Mumbai: JPMorgan has appointed Rahul Badhwar as senior country officer for India, filling a key leadership gap in one of its fastest-growing markets after being without a dedicated head for months.Badhwar will start in July 2026, will be based in Mumbai and will report to Sjoerd Leinart, CEO, Asia Pacific. He will also join the Asia Pacific Management Committee. In an email to employees, Leinart said India is an important market for the bank’s Asia Pacific franchise, and Badhwar will drive and execute the growth strategy, strengthen governance and controls and help bring the entire firm closer to customers and stakeholders.Badhwar joins HSBC after three decades in sales and trading roles, most recently as global head of corporate sales, markets and securities services. He started his career in India across global markets and has since worked in Dubai, Hong Kong and London building cross-product solutions and leading high-performing teams for corporate and institutional clients.The appointment follows the departure of Kaustubh Kulkarni in early 2026, who moved to head Citi’s Indian corporate bank. Kulkarni had led the bank’s India operations since 2021, overseeing expansion amid increased deal activity and regulatory changes. His departure left the bank without a dedicated India head for several months, with an interim management team running operations during a busy phase of mergers and acquisitions and capital markets deals.In the email, Leinart said the India management team has shown leadership and strong contributions in recent months, and said he looks forward to their continued partnership as the bank expands its business in the country.
