J&K Bank's diverse and rich culture is abundantly evident in its Board Members, who provide direction to the Bank in order to achieve its vision. A brief profile of our eminent Board Members is as under:

Mr. Rajesh Kumar Chhibber joined the services of the Bank as Probationary Officer in the year 1982 and has led the Bank in different capacities from managing business operations at Branch and Zonal offices to the Corporate Level across the operational geography of the Bank.

Bringing a treasure of experience to the chair that spans over three decades, his areas of expertise include Credit, Finance, IT, Corporate & Retail Banking, Risk management, Trade Finance, Foreign exchange, Business continuity planning, HR, Bancassurance.

As Vice-President in 2009, he headed the technology department of the bank and made remarkable contributions in creating the technology infrastructure of the bank besides instituting the process of providing relevant expertise to the staff.

He also became Chairman J&K Grameen Bank for two years and nine months and brought great laurels to the bank by accomplishing its key strategic goals.

Elevated as Executive President on June 1, 2018, he was the Bank’s Chief Compliance Officer besides heading Business Support division, Insurance, Government Banking, Lead Bank, CSC, FID, Subsidiary Management, Culture & Sports functions of the bank.

 

Shri. Nitishwar Kumar is an Indian Administrative Services Officer of 1996 batch. He is presently Principal Secretary to Hon’ble Lieutenant Governor Govt. of Jammu & Kashmir (UT). Prior to this, he was serving as Joint Secretary/Member Secretary, National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE), Department of School Education & Literacy, Ministry of Education.

His career in different fields of administration spans over 24 years. Having worked in different capacities and departments at State and Central government level he possesses a wide range of experience and expertise. He has worked in Health, Education, Revenue, Agriculture, Energy, Transportation, Water Resources, Cooperation and Human Resource Development. In many of his assignments he has been responsible for Planning and Programme implementation which is his area of expertise.

Shri. Kumar is a post graduate in Economics and has also done Masters in Public Management and Governance from London School of Economics & Pol. Science.

He is also an avid reader and keen observer of nature and is widely known for his literary pursuits, poetry and singing.

 

Mr. Naba Kishore Sahoo, aged 64 years has been a banker throughout his life.   Starting his career as scale I officer in Canara Bank, he has moved up to scale VII level during a span of 32 years and finally as Executive Director in Allahabad Bank for 4 years. He has thus to his credit a very rich and diverse experience in banking industry with expertise in Credit, Risk Management & HR. During his career he has been highly successful in driving business and achieving all round performance under very critical and challenging circumstances.  His exposure in banking covers a wide spectrum of areas ranging from Urban, semi urban and rural areas in addition to overseas exposure as Chief Executive of Canara Bank in London. He led his teams as a Circle Head of Bhubaneswar and Pune and has been awarded and recognized within the organization as a STAR PERFORMER. He has emerged as a leader by putting efforts in positioning the organisation in the right place by adopting proper strategy, planning, guidance and execution. In addition to being an Agricultural Science graduate which has been instrumental to his success in Rural banking he has done CAIIB from Indian Institute of Bankers. Besides he has also attended numerous advanced level programs both in India and abroad.

Mr. Sahoo lives in Bhubhaneshwar where in addition to his flair for reading, he is now actively engaged in social work and helping people wherever his acquired skills and knowledge can be put to use.

 

Dr. Rajeev Lochan Bishnoi, 63, is a credit specialist and advises corporates and banks on balance sheet stress, risk processes and improving the overall financial health of the enterprise. He was till recently a Government of India nominee Director on the Board of one of India’s largest Government owned banks viz. Bank of India, where he also served as the Chairman of its Audit Committee and a member of its Board Committees on Credit, Human Resource, Wilful Defaulters, Risk Management, Customer Service and Remuneration & Nomination. He was director on the board and in various board level committees of BOI Merchant Bankers Limited as Independent Director until March 2021.

