Meera Sanyal

Meera H Sanyal
(née Hiranandani)
Personal details
Born (1961-10-15) 15 October 1961
Kochi, India
Nationality Indian
Political party Aam Aadmi Party
Spouse(s) Ashish J Sanyal
Residence Mumbai, India
Alma mater The Cathedral & John Connon School
University of Mumbai
INSEAD
Harvard Business School
Website meerasanyal.com

Meera Sanyal (née Hiranandani, 15 October 1961) is the former CEO & chairman of the Royal Bank of Scotland in India. The daughter of a highly decorated Naval officer, late Vice Admiral Gulab Mohanlal Hiranandani, she was involved in banking for over 30 years before stepping down from RBS to stand as the Aam Aadmi Party candidate in South Mumbai in the 2014 Lok Sabha election, which she lost. She had earlier contested as an independent candidate in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections from the Mumbai South constituency.

She serves as a non-executive Director on the board of Pradan an Indian NGO that works to empower women through entrepreneurship and on the International Board of Right to Play, a global organisation that has helped over 1 million children through the transformative power of play. She is also on the Board of Jaihind College and the Indian Liberal Group.[1] She is a member of various national Committees at the CII and FICCI. She is the former Chairperson of the Indian Advisory Board of AIESEC, the world's largest student organisation.

Early life

Sanyal was born in 1961 to Indian Navy officer, Gulab Mohanlal Hiranandani, and his wife, Banu Hiranandani. Her father was the mastermind of Operation Trident, the crippling Naval attack on Karachi, Pakistan during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.[2]

Sanyal graduated in commerce (B.Com.) from Sydenham college Mumbai in 1982 with an MBA from INSEAD, France in 1983 and has completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School in 2006. She is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers (UK).[3]

Professional and public life

After a 30-year banking career, Sanyal stepped down from her position as CEO and Chairperson of Royal Bank of Scotland India, in 2013, to focus on public service.[4] During her time at the bank, Meera mentored the MicroFinance program, which financed over 650,000 women in rural India. She also chaired the bank's Foundation, providing livelihood assistance to 75,000 women-led households in threatened ecosystems.[5] Her banking career was distinguished both in India and overseas. She was the Head of Corporate Finance and later the COO for ABN AMRO in Asia. She also started and led the global BPO and ITes for ABN AMRO / RBS in India.

Sanyal is a board member of PRADAN,[6] a member of the International Board of Right To Play, a global NGO that uses the transformative power of play to educate and empower children facing adversity. Meera is also a Board member of LiberalsIndia for Good Governance – the Indian Liberal Group, and serves on the Supervisory Board of Jaihind College. She is a member of various National Committees of both FICCI and CII. In 2011, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, invited her as the sole Indian representative on her International Council on Women's Business Leadership.[7]

She has been invited to speak at global seminars such as:[8]

  • Climate Summit in Copenhagen;
  • Swedish Agency for Economic & Regional Growth[9]
  • Women of the Future summit in the UK[10]
  • Asian Institute of Finance, Kuala Lumpur[11]
  • Nikkei Summit for Asian Women Leaders, Tokyo
  • Global Competitiveness Summit, Seoul, Korea

Political life

The daughter of Admiral Hiranandani, a highly decorated naval officer, Sanyal stood in 2009 as an independent candidate for the Lok Sabha elections in the aftermath of the 2008 Mumbai attacks but lost the election.[12] Along with her husband, she campaigned and raised funds for the AAP in the 2013 Delhi elections.[13] She is a member of AAP's National Committee on Economic Policy.[14]

In May 2014, Sanyal contested 2014 Lok Sabha election from the Mumbai South constituency, as an Aam Aadmi Party candidate.[15] She lost, receiving 5.2%[16] of the vote cast in South Mumbai constituency, trailing at fourth position behind Arvind Sawant (Shiv Sena candidate, winner), Milind Deora (INC candidate) and Bala Nandgaokar (MNS candidate).[17]

References

  1. ↑ Talk on Governance by Meera Sanyal, Former Country Head of RBS, CPPR
  2. ↑ "Vice-Admiral Hiranandani cremated with full Naval honours". The Hindu. 2009-09-03. Retrieved 2012-01-13.
  3. ↑ "Right To Play". Archived from the original on 22 March 2014.
  4. ↑ Anita Bhoir (10 April 2013). "Meera Sanyal to quit Royal Bank of Scotland for a full-time career in politics". The Economic Times. ET Bureau. p. 1.
  5. ↑ "Meera Sanyal Interview- Globalinvesther". Archived from the original on 20 March 2014.
  6. ↑ "Meera Sanyal on PRADAN board".
  7. ↑ "Meera Sanyal LinkedIn profile".
  8. ↑ "Meera Sanyal". Meera Sanyal. Archived from the original on 22 March 2014. Retrieved 22 March 2014.
  9. ↑ "Golden Rules of Leadership – Tillsammans skapar vi bättre möjligheter…." (in Northern Sami). Barrskog Konsult. 23 April 2013. Retrieved 22 March 2014.
  10. ↑ "The women of Future Summit, UK".
  11. ↑ "AIF symposium speakers list". Archived from the original on 17 March 2014.
  12. ↑ Anita Bhoir, Meera Sanyal to quit Royal Bank of Scotland for a full-time career in politics The Economic Times, 10 April 2013
  13. ↑ "Meera Sanyal canvassing for AAP". Times of India. 23 October 2013. Retrieved 8 February 2014.
  14. ↑ "AAP's National Economic Committee". The Financial Express. 19 January 2014.
  15. ↑ "Meera Sanyal on AAP candidate list". Archived from the original on 20 March 2014.
  16. ↑ Arvind Kejriwal’s AAP needs a future plan; fatigue sets in for party’s small-time drama The Economic Times
  17. ↑ Maharashtra – Mumbai South, Results Declared Election Commission of India, 2014
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