He is appointed as Business Execution Lead for India
FinTech BizNews Service
Mumbai, 3 February 2026: Citi announced the appointment of Behzad Merchant as Business Execution Lead for India with additional oversight for Bangladesh & Sri Lanka. Behzad will report directly to Varittha Prichapanich, Business Execution Lead, Asia South with a matrix reporting line to K Balasubramanian, CEO, Citi India, and Banking Head, Indian Subcontinent.
In his role, Behzad will be responsible for driving strategic, business-critical and regulatory initiatives and programs across India, strengthening and streamlining governance, and further enhancing Citi’s risk and controls environment.
K Balasubramanian, CEO, Citi India, and Banking Head, Indian Subcontinent, said: “Behzad’s appointment reflects our continued focus on strong execution, disciplined risk management, and robust governance across our India franchise. His deep experience, familiarity with Citi, and leadership capabilities will be valuable as we support growth, while maintaining high standards of control and operational excellence.”
Varittha Prichapanich, Business Execution Lead, Asia South, said: “Behzad brings a rare combination of operational depth, technology acumen and risk mindset – exactly what is needed to deliver at scale in a dynamic environment. His understanding of India and the Indian Subcontinent, combined with his execution focus, will be instrumental in strengthening governance and delivery across the business.”
Behzad has over 25 years of experience across banking, operations, technology, and risk and controls. He joins the role from Citi’s Asia South Technology Controls team, where he supported key markets including India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh. Prior to this, he spent two and a half years at JPMorgan as Business Risk & Controls Lead for the Payments business in Asia, overseeing regional frameworks and also serving as India Site Lead for Global Payments Risk and Controls. Behzad previously spent close to 20 years with Citi in leadership roles across operations, technology, and control functions. He is a Commerce Graduate and an alumnus of Indian Institute of Management Bangalore.
