Suresh Mahalingam Replaces Gurumurthy Ramanathan As Non-Executive Chairperson Of Religare Enterprises
Suresh Mahalingam, Non-Executive & Non-Independent Director of Religare Enterprises Limited, has been appointed as Non-Executive Chairperson with effect from January 1, 2026. He replaces Gurumurthy Ramanathan, who retired effective December 31, 2025, upon completion of his tenure.
Mahalingam has held senior leadership roles at Tata AIA Life as Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director (CEO & MD), HDFC Life, ITC, and as a member of the Group Council at WGC. He currently serves as Independent Director and Chairperson at Aviva India and is on the Boards of Muthoot Housing Finance, Religare Broking, and Care Health Insurance. He has more than 15 years of board experience and has served on the Boards of Principal AMC, Aadhar Housing Finance, Navi General Insurance, Pramerica Life, and PGIM India Asset Management. Mahalingam advises fintech, insurtech, and edtech startups and private equity firms and serves on Advisory Boards of Insurance Dekho, TMI Group, and Fayr Edge. He is a certified leadership and transition coach and an alumnus of IMI India and the Kellogg School of Management.
Gurumurthy is a banking professional with 38 years of experience in India and overseas, and recently retired as head of governance at RBL Bank. At RBL Bank, he oversaw assurance, technology, operations, and credit functions and earlier led corporate and institutional banking during a phase of expansion. He played a role in transformation initiatives at RBL Bank after 2011, including regulatory engagement and governance restructuring. Earlier, at Standard Chartered, he was involved in setting up and leading the financial institution’s strategic coverage group. Gurumurthy holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Delhi and is an associate of the Indian Institute of Bankers. He currently serves on the Boards of Axis Capital, Simplex Infrastructures, Care Health Insurance, and Religare Broking.
