Rajnish Kumar retired as the Chairman of India's largest bank, the State Bank of India. He started his career as a Probationary Officer in a small town in Uttar Pradesh in 1980 where he was dealing with local mafias and hard-core trade unions. He rapidly ascended the ranks to become the Managing Director of SBI Capital Markets Limited (the Merchant Banking arm of State Bank of India) and Chief Executive Officer, before becoming Managing Director at SBI. Known among his colleagues as quick decision-maker with a bird’s eye view, he holds the distinction of heading several key assignments across various business verticals, including two overseas assignments in Canada and the UK. Kumar brings with him vast experience in handling large credit, project finance, foreign exchange and retail banking.

His unique style of hands-on leadership can be attributed to his on-ground assignments across the length and breadth of India and across the globe. He is an active proponent for the use of technology - he led SBI YONO to become one of the top fintech and lifestyle apps and redefined process to provide pre-approved loans using data analytics and increase the banks digital lending books. The son of an irrigation department employee and a postgraduate in physics from Meerut University, Rajnish Kumar's journey has inspired millions of people to rise to the top through sheer hard work and dedication.