highest by an Indian multinational.

An iconic figure, Mr. Birla has held and continues to hold several key positions on various regulatory and professional Boards. An erstwhile Director on the Central Board of Directors of the Reserve Bank of India, he was Chairman of the Advisory Committee constituted by the Ministry of Company Affairs and also served on The Prime Minister of India's Advisory Council on Trade and Industry. Furthermore, as the Convener of the Prime Minister's Task Force on Administrative and Legal Simplifications, the extensive implementations made by him in his report have been implemented in totality. Mr. Birla also served as Chairman of SEBI's committee on Insider Trading which formulated Corporate Governance principles for Indian corporates.

He is on the National Council of the Confederation of Indian Industries and the Apex Advisory Council of the Associated Chamber of Commerce and Industry of India.

Mr. Birla has won recognition for his exemplary contribution to leadership processes and institutions/ systems building. A selective list includes recognition as the Economic Times' Business Leader of the Year Award in 2012-13 for the second time. The previous win was in 2003. He was awarded the flagship' Entrepreneur of the Year, 2012 at the Forbes India Leadership Awards. The other accolades received by Mr. Birla feature NASSCOM's Global Business Leader Award (2012), CNBC TV 18's India Business Leader Award (2012) for Taking India Abroad, the CNN-IBN Indian of the Year 2010 – Business for being the most outstanding business person, among many others. He was chosen by the World Economic Forum as one of the Young Global Leaders and named a "Young Super Performer in the CEO Category" by Business Today.

A keen educationist, Mr. Birla is the Chancellor of the renowned Birla Institute of Technology & Science (BITS), with campuses in Pilani, Goa, Hyderabad and Dubai. He is a Director of the G. D. Birla Medical Research & Education Foundation.

A Commerce Graduate from Mumbai University, Mr. Birla is a Chartered Accountant. He earned an MBA from the London Business School, where he is also an Honorary Fellow and serves on the Asia Pacific Advisory Board.

Mr. Kamlesh Rao is the MD & CEO at Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance (ABSLI). In his role he is responsible for providing ABSLI with strategic direction and leading the team towards achieving rapid growth and profitability. His expertise focuses on growing the business, developing new business models, building distribution efficiency, value creation through efficient cost and process management, competitive product strategies, scaling up the digital business and strengthening the customer lifetime value proposition.

Kamlesh has a successful track record of entering new markets & businesses and turning them around by placing them on a high growth trajectory.

As an integral part of the Banking & Financial Services industry, his experience has been shaped over a career spanning 25 years. In his previous role as the Managing Director & CEO – Retail at Kotak Securities Limited, Kamlesh was responsible for planning and executing strategic initiatives. He was instrumental in driving the growth and strategy for Secondary Markets, Primary Markets, Margin funding and distribution of Investment products. Prior to joining Kotak Securities Limited, Kamlesh held various roles at Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited over the course of 19 years. His experience spans across the asset and liability portfolios, including retail lending, business loans, unsecured loans, mortgages, SME lending, HNI banking and broking. He joined the bank as a Management Trainee and rapidly rose through the ranks to become the Managing Director & CEO – Retail at Kotak Securities Limited.

In his earlier stint, Kamlesh has been a part of several prestigious committees including the NSE & BSE Advisory Committees and Secondary Market Advisory Committee (SMAC). He holds a degree in Engineering and is a Management graduate.

Kamlesh is a part of the Senior Management Team at Aditya Birla Capital. At ABSLI, he is focused towards taking the company to a leadership position within the private life insurance space.

Ajay Srinivasan has been the Non Executive Director, Financial Services at the Aditya Birla Group since July 2007.

In his role as Non Executive Director, Financial Services, he sets the vision and provides strategic direction and leadership for the Group's Financial Services business which covers several verticals such as Life Insurance, Fund Management, Private Equity, Wealth Management, Retail Broking, Capital Markets Based Lending, Corporate Financing, Infrastructure Finance and General Insurance Broking. Under his leadership the financial services business has grown rapidly with a turnover of USD 1.3 Bn, over 5.6 million customers and a workforce of over 17,500 people.

