Leadership Profile — COO / Head of Operations

Governance-first operations leadership
built for regulated environments

Governance-first COO leadership
for regulated banking

I run operations like a control function with business velocity — building resilient operating models, strengthening regulatory posture, and delivering transformation across payments, outsourcing, risk and service.

  • Credible with regulators, auditors, and senior management — evidence-led controls and calm escalation ownership.
  • Transformation that doesn’t break BAU — change governance, readiness, cutover discipline and post-implementation stability.
Deepanjan Guha headshot

Board-ready summary

My leadership style is built on three non-negotiables: (1) clear accountability with measurable controls, (2) disciplined issue and incident governance, and (3) safe modernisation that improves outcomes without creating operational surprises. I’m comfortable operating under scrutiny — and I ensure the same standard across teams, vendors and change programmes.

How I run Operations

A simple operating model that scales: governance, resilience, and execution discipline.

Governance that stands up to scrutiny
Clear process ownership, control evidence, audit-ready documentation, and remediation tracking. Escalations handled with structure, speed and transparency.
Risk-first delivery (BAU-safe change)
Change delivered with operational readiness, sign-offs, cutover governance, and post-go-live stability. No “hero launches” — only sustainable outcomes.
Customer outcomes with discipline
Structured complaints governance, root-cause ownership, and coaching playbooks that reduce repeat issues, tighten turnaround times and protect regulatory posture.

Signals recruiters look for

This is the leadership “shape” I bring to any BFSI / FinTech operating model.

Regulator & audit readiness
Evidence-led controls, audit liaison, regulatory responses, remediation closure governance.
Operational risk leadership
RCSA/KRIs, incident governance, root-cause leadership, action tracking, coaching frameworks.
Payments & modernisation
ISO 20022 readiness mindset, STP uplift, controls uplift, stakeholder-aligned delivery.
Outsourcing & TPRM
SLA/KPI/KRI discipline, onsite reviews, resilience controls, performance and cost governance.

My first 90 days as COO / Head of Operations

A practical, regulator-safe ramp-up plan that delivers visible control and service outcomes fast.

Days 0–30: Understand & stabilise
  • Rapid operating model scan: controls, incidents, complaints, key vendors, key queues.
  • Agree “what good looks like”: KPIs, KRIs, governance cadence, evidence expectations.
  • Stabilise the top 3 risk areas (quick containment + clear ownership).
Days 31–60: Tighten governance
  • Strengthen incident & remediation governance: RCA quality, action closure discipline.
  • Vendor oversight rhythm: SLA/KPI/KRI reviews, escalation routes, resilience testing plan.
  • Service & complaints governance: trend themes, root causes, coaching playbooks.
Days 61–90: Deliver outcomes
  • Ship 2–3 “safe wins”: cycle-time reduction, queue decongestion, control evidence automation.
  • Payments/change roadmap: readiness, cutover governance, stakeholder alignment.
  • Publish a measurable operating scorecard for Senior Management / Board reporting.
Ongoing: Build the bench
  • Leadership cadence: weekly ops reviews, monthly risk forums, quarterly resilience exercises.
  • Coaching system: quality checks, playbooks, escalation training for critical processing.
  • Culture: accountability with fairness, clarity and repeatable discipline.

Confidential roles welcome

If you’re hiring for COO / Head of Operations / Director–SVP Operations / Operational Risk leadership in BFSI or FinTech, I engage discreetly and respond quickly.

Recruiter Contact View Transformation Portfolio