MANIKANDAN R
Chennai,Tamil Nadu
Summary
Strategic operations leader with expertise in operational management, regulatory compliance, and organizational development. Led high-performing teams to implement process improvements that align with business objectives. Skilled in financial management and cross-functional collaboration, developing strategies that drive immediate results and support sustainable growth.
Overview
2
2
Languages
24
24
years of professional experience
Work History
Associate Vice President - WRB Operations
Standard Chartered GBS
Chennai
03.2025 - Current
- Reporting to: Executive Director
- Unit head for Lending Cards Operation (Onboarding and account maintenance) for ASA region covering 5 markets with team size of 65 both in Chennai & Bangalore
- Managed risk and control for each process in the team. Conducted monthly reviews of processes to identify gaps (KRI) and implemented fixes to mitigate risk events across markets.
- Reviewed team monthly productivity and efficiency against required capacity and metrics, presenting findings to senior management.
- Conducted root cause analysis on events using techniques such as 5 Whys and fishbone diagram to identify and address underlying issues.
- Review of similar process across markets / region and propose standardization that saves cost, benefit time & better client experience.
- Served affluent clients with high standards and reduced turnaround time.
- Responsible for handling projects & driving it towards closure with all the stakeholders involved.
- Review & approve process document (SOP) & KPI metrics on a regular basis.
- Brought in Day 2 controls with robust process by validating the reports against the original source documents.
- Automated several processes using Copilot and AI tools, enhancing control and efficiency.
Assistant Vice President - Operations
Hitachi Payment Services Pvt Ltd
Chennai
08.2022 - 02.2025
- Reporting to: Vice President & Director
- Roles & Responsibilities:
- Heading Cards Acquiring Operation business for POS & UPI Settlement, Reconciliation, Fraud & Chargeback, Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) & Metro for domestic operations with team size of 39 both in Chennai & Mumbai
- Managed the cards acquiring financial process with various schemes such as Visa, MasterCard, Rupay, Amex, and Discover.
- Ensured daily deliverables of staging sale and refund transactions, and payments to merchants within the SLA across various banks and aggregators.
- Launched new projects to enhance efficiency in Operations business.
- Collaborated with internal stakeholders including technology, business/products, project teams, tax, and finance for successful implementation of new initiatives.
- Regular interaction to external stake holders with clients & cards network
- Present MIS of team performance to leadership team on monthly basis
- Review of various regulatory & scheme mandate and to work with projects & Technology team to implement the same in the system
- Automated the manual staging and reconciliation process using RPA - Automation Anywhere (Robotic Process Automation) tool.
- Conducted both internal and client audits, achieving no findings.
- Review of Capacity Plan, SOP & KPI on periodical basis
- Conducted regular training sessions on functional and interpersonal skills for staff across various levels and units.
- Achievements:
- Received Most Valuable Performer (MPV) award for 2022-23 from MD & CEO happened in Thailand.
- Implemented the controls of the staging process where the rejects were not reprocessed on time on various banks & aggregators which led to financial loss. This daily control gives visibility to management.
- Streamlined staging, journal voucher, and payment processing through RPA; developed in-house dispute dashboard to improve operational oversight.
Operations Manager
Mashreq Global Services
Bengaluru, Karnataka
09.2020 - 07.2022
- Roles & Responsibilities:
- Managed interchange settlements and reconciliation unit and chargeback unit for UAE, Qatar, and Bahrain region with team of 13
- Monitoring aging items of various GL accounts (Sundry & Nostro) through TLM and submission of monthly proofing of GL accounts with GRC unit
- Conduct monthly governance call with key stakeholders and discuss on the long open debit exceptions in Sundry accounts
- Circulated weekly and monthly dashboard to team and senior management, highlighting trends and actions taken by each unit
- Review of various income & expense and circulate the same with senior management along with trend analysis
- Review of Capacity Plan, SOP, KPI &KRI on periodical basis and obtain necessary approval from process owners
- Trained staff regularly and conducted quarterly performance reviews.
- Achievements:
- Implemented TLM (Transaction Lifecycle Management) recon tool that automated 285 accounts which were reconciled manually in the past. This has benefited in saving 1 FTE and also the reporting is accurate. The exceptions are monitored with proper tracking mechanism.
- Received Top performance rating for 2021 for effective management of the unit with both functional and people management skills.
Operations Manager
Citicorp Services India Private Limited
Chennai
07.2014 - 05.2020
- Roles & Responsibilities :
- Governance of APAC Card settlements & Reconciliation unit, Analytics team and Prepaid Operations Unit
- Led implementation of Robotics Process Automation (RPA) for commercial card business to enhance operational efficiency
- Reviewed capacity plan, contingency plan documents, KPIs, KRIs, and vendor contracts to ensure alignment with operational goals
- Conducted MCA / RCSA quarterly to test key risks and verify adherence to mitigating controls.
- Key deliverable includes NIL repeat incidents, Technology solution & risk-free operation
- Review of process document to identify operational risks & control
- Providing extended support for Internal & External audits
- Submitted regulatory reports to ensure compliance with industry standards.