Prior to joining the Aditya Birla Group, Ajay was Chief Executive, Fund Management at Prudential Corporation Asia, based in Hong Kong. Under Ajay's leadership, Prudential's Fund Management operations in Asia grew rapidly, both organically and through acquisition. Ajay oversaw a business that spanned ten markets, including Japan, with total funds under management of about USD 70 Bn, which made it at the time the second largest retail fund manager in Asia.

As a member of Prudential Corporation Asia's Board of Directors, Ajay also oversaw the development of Prudential's retirement business in Asia.

Ajay joined Prudential in 1998 as Managing Director of Prudential ICICI Asset Management Company, Prudential's Indian fund management joint venture with ICICI Bank. Within two years of operation, Prudential ICICI AMC had grown to become the largest private sector asset management company in India.

With a proven track record for building successful businesses, his experience in the financial services industry spans over two decades.

Ajay has in his financial career engaged with several bodies including the Financial Planning Standards Board, the CII Committee on Financial Sector Reforms, The CII Committee of Financial Inclusion, The CII Committee on Insurance and Pensions and the FICCI Committee on Insurance.

Ajay holds a BA with Honours in Economics from St Stephens College, University of Delhi and an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.

Mr. Bishwanath Puranmalka, Non Executive Director of Aditya Birla Group's Financial Services' Companies has a total working experience of over 45 years. He has been associated with the Aditya Birla Group in various capacities since the inception of his career. He has experience in the implementation and running of several manufacturing, training and service industry businesses, and setting up Greenfield manufacturing operations. He also has wide experience in the set up and operation and maintenance of captive Power Plants of the Aditya Birla Group.

He has been looking after a NBFC - Birla Global Finance Co. Ltd. now known as Aditya Birla Finance Ltd., since June 1994. Mr. Puranmalka has been a Director on the Board and a Member of Audit Committees of Financial Services like Life Insurance Company, Distribution Company and Trustee of Aditya Birla Sun Life Asset Management Company Ltd.

Leo Grepin was appointed President Asia on 1 January 2020. He is responsible for Sun Life’s life, health and wealth management businesses in seven Asian markets – Philippines, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, India and China – as well as the International High Net Worth Business. Léo is based in Sun Life’s Asia Regional Office in Hong Kong and is a member of the company’s Executive Team.

Leo was previously President ASEAN, for Sun Life Asia. Prior to that, he held the role of Senior Vice-President, Individual Insurance and Wealth (Individual) for Sun Life Financial Canada. In this role, Leo oversaw the creation and distribution of insurance and wealth management products and solutions for the Individual business.

Leo holds 20 years of experience, including 15 years as Senior Partner at McKinsey & Company. At McKinsey, he was a leader of the insurance practice and consulted with many of Sun Life’s senior leaders. He also served executive teams and boards of life and property-casualty insurers, asset managers, institutional investors, and private equity firms. Prior to joining Sun Life Financial, he was on the management team of Bridgewater Associates, a global hedge fund.

Leo holds a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering from McGill University and a Science Masters in Aeronautics and Astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In his spare time, he is a weekend triathlete who enjoys hiking and traveling with his wife and two boys

Arun Adhikari is an Independent Director of our Company. He graduated with a Bachelor of Technology degree in chemical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur in 1975. He went on to complete his Post Graduate Diploma in Management from the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta. He started working at Hindustan Unilever Limited from 1977 and held a number of senior positions in the fields of sales, marketing and consumer research.

After being the Executive Director at Hindustan Unilever Limited in 2000, he was appointed as the Managing Director for Home and Personal Care and joined the board of directors of Hindustan Unilever Limited where he was involved in external relationships with the Government and media, investor relations, risk management, and corporate governance. He was appointed as the chairman of Unilever Japan KK in 2006. He was later appointed as the Senior Vice President for Unilever Laundry Category across Asia and Africa where his key responsibilities included development of category and brand strategy, brand portfolio decisions, supply chain strategy, pricing strategy, product innovation and 133 advertising development.

