Summary
Overview
Work history
Education
Skills
Certification
Languages
Career Highlights
Timeline
Generic

Priya Sonawane

London,City of London

Summary

Programme Delivery Manager in HSBC with 18+ years of experience in Banking & Financial Services, specialising in digital transformation across Credit & Lending, Regulatory Compliance, and AI-driven banking solutions. Recognised for directing £30M+ global programmes across 15+ markets, establishing a new digital bank in Germany, and delivering AI-powered underwriting engines automating up to 90% of loan applications. Adept at stakeholder engagement, programme governance, and aligning multimillion-pound technology investments with strategic growth objectives.

Overview

20
20
years of professional experience
6026
6026
years of post-secondary education
1
1
Certification

Work history

Programme manager

HSBC
London
05.2024 - Current
  • Directed end-to-end programme to establish new digital bank in Germany , spanning regulatory compliance, core technology, operations, and customer onboarding journeys.
  • Led global cross-functional teams of 100+ across business, technology, and operations, delivering transformation initiatives aligned with strategic growth objectives.
  • Designed and baselined integrated roadmap and planning framework , securing C-suite sponsorship and aligning regulatory, technology, and operational workstreams with global standards.
  • Established governance and reporting frameworks with KPIs, risk controls, and escalation paths, strengthening oversight and enhancing stakeholder trust.
  • Introduced structured sequencing methodology , enabling cross-border teams to manage dependencies and deliver critical milestones on time.
  • Scaled Agile delivery practices (SAFe / Programme Increments) across vendors and internal teams, boosting transparency, collaboration, and delivery velocity.
  • Mentored and developed delivery leads , enhancing capability maturity and building sustainable leadership pipeline.

Digital Transformation Lead

HSBC UK
London
04.2022 - 04.2024
  • Spearheaded the £30M+ global digital transformation of Credit & Lending workflows in Commercial & Institutional Banking, piloted in Hong Kong and successfully rolled out to 15 markets.
  • Championed a Cloud-First strategy , deploying Google Cloud Platform (GCP) with a robust CI/CD pipeline that accelerated delivery and enhanced resilience.
  • Delivered core data and integration layers to power AI-enabled, real-time underwriting engine, automating decisioning for up to 90% of loan applications.
  • Redesigned global credit underwriting processes , embedding optimisation, dynamic rule-setting, and risk modelling to ensure scalable, continuous improvement.
  • Transformed credit-risk decisioning using Provenir (AI/ML platform) , improving loan approval speed and reducing non-performing loans across multiple markets.
  • Secured C-suite approval for £18M investment case , aligning technology change with strategic growth ambitions and unlocking funding for global expansion.
  • Recognised as Digital Transformation Lead for exceptional delivery, innovation, and cross-market execution excellence.

Principal consultant/ Senior Manager

Synechron Technologies
London
11.2016 - 03.2022
  • Led global cross-functional teams to deliver large-scale digital transformation initiatives across Onboarding, KYC, and customer data domains, driving process optimisation and regulatory compliance across 15+ markets.
  • Conducted global market readiness assessments , executing gap analyses across 15 markets to prioritise remediation in top five jurisdictions, ensuring scalable, compliant onboarding processes.
  • Delivered AI-based workflow and dynamic rules engine , reducing onboarding clicks, enhancing customer experience, and enabling scalability of solutions across multiple countries.
  • Achieved successful multi-market activation by transforming onboarding product processes, improving time-to-market and regulatory adherence.
  • Championed Agile adoption across dispersed teams through a “Follow the Sun” model, enhancing delivery velocity, transparency, and cross-border collaboration.
  • Directed vendor strategy and resource planning , including RFP issuance, vendor selection, and management to ensure timely, cost-effective programme delivery.
  • Initiated optimisation of customer data systems within Legal & General's Group Customer Data function, streamlining workflows through automation (RPA) and reducing manual reconciliation effort.
  • Facilitated stakeholder workshops to map end-to-end workflows, resulting in clear visibility of system interactions and improved collaboration using Confluence and JIRA.
  • Led regulatory programmes (MiFID II, FinfraG) , designing integrated cross-asset solutions to meet RTS23/24 reporting obligations and establishing robust validation frameworks for data integrity.
  • Prevented ~$1M in potential penalties by initiating a parallel RTS23 reporting run during downtime, ensuring uninterrupted compliance with reporting obligations.
  • Raised organisation-wide regulatory awareness by leading FinfraG compliance workshops, embedding stronger risk culture across business entities.
  • Instituted programme-wide functional testing frameworks , creating integrated business scenarios that aligned disparate workflows for MiFID II delivery.

