Manappuram names Buvanesh Tharashankar group chief financial officer

KERALA: Manappuram Group has pulled off a seasoned hire, appointing Buvanesh Tharashankar as group chief financial officer, a move that tightens the financial muscle behind its Manappuram 2.0 growth push.

Tharashankar will steer financial strategy across all group companies, working with the board and senior leadership to lift capital efficiency, strengthen governance and sharpen long-term value creation. The mandate is clear. Keep growth ambitious but disciplined.

A chartered accountant with more than three decades in banking and financial services, Tharashankar arrives with a reputation for cool-headed balance-sheet management and regulator-ready governance. Most recently, he was cfo at RBL Bank, running the core finance engine, including regulatory reporting, statutory audits, taxation, procurement and payables, during a demanding phase for the sector.

Before that came a stint as cfo at Jana Small Finance Bank, where he led capital planning, investor relations and regulatory reporting, while overseeing treasury back-office and governance functions. Earlier still, he spent a long stretch at Citibank in India and the Middle East, rising to cluster controller for the India subcontinent and taking on lead cfo roles overseas. His Citi years covered the hard yards. ICAAP, Basel II, SOX 404, balance-sheet optimisation and large re-engineering programmes that cut costs and lifted returns on equity.

Throughout, Tharashankar has been known as a finance leader who partners the business rather than polices it, using data, controls and capital discipline to enable growth without courting risk.

At Manappuram, he will oversee finance end to end, spanning accounting, treasury, taxation, regulatory engagement and investor relations. The brief is to underpin expansion with rigour, keep the group agile in a shifting regulatory climate and ensure capital is worked hard.

V. P. Nandakumar, chairman and managing director of Manappuram Finance, said the appointment strengthens the group’s leadership bench at a pivotal moment.

Tharashankar’s depth in capital management, governance and regulatory engagement, he said, will be vital as Manappuram scales its next phase.

The message from Valapad is unmistakable. Growth is back on the agenda, with the spreadsheets sharpened, the controls tightened and the balance sheet ready to run.