After retiring from Unilever in 2014, he joined McKinsey & Company in India as a Senior Advisor supporting the consumer practice and started working extensively with McKinsey& Company’s clients across a wide range of sectors, advising on marketing and sales strategy. From 2000 to 2006, he was also a member of the executive and governing bodies of several industry, trade and professional associations in India including the Market Research Society of India, Indian Soaps and Toiletries Manufacturers Association, Indian Society of Advertisers and the Advertising Standards Council of India.

Mr. Sandeep Asthana is the India Country Head of Sun Life Financial, a leading international provider of protection and wealth accumulation products headquartered in Canada. In his role Sandeep manages Sun Life Financial's interest in its two joint ventures in India - Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance Co. Ltd., and Aditya Birla Sun Life Asset Management Co. Ltd.

A Chemical Engineer from IIT Mumbai and MBA from IIM Lucknow, Sandeep started his career with Unit Trust of India in 1993, and was closely involved with its plans for entry into life insurance and pensions. He joined Zurich Financial Services in 2000, and headed the life insurance planning team. In 2003, Sandeep joined RGA, a leading US-based life and health reinsurer, and built up their business in India to make it a leading reinsurance player in India. Prior to joining Sun Life, Sandeep was Managing Director of RGA Services India Pvt. Ltd.

Mr. Freyne has over 35 years of experience in the areas of corporate finance planning, taxation, capital and investor relations. Mr. Freyne joined Sun Life in 2003 and currently is the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Sun Life Financial Inc.

Mr. Freyne is also on the Board of MFS Investment Management, Sun Life Global Investment Inc. and Sun Life of Canada (U.S) Financial Services Holdings Inc.

Mrs. Pinky Mehta is a qualified Chartered Accountant with over 27 years of diversified experience. She has joined the Aditya Birla Group in 1991, to become the first woman officer in the Group. She served as a key member of the Finance team at Aditya Birla Nuvo Limited for about two decades. She handled many portfolios and made major contributions in the areas of Taxation, MIS, Accounts, Legal and Secretarial. She has played an active role in the area of Demergers, Mergers and Acquisitions.

Mr. Debabrata Sarkar is a former Chairman & Managing Director of Union Bank of India. His educational qualifications include FCA, CAIIB, M. Com and B. Com (Hons.). He is a member on various Committees such as Empowered Committee on ECB, RBI, Independent External Monitor and Screening Committee on OTS EXIM Bank. He is also the Chairman of the Banking Advisory Board, L. N. Welingkar Institute of Management & Research and a Visiting Faculty at National Institute of Bank Management (NIBM), Pune.

His professional experience includes working with Bank of Baroda, Allahabad Bank and Union Bank of India in various capacities. In Allahabad Bank as Executive Director and in Union Bank of India as Chairman and Managing Director.

He has received Financial Inclusion Award 2013-Person of the Year by Skotch Group and Excellence in Financial Communication Award for the year 2012 by Association of Business Communicators of India in Union Bank of India.

Mr. Nagesh Pinge is an Expert in Ethics, Corporate Governance, Risk Management & Internal Audit. He is a Chartered Accountant and Law Graduate from India. He has also completed Executive Education Program from The Stephen M Ross School of Business of the University of Michigan, USA./p>

In a career spanning 36 years, Pinge has worked with many organizations of repute. He retired from Tata Motors in November 2016 as “Chief-Internal Audit, Risk Management & Ethics”. Prior to that he was Chief Internal Audit of Reliance Retail Ltd & JSW Steel Ltd. Mr. Pinge has also worked for ICICI Bank & its Group Companies in Risk Management (Chief Risk Officer), Regulatory Compliance and Internal Audit (Group Head-Internal Audit).

Mr. Pinge is the Past President of the Institute of Internal Auditors, India. He is a recipient of “ACIIA” Award given by “Asian Confederation of Institutes of Internal Audit” for “Outstanding Contribution in Internal Audit” for the year 2017. He is also a recipient of “ICAI” Award given by the Institute of Chartered Accountant of India for the year 2014.

Mr. Pinge is a Regular Faculty at “Masterclass for Directors” being conducted by the Institute of Directors in India. He has authored a technical guidance note on “Risk based Audit for Banks” being published by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India.