Synergy with Hand in Hand India

A senior industry leader with nearly 30 years of experience in global corporations across the Oil & Gas and LNG value chains. Karthik specializes in business transformation, operational scale, and cross-functional excellence. He has led large, multicultural teams and driven strategic initiatives across both developed and emerging markets. He holds a Bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Madras and a Global Executive MBA from the TRIUM program (NYU Stern, LSE, and HEC Paris).

Sahaana holds a Master’s in Management from the London School of Economics and Political Science and an Electronics and Communications Engineering degree from Anna University. Passionate about the intersection of finance and social impact, she also leads communications, branding, and fundraising for Hand in Hand India, a leading NGO with a presence across 20 states. Her international experience includes an internship with the United Nations Chief Executives Board in New York and a role as Financial and Community Manager at Wimbletech in the UK.

A Qualified Chartered Accountant with 20 years of experience, Anantharaman brings wide expertise in auditing, banking, fundraising, and statutory compliance. His career includes pivotal roles at Indus Towers, Shell, and Fipola, where he focused on cost control, reporting, and financial analysis. He is responsible for VHFL’s fiscal health and ensuring rigorous financial governance.

An ICT veteran with 20 years of experience, Poonkuzhali specializes in network management, DevOps, and cloud migration. Qualified in Electronics, Communication, and Software Systems, she leads VHFL's digital-first strategy, including mobile app development and web management solutions, ensuring a seamless tech-enabled experience for our rural and semi-urban clientele.

KB Balakumaran began his career as an Agricultural Officer in the Department of Agriculture, Government of Tamil Nadu, promoting farmers’ clubs and facilitating technology transfer from lab to field. He then joined Indian Bank, serving in diverse roles including Project Manager for the bank’s Microfinance unit.

In 2009, he joined the Hand in Hand India group and subsequently Belstar Microfinance Limited, holding leadership roles and overseeing Pan-India microfinance operations with a focus on portfolio quality, sustainable growth, and operational efficiency. He also established specialized collections teams post-COVID, trained international staff on microfinance models, and guided board-level compliance and regulatory reporting. Balakumaran has completed advanced trainings in risk management with EDA Rural Systems, sustainability and MFI operations with Grameen and BRAC Banks, branch rating and risk management with MicroSave, and leadership at Harvard Business School through Accion. He holds a B.Sc in Agricultural Sciences from Andhra Pradesh Agricultural University, Hyderabad, combining technical expertise with strategic and operational skills in rural finance and microfinance portfolio management.

A management graduate with 22 years of banking experience, Vinodkumar specializes in Agri and Rural banking. He has a proven track record in setting up new business models, managing large sales forces, and handling rural channel partners. His deep passion for working in rural India drives VHFL’s expansion across the Southern states.

Seasoned BFSI professional with 23 years of experience, Bagavathiappan’s expertise spans Retail Assets, Credit Risk Control, and Microfinance. He spent 13 years at HDFC Bank in Retail Branch Banking and later scaled the business loan vertical at Belstar Microfinance. He holds a Master’s in IT and is an expert in KYC compliance and operational frameworks.

Karuppusamy brings nearly three decades of experience in rural development and banking. After a decade at the DHAN Foundation building rural livelihoods, he spent 12 years at HDFC Bank managing rural credit delivery. He holds a Master’s in Sociology and a Bachelor’s in Agriculture, and is a Certified Associate of the Indian Institute of Bankers (CAIIB).

Rajapriya brings over 22 years of leadership experience in Human Resource Management and Learning & Development. She specialises in building high-performing, inclusive organisations by aligning people strategies with business goals. A Certified Life Coach, she partners with leadership teams to drive culture, engagement, and sustainable growth.

Ramraj brings over two decades of experience in Sales, Training and Learning & Organisational Development. With a Master’s in Business Administration, he has led scalable learning initiatives at ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, Bharti AXA Life Insurance, TATA AIG General Insurance, Chola MS and Belstar Microfinance, driving talent capability and performance excellence.

A Qualified Chartered Accountant with 17 years of experience, Santhy leads the credit underwriting and portfolio management functions at VHFL. She previously spent 9 years at ICICI Bank, where she honed her skills in business development and credit risk assessment. She is instrumental in motivating teams to provide high-level customer service.

A PMP certified IT professional with 16 years of industry experience, Karthisen holds an MCA and a PGDBM from LIBA. He has worked with organizations like Lockheed Martin (USA) and Virtusa across Banking and Insurance domains. He specializes in multi-vendor coordination and stakeholder management across geographies.

With 22 years in the financial services industry, Ramesh oversees strategic recovery operations across multiple states. His career includes leadership roles at Indiabulls, TVS Credit, and Kinara Capital. He is an expert in legal recovery frameworks, including the SARFAESI Act and the Negotiable Instruments Act, ensuring high-value portfolio performance.

With a background in investment banking and consulting, Srinivas is VHFL’s expert on monitoring, evaluation, and social impact. He leads impact assessment studies to ensure that VHFL’s housing solutions result in measurable enterprise and job creation for our target communities.

An operations specialist and Lean Six Sigma Green Belt, Sathya focus on process efficiency and digital transformation. With an MBA in Finance and Entrepreneurship, he spent 8 years at Zolvit in operational leadership. He aligns VHFL’s back-end processes with our mission to provide accessible financial solutions.

A Civil Engineering professional with 14 years of experience, Ponmani oversees technical policy and property valuation. Having led regional technical teams at Mahindra Rural Housing and Muthoot Housing, he ensures that every construction VHFL funds meets quality standards and undergoes rigorous due diligence.

