Board of Directors

George Joseph

Chairman and Lead Independent Director

Mr. George Joseph has been a member of the Board of Directors since September 2015.

He is the Chairman and Lead Independent Director of our Company. He is a banking industry veteran with diverse experience spanning over four decades. He is a certificated associate of the Indian Institute of Bankers and the Institute of Bankers, London. He retired as Chairman and Managing Director of Syndicate Bank. He was earlier associated with Canara Bank for a period of over 36 years. He also serves as a Director on the board of Popular Vehicles and Services Limited.

Paolo Brichetti

Vice-Chairman and Non-Executive Director

Mr. Paolo Brichetti was Chairman & Nominee Director since 2009 and after a brief break from July 2021, he joined back as Vice-Chairman & Non-Executive Director since October 2022.

He is Founder and Non-Executive Director of CreditAccess India B.V. (CAI), the Promoter Company. He has more than 20 years of experience in innovative business and financial initiatives. Prior to setting up CAI, he served as Managing Director of CTM Altromercato, Advisor of Council of Europe, President of Microcredit Scrl, MicrocreditCoop, and the European Fair-Trade Association.

Udaya Kumar

Managing Director

Mr. Udaya Kumar Hebbar has been a member of the Board of Directors since August 2015.

He is the Managing Director of our Company. With a distinguished career in banking that spans over 35 years, Mr. Hebbar brings a wealth of experience in operations, particularly in rural, agricultural, and micro-banking fields. Before joining CA Grameen, Mr. Hebbar was the Head of Commercial Banking and Payment Operations at Barclays Bank PLC. His extensive background also includes notable tenures at Corporation Bank and ICICI Bank, where he made significant contributions over more than a decade each. Under his leadership, CA Grameen has grown to become the largest Microfinance Institution (MFI) in the country while his commitment to stringent corporate governance standards has helped the institution earn top ratings and prestigious industry accolades.

Mr. Udaya Kumar Hebbar is known in the microfinance industry for his leadership style involving a collaborative approach, helping foster a culture of innovation and excellence among his team. He has served twice as the Chairperson of Microfinance Institutions Network (MFIN) in the past.

Sumit Kumar

Non-Executive Director

Mr. Sumit Kumar has been a member of the Board of Directors since August 2016.

He is a Non-Executive Director of the Company. He holds a bachelor’s degree in textile technology from the Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi and a post graduate diploma in management from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. He was previously associated with The Boston Consulting Group Pte. Ltd. He is a Managing Director with Olympus Capital Holdings Asia India Advisors Private Limited and has been associated with Olympus Capital for over 10 years. He also serves as a director on the board of Manak Waste Management Private Limited.

Massimo Vita

Non-Executive Director

Mr. Massimo Vita has been a member of the Board of Directors since July 2017.

He is a Non-Executive Director of the Company. He holds a master’s diploma of 2nd level in development, innovation and change from Bologna University in Bologna, Italy and a degree in economics and commerce from Verona University in Verona, Italy. He completed a three year apprenticeship as a professional auditor associated with Arthur Andersen S.p.A. as certified by the Italian Justice Ministry in 2002. He was a founding partner and director of MicroFinanza Rating Srl, an international specialized rating agency for a period of eight years. He was TA Field Expert for the TA Facility of Regional MSME Investment Fund for Sub-Saharan Africa managed by Symbiotics SA for a period of four and a half years. He was Head of Operations Support for CreditAccess Asia (CAA) for 3 years. He is currently Chief Risk Officer for CAI, our Promoter. He is also Executive Director of Asia Impact SG Pte. Ltd. (Singapore) and CAA-BOS Limited (Thailand) and he serves as Director on the boards of CreditAccess Philippines Financing Company Inc. (Philippines), PT Bina Artha Ventura (Indonesia), PT Konsultasi Mikro Ventura (Indonesia) and MicroFinanza Rating SRL (Italy), MFR Credit Ratings S.R.L., CAA Vietnam Trading Company Ltd  and Vilcart Solutions Private Limited.

Manoj Kumar

Independent Director

Mr. Manoj Kumar has been a member of the Board of Directors since October 2019.

He is the Founder of Social Alpha, a multistage innovation curation and venture development platform for science and technology start-ups that aim to solve the most critical social, economic and environmental challenges. Manoj is also the Founding Trustee of Tata Institute for Genetics and Society and a Senior Advisor to Tata Trusts. Prior to founding Social Alpha, Manoj has been an entrepreneur as well as an early stage venture investor. Manoj has more than two decades of leadership experience working across banking, capital markets and financial technology sectors. Manoj is an alumnus of Harvard Business School and lives in Bangalore, India

Lilian Jessie Paul

Independent Director

Ms. Lilian Jessie Paul has been a member of the Board of Directors since September 2020.

She is an Independent Director of our Company. She holds a bachelor’s degree in engineering from Bharathidasan University and a post-graduation diploma in management from Indian Institute of Management Calcutta. She has several years of experience in marketing. She was previously associated with Wipro Limited as the chief marketing officer and Infosys as marketing manager. She is presently on the board of Paul Writer Strategic Services Private Limited, Expleo Solutions, Bajaj Consumer Care Limited, PB Fintech Limited and Policybazar Insurance Brokers Private Limited.

Rekha Warriar

Independent Director

Ms. Rekha Warriar has been a member of the Board of Directors since October 2022.

She holds a Master’s degree in Applied Mathematics from the University of Bombay and a Master’s in Public Policy from Princeton University, USA. She has an experience of over 30 years with the Reserve Bank of India in various departments. She has headed the departments of financial stability and internal debt management. She has also worked as a member of faculty in RBI’s training colleges and at the National Institute of Banking Management, Pune. Currently, she is an Independent Director on the Board of IIFL Securities Limited, IIFL Wealth Prime Limited and IIFL Facilities Services Limited.