Bharat Panchal has been appointed as the Chief Risk, Security, and Stakeholder Management Officer at Bima Sugam India Federation. In this role, he is expected to strengthen the federation’s focus on risk management, security protocols, and stakeholder engagement as it continues to expand its digital platform for accessible insurance in India.
Before joining Bima Sugam, Bharat served as the Chief Industry Relations & Regulatory Officer at Discover Financial Services and held the position of Chief Risk Officer for FIS across India, the Middle East, and Africa. His experience also includes key roles as the Chief of Risk Management & Compliance at the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and Vice President and Group InfoSec Audit Head at Kotak Mahindra Bank. Earlier in his career, he contributed to organizations such as Citi Technology Services, Reliance Communications, Contech Software Ltd, and AVAYA Globalconnect Ltd.
Beyond his corporate roles, Bharat has been a mentor at the Startup Incubation and Innovation Centre at IIT Kanpur and currently serves as an Independent Director at TAC Security and a Governing Council Member at C3i Hub.
Bima Sugam is a digital platform aimed at making insurance more accessible to the Indian public, offering consumers a unified interface to compare, purchase, and manage life, health, and general insurance policies.