Venkatesh is a legal professional with over 10 years of experience, specializing in property law and title due diligence. Having worked at Equitas Small Finance Bank and Hero Housing Finance, he leads VHFL’s legal process design, documentation, and policy implementation for the housing finance sector.

Bharatha is a seasoned audit professional with 19 years of experience in accounts and statutory audits. Over the last 6 years, he has focused on banking asset audits with HDFC Bank and Equitas Small Finance Bank. He holds a Master’s in Commerce and ensures VHFL’s operations remain transparent and fully aligned with regulatory frameworks.

A qualified Company Secretary with 17 years of experience, Balaji heads the secretarial and legal functions. He has extensive experience in managing diverse boards, fundraising, and corporate governance for large listed and unlisted companies. He manages VHFL’s interface with SEBI, RBI, and other regulatory bodies.

Sankar is a retired Govt. of Tamil Nadu IAS officer belonging to the 1982 batch. He has an MBA from Southern Cross University, Australia. His 34 years of experience includes an array of general administrative posts in the Government, including the prestigious District Collector of Coimbatore. He has held Secretary, Principal Secretary and Additional Chief Secretary level postings in varied fields including Industries, Environment & Forests, Rural Development & Panchayat Raj, Municipal Administration & Water Supply for the Govt.of Tamil Nadu.

One of his major feats includes the coordination of the massive Tsunami Rehabilitation Programme of the Government after the devastating disaster hit Tamil Nadu in 2004. As the Officer on Special Duty and Project Director, he spearheaded the rehabilitation and reconstruction projects sanctioned by the Govt. of India, World Bank, UNDP and other International organizations, totalling USD 2 billion. He was invited by the World Bank to join as the Project Director for National Cyclone Risk Mitigation Project at the National Disaster Management Authority, New Delhi and implemented the first phase of the project at a cost of INR 1500 crore in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha. In addition, he has experience as the CMD of Corporations such as Tamil Nadu Power Finance and Infrastructure Development and Tamil Nadu Newsprints and Papers Ltd and Tamil Nadu Housing Board.

Dr. Kalpana Sankar is the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Varashakti Housing Finance, a financial inclusion-focused institution dedicated to providing affordable housing solutions and empowering underserved communities.

Dr. Sankar, a nuclear physicist turned social entrepreneur, has redefined the landscape of social impact over the past three decades. As the former Managing Director of Belstar Microfinance and the Co-founder and Chairperson of Hand in Hand India, she has empowered over 10 million rural women through livelihood creation and financial inclusion. Her journey embodies an unwavering commitment to uplifting marginalized communities and driving inclusive growth.

Her expertise and influence extend globally. She has worked with leading international agencies including IFAD, UNOPS, and UNDP, contributing to global development programs and policy frameworks. Her contributions have been recognized with numerous national and international honors, including the Nari Shakti Puraskar, Bal Kalyan Puraskar, and the Princess Sabeeka Bint Ibrahim Al Khalifa Global Award for Women’s Empowerment from the Kingdom of Bahrain.

Dr. Sankar holds a TRIUM Global Executive MBA and a double doctorate in nuclear physics and gender studies. She serves on the boards of NABARD Consultancy Services and GoodWeave International.

Venkatakrishnan is a banker with more than 36 years of experience. His banking exposure is spread across both corporate and retail spaces including public & private sector and overseas banking. His core strength and excellence are in sales, operations, and risk management.

He has headed a bank in West Africa and a Microfinance institution in India thus earning exposure to board functioning and regulatory compliances. He is a Certified Associate of the Indian Institute of Bankers (CAIIB) besides holding a Post Graduate degree from Madras University and a bachelor’s degree from Karnataka University.

Ramanath Dash had served as the Regional Director of Reserve Bank of India for the two states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana and has extensive experience in the regulation and supervision of banks and Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs), currency management, banking development and financial inclusion. During his stint in the Central Office of Reserve Bank of India at Mumbai, he was closely associated with policy formulation relating to Priority Sector Lending by banks, strengthening of Regional Rural Banks, and related areas.

He was a member of the RBI Internal Group on Priority Sector Lending which submitted its report in March 2015. He was also a Member of Faculty, College of Agricultural Banking (CAB), Pune for close to six years, where he headed the Rural Banking Division. After superannuation from the Reserve Bank of India, he was Consultant to the National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (NIRD&PR), Hyderabad. Dash studied in Ravenshaw College, Cuttack, and did M.Sc. from Utkal University. He is a Certified Associate of the Indian Institute of Banking and Finance.

Shubham Kothari is an Investment Manager at Incofin Investment Management, where he manages equity investments across the Financial Services and Agri-Food sectors in India. With a decade of professional experience, including over five years at Incofin, he has extensive exposure across the full investment cycle – from deal sourcing, due diligence, portfolio management and value creation. His contributions span governance, financial reporting, social impact, and strategic initiatives.

Before joining Incofin, Shubham worked with TVS Capital Funds on private equity investments and with the Boston Consulting Group on strategy projects.

He is a Chartered Accountant with All India Ranks in both CA Intermediate and Final examinations.

Shubham Kothari is an Investment Manager at Incofin Investment Management, where he manages equity investments across the Financial Services and Agri-Food sectors in India. With a decade of professional experience, including over five years at Incofin, he has extensive exposure across the full investment cycle – from deal sourcing, due diligence, portfolio management and value creation. His contributions span governance, financial reporting, social impact, and strategic initiatives.

Before joining Incofin, Shubham worked with TVS Capital Funds on private equity investments and with the Boston Consulting Group on strategy projects.

He is a Chartered Accountant with All India Ranks in both CA Intermediate and Final examinations.