ARA Europe Chairman Mark Ebbinghaus Interview with CEO Magazine

Mr. Rajeev Veeravalli Kannan was appointed as a Non-executive Director in 2022.

Mr. Kannan has been the Managing Executive Officer and Co-Head of Asia Pacific Division of Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (“SMBC”) as well as in Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (“SMFG”) since April 2022.

Mr. Kannan’s banking career spans over 27 years having held various leadership roles in Asia with global, regional and product responsibilities. He has a deep experience in corporate and investment banking, structured finance, principal investments and infrastructure and energy finance and is passionate about building businesses and diverse teams to drive innovation, adaptability and sustainable growth.

Prior to his current role, Mr. Kannan was Head of Corporate Banking, Asia Pacific between 2020 and 2022 and was Executive Officer and Head of Investment Banking, Asia Pacific between 2016 and 2020. Under his leadership of corporate banking and investment banking, SMBC enhanced its platform in the region, grew its client base, built SMBC into the top player in infrastructure finance and built a strong ESG Solutions Team made significant progress on sustainability and green finance. Mr. Kannan was also based in Tokyo between 2012 and 2016 with responsibility for Global Structured Finance. He was the first non-Japanese Executive Officer/ General Manager to be based in SMBC’s head office.

Mr. Kannan is also a member of Board of Directors of Clifford Capital Group of companies, Pierfront Capital Pte Ltd, and Fullerton India Credit Company Limited. He is passionate about sustainability and green finance and is a thought leader in this space. He is a member of the Advisory Board for Singapore Green Finance Centre as well as ASEAN Hub Steering Group Member for Sustainable Development Investment Partnership, a joint initiative of OECD and World Economic Forum.

Mr. Kannan started his career at ICICI Bank in Mumbai in 1994 after graduating from Birla Institute of Technology & Science (BITS), Pilani in India with a master’s degree in management. He was conferred the Institute of Banking and Finance (IBF) Distinguished Fellow Award in 2019.