STAR LEADERS OF NBFCs

A good leader has multiple skills, and they can broadly be divided into hard skills and soft skills. In these volatile and trying times, what skills are leaders leveraging, what is the outcome, what skills are they planning to develop further, and how? This is what Banking Frontiers is studying from an interaction with 5 leaders from India’s booming NBFC sector: ♦ Kalpanaa Sankar, MD, Belstar Microfinance ♦ Sanjay Agarwal, MD & CEO, Ambit Finvest ♦ Vivek Tiwari, MD, SATYA MicroCapital ♦ Anilkumar SG, CEO, Samunnati ♦ Kamlesh Gandhi, Chairman & MD, MAS Financial Services

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Part 1

Key Leadership Skills - Hard & Soft

Smriti Pandey: What do you see in yourself as your 3 key hard skills and 3 key soft skills? Do people in your circle emphasize anything apart from these?

Kalpanaa Sankar: Over the years, I have honed 3 key hard skills that are essential to my role: (i) administrative and financial control, (ii) a keen eye for detail and productivity, and (iii) a constant focus on benchmarking against industry peers to drive growth and efficiency. At the same time, my leadership is supported by 3 key soft skills: (i) staying updated on technology trends, particularly AI and data-driven client screening, (ii) leading new product development, and (iii) integrating ESG principles into business strategy. Those who work closely with me often highlight my adaptability and strategic thinking, particularly in navigating the evolving financial landscape.

Sanjay Agarwal: Reflecting on my career spanning 3 decades, the 3 hard skills that have shaped my journey the most are (i) financial acumen, (ii) credit assessment, and (iii) strategic planning. As a Chartered Accountant and Cost Accountant, I have always believed in grounding decisions in numbers - be it optimizing capital efficiency or shaping strategic policies that drive sustainable growth. Credit assessment, in my view, goes far beyond just number crunching - it’s about connecting the dots across a diverse set of subjective and objective parameters. The ability to assess credit risk and structure deals has been instrumental to my success. Strategic thinking has also been a constant thread - something I’ve honed both as a professional and, interestingly, as a chess enthusiast. Building a sustainable and profitable lending business demands sharp strategic planning, disciplined execution, and a deep understanding of key processes, performance levers, and regulatory compliance.