Manappuram Finance Expands Senior Leadership with Four Strategic Appointments

THRISSUR:
Manappuram Finance Limited and its subsidiary, Manappuram Home Finance Limited, have announced four strategic leadership appointments spanning business, taxation, finance, and technology functions, reinforcing the Company’s commitment to scalable growth, governance excellence, and digital transformation.

To lead its growing housing finance business, Manappuram Home Finance Limited has appointed Rakesh Sharma as Co-Chief Executive Officer. A banking professional with over 23 years of experience in the BFSI sector, Sharma brings deep expertise in home loans and loans against property, along with a strong track record of building and scaling affordable housing finance businesses. He has previously served as MD & CEO of Cent Bank Home Finance and CEO of Tyger Housing (formerly Adani Housing Finance), in addition to leadership roles at AAVAS Financiers, IIFL, Citi Financial, and ICICI Home Finance. His appointment is expected to strengthen the Company’s housing finance business through disciplined execution, robust risk management, and building high-performance teams.

For tax planning, optimisation, and compliance, Surendra K Nayar has been appointed as Head – Taxation at Manappuram Finance, reporting to the Group CFO, Buvanesh Tharashankar. A Chartered Accountant with over 35 years of experience, Nayar brings deep expertise in taxation, compliance, and regulatory matters, having held senior leadership positions at institutions such as Aditya Birla Finance, DBS Bank, and Citibank. The outgoing Head – Taxation, Babu MV, who has served the organisation with distinction for more than 15 years, will transition into a Senior Tax Advisory role.

To accelerate the Group’s technology agenda, Easwaran Narayanan has been appointed as Group Chief Technology Officer. With over 25 years of experience in banking technology, IT strategy, and digital transformation, Narayanan has held key leadership roles at Equitas Small Finance Bank, IDFC FIRST Bank, ICICI Bank, and Kotak Mahindra Bank. In his new role, he will lead the Group’s technology vision, accelerate digital transformation, and build scalable, secure, and future-ready platforms to support growth and customer trust.

For financial planning and performance management, Manish Mohan has been appointed as Head – Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A) at Manappuram Finance, also reporting to Tharashankar. With over 25 years of experience across leading global institutions — including JPMorgan, Citibank, Standard Chartered, RBS, ABN AMRO, and Axis Bank — Mohan brings deep expertise in financial planning, strategy, and performance management. In his previous role at Axis Bank, he led FP&A for Retail Agri Lending, driving key financial and strategic initiatives. He holds a CFA, an MBA from IIM Bangalore, and a B.E. from IIT Roorkee. At Manappuram, he will lead FP&A, budgeting, forecasting, and performance management, working closely with business teams to drive growth.

Commenting on the appointments, V P Nandakumar, Chairman & Managing Director, Manappuram Finance Limited, said: “These strategic leadership appointments reflect our continued commitment to strengthening business capabilities, governance frameworks, financial discipline, and technology-led transformation. We are confident that the rich experience and proven leadership of Rakesh Sharma, Surendra K Nayar, Manish Mohan, and Easwaran Narayanan will play a pivotal role in driving the next phase of growth and operational excellence across the Group.”