About this episode
Gayatri Kalyanaraman is in conversation with Rupam Tandon, Financial Executive with 30 years of experience across banking, asset management, and insurance. She’s also a certified Independent Director (IoD), ESG specialist, and startup mentor. She talks about her journey starting in a small town to traveling the globe and literally spreading her wings. Gayatri Kalyanaraman, Host for Software People Stories podcast and co-founder Sangatna Angels welcomes Rupam Tandon and sets the tone for an inspiring conversation about leadership, resilience, and governance. Highlights of the conversation are here01:00 – Early Career and Foundations in FinanceRupam shares her beginnings in Dubai’s financial industry during the 1990s — a period of rapid banking expansion — and lessons on trust, relationships, and financial discipline.03:00 – London Years & the Global Financial Crisis She moves to London to work with asset managers and hedge funds, witnessing firsthand the subprime crisis and collapse of major institutions like Lehman Brothers and AIG.07:00 – Return to India & Setting Up Global Operations Rupam explains her decision to return to India for family reasons and how she helped transition a major bank’s operations from Ireland to Bangalore — navigating SEC and FCA audits successfully.10:00 – The Shift to Insurance and Building Communities She discusses moving from investment banking to insurance, leading initiatives in Risk, ESG, and Cyber, and mentoring senior executives.13:00 – Reflections on Technology & Automation From manual processes to automation and bots — Rupam contrasts the early years of finance with today’s data-driven governance and the rise of straight-through processing (STP).16:00 – Navigating Change and Cultural Adaptation Growing up in Lucknow and moving across continents, Rupam reflects on adapting to different work cultures, continuous learning, and seizing opportunities.20:00 – Decision-Making and Balancing Life & Work
