Mr. Nandkumar Saravade is a senior advisor on governance, strategy, ethics and cyber security. Drawing from his impactful stints in government and private sector spanning 36+ years, with expertise across diverse domains of law enforcement, banking, cyber security and technology management, he considers himself a ‘knowledge-seeker with action-bias.’
Mr Saravade was the founding CEO of Reserve Bank Information Technology Pvt Ltd (ReBIT). ReBIT was set up in 2016 as a fully-owned subsidiary of RBI for technology management and cyber security for RBI’s systems and the Indian banking sector. He built the 350-strong team from scratch and transformed a modest government start-up into a powerhouse for nimble technology project execution, world-class cyber security operations for protecting RBI’s IT assets, technology audit diagnostics for better cyber security for Indian banks, and cutting-edge innovation for big data systems, technology policy, FinTech Regulatory Sandbox, Account Aggregator, and data science (AI/ML) initiatives in RBI. He also contributed as a member of the Malegam Committee on divergences in non-performing assets (NPAs) and bank frauds, and shaped the IT Vision 2021-24 document for RBI. He finished his five-year tenure as CEO, ReBIT in May 2021.
Earlier, he worked as CEO, Data Security Council of India (DSCI), a think-tank specialising in cyber security industry development, policy research and advocacy. During 2013-15, he advised EY and ICICI Bank on fraud risk management. Till September 2013, he worked as Director, Citibank India, heading Security, Investigation and Vigilance. During 2008-2011, he worked as General Manager, Financial Crime Prevention Group, ICICI Bank, where he looked after fraud risk assessment and controls reviews, application screening and vendor due diligence, transaction monitoring, investigations and regulatory reporting and compliance. He also served as Director, Cyber Security and Compliance, NASSCOM, which encompassed policy formulation, capacity building and mass awareness campaigns on cyber security.
Prior to joining the private sector, Mr Saravade served in the 1987 batch of the Indian Police Service. He was posted in the states of Jammu and Kashmir and West Bengal. He joined the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on deputation in 1996 and worked in Mumbai and Jaipur for seven years, looking after enforcement of the Prevention of Corruption Act, investigation of bank frauds and economic offences. Mr Saravade was awarded the Prime Minister’s Baton and Revolver for being the Best All-round Probationer of the 1987 batch of the IPS, and also the Indian Police Medal for Distinguished Services.
He has served on several technical advisory bodies set up by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Government of India and Government of Maharashtra. He is a regular speaker at apex training institutes, technical conferences and industry forums. He is active on social media, particularly LinkedIn and Twitter and is part of several diverse networks.
Mr Saravade holds a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering from Government College of Engineering, Aurangabad as well as a Masters’ degree from Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay.
As a Co-Founder to DeepStrat, Mr. Saravade, brings to the table his experience in cybersecurity, financial services and payments sector.
