With over three decades of experience in the banking sector, Karan Butalia has been at the forefront of driving transformation across various verticals, including Treasury & Trade Finance, Relationship Management, Government Business, Rural Banking, Branch Management, Human Resources, and IT. His extensive career is marked by a strong focus on establishing and optimizing business operations, building units from the ground up, and laying a robust foundation for operational excellence and sales processes.
Karan is renowned for his expertise in forming strategic alliances that propel business growth. He has successfully collaborated with banks, Export Promotion Councils, commercial lobbies, and international organizations like UNIDO to foster business development. His work extends to partnerships with NBFCs for co-lending, FFMCs for product distribution, and educational institutions to enhance knowledge of Credit & Forex Products.
In his recent role as Senior Vice President and Chief Business Relations Officer at Axis Bank (one of the Top 3 private sector banks in India), Karan played a pivotal role in managing relationships with Central and State governments, regulatory bodies, and investigative agencies. His department served as the critical link between the bank and the government, ensuring a seamless exchange of perspectives on economic and banking issues.
As the former Head of Business Partnering at Axis Bank, Karan spearheaded the alignment of HR services with the bank’s strategic objectives, overseeing the delivery of HR services to 30 business verticals and 60,000 employees. His leadership ensured that individual employee goals were in sync with the broader organizational vision.
A sought-after speaker, Karan regularly shares his insights with trade bodies and associations. His collaborative efforts with organizations like UNIDO Cluster Development, Export Promotion Councils, and MSME industry associations have significantly contributed to the dissemination of knowledge on Credit, Forex, and digital products. His series of webinars with the National Productivity Council and sessions on financial management for non-finance professionals have been particularly impactful.
Karan continues to drive innovation in the MSME sector through his partnership firm, offering advisory and implementation solutions. His firm has delivered specialized training programs for various commercial banks and provided consulting services to advisory firms and NGOs.
Karan holds a B.A (Hons) in Economics from SRCC, a Master's in Business Economics from Delhi University, JAIIB certification, an Executive Master's in International Business from IIFT, and a Diploma in Advanced Strategic Management from IIM Calcutta. He has also completed the Axis Business Executive Leadership program at Duke Corporate Education.