Prashant Mehra
Gurgaon
Summary
Dynamic finance and operations leader with 15+ years of experience in derivative trade, product control processes, and operational excellence. Expertise in managing derivative portfolios valued at $3.5 billion annually. Demonstrated success in building high-performing teams, leading transformational projects, and implementing cost-saving automation solutions. Recognized for setting up global operational hubs and driving process improvements across multiple asset classes, including commodities, FX, and interest rate derivatives. Strong communicator with a proven ability to engage stakeholders, and deliver strategic outcomes.
Overview
15
15
years of professional experience
Work History
Head- Global Derivatives Operations Centre India • SBS - DERIVATIVES SERVICES.
Louis Dreyfus Company India Pvt. Ltd.
Gurgaon
04.2015 - Current
- Global Operations Management: Headed the end-to-end management of global derivative operations, covering trade confirmations, settlements, and collateral management for agricultural commodities and FX transactions. Oversee processes for 9 desks (Exotic Commodities OTC, FX, Grains, Oilseeds, Palm, Sugar, Carbon, Dairy, and Freight) in regions including Singapore, China, EMEA, and Brazil.
- Portfolio & Asset Management: Managed a diverse range of derivative products, including over 70 commodity instruments, such as FX spots, forwards, options, cross-currency swaps, interest rate swaps (IRS), and agricultural commodity futures.
- Process Setup & Optimization: Spearheaded the transition of 9 processes into the Gurgaon hub, covering multiple regions. Re-designed workflows and automated tasks using VBA macros, reducing dependencies on manual intervention, and achieving significant time and cost savings.
- Key Achievements:
- Cost savings: Reduced overall FTE by 40% through automation and process optimization.
- Process Automation: Automated the reconciliation of FX and commodity trades, saving 24.5 hours of daily work, thus reducing the workload by 3 FTEs.
- Team Leadership: Led a team of eight members, comprising five assistant managers, one SME, and two senior analysts. Focused on performance management, learning, development, and employee engagement.
- Business Resiliency: Implemented business continuity planning (BCP) measures, ensuring proactive leave planning, cross-training, and coverage during critical times.
- Stakeholder Management: Regularly engaged with global stakeholders, organizing monthly meetings to review Key Risk Indicators (KRIs) and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) with senior management.
Assistant Vice President – MarkitSERV Client Services Team
Markit India Pvt. Ltd.
10.2013 - 04.2015
- Client Services Management: Led a team of five in managing client service operations for derivative trade confirmation and post-trade processes. Provided consistent support to global stakeholders across multiple regions.
- Process Enhancements: Managed workflow changes, including staggered shifts, resulting in a 1.5 FTE savings. Ensured compliance with service-level agreements (SLA), achieving 100% on-time resolution with zero escalations.
- Achievements: Achieved zero attrition for 18 consecutive months. Designed and implemented a performance review mechanism that tracked key business metrics such as turnaround time (TAT), accuracy, and client satisfaction.
Team Developer – Global Rates Trade Support/Control
Bank of America (BACI)
01.2012 - 09.2013
- Trade Control & Support: Managed trade capture, confirmations, and settlements for complex derivative products, including IRS, cross-currency swaps, forward rate agreements (FRA), overnight index swaps (OIS), and interest rate options (IRO).
- Automation & Process Migration: Successfully automated incoming novations for swap contracts, leading to a seamless transfer of process activities from Chester and New York to India. Contributed to the design and deployment of straight-through processing (STP) over the MarkitWire platform.
- Achievements: Led the migration of high-value processes from the US and UK, significantly reducing costs and enhancing operational efficiency. Managed relationships with key stakeholders in the front office and resolved discrepancies in pre- and post-settlement processes.
Analyst – Trade Support & Confirmations
Deutsche Bank Operations India (DBOI)
04.2010 - 01.2012
- Trade Confirmation Specialist: Acted as a subject matter expert (SME) in trade validation and confirmation for a variety of derivatives, including credit default swaps (CDS), interest rate swaps, foreign exchange trades, and commodity swaps.
- Operational Efficiency: Worked closely with the team to set up and implement the IceLINK platform for CDS confirmation, improving accuracy and processing times.
- Achievements: Successfully streamlined trade confirmation workflows, reducing manual errors and improving trade matching rates. Contributed to process documentation and knowledge transfer, ensuring smooth handovers and enhanced operational knowledge sharing.
Education
Master of Business Administration (MBA) - Finance & Human Resources
IILM Academy of Higher Learning
JaipurBachelor of Science (B.Sc.) - Biology
M.D.S University
Ajmer, RajasthanSkills
- Operations Leadership
- Team Management
- Process Innovation & Automation
- Stakeholder & Client Relationship Management
- Risk & Compliance Management
- Cost Optimization & Efficiency
- Collateral management
- Risk assessment
- Business continuity planning
- Project management
- Change management
Career Pathway Progression
- DEUTSCHE BANK GROUP (DBOI), Analyst - Apr 10 - Dec 11
- BANK OF AMERICA (BACI), Sr. Team member - Jan 12 - Dec 12
- BANK OF AMERICA (BACI), Team Developer - Jan 13 - Sep 13
- MARKIT INDIA PVT LTD, Associate - Oct 13 - Dec 14
- MARKIT INDIA PVT LTD, AVP - Jan 15 - Apr 15
- LOUIS DREYFUS COMPANY, Manager - Apr 15 - Apr 23
- LOUIS DREYFUS COMPANY, Head – Global Derivatives Operations Centre India - Apr 23 - Present
Notable Projects
- Louis Dreyfus Company, Comprehensive Database Implementation, Designed and implemented a VBA macro for the Dairy Trading Desk.
- Louis Dreyfus Company, FX Trade Reconciliation & Collateral Management, Developed an automated solution for FX reconciliation.
- Bank of America (BACI), Incoming Novations Automation, Pioneered the automation of novation contracts on the MarkitWire platform.
- Deutsche Bank Operations India, IceLINK Application Setup, Key contributor to the setup of the IceLINK application.
Timeline
Head- Global Derivatives Operations Centre India • SBS - DERIVATIVES SERVICES.
Louis Dreyfus Company India Pvt. Ltd.
04.2015 - Current
Assistant Vice President – MarkitSERV Client Services Team
Markit India Pvt. Ltd.
10.2013 - 04.2015
Team Developer – Global Rates Trade Support/Control
Bank of America (BACI)
01.2012 - 09.2013
Analyst – Trade Support & Confirmations
Deutsche Bank Operations India (DBOI)
04.2010 - 01.2012
Master of Business Administration (MBA) - Finance & Human Resources
IILM Academy of Higher Learning
Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) - Biology
M.D.S University
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