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Business Strategist  ·  Global Advisor  ·  Based in India

Murali
Krishna C

Forty years. Twenty-seven countries. Boardrooms, banks, and businesses across five continents. Helping organisations and leaders navigate complexity, accelerate growth, and build legacies that endure.

40+
Years of experience
27
Countries engaged
8
Advisory practices
12+
Global bank mandates
IIM Kolkata — Strategy Management  ·  Certified Independent Director  ·  Treasury Management
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Deutsche Bank JP Morgan Barclays BNP Paribas Credit Suisse UBS Citi Lloyds Bank Mitsubishi Bank Dresdner Bank ANZ Standard Bank SA Maybank Moody's Corporation Cemex SCB PNB IndusInd Bank HCL Technologies Atos Deutsche Bank JP Morgan Barclays BNP Paribas Credit Suisse UBS Citi Lloyds Bank Mitsubishi Bank Dresdner Bank ANZ Standard Bank SA Maybank Moody's Corporation Cemex SCB PNB IndusInd Bank HCL Technologies Atos
The Strategist

Where depth meets global perspective

A career built across five continents, inside the most demanding financial institutions in the world — and a practice devoted to bringing that same rigour to organisations at every stage.

From the trading floors of global banks to the boardrooms of multinational corporations, Murali Krishna C has spent four decades at the intersection of strategy, finance, and transformation. His career spans banking, enterprise technology, and advisory — giving him a vantage point that few strategists can claim: that of practitioner, implementer, and independent advisor, simultaneously.

"Strategy without execution is hallucination. Execution without strategy is noise. My work lives in the space where the two become indistinguishable."

Since 2015, he has deployed that depth exclusively in service of startups, SMEs, family businesses, and boards — organisations that need the calibre of thinking that large institutions take for granted, applied with the agility that only an independent advisor can provide.

Industries served
Fintech Healthcare Pharma FMCG Health & Wellness Banking & Financial Services Technology Manufacturing GCC & Middle East Real Estate
10+ Years Independent Advisory
Since 2015 — Startups, SMEs, Family Businesses & Boards across India, GCC & Global markets
IIM Kolkata — Strategy Management
Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta
Certified Independent Director
Institute of Directors (IOD) — Board Governance
Treasury Management
Implemented Wall Street Systems TRM platform, France — Treasury & Risk Management
PNB · IndusInd Bank
15+ years in Indian Retail, Corporate and Investment along with Treasury & Forex
Deutsche Software · HCL · Atos
BFSI Practice Head — global technology advisory
Fintech Product Expertise
Clear2Pay · Wall Street Systems · Misys · Oracle · SAP · Thaler
Areas of specialisation

The depth behind the advisory

01
CXO & COO Leadership

Fractional and advisory CXO capability for organisations navigating growth, transition, or transformation. The perspective of a seasoned operator — without the full-time overhead.

02
Forex, Treasury & Cash Management

Deep practitioner expertise in corporate treasury, forex risk, and cash management — built across global banking institutions and fintech product implementations.

03
Risk Management

Enterprise risk frameworks, operational risk, credit risk governance — applied across banking, fintech, and corporate environments in over two dozen countries.

04
Global Change Management

Large-scale transformation advisory across geographies. Proven methodology for managing resistance, aligning stakeholders, and embedding sustainable change across complex organisations.

05
GCC Setup

End-to-end advisory on establishing Global Capability Centres — outsourcing and offshore delivery hubs that drive cost efficiency, talent access, and operational scalability for global enterprises setting up in India and Asia.

06
Digital Marketing Strategy

Go-to-market strategy, digital positioning, and brand architecture — grounded in business outcomes rather than vanity metrics. Built for organisations that need substance behind the signal.

07
Mergers & Acquisitions

Buy-side and sell-side M&A advisory — target identification, commercial due diligence, valuation perspective, and post-acquisition integration. For organisations where M&A is a deliberate growth strategy.

08
CSR & ESG

ESG and CSR strategy that goes beyond compliance — building frameworks that create genuine competitive advantage, stakeholder trust, and long-term value. Purpose and performance as one unified agenda.

09
Product Management

Strategic product advisory across fintech and enterprise software — roadmap design, market fit validation, and go-to-market execution grounded in hands-on experience with Wall Street Systems, Misys, Oracle, and SAP Banking.

10
Family Business Succession

Structured transition planning for family-run enterprises — governance design, next-generation leadership readiness, and the sensitive human dimensions of handing over what was built with a lifetime.

