Membership Directory - Individual

Nandita Bakhshi

President and Chief Executive Officer of Bank of the West at Bank of the West BNP Paribas

About

Bio: Nandita Bakhshi is President and Chief Executive Officer of Bank of the West and Co-Chief Executive Officer of BNP Paribas USA Inc. She also serves on the Board of Directors of Bank of the West, and BNP Paribas USA, and is a member of Bank of the West's Executive Management Committee. Nandita oversees a team of nearly 10,000 employees. The bank has four business lines: Corporate and Commercial Banking, Retail Banking, Small and Medium Enterprise Banking, and Wealth Management.

Nandita is driven by her belief in redefining banking for a better future. She has formed a strategic vision for Bank of the West based on sustainable finance, diversity, and the bank's global capabilities and reach. In an industry where fewer than 2% of bank CEOs worldwide are women, Nandita has been recognized as a leader. She was recognized on Barron's list of the 100 Most Influential Women in U.S. Finance and Forbes' inaugural 50 over 50 list in 2021. American Banker named her one of the top Most Powerful Women in Banking in 2019 and 2020, and the #1 Woman to Watch in Banking in 2016. The San Francisco Business Times recognized her as one of the Most Admired CEOs in 2020, one of the Most Influential Women in Bay Area Business in 2019 and 2018, and in 2017, and honored her with the inaugural Inspire Award for women who are leading their companies with creativity, integrity, and strategic vision.

Under Nandita's leadership, Bank of the West has been recognized on Forbes' lists of America's Best Employers for Women 2020 and Best Employers for Diversity 2020. Bank of the West was also named one of the Best Places to Work for LGBTQ Equality in 2019, 2020, and 2021, receiving a perfect score of 100 on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation's Corporate Equality Index (CEI), a benchmarking tool on corporate policies and practices related to LGBTQ workplace equality across the United States. Additionally, Bank of the West was recognized by Fast Company's 2020 World Changing Ideas Awards for its unique approach to sustainability, and by Fast Company's 2021 World Changing Ideas Awards for its 1% for the Planet Account.

Nandita started her banking career as a part-time teller at a regional bank in upstate New York. During her more than 30-year career, Nandita has held leadership positions with TD Bank, Washington Mutual in Seattle (acquired by JP Morgan Chase), FleetBoston (acquired by Bank of America), and First Data (acquired by Fiserv).

The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco recently appointed Nandita to represent the 12th District on the Federal Advisory Council for a one-year term. She also serves on the Board of Directors of Grameen America; the Supervisory Board of The Clearing House; the Board of Directors of the U.S. India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF); and is a member of the Pacific Bankers Management Institute Board of Directors at the Pacific Coast Banking School (PCBS) and the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR).

Nandita holds a Master of Arts in international relations from Jadavpur University and a Bachelor of Arts in history from the University of Calcutta.
Project 1000, Top 100 2021