Brands
Infosys and Citizens set up AI banking innovation hub in Bengaluru
BENGALURU: Infosys has found a new way to make banking less buttoned-up and a lot more brainy. The IT major has teamed up with US lender Citizens to launch an AI-first Innovation Hub in Bengaluru, with one clear aim: rethink how banks work, build and serve customers in the age of artificial intelligence.
The hub will act as a live experimentation ground where ideas can move quickly from whiteboards to working products. From sharper digital services to smoother internal operations, the focus is on using AI not as a bolt-on, but as the engine under the bonnet of modern banking.
Infosys will play a central role as one of Citizens’ strategic AI delivery partners, bringing its experience in artificial intelligence, cloud computing and cybersecurity. At the heart of the collaboration is Infosys Topaz Fabric, a multi-layer AI platform designed to connect data, models, applications and workflows into one streamlined system. In simpler terms, it helps banks build and launch new digital products faster, with fewer moving parts and less friction.
This latest initiative builds on an existing partnership between the two companies and strengthens Citizens’ push to become a technology-led super regional bank. The Bengaluru hub also reflects the bank’s longer-term bet on building a global, future-ready workforce where AI skills are part of everyday work rather than a specialist corner.
For Citizens, the promise is more secure, personalised and intuitive banking for customers. For Infosys, it is another showcase of how its AI-first approach can reshape large, complex financial institutions.
Citizens Financial Group chief information officer Michael Ruttledge, said the hub signals a long-term commitment to modern and intelligent banking. By embedding advanced AI at the core, the bank aims to deliver services that feel faster, safer and more relevant to customers.
Infosys global head of banking and financial services Dennis Gada, said banks today face the twin pressures of rapid modernisation and rising customer expectations. The collaboration, he noted, helps Citizens move faster while laying the groundwork for long-term growth.
In an industry often seen as conservative, the Bengaluru hub suggests a shift in tone. Banking’s future, it seems, is not just about numbers and compliance, but about curiosity, collaboration and a smarter use of machines to make human lives a little easier.
Brands
Faber-Castell India appoints Sunaina Haldar as director – marketing
With stints at Tata, SleepyCat and ADF Foods under her belt, Haldar is primed to redraw Faber-Castell’s brand story
MUMBAI: Faber-Castell India has poached Sunaina Haldar from ADF Foods, appointing her director – marketing as the German stationery brand looks to muscle up in a category that is rapidly reinventing itself around creativity and self-expression.
Haldar hit the ground running. “My first couple of weeks have been incredibly energising, understanding consumers, visiting markets, engaging with retailers and immersing myself into the world of Faber-Castell Group,” she said.
She arrives with considerable firepower. At ADF Foods, Haldar ran marketing across India and international markets for a portfolio spanning Ashoka, Aeroplane, Camel and ADF Soul. Before that, she was vice-president – marketing at direct-to-consumer mattress brand SleepyCat, where she helmed brand, content and performance marketing. Her résumé also includes a stint leading marketing, new product development and CRM for Tata SmartFoodz at Tata Consumer Products, no small proving ground.
Between corporate roles, Haldar also operated as a fractional CMO for early-stage startups, building marketing strategy and operational structures from scratch, a signal that she knows how to move fast with limited resources.
With 18 years straddling FMCG, D2C and the startup world, Haldar now takes the reins at a brand that has long owned the classroom but is clearly hungry for the living room. In a stationery market where the pencil has become a lifestyle statement, Faber-Castell has picked someone who knows exactly how to sell that story.