Advisory offerings

Eight practices. One standard.

Every engagement is shaped by four decades of first-hand experience — not frameworks borrowed from someone else's career.

Practice 01
Startup Advisory

For founders who need a senior practitioner in their corner — not a mentor who hasn't shipped a product in twenty years. Strategy, fundraising narrative, BFSI domain depth, and the investor-facing credibility that early-stage companies cannot buy.

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Practice 02
C-Suite Leadership — SME

Growing SMEs need institutional-quality thinking without institutional overhead. Fractional CXO and COO advisory — bringing governance, financial rigour, and strategic clarity to organisations at the inflection point between ambition and structure.

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Practice 03
Family Business Succession

The most complex transition any business faces. A structured, human-centred process for founder readiness, next-generation preparation, governance design, and the navigation of family dynamics that no spreadsheet can capture.

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Practice 04
M&A Advisory

Buy-side and sell-side M&A advisory — target identification, commercial due diligence, valuation perspective, and post-acquisition integration. Instrumental in acquiring a Bangalore-based Pharma company with ₹100+ Cr valuation. For organisations where M&A is a deliberate growth strategy, not an accident.

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Practice 05
Board Advisory & Independent Director

IOD-certified independent board participation. Brings genuine BFSI domain expertise, global governance standards, and the fiduciary perspective of someone who has operated at board level across multiple geographies and sectors.

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Practice 06
Digital Media Strategy

Digital marketing strategy grounded in business outcomes — go-to-market positioning, brand architecture, and channel strategy built for organisations that need substance behind the signal, not vanity metrics.

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Practice 07
CSR & ESG

ESG and CSR frameworks that go beyond compliance to create genuine competitive advantage. For organisations that understand that purpose and performance are not opposites — and want a structured approach to prove it.

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Practice 08
Product Management

Strategic product advisory across fintech and enterprise software — from concept and roadmap design to market fit validation and go-to-market execution. Grounded in hands-on experience with platforms such as Wall Street Systems, Misys, Oracle, and SAP Banking.

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Global footprint

Advisory across 27 nations

From London to Kuala Lumpur, Johannesburg to Tokyo — four decades of cross-border mandates across banking, technology, and corporate advisory. The kind of international perspective that is earned, not curated.

27
Countries
5
Continents
40+
Years active
8
Practice areas
Institutional engagements — a selection
Deutsche Bank
JP Morgan
Barclays
BNP Paribas
Credit Suisse
UBS
Citi
Lloyds
Dresdner
Mitsubishi
ANZ
Moody's
Global engagement footprint

Fintech platforms engaged: Clear2Pay · Wall Street Systems · Misys · Oracle BFSI · SAP Banking · Thaler — bringing rare product-level depth to technology strategy and vendor evaluation.

Outcomes that speak

Mandates. Results. Impact.

A selection of engagements where strategy met execution — and delivered measurable outcomes.

Instrumental in identifying, structuring, and closing the acquisition of a Bangalore-based Pharma company — from due diligence through valuation and deal closure.
₹100+ Cr Acquisition · Pharma · Bangalore
M&A Advisory Engagement
Buy-side · Pharma Sector · India
Guided the treasury transformation across multiple global banking mandates — implementing Wall Street Systems TRM and establishing forex risk frameworks that continue to operate across 12+ institutions.
12+ Global Bank Mandates · Treasury & Forex
Treasury Transformation
Multi-mandate · Global Banking · 27 Countries
Structured the governance framework and succession roadmap for a multi-generational family business — enabling a founder transition that preserved both enterprise value and family harmony.
Family Business Succession · SME Advisory
Succession Advisory Engagement
Family Business · Board Governance · India
Perspectives

Insights & reflections

All articles →
Strategy · Fintech
What Global Banks Actually Evaluate Before They Buy Fintech

After four decades on both sides of the negotiating table, the pattern is clear. Most fintech pitches fail not on product — but on framing. Here is what the CTO is really asking.

Family Business · Succession
The Conversation Every Family Business Avoids — Until It's Too Late

Succession is the most emotionally charged decision a family business faces. In fifteen years of advisory, the pattern is consistent: the businesses that plan for it thrive. The ones that don't, fracture.

SME · Governance
From Promoter to Professional: The Governance Shift That Changes Everything

The inflection point for every growing SME is not financial — it is structural. When personal leadership can no longer scale, the organisations that build governance infrastructure survive the transition.

More perspectives on strategy, leadership, governance and global markets — published regularly.

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Direct response from Murali — typically within 24 hours.