Julius Baer has hired an investment veteran from IIFL to join as its new chief executive officer for India.
Umang Papneja has been named as the new CEO for Julius Baer India, according to a statement, effective August 1 and reporting to head global India and developed markets Rahul Malhotra. He succeeds Ashish Gumashta who will stay with the bank as the executive chairman of Julius Baer Wealth Advisors (India).
Prior to joining Julius Baer, Papneja was the chief investment officer of the wealth arm of major Indian financial group IIFL, which he joined in 2009. Previously, he was also the head of investments at Societe Generale Private Banking in Mumbai.
Separately, Shitin Desai will retire from the board of Julius Baer Wealth Advisors (India). In addition to a more than 30-year banking career with senior positions at Merrill Lynch and Julius Baer India, Desai was also the founding member of DSP Investments.
Global Indian Coverage
Julius Baer takes an integrated approach to India, which it names a core market in Asia, with offshore coverage of non-resident Indians throughout Asia, the Middle East and Europe complementing its domestic coverage of cities like Mumbai, New Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad via its onshore unit.
«We are confident that with [Papneja] deep onshore knowledge and network, he will be able to drive our growth strategy and focus on building up a major presence locally by extending our reach into more key cities in India,» Malhotra said.
«With his strong background in investments, he will also steer our local product and infrastructure innovation where we will further develop a broader range of sophisticated and relevant products and services catered to the growing community of high-net-worth individuals in India.»