Rajeev was an Independent Director on the Boards of VLS Finance Ltd, VLS Securities Ltd, VLS Capital Ltd and South Asian Enterprises Ltd . He is a life member of Non-Executive Directors in Conversation Trust (NEDICT) promoted by Mr. M. Damodaran, former UTI Chairman & Secretary (Banking), working to establish the best practices for Boards & NEDs. He is an advisor to the J.P. Mathur Charitable Trust, New Delhi, where research is carried out in fields of economic policy and governance with an emphasis on banking. He was a lead organizer of two national level conclaves i.e. Economic Conclave in 2017 and Banking Conclave in 2018 under aegis of the India Policy Foundation and Centre for Economic Research.

Rajeev has a deep interest in Education and is a member of the Board of Management of Shobhit University (U.P.). With a strong commitment to Renewable and Sustainable Energy Development, Rajeev founded, ADS Greenlife Foundation – devoted in the field of clean and green technologies.

A Former Advisor to the UP Export Corporation Ltd., Rajeev was invited by the Government of Kazakhstan to deliver the Keynote Address at a seminar on ‘The Role of Small & Medium Enterprises in the National Economy’ held at Kazakhstan. As a firm believer in the philosophy that economic activity at the bottom of the pyramid is the backbone of the ecosystem of an emerging nation, Rajeev completed his doctoral research work on “Vision and Strategy for Development of Entrepreneurship through Micro Finance and Micro Enterprises in Developing World”. He also continuously researches Ancient Indian Economy and History to find lessons for today’s economic conundrums. This is another field of research and study for him now.

Rajeev is a Fellow Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and was member of its Professional Development Committee. Currently, he is a partner in Chartered Accountancy firm M/S Jain & Malhotra, New Delhi. Rajeev is a hobby poet and has recently written a book of his poetry and Dohas in Hindi, titled “Man Laago Mero Yaar Fakiri Mein” published by Sahitya Bhandar, Allahabad.

 

Mr. Umesh Chandra Pandey is a Fellow Chartered Accountant with Bachelor’s degree in Commerce. He is a Senior Partner at M/s B.M. Chatrath & Co. LLP since 1991.

Mr. Umesh Chandra Pandey has a considerable and great deal of working experience in the field of Statutory Audit of Listed & Public Ltd. Companies, Corporate Law, Taxation – Domestic & Transfer Pricing, Project Report Preparation, M & A Transactions, Statutory Compliance Audit – Direct Tax/ Indirect Tax & Labor Laws. He has conducted Central Statutory Audit of Banks like Bank of Baroda, Central Bank of India, State Bank of India, Canara Bank, Union Bank of India and Government Company Audits of South Eastern Coal Fields Ltd, Indian Oil Ltd, Oil India Ltd, Steel Authority of India & Power Grid Ltd. Mr. Umesh Chandra Pandey is specialized in conducting due diligence of MSME and Heavy Industries of Scheduled Commercial Banks and is empanelled by IBA for conducting ASM Audit.

Mr. Umesh Chandra Pandey has been an Independent Director on the Boards of Tourism Finance Corporation of India Ltd since 2005 to 2010 and M/s Engineers India Limited from 2015 to 2019. He is Member of CII North India Committee entrusted with the affairs of Micro Small Medium Enterprises, Economic Affairs & Taxation, Industrial Relation, Corporate Social Responsibility, Foreign Trade Policy and Guide to Export & Import

 

Mr. Anil Kumar Goel is a Fellow Chartered Accountant with Bachelor’s degree in Commerce (H) and Master’s degree in Social Work. He is a qualified Arbitrator & Mediator, Information Systems Auditor (DISA), Forensic Auditor & Fraud Detector (FAFD), qualified as Peer Review Board of ICAI, qualified Examiner at ICAI, Member of various Research Groups of ICAI & NIRC since several years, Former MEC & Joint Secretary cum Treasurer of Sales Tax Bar Association, New Delhi. Moreover, he has been an Independent Director on the Board of RITES Ltd. from 01.04.2016 to 31.03.2020.

Mr. Anil Kumar Goel has 34 years of extensive experience and substantial expertise in Corporate & Tax Laws, Consultancy, Statutory & other audits for Banks. His diverse clientele includes Manufacturers, Traders, Service Providers, Importers, Exporters, Societies, NGO, and Trusts etc. He has delivered many lectures at reputed Professional Forums like ICAI, Bar Association etc. and has published many articles in renowned Professional & Social magazines, Newsletters etc. on various professional & social issues.

