DANNY FERNANDES
Mumbai
Summary
Dynamic Asia & South Cluster Head of End User Onsite Support and Information Technology with over 25 years of expertise in technology planning, IT operations management, and stakeholder engagement. A passion for collaborative, hands-on technical work drives the pursuit of innovative technology solutions that enhance processes and provide a competitive edge. Recognized as an engaging communicator, adept at leveraging emotional intelligence and active listening to align with clients' strategic initiatives and deliver tailored technical solutions. Currently seeking a leadership role focused on advancing AI adoption, optimizing end-user experiences, and refining IT infrastructure strategy and management.
Overview
27
27
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
CTO - Vice President
Citigroup Global Markets India Private Limited
03.2007 - Current
- Company Overview: http://www.citigroup.com/
- Asia South Cluster Head End user onsite support, Head Technology Infrastructure – CTO - Citigroup Global Markets India, Responsible for Asia South cluster countries onsite support, Citibank FICC Trading Infra, Banking and Capital Markets, Research Center of excellence ( COE ) Business. Manage data centre operations, Project Management, and Infrastructure service delivery.
- Upkeeping and maintaining infrastructure uptimes, managing seamless ramp-up and ramp down, Inter/Intra facility movements, new projects, and program smooth rollouts for business.
- Achieved cost savings and decreased by 50% time to market by modernizing processes and improving asset allocation. Won business management appreciation for the same.
- SPOC/Client Manager for the premium business stakeholders and other internal teams within Citi to engage on new product requirements, technology enhancements, and AI adoption.
- Team Management, Audit certification, vendor management, budgeting, trade floor voice & recording infra management, Staff training, review, and recruitment.
- IT Strategy and Road Map planning for the End user and Trade floor technology. Evaluation and selection of newer technologies, including AI tools.
- Delivering Conference support and Voice/Video conference.
- Managed streamlining and achieved resiliency within the current infrastructure and for new projects.
- Supervised and carried out office relocation/shifting of office premises within the same office building. Involved in the design and planning of the Trading Floor and server room locations.
- Setup of new office premises, including data center.
- Measured key performance indicators and metrics to ensure a stable and sustainable environment.
- Implementation of OMS interfaces with the NSE trading systems using CTCL software/trading Network.
- Setup and Management of Infrastructure operations for High Frequency Trading/ Low Latency Clients at the NSE Colocation data center with appropriate IT security setup.
- Managed regulatory Audit & Controls with nil issues, created a roadmap for the IT team.
- Drove process improvements and enhancements to reduce Time to market to 9 weeks from 24 weeks.
- Engaged in end-user product initiatives and aligned strategy for seamless new product rollouts to business users, including early adopter programs.
- Implemented cross training plan for all IT personnel and promoted new ideas.
- Planning and execution of Work from home, Split operations, and COB setup for various business-like Equity & FX trading / Investment Banking / Research / Support Functions.
- Orchestrated initiative to conduct focused training sessions for businesses to improve productivity.
- Improved business engagement and increased support satisfaction rating from 75% to 92%.
- Drive synergies across teams to optimize cost and support needs aligned to business and organization goals.
Manager – Information Technology
SG Asia Holdings India Pvt. Ltd.
01.2004 - 02.2007
- Company Overview: SG Asia Holding is a broking arm (FII) of the SG group (Societe Generale) – www.sgcib.com.
- Duties included budgeting, hiring and reviewing staff, analysis, and project management.
- Supervised and carried out Infrastructure Upgrades & Office refurbishing to support the growing business and Technology requirements, resulting in a 70% increase in productivity.
- Proposed and implemented the CTCL trading Network, which enabled multiple market trading using a single screen and centralized Management. Saved 50% infrastructure cost.
- Configured Access control filtering using a redundant firewall to secure traffic flow between networks.
- Created, led, and managed the maintenance/upgradation/integration of the online trading terminal “Bombay and National Stock Exchange” which is connected via VSATs and Leased Lines.
- Managed job-skills matrix and cross-training plan for all IT personnel and helped improve staff synergies.
