Meera Sanyal

Meera Sanyal
Born	1961-10-15 India
Died	2019-01-11
Occupation(s)	Banker, politician
Known for	CEO and chairperson of Royal Bank of Scotland India; Aam Aadmi Party politician

Meera Sanyal (born Hiranandani; 15 October 1961 – 11 January 2019) was a distinguished Indian banker and political figure, widely recognized for her role as CEO and chairperson of the Royal Bank of Scotland in India. She was the daughter of Vice Admiral Gulab Mohanlal Hiranandani and brought over three decades of experience in banking before resigning from RBS to enter the political arena. In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, she represented the Aam Aadmi Party as their candidate for South Mumbai, having previously contested independently in 2009; however, she did not win on either occasion.

Sanyal contributed to social causes through her board membership at Pradan, an NGO dedicated to empowering women entrepreneurs, and also served on the international board of Right to Play. Her governance roles extended to Jai Hind College and the Indian Liberal Group, alongside active participation in national committees under CII and FICCI. Moreover, she chaired the Indian Advisory Board for AIESEC, the largest student-led organization globally. She succumbed to cancer on 11 January 2019.

Early life

Meera was born in 1961 into a Sindhi family that had relocated to India during Partition, as the daughter of Vice Admiral Gulab Mohanlal Hiranandani and Banu Hiranandani. Her father notably commanded Operation Trident during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.

She completed her Bachelor of Commerce at Sydenham College, Bombay, in 1982 and pursued an MBA at INSEAD in France, graduating in 1983. Later, in 2006, she attended the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School and held fellowship status with the Chartered Institute of Bankers (UK).

Professional and public life

After dedicating three decades to banking, Sanyal resigned as CEO and chairperson of Royal Bank of Scotland India in 2013 to devote herself to public service initiatives. Throughout her leadership, she guided the MicroFinance program that provided financial support to more than 650,000 women across rural India. She also chaired the bank’s Foundation, which aided approximately 75,000 households led by women residing in ecologically sensitive areas. Her professional journey included senior positions such as Corporate Finance head and COO for ABN AMRO Asia, as well as spearheading the launch of ABN AMRO/RBS’s global BPO and ITes operations in India.

Her board memberships encompassed Pradan and Right To Play’s International Board, a worldwide NGO. She engaged with LiberalsIndia promoting Good Governance and was part of Jaihind College’s supervisory board. Additionally, she contributed to national committees under FICCI and CII. In recognition of her leadership, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton invited her in 2011 as the only Indian representative on the International Council on Women’s Business Leadership.

Sanyal addressed major international gatherings including the Copenhagen Climate Summit, Sweden’s Agency for Economic & Regional Growth forum, Women of the Future summit in the UK, Asian Institute of Finance conference in Kuala Lumpur, Nikkei Summit for Asian Women Leaders in Tokyo, and Seoul’s Global Competitiveness Summit.

Political life

Following the 2008 Mumbai attacks, Sanyal entered politics by contesting as an independent candidate in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections but did not succeed. Alongside her spouse, she actively supported and helped raise funds for the AAP during Delhi’s 2013 elections and was a member of AAP’s National Committee on Economic Policy.

In the subsequent 2014 Lok Sabha polls, she stood as an AAP candidate from Mumbai South constituency. Garnering 5.2% of votes cast, she ranked fourth behind Shiv Sena’s Arvind Sawant, INC’s Milind Deora, and MNS’s Bala Nandgaokar.

Death

After undergoing cancer treatment for two years, Sanyal passed away on 11 January 2019.

External links

• Banking to Politics – The Hindu
• Sanctuary Awards 2008 (archived 7 March 2009)
• Admiral Hiranandani (archived 7 September 2008)