Bala Ayyar

Managing Director, Chief Data Officer, Americas Société Générale

Since joining SG in 2009, he has held a range of positions.  Currently, he is the Chief Data Officer, SG Americas, with responsibility for data management and governance within the Region.  This function is responsible for implementing the requirements of BCBS 239, establishing sound data governance framework that meets Group needs and local supervisory expectations and creating a solid platform for the data to be leveraged for strategic business decisions. Prior to that, he headed up the Project Management Office for the SG US Transformation project.  Roles before that included Head of Finance Offshoring in SG Bangalore and Deputy CFO of the Americas Region of their Corporate & Investment Bank. 

Prior to joining SG, Bala was with the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) for fourteen years in a range of positions in Toronto and New York.  As Senior Vice President of the Wholesale North America Finance, he headed up the controllership function for CIBC’s World Markets and Treasury & Risk Management Strategic Business Units within North America. With a global team across Toronto and New York, he was responsible for establishing a SOX-compliant industry-leading Finance control environment as well as supporting the efficient execution of business initiatives and managing the Finance related US regulatory relationships during a very demanding period. Prior to that, he also had stints as the business-line controller for the Bank's US origination businesses (Corporate Lending, Investment Banking, Merchant Banking, Structured Finance and High Yield), as well as the 2/ic to the Chief Accountant, with responsibility for consolidated financial, management and regulatory reporting at the corporate level. 

Born and brought up in Mumbai India, Bala has an degree in mathematics from the University of Mumbai and holds professional accounting qualifications from both India and the United States.  He lives in Montclair, New Jersey, is married with two children and enjoys long-distance running.