Senior associate project lead

Cognizant Technology Solutions
London
11.2005 - 07.2013
  • Built and led high-performing team of 20 , while serving as primary client contact — transitioning from delivery contributor to leadership role within one year.
  • Delivered next-gen Payments platform for Hong Kong–based financial institution, scaling processing capacity and improving transaction speed and reliability.
  • Automated trade workflows via Instrument STP (iSTP) for US-based institution, cutting manual intervention and achieving faster, more accurate settlements.
  • Customised and deployed Misys TI Plus for UK-based institution, optimising trade finance operations and limits management while reducing turnaround times for client servicing.
  • Spearheaded delivery of Risk Control Unit tracker for UK-based institution, enabling post-sanction MI and strengthening regulatory risk oversight.
  • Engineered Strategic Exposure & Limits Management (SELM) system for US-based institution, enhancing visibility and control of global credit exposures.
  • Implemented Jupiter Typhon Resiliency (TLM) platform for US-based institution, bolstering operational resilience and enabling real-time monitoring of trade lifecycle events.
  • Developed and launched online IT examination portal for Maharashtra State Education Board (India), digitising assessments and expanding access to thousands of students.

Education

Master of Business Administration - International Business

Royal Holloway, University of London
Egham
June 2014 - 12.2015

Master of Science - Computer Science

Pune University
Pune, India
July 2003 - 06.2005

Bachelor of Science - Computer Science

Pune University
Pune, India
July 2000 - 06.2003

Skills

  • Programme Governance & Delivery (SAFe/Agile, PRINCE2, Project Lifecycle Management)
  • Digital Transformation & AI Strategy
  • Stakeholder & Executive Management
  • Risk, Issue & Dependency Management
  • Change & Transformation Leadership
  • Financial Oversight (Budgeting, Cost Forecasting, Funding Allocation)
  • Resource & Team Leadership (Resourcing, Recruitment, Capability Development)
  • Regulatory & Compliance Delivery (where relevant for banking roles)

Certification

AI Business Innovation (2025)

Certified SAFe® Product Owner / Product Manager (2019)

SAFe Certified Scrum Master (2020)

PRINCE2 Practitioner (2015)

PRINCE2 Foundation (2015)

Oracle Certified Associate, JAVA (2006)


Languages

English
Fluent
Hindi
Fluent
Marathi
Fluent

Career Highlights

  • Directed £30M+ global Credit & Lending transformation , piloted in Hong Kong, scaled to 15 markets.
  • Established a new digital bank in Germany , leading 100+ cross-functional resources to regulatory launch.
  • Delivered AI-powered real-time underwriting engine , automating 70–90% of loan decisions via Provenir and GCP.
  • Secured C-suite sponsorship for £18M investment case , unlocking funding for global expansion.
  • Prevented ~$1M in MiFID II penalties through innovative RTS23 reporting solution.

Timeline

Programme manager

HSBC
05.2024 - Current

Digital Transformation Lead

HSBC UK
04.2022 - 04.2024

Principal consultant/ Senior Manager

Synechron Technologies
11.2016 - 03.2022

Senior associate project lead

Cognizant Technology Solutions
11.2005 - 07.2013

Master of Business Administration - International Business

Royal Holloway, University of London
June 2014 - 12.2015

Master of Science - Computer Science

Pune University
July 2003 - 06.2005

Bachelor of Science - Computer Science

Pune University
July 2000 - 06.2003
Priya Sonawane