Mr. Anil Kumar Goel is the General Secretary of “Prakash Bandhu Sewa Samiti”, Trustee of “Jammu Kashmir Study Centre” (JKSC), Governing Council Member of “Asian Eurasian Human Rights Forum”, an NGO – Working for Global Human Rights. Besides, he is past President of Rotary Club at Rotary Intl Dist. 3012.

 

Mr. Anand Kumar is an information technology (IT) specialist who has experience of more than three decades in IT development and management. Mr. Kumar has done his Bachelors of Technology (Electrical Engineering) from IIT, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi and Post Graduate Diploma in Management (PGDM) from IIM Lucknow.

Mr. Anand Kumar has worked in various multi-national banking and financial services organisations such as Citigroup, HSBC, Barclays, Fiserv, etc. He has also served as a Director on the board of Fiserv India Pvt. Ltd. As Vice President – IT Delivery at Fiserv India, he managed all IT Delivery teams spread across Noida, Pune, and Bengaluru - in addition to offshore staff placed in Business Units and at client sites. Mr. Kumar managed application development, implementation, and support activities for Fiserv products in areas such as core banking, lending, cards, payments, and risk. He also led the design and execution of innovative programs such as Target Zero Defects in delivery, thereby significantly improving organisational credentials, revenue growth, and business confidence.

Mr. Kumar has made significant contributions to the rapid growth and consolidation of four companies in India - i-flex solutions ltd., HSBC Global Technology Centre, Barclays Technology Centre, and Fiserv Global Services. He also worked for the Ministry of Communications, Govt. of India from 2017 to 2019.

 

Mr. Sudhir Gupta joined the services of the Bank as Probationary Officer in the year 1989 and has served the Bank in different capacities across the operational topography of the Bank ranging from business operations at Branch, having headed three different Zones of Bank as Zonal Head and in leading important departments i.e Customer Care, Credit Audit, BSD /CCM at Corporate Headquarters.

Mr. Gupta has also demonstrated his leadership skills in J&K Grameen Bank where he was deputed as chairman for a period two years. During his tenure as Chairman of J&K Grameen Bank, he accomplished the strategic targets within the defined timelines.

Carrying a paragon of capability, expertise and professionalism  to the chair that extends over thirty years,his areas of expertise include Credit, Finance, Corporate & Retail Banking, Customer Service, Trade Finance, Foreign exchange, Business continuity planning, etc.

 

 

Ms. Shahla Ayoub is a young Economist of J&K. She works presently as Assistant Professor in Department of Higher Education, Government of J&K. Having worked as Assistant Director in Economics and Statistics, Department of Planning, Government of J&K before joining the Department of Higher Education, She brings to Board an affluence of Economic expertise and perspicacity.

She has a yearning and yawning interest in the field of economic research, especially in the areas of Conflict Economics, Financial Inclusion and Developmental Economics. She has to her credit a number of publications, out of which following have carried more impact;

i.Good Governance: Indian issues and concerns (published in European Academic research, Vol III, issue X; Jan 2016, ISSN No 2286-4822).

ii.Conflict and Economic warfare; Insights from Kashmir, (Golden research Thoughts, Vol. II, issue VII, Jan 2013, ISSN No 2231-5603) Jan 2016, ISSN No 2286-4822).

iii.A disparity in the sense of security causes disparity in economic welfare – A case study of conflict hit households in urban Srinagar” (published in European Academic research, Vol III, issue X, Jan 2016,ISSN NO 2286-4822)

iv. She has also presented a paper on  “Response of Households to conflict: A case study of District Srinagar at an International seminar organized by Indian Economic Association (IEA), May 2012, and also  on Financial Inclusion of Handicraftsmen in District Srinagar.

 

 

Dr. Pawan Kotwal, a 1994 Batch IAS officer (of erstwhile Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram and Union Territory (AGMUT) cadre of Indian Administrative Service) is at present serving as Advisor to Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh.

He  brings to the fore  a  wealth   of Administrative acumen and proficiency having previously served as Principal Secretary for Health and Medical Education, Forest , Ecology and Environment, and Revenue, Planning & Monitoring Department in UT of Ladakh.

