[Interview] Part 1: Introducing Hari Panday

This is the next blog in the continuing series of interviews with leading professionals. In this series of blogs, I have an exclusive interview with Hari Panday: President and CEO, ICICI Bank Canada, International Executive, Business and Technology Thought Leader.
Enjoy!
Stephen Ibaraki, FCIPS, I.S.P., MVP 

Mr. Panday's career spans over 26 years including forming a greenfield Schedule II chartered bank in Canada, corporate and commercial banking, international trade, real estate finance, debt restructuring, credit and computer audit functions. Prior to that, he was involved with an international accounting firm.

He is the founding President & CEO for the ICICI Bank Canada, a Schedule II chartered bank, the Canadian subsidiary of ICICI Bank Limited, India. Under his leadership, ICICI Bank Canada has been established as a full-service direct financial services organization with six branches and $2 billion in assets, over 125,000 customers across Canada, an ATM network and Direct Banking platform within two years.

Prior to joining ICICI Bank, most recently at HSBC Bank Canada, from 1989-2003, he was in-charge of business development across Canada with special emphasis on South Asian markets. Especially active with financing of international trade, project finance, investment banking, commercial and corporate banking. Industry sectors have included import/export, manufacturing, wholesale, utility, real estate, and computer software.

At HSBC and Bank of Montreal (BMO) (1982-1989), in addition to managing portfolios of commercial and corporate clients, Mr. Panday was involved in debt restructuring of Canadian and U.S. companies, where he developed and implemented new strategies for turnarounds, and performed operational analysis, business and asset valuations.

Prior to entering into banking, Mr. Panday worked in public accountancy (Price Waterhouse & Co.), servicing Canadian and International companies in retailing, real estate, pharmaceutical, light manufacturing and banking sectors.

Memberships and appointments include: Certified General Accountants Association of Ontario; Board of Trustees: Royal Ontario Museum; Board of Governors: The Roy Thompson Hall and Massey Hall; Treasurer: Foundation for the Indian Performing Arts; Past Director: The Harbourfront Corporation; Past President: Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce; Past Director: Ontario Chamber of Commerce ("OCC"), and Chairman: International Trade Committee, at OCC.

Media Publication and Speaking Engagements include the CBC, CP 24, ROB-TV and OMNI; opportunities under NAFTA; Business Planning; Selling Skills for Bankers; Investing in South-East Asia; Economic Resurgence: India Inc. Style - ; International Trade Council, Buffalo, N.Y., and Richard Ivy School of Business, London, Ontario; International Trade: Risks and Opportunities (Asia Pacific Foundation).

Mr. Panday is a Certified General Accountant (CGA) and has a BA in Economics & Political Science.

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Look for more with Hari in the next blog.
I encourage you to share your thoughts here on these interviews or send me an e-mail at sibaraki@cips.ca.
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