- Review & submit of GST on monthly basis for India
- Shared inputs and explained the income process during the audit by the Government of India.
- Achievements :
- Identified erroneous charges levied by Master card of USD 2 MM over a period of a year.
- Streamlined the incentive payout process leading to better client experience and effective management of the P&L. During the exercise, historic exceptions of circa USD 13,000 were identified and taken to closure.
- Reduced the lead time to prepare rebate/incentive computation from 60 to 30 days which lead to the better client experience.
- Raised a CAP (Corrective Action Plan) to highlight aging exceptions in the Prepaid space, which were not being reported to Risk & Controls, thereby leading to a breach in the A&P policy. Established a robust process of monitoring, highlighting & escalation of all aging transactions.
- Established methodology for reducing delinquency through periodic follow-ups with customer-facing teams, resulting in recovery of USD 83,000 across five countries over 2-3 years
- Implemented RPA automation on Settlement process for APAC region with a save of 2 FTE's.
Operations Manager
Yalamanchili Software Exports Ltd
10.2011 - 07.2014
- Managed settlement & reconciliation, chargeback & dispute management, technology operations, card operations, and help desk teams to ensure smooth operational flow.
- Served as primary contact for client escalations across 30+ domestic and 10+ international projects, effectively resolving issues and improving client satisfaction.
- Managed back-end operations for domestic and international teams. Domestic & International operations with a team size of 120 members
- Recognized process gaps and suggested solutions for improvement. process gap & implemented various process controls that eliminated manual error at maker & checker level
- Established dispute/chargeback team for operations, providing support, guidance, and training that empowered the team to independently manage processes.
- Migrated new projects by understanding client requirements through account managers and setting up processes for the operations team.
- Compiled and organized periodical reports for the operations team. MIS for the entire operations team & report the same to management
- Review the key risk areas along with internal auditors
- Received recognition as 'STAR of the Quarter' for outstanding performance. “STAR of the Quarter” by the organization.
Assistant Manager
HSBC Operations and Processing Enterprises
Chennai
02.2007 - 09.2011
- Handled India Card operations for Chargeback & Back office Unit
- Reconciled suspense account entries to ensure accurate financial reporting
- Prepared various management information reports for department and presented insights to business heads
- Utilized Vision Plus system to manage card operations
- Implemented various MI for Post Card Sales which shows the business growth across various channels for which I got Thanks Award from the Management
- Successfully cleared the un-reconciled suspense account entries within a month
- Contributed to Six Sigma projects to improve operational efficiency and process quality
Process Executive
Citigroup Global Services Ltd
Chennai
10.2004 - 01.2007
- Handled newly migrated process for Philippines & Guam, ensuring error-free execution and simplifying procedures to save time.
- Managed card operations for Citibank Philippines and Indonesia, overseeing a team of 8 members.
- Daily reconciliation and settlement to Visa & Master cards
- Prepared MIS reports, including aging analysis, to support operational decision-making.
Accounts Executive
TAFE Access Ltd
Chennai
07.2003 - 10.2004
- Completed final review of accounts for accurate financial reporting
- Conducted cost analysis for service centre to inform financial decision-making
- Eliminated dependency on showroom for managing service centre's accounting, streamlining processes
- Prepared MI for service centre, providing management with visibility of service centre's stability
Factory Accountant
S M Apparels Pvt Ltd
Chennai
11.2002 - 05.2003
- Prepared and monitored budgets for factory unit to align with financial goals
- Maintained accuracy of factory financial records to ensure compliance and transparency
- Conducted periodic stock audits to verify inventory levels and support financial integrity
Education
MBA - Finance
Indira Gandhi National Open University
04-2008
B.Com -
A.V.C. COLLEGE (Autonomous)
04-1997
High School - Commerce
G G S M Matriculation Hr Secondary School
04-1994
Skills
- Risk management and control
- Process improvement and automation
- Financial reconciliation
- P&L oversight
- Project management
- Stakeholder engagement
- Operations management
- People management
- Leadership development
Languages
English
Proficient (C2)
C2
Tamil
Native
Native
Timeline
Associate Vice President - WRB Operations
Standard Chartered GBS
03.2025 - Current
Assistant Vice President - Operations
Hitachi Payment Services Pvt Ltd
08.2022 - 02.2025
Operations Manager
Mashreq Global Services
09.2020 - 07.2022
Operations Manager
Citicorp Services India Private Limited
07.2014 - 05.2020
Operations Manager
Yalamanchili Software Exports Ltd
10.2011 - 07.2014
Assistant Manager
HSBC Operations and Processing Enterprises
02.2007 - 09.2011
Process Executive
Citigroup Global Services Ltd
10.2004 - 01.2007
Accounts Executive
TAFE Access Ltd
07.2003 - 10.2004
Factory Accountant
S M Apparels Pvt Ltd
11.2002 - 05.2003
MBA - Finance
Indira Gandhi National Open University
B.Com -
A.V.C. COLLEGE (Autonomous)
High School - Commerce
G G S M Matriculation Hr Secondary School