Smita Bhagat is a senior banking and financial services professional with over three decades experience in building and scaling businesses across Branch Banking, Government and Institutional Banking, Retail Forex, Alternate Channels, and Financial Inclusion. Across all of it, managed large teams across geographies and stakeholders, incubated new business lines, and built distribution in markets where conventional models don't reach. Key milestones include building distribution across branch networks, Government and Institutional Banking business, alternate banking channels and partnerships nationwide from the ground up. Launched India's first digital distribution platform for banking products with corporate BC partners, and led the merger of key HDFC Ltd Key partners into the bank's alternate channel framework, the first bank in the industry to secure all regulatory approvals for that structure. Was recognised as Economic Times Woman Ahead in 2016. Was part of various government committees and industry organizations like CII. Received the CII Award for Best Innovation in BFSI space.