Head, Regional Strategy, India Region

Role Overview

This is a senior leadership appointment within a global financial institution, focused on steering the India region’s strategic, financial, and governance priorities. The role carries primary responsibility for the India business unit and serves as the key owner for value creation, stakeholder alignment, and business performance delivery.

The position acts as a country portfolio lead, helping shape decisions at CEO and Board level while driving major strategic work such as partnership changes, capital-related actions, and wider transformation programs.

Key Responsibilities

India market strategy ownership

• Take full responsibility for designing, updating, and executing the India strategy, with direct accountability for outcomes in the India business unit.
• Define the strategic agenda across growth, profitability, and capital efficiency.
• Support expansion through distribution scale, bancassurance optimization, and partnership-led growth.
• Improve profitability through better product mix, stronger margins, and more efficient capital use.
• Provide independent challenge to the India business unit leadership so that plans are sound, defensible, and aligned with shareholder interests.
• Lead assessment and delivery of major strategic moves such as stake adjustments and mergers or acquisitions.

Performance management and value delivery

• Develop strong working relationships with senior leadership, management, shareholders, and other C-level stakeholders to align on major strategic issues.
• Own the India business unit’s performance against plan across revenue, profit, and capital measures.
• Work closely with the management team to address underperformance, push corrective actions, and support turnaround efforts when needed.
• Lead performance discussions with CEOs, boards, and shareholders, offering clear recommendations and well-formed positions.
• Deliver future-looking analysis, scenario planning, and risk insights to regional and global leadership.

Group synergies and strategic influence

• Drive delivery of real group synergies into India, including product innovation, digital capability uplift, analytics, and stronger risk frameworks.
• Bring in best practices from Japan, Southeast Asia, and Oceania to strengthen India strategy.
• Ensure group resources are activated and translated into execution rather than remaining only as ideas or recommendations.

Transformation leadership

• Lead transformation work spanning operating model redesign, business change, regulatory engagement, and strategic responses to market or partner developments.

Requirements

• At least 15 years of experience in strategy, corporate development, or investment-related roles within life insurance or broader financial services, with strong exposure to bancassurance.
• Good understanding of the India insurance market, ideally with specific knowledge of life insurance and the relevant stakeholder environment.
• Demonstrated experience engaging with CXO, board, and shareholder-level stakeholders.
• Strong command of life insurance economics, especially distribution models, bancassurance economics, product profitability, and capital profitability.
• Well-developed commercial judgment and the confidence to make firm decisions in ambiguous situations.

Additional Information

This is a confidential search for candidates with experience in strategic planning, business performance management, and governance for the India region within the insurance sector.

EA License no: 16S8066 | Reg no.: R1657935

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.