BNP Paribas Securities Services has appointed Viraj Kulkarni as head of securities services in India.
The firm hopes that Kulkarni will drive its custody business in a developing Indian market that offers custody and clearing, transfer agency and domestic fund services for buy- and sell-side institutions. He will be based in Mumbai.
Kulkarni moves to BNP Paribas from security services management consultancy Pivot, where he was a managing partner. He founded Pivot in 2009.
He has worked at Morgan Stanley and J.P. Morgan Chase in leadership, senior business development and operational positions. He has also served as head of Citibank Securities Services in India and Switzerland.
Kulkarni will report to Lawrence Au, who is head of BNP Paribas Securities Services Asia Pacific, and Jacques Michel, who is chief executive and country manager BNP Paribas India.
At BNP Paribas, Kulkarni is charged with animating its strategy in India. He will also contribute to the overall strategic direction of its custody business as a member of its regional Asia Pacific executive committee.
Au said: “Since launching in India in 2009, we have experienced strong growth and we now provide custody of four percent of all assets held in India on behalf of foreign institutional investors.”
“With his breadth of global experience and deep knowledge of the Indian securities market, Kulkarni is ideally placed to take us to the next level and capitalise on the opportunities in India.”