During his term as Principal Secretary, Dr. Kotwal played a crucial part in bringing out crucial reforms and initiatives in health and medical education sector. He spearheaded the efforts to improve health care infrastructure, enhance medical education facilities, and promote the wellbeing of the people of Ladakh.

His accomplishments in the fields of forest, ecology, environment, and revenue are equally admirable, portraying his unflinching commitment to sustainable development and good governance.

 

 

 

Mr. Santosh Dattatraya Vaidya, is 1998 AGMUT (Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram-Union Territory) cadre IAS officer. Presently, Mr. Vaidya is Principal Secretary, Finance Department, Govt. of UT of J&K.  Mr. Vaidya is a Government Nominee Director on the Board of the Bank.

Mr. Vaidya has exceptional academic and administrative accomplishments to his credit. He is a repertoire of professionalism, integrity, astuteness & proficiency.

Hailing from Maharashtra, Mr. Vaidya has completed his B-tech from IIT-Kharagpur before completing his post-graduation in Economics from New Delhi (IGNOU) and Masters in Public Policy from Johns Hopkins University, United States.

He has served as Director in the Prime Minister’s Office from September 2013 to March 2016. Besides, he has discharged his duties as Joint Secretary to Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Government of India, Senior Advisor to the Executive Director, World Bank, Secretary to CM & Chairman Staff Selection Board at Government of NCT, Delhi.

 

 

Dr. Mandeep K Bhandari, IAS is 2001 AGMUT (Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram-Union Territory) cadre IAS officer. He completed his MBBS with Gold Medal from Dayanand Medical College, Ludhiana, Punjab University and Chandigarh.

Dr. Bhandari at present is Principal Secretary to Hon’ble Lieutenant Governor of UT of J&K and is also holding charge of CEO Amarnathji Shrine Board. He has to his credit an administrative and professional expertise of more than two decades.

During his illustrious career, he has served on diversely significant and responsible positions like Sub Divisional Magistrate Bhaderwah, Additional District Development Commissioner Kathua, Deputy Commissioner Leh, and Deputy Commissioner Jammu. Dr Bhandari has also discharged his duties as Chief Executive Officer, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board and Commissioner/ Secretary to Government of J&K, Health & Medical Education. In the year 2017,   Dr. Bhandari was appointed as Divisional Commissioner, Jammu. From 18.01.2018 to 17.09.2018, he served as  Private Secretary to Hon’ble Human Resource Minister, Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India and then from 18.09.2018 as Joint Secretary to the Government of India, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare.

In every sphere of administration wherever Dr. Bhandari has worked, he has made outstanding contributions in tough and challenging circumstances. Dr. Bhandari brings to fray a treasure of competence, reliability, perspicacity and aptitude.

 

Subsequent to splitting of the post of Chairman & Managing Director, Mr. Baldev Prakash has assumed charge as the first Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (MD & CEO) of J&K Bank Ltd. Having completed graduation in economics and post-graduation in history, Mr. Prakash continued pursuit of professional excellence during his service career with State Bank of India by accomplishing multiple degrees and diplomas offered by the Indian Institute of Banking and Finance like CAIIB, Diploma in Treasury, Investment and Risk Management, Diploma in International Banking and Finance, thus  bringing a diverse wealth of experience and expertise spanning over three decades with the country’s largest bank to the J&K Bank’s maiden position of Managing Director & CEO.

Prior to his appointment as MD & CEO of J&K Bank Ltd., he was the Chief General Manager, Digital & Transaction Banking Marketing, at State Bank of India (SBI), Corporate Centre, Mumbai. Having joined SBI in the year 1991 as a Probationary Officer, Mr. Prakash has effectively spearheaded multifarious and pivotal functions as Regional Manager responsible for over 50 branches, DGM (Business & Operations) responsible for over 200 branches, General Manager (Network) in Maharashtra Circle responsible for over 400 branches and finally as Chief General Manager (Digital & Transaction Banking Marketing) responsible for framing policy and strategy for developing and providing digital and transaction banking services to all corporate clients of the Bank.

Besides, the national level knowledge and experience of policy making and strategizing in critical areas of banking at SBI, Mr. Prakash has international exposure of successfully handling remittances business including treasury operations at Muscat (Sultanate of Oman).