- Redesigning, problem-solving skills, as well as the ability to think big picture, helped reduce process inefficiencies.
- Led creation of DRP and BCP documentation.
Technical Services Officer
SG Asia Holdings India Pvt. Ltd.
01.2000 - 12.2003
- Restructured the Dealing room and Dealing Server Upgrades to improve Client order Execution and efficiency of IT systems.
- Involved in the maintenance/network designing/integration of Windows NT throughout the enterprise.
- Spearheaded the design and execution of the CER Equipment Move and Network Rack revamp.
- NT migration for SG Bank was completed to help with business needs and expansion.
- Install and update software on all computers, ensure error-free backup of data on file servers, install wiring (data and fiber optic) and phone wiring as needed.
Technical Services – Assistant
SG Asia Holdings India Pvt. Ltd.
06.1999 - 12.1999
- Migrated all the Servers and PC from Novel to Windows NT to serve the growing Business needs and to stay in line with the Technology
- Provided complete LAN/WAN, Windows NT, and Internet capabilities to business operation policies.
- Also manage 43 staff under extreme conditions. Requires constant problem-solving and highest-level leadership skills.
- Brought all the systems (in-house and vendor) into Y2k Compliance.
- Liaising with the local telecom provider for Leased line and telecom issues.
System Analyst
Infobahn Systems & Services
06.1998 - 05.1999
- Involved in the maintenance of Windows NT throughout the enterprise, also involved in a Windows NT rollout client, also configured and administered the company’s communications and email through Outlook Express and Netscape Mail.
- Installing & configuring Windows NT server. ( Setting up & maintaining File Servers, Print Servers, Mail Servers )
- Protecting Server Data: Backup /Restore, Configuration, Fault Tolerance, Fault tolerance Data Recovery
- Training customers on the usage of their system and network
- Assembling of computers / Training customers on the usage of their system and network.
- Handling an on-site computer service call
- Troubleshooting networking problems on both the server side and the client side
Education
Degree - computers
Dyaneshwar Vidyapeeth
Integrated Program - Business Analytics
IIM Indore
Diploma - Electronic Engineering
Mumbai University, Larsen and Toubro Institute of Technology
Skills
- Infrastructure Resiliency
- Vendor Management
- Audit & Leadership
- Training / Mentoring
- Team Building
- Security/ BCP Planning
- Infrastructure setup / Planning
- Talent manager
- Service Delivery
- Superlative Oral and Written Communication Skills
- Always strive for customer excellence
- Dependable
- Analytical
- Adaptable
Certification
- Design Thinking – A primer. India Institute of Technology Madras – NPTEL
- Strategic Thinking for Business Excellence – IIM Mumbai
- CISSP training from MIEL Technologies.
- Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer, Microsoft Corporation, USA, Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 Server, Workstation, TCP/IP & Microsoft Exchange 5.0.
- Cisco Certified Network Associate.
- Sun Solaris 8 SA-I Certified. Trained on SUN SOLARIS 8
- Certified Cisco Secure PIX Firewall Advanced
- Diploma in Software Engineering (IBM AS/400), Concourse Information Technology International Limited.
- Lotus Notes R5 Domino and Client Administration, Microuniv.
Timeline
CTO - Vice President
Citigroup Global Markets India Private Limited
03.2007 - Current
Manager – Information Technology
SG Asia Holdings India Pvt. Ltd.
01.2004 - 02.2007
Technical Services Officer
SG Asia Holdings India Pvt. Ltd.
01.2000 - 12.2003
Technical Services – Assistant
SG Asia Holdings India Pvt. Ltd.
06.1999 - 12.1999
System Analyst
Infobahn Systems & Services
06.1998 - 05.1999
Integrated Program - Business Analytics
IIM Indore
Diploma - Electronic Engineering
Mumbai University, Larsen and Toubro Institute of Technology
Degree - computers
Dyaneshwar Vidyapeeth
Training Programs Attended
- Team building and Trust – Outward Bound Singapore.
- Leadership essentials – Citi
- Effective presentation skills - Citi
- Leading at Citi – Level 1 & Level 2
- Leading High Performance Teams.