Aarti Narula
Service Deluvery Manager
Summary
Strategic Technology Delivery Leader & Portfolio Head with over 25 years of excellence in Banking Technology, specializing in end-to-end technology delivery, large-scale program management, and resource optimization for global financial institutions. Proven ability to lead multi-region technology portfolios exceeding $500M, delivering complex regulatory, infrastructure, and digital modernization programs across APAC markets. Known for aligning technology delivery with business strategy while ensuring regulatory compliance, risk governance, and platform security across mission-critical banking systems. Trusted leader of global cross-functional teams, recognized for delivering high-impact initiatives including digital payments expansion, data center transformation, enterprise application modernization, and large-scale technology divestitures. Adept at partnering with senior executives, architects, and regulators to drive innovation, strengthen platform resilience, and enable scalable banking technology ecosystems.
Overview
23
23
years of professional experience
Work History
Head of Service Delivery for APAC Markets
Citibank
01.2025 - Current
- Demonstrated leadership skills towards driving service delivery excellence across APAC markets, overseeing large-scale projects, client servicing, and regulatory compliance.
- Record of optimizing processes, improving customer experience, and leading cross-functional teams.
- Directed global service delivery for SMBF, leading 24x7 high-performance teams to elevate operational efficiency and reliability.
- Led multi-region service delivery for the portfolio, achieving >99% SLA compliance while improving CSAT and retention.
- Partnered with executives and enterprise clients to align service delivery with business goals.
- Designed a delivery framework to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of delivery process.
- Refined service delivery strategies to meet business goals (Profitability, Quality, Responsiveness & Innovation).
- Championed AI-driven knowledge management transformation, converting static KBs into intelligent, auto-generated assets, enabling faster incident resolution.
- Architected AI-powered observability and monitoring frameworks to enhance system visibility and enable predictive issue detection.
- Implemented process automation frameworks, reducing manual workload and improving reliability of global service operations.
- Strengthened ITIL service management practices, including Incident, Change, Vendor, and Knowledge Management.
Portfolio Manager for Global Trade & Treasury
Citibank
01.2017 - 01.2025
- Led strategic technology transformation and portfolio management for the global Trade and Treasury business with geographic focus on APAC.
- Managed $500M+ portfolio of technology investments, controlling both capital and maintenance budgets with accountability for project delivery, quality, and financial outcomes.
- Delivered $10M–$25M TTS portfolio outcomes by prioritizing 25+ regulatory initiatives, optimizing budgets, and coordinating global technology delivery.
- Strengthened global program delivery by leading 12+ senior PMs across India, Hong Kong, and Singapore, managing new builds, migrations, and infra programs.
- Improved delivery predictability by implementing risk, issue, and compliance oversight across the TTS technology portfolio.
- Ensured security and architecture compliance by partnering with Solution Architects, BISO, TISO, and ISO teams across TTS initiatives.
- Enhanced platform resiliency for ICG TTS by leading a multi-PM program improving critical applications across APPC data centers.
- Delivered infrastructure programs as ASPAC Data Center Portfolio PM, driving transformation and cost optimization initiatives.
- Accelerated digital payments expansion in India by launching Citibank’s UPI integration into the national real-time payments ecosystem.
- Enabled strategic business exits across APAC by leading technology divestiture programs, ensuring seamless retail banking separation.
- Improved enterprise platform scalability by executing application modernization across critical payments and core banking systems.
Senior Project Manager – Data Center Portfolio
Citibank
01.2010 - 01.2017
- Advanced from individual contributor to project manager to senior portfolio oversight in data center technology organization.
- Managed cost-optimization focused programs, driving infrastructure efficiency and technology modernization across the APAC footprint.
- Safeguarded $2B+ payment operations by delivering enterprise Oracle 10G–11G migration across Flex banking systems and distributed databases in 17 APAC markets.
- Strengthened platform reliability across APAC by executing large-scale infrastructure programs spanning app development, deployment, DBA, and modernization.
- Enabled stable regional payment processing by modernizing legacy databases and strengthening distributed architecture supporting Flex banking platforms.
Project Manager / Lead Business Analyst
Fidelity International
01.2007 - 01.2009
- Enhanced client engagement across India AMC by delivering TALISMA CRM implementation, integrating marketing, sales, and service workflows.
- Accelerated CRM rollout success by coordinating enterprise architects, engineering teams, vendors, and technology partners.
- Implemented MasterCard SecureCode and Verified by Visa authentication for Fidelity UK digital transactions.
- Ensured compliance under tight deadlines by delivering secure authentication controls across Visa and MasterCard payment flows.
- Reduced online fraud risk by enabling cardholder authentication & issuer validation through SecureCode and Verified by Visa integration.
Lead Business Analyst
Royal Bank of Scotland
01.2003 - 01.2007
Education
Post Graduate Diploma - Multi-media Technologies
Delhi01.1997
B.Com. - undefined
Delhi University
Delhi01.1996
Skills
Program & Portfolio Management
Banking Domain Expertise
Technology Infrastructure
Strategic Leadership
Regional Expertise
Emerging Technologies
Stakeholder Management
Vendor Managemebt
Risk and Governance
IPC Managemebt
Financial planing and Maagement
Major Programs
- India Data Localization Program, $500M, Regulatory mandate-driven infrastructure transformation requiring the establishment of a sovereign data center in Chennai, migration of all India-facing payment applications and datasets from Singapore, and ensuring zero business impact
- Cross-Border Payments Infrastructure, Multi-market, PayNow (Singapore), NPI (Australia), UPI (India), and faster/express payments programs enabling Citibank's participation in next-generation regional payment ecosystems
- Database Modernization Initiative, $2B+ in-flight value, Enterprise-wide database version upgrade affecting Flex banking applications, comprehensive payment systems, and core banking infrastructure across 17 Asia-Pacific countries
- Retail Banking Divestiture Programs, Multi-country APAC Portfolio, Tech infrastructure readiness for strategic portfolio optimization & business separation, ensuring clean handoff and operational continuity
- Mainframe and Infrastructure Rollouts, Multiple initiatives, Large-scale infrastructure modernization programs, including voice, network, and core computing platform upgrades
Accomplishments
-Selected for prestigious Citibank Elevate Her program in 2022. 30 women selected globally for 6 month virtual leadership program.
- successfully completed 6 month Leadership and Development program.
Timeline
Head of Service Delivery for APAC Markets
Citibank
01.2025 - Current
Portfolio Manager for Global Trade & Treasury
Citibank
01.2017 - 01.2025
Senior Project Manager – Data Center Portfolio
Citibank
01.2010 - 01.2017
Project Manager / Lead Business Analyst
Fidelity International
01.2007 - 01.2009
Lead Business Analyst
Royal Bank of Scotland
01.2003 - 01.2007
Post Graduate Diploma - Multi-media Technologies
B.Com. - undefined
Delhi University