Masterclass for CFOs and Senior Finance Leaders

Debashis Poddar is a Strategic Advisor and Global Inorganic Growth Enabler. Former SVP and Global Head, M&A and Strategic Investments for Tata Consultancy Services Ltd.

Strategic Thinker. Cross border M&A Leader. Global Experience. Complex and Creative Transactions. Risk Mitigator. Strong Network. Exceptional Team Leader.

An expert in Cross Border M&A spanning all continents with successful deals in Asia, America, Europe, Africa and Australia. Created and led M&A and Strategic Investment globally for a $125B marketcap and $30B revenue enterprise for past 24 years when the company grew 35x. M&A contributed to ~20% of revenues. Have done deals greater than 50 deals worth $2.5B. Covered 50 countries scouting for deals across all continents.

Rich M&A, Strategic Investment and Private Equity experience predominantly on the buy side. End to end capability of strategy formulation, deal generation, analysis, assessing risk, valuation, structuring, negotiation, closure and monitoring. Strong experience in the area of Corporate Strategy. Rich experience in creating Joint Ventures, captive transactions and managing investment exits.
Track record of active intervention and restructuring for problem investments or businesses. Global network. Strong credit and risk background.

He has actively participated as Director on Boards including being Chairman of a company. Has been an active member of investment committee of 2 venture funds. Has spent time in USA (as part of Global Leadership program of GE) and UK (as part of Chevening scholarship for Young Bankers). Travelled extensively.

Always seeking to create long term recurring value through through strong sourcing, negotiation, structuring and execution experience. Debashis Poddar completed his PDGM from IIM Bangalore in 1994.

AS Ramachandran is Ex-Country Head of Citi | Leadership of Change & Growth | Strategy & Execution | Multi-national Banking | Governance | NED | Board Adviser

RamC is an international banker with over 30 years of experience, having held various country/regional/global leadership positions at Citibank across 5 countries – UK, the Netherlands, Singapore, India & Vietnam. He has a strong track record in setting new strategies and executing on them, transforming businesses and teams to high performance, and establishing the highest standards of governance.

Some of his key roles were: Global Coverage Head for EM MNCs, Eastern Europe Head for MNCs, CEO of Citibank Vietnam, Branded Consumer Industry Head for Citi India.

RamC was the Chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce Vietnam in 2024 and served on its Board in 2022 & 2023.

Through his extensive travel to 37 countries across Asia, Europe, Africa & Latin America, RamC has insights on the latest trends, opportunities and global best practices. He has an extensive international network.

RamC lives in London, holds a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from the BITS Pilani (India) and a PDGM from the IIM Bangalore (Class of 1992-94).

Rashmi Mohanty is a C-suite finance leader with over three decades of experience across banking, NBFC, and mining & metals. She currently holds the position of Chief Financial Officer at SBI Cards. Her expertise spans derivatives and debt capital markets, capital structure optimization, complex financing solutions, controllership, planning and budgeting, with a proven record of raising multi-billion-dollar capital, executing transformational M&A, and strengthening balance sheets.

She has worked closely with Boards, CEOs, and global investors to drive growth strategies, enhance governance, and deliver shareholder value. Along the way, she has led finance organizations through digital transformation, built high-performing teams, and implemented risk and control frameworks.

She has built and nurtured strong relationships across financial market participants and stakeholders, enabling impactful negotiations and long-term value creation. Recognized for her credibility, she brings both technical mastery and strategic foresight to every role she takes on. She also engages with industry and academia through guest lectures, speaker at industry forums.

Rashmi is also an ultramarathoner,  a discipline that mirrors her professional ethos of endurance, resilience, and pushing beyond limits. She completed her PGDM from IIM Bangalore (Class of 1993-95).