Gowrish Rai
Executive Director - Business Transformation
Bengaluru
Summary
As a seasoned Business Excellence & Transformation Leader, I bring 20 years of expertise in driving operational transformation across diverse industries. My core strength lies in building and institutionalizing operational excellence frameworks, fostering a culture of continuous improvement, and leading complex change management initiatives that deliver measurable impact.
Currently, as the Director of Transformation for Wells Fargo’s Control Management function, I spearhead multi-disciplinary teams, driving data-driven strategies, process optimization, and innovation to achieve transformative outcomes. My experience spans retail, manufacturing, ITES, banking, and professional services, collaborating with marquee brands to navigate strategic transformation.
Passionate about driving excellence, I thrive on crafting scalable solutions that enhance efficiency, mitigate risks, and enable sustainable business growth.
Overview
2026
2026
years of professional experience
2011
2011
years of post-secondary education
4
4
Certifications
Work History
Executive Director - Transformation Leader
Wells Fargo
05.2025 - Current
- - Lead strategic transformation initiatives within the Control Management function, driving operational excellence across risk and control domains.
- Partner with senior leadership to align control strategies with enterprise goals, enhancing governance and risk mitigation.
- Build and institutionalize frameworks for process optimization, data-driven decision-making, and continuous improvement.
- Foster a culture of innovation by leading cross-functional teams in identifying scalable solutions and embedding best practices leveraging.
- Catalyst for driving Generative and Agentic AI driven across core control services and oversee governance from intake to deployment.
- Champion recognition and team synergy, reinforcing a collaborative and high-performance culture
DIRECTOR - DELIVERY EXCELLENCE LEADER
ERNST & YOUNG-GDS
6 2019 - 04.2025
- Drive delivery excellence across the organization, work collaboratively with central leadership group to scale existing and new practices across their span
- Proactively identify potential risks and implemented mitigation strategies to minimize negative impacts on projects or business operations.
- Enable definition and design of quality models and playbooks
- Lead team of process consultants and data analysts to drive large scale delivery excellence priorities
- Partner with service lines to drive innovation culture, run hackathons and incubate ideas with potential 'ground up' transformation
- Implement enterprise-wide digital maturity assessment and process mining to standardize transactional processes
- Leverage data analytics and visualization to carve out compelling story to drive transformational change
- Manage and develop talent and help them realize purpose and stay motivated to pursue excellence.
LEAD OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE ENGINEER
TARGET RETAIL
01.2014 - 06.2019
- Partner with leadership to layout strategic roadmap and translate key objectives and goals into prioritized initiatives
- Lead process re-engineering and Robotic Process Automation (RPA) for core business processes from discovery to deploying sustainable solutions using target's BPM framework
- Lead manufacturing excellence engagement for elevating vendor factory performance within the sub-continent region
- Take hands-on approach to value stream analysis and process deep dives to identify opportunities that drives bottom line benefit and enhances customer experience
- Train and mentor product quality assurance and sourcing teams across the South America, SEA and sub-continent business units
- Pioneer lean deployment, sustenance and maturity assessment for functions identified for institutionalizing operational excellence.
PROCESS CONSULTANT
DELOITTE CONSULTING
10.2012 - 01.2014
- Support business vertical director and partners, as a process consultant, to help manage key system integration projects for their respective clientele
- Work with the PMO and SEPG to establish quantitative project management techniques and prediction models
- Lead as a quality consultant and set up governance and standardization from RFP to delivery using Deloitte's program management framework
- Conduct engagement review to elicit risks to timeline, quality and cost parameters to ensure delivery excellence
- Lead as lean and six sigma SME to deploy enterprise wide problem-solving training and workshops.
MANAGEMENT CONSULTANT
KPMG CONSULTING
6 2011 - 09.2012
- Lead designing and development of KPMG business excellence framework (SCOPE- Strategic Cost Optimization and Process Excellence)
- Leading advisory and program management engagements for large multinationals on institutionalizing best practices using business excellence framework
- Lead and executed dip stick and deep dive of processes and systems for one of India's largest OEM to uncover cost of poor quality.
ASSISTANT ENGINEERING MANAGER
GLAXO SMITHKLINE
02.2006 - 04.2009
- Managed projects and equipment maintenance for solid dosage plant
- Executed manufacturing excellence (vision factory) engagement with financial goals realized and signed off by site's chief financial controller
- Advocated and established TQM and lean practices and managed cultural transition through the journey
- Conducted period KAIZEN blitz event to identify quick wins and implement through rapid change management
- Ensured compliance to cGMP and OHSAS body of knowledge and addressed gaps from external audit in timely manner
- Lead black belt projects in process and packaging plants with rolled throughput yield improvement ranging from 5% to 20%.
SENIOR PROCESS ASSOCIATE
DELL GFS
10.2004 - 01.2006
- Executed order processes aligned to the global standards for small and medium businessmethodology
- Participated in special projects on quality control for reducing process error rates
- Part of think tank team for identifying opportunities within the small and medium business vertical for order processing.
Education
MBA - Operations Management -
Bachelors in mechanical engineering - undefined
Skills
Operational and Manufacturing Excellence
Certification
Certified black belt in lean six sigma (CLSSBB)
Domainknowledge
- Supply chain
- Retails business process & operations
- Manufacturing
- Strategy and operations
- Management consulting
Expertiseskill
- Business Excellence & digital transformation
- People leadership
- Pricing Strategy
- Change management
- Process Optimization
- Lean/Agile Coach
- Performance management
- Data Analytics and business Insights
Toolsandapplicationsexpertise
- Statistical: Minitab, SPSS, Statistica
- BPM: MS Visio, Aris process depot
- Project management: MS Project, Smartsheet
- Agile management: JIRA, e-Kanban
- Reporting: Power BI
Domainknowledgeexpertise
- Professional Services
- Retail
- Strategy and operations
- Management consulting
- Supply chain
- Manufacturing
Certificationsexpertise
- Certified black belt in lean six sigma (CLSSBB)
- Certified project management professional (PMP)
- Certified ZED (Zero Defect Zero Effect) consultant
- Certified scrum master (CSM)
- EY Certified Coach
Educationexpertise
- MBA (Operations Management), 2009-2011
- Bachelor's in Mechanical Engineering, 2001-2004
Additionalinformation
Married, B1 visit visa (valid until 2026), 10/09/81
Timeline
Executive Director - Transformation Leader
Wells Fargo
05.2025 - Current
LEAD OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE ENGINEER
TARGET RETAIL
01.2014 - 06.2019
PROCESS CONSULTANT
DELOITTE CONSULTING
10.2012 - 01.2014
ASSISTANT ENGINEERING MANAGER
GLAXO SMITHKLINE
02.2006 - 04.2009
SENIOR PROCESS ASSOCIATE
DELL GFS
10.2004 - 01.2006
Bachelors in mechanical engineering - undefined
DIRECTOR - DELIVERY EXCELLENCE LEADER
ERNST & YOUNG-GDS
6 2019 - 04.2025
MANAGEMENT CONSULTANT
KPMG CONSULTING
6 2011 - 09.2012
MBA - Operations Management -
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