Information Technology Risk Management

Ananthanarayanan Rajan

Telephone: +1-646-***-****

Email: *************@*****.***

PROFESSIONAL PROFILE

Over 30 years of varied experience in Finance, Information Technology, Banking Operations, Audit & risk management as well as financing of large projects. Key experience includes 14 years with the United Nations for the Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and 14 years of banking industry Information Technology and operations experience.

Brings on board strong client management and people management skills and wide international exposure having worked in the US, Canada, Middle East, Africa and India.

Flair for enabling organizations streamline their operations & IT solutions by applying industry best practices for robust business processes & customer centric service delivery.

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

United Nations HQ and Field experience – October 2001 to July 2015

Title: Chief of Finance and Deputy Head of Administration for OCHA (United Nations)

Key Responsibilities:

Overall leadership and management of the Finance Section and responsible for the development of an optimal financial framework to support humanitarian operations in the field.

Preparation of the department’s strategic framework and presentation of the budget to support humanitarian operations to member states at inter-governmental forums.

Develop business processes and workflows to align with corporate initiatives to improve client services and implement best practices across the organization.

Responsible for ERP implementation (SAP) for our Division with specific focus on data conversion, user security and user acceptance testing for the project.

Review the financial aspects for all grants issued to implementing partners in the field and evaluation and monitoring of all project proposals to ensure that they comply with organizational financial rules and regulations.

Advice program managers on all contract management related issues concerning grants to UN agencies, NGOs and other implementing partners.

Liaise with Legal, Procurement and other Secretariat entities on all donor driven activities relating to both cash and in-kind contributions from donors.

Consolidate and generate financial statements for our donor base and finalize our expenditure for UN financial statements and follow-up on outstanding receivables from donors and projects in the field.

Liaise with the Board of Auditors and Office of Internal Oversight Services on OCHA field and HQ operations.

Focal point for implementation of International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) and other IT initiatives in the organization.

Managed the finances and established Risk Management frameworks to monitor the United Nations Capital Master Plan project - a $1.8 Billion construction project for the renovation of the UN Secretariat.

Banking – Information Technology and Operations exposure: August 1987 to – October 2001

ABN Amro Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, Faysal Islamic Bank, State Street Bank, Investcorp.

Title: Head of Technology - Standard Chartered Bank Client Service Delivery (IT) – Investcorp Bank.

Key Responsibilities:

Responsible for the technology function in the country for Standard Chartered Bank, with multiple branches and managed the IT budget, risk management framework, and responsible for IT services and change controls at our data center and implementation of IT infrastructure to support their retail, corporate and Treasury operations.

Lead automation of back-office operations for the retail, corporate and treasury segments.

Vendor liaison and negotiation for all hardware, software & maintenance contracts including intellectual property rights.

Upgrade IT infrastructure and implement group IT standards relating to desktop and networking standards and manage implementation of the group software solutions and technology products in the country.

Responsible for IT operations in the investment banking space to support business units on Information Technology management.

Evaluate business requirements and develop user requirements and liaise with vendors on system selection/user acceptance testing/ implementation of IT solutions/products

Manage client relationships relating to automation of custodial services products in the banking industry with emphasis on customization of the product to meet client specifications.

Conduct feasibility studies and introduce process re-engineering principles within the organization to automate back-office functionality.

Customize and introduce products developed by the corporate office (US) in the Canadian market.

Overall responsibility for all IT issues with Canadian clients.

Mentor existing staff on project management principles, with emphasis on project accounting and profitability monitoring.

Project leader to implement the core banking system of ABN Amro in South Africa.

Centralized data center operations functions for the Middle-east and Africa region in UAE for ABN Amro Bank.

Responsible for maintenance of the core Islamic banking system for Faysal Islamic Bank and development of an Islamic Banking system product to automate Sharia board approved transactions.

Automated the Foreign Exchange and Consumer Finance system for retail banking customers.

Implemented the group's Nostro Reconciliation system to manage our operations across Bahrain.

Developed an IT strategy for the bank and enhanced the architecture to ensure that the communications and networking platforms were upgraded to industry standards.

Implemented systems to automate the Inter-branch accounting and reconciliation process for the bank.

Developed a robust Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity Plan for Investcorp Bank and successfully tested the same.

Software Development/Consultancy: July 1978 – July 1987

Title: Software Developer and IT Consultant

Key Responsibilities:

Responsibilities involved establishing client relationships, understanding existing processes at customer sites and educating users on automation issues and implement IT solutions and assist in data conversion at client sites.

Consultancy assignments in software development included development and maintenance of money market systems for inter-dealer brokers and traveler cheque and cash transfer systems for exchange companies.

Implemented and supported Inventory, Payroll and Financial Accounting systems for over 15 customers.

ACADEMIC CREDENTIALS

Masters in Cost Accounting – University of Mumbai, India.

Licenciate in Data Processing – Institute of Data Processing Management, U.K.

Associate Member - Institute of Data Processing Management, U.K.

Certificate in Construction Project Management – New York.

REFERENCES:

To be provided on request.

Contact this candidate