Nandita Bakhski

NANDITA BAKHSHI

President & CEO

Bank of the West

BIO

Nandita Bakhshi is President and Chief Executive Officer of Bank of the West, Chief Executive Officer of BancWest, and co-Chief Executive Officer of BNP Paribas USA Inc. Bakhshi also serves on the Board of Directors of Bank of the West, BancWest and BNP Paribas USA, and is a member of Bank of the West’s Executive Management Committee.

Named one of the top 5 Most Powerful Women in Banking in 2017 by American Banker and the #1 Woman to Watch in Banking in 2016, Bakhshi has been involved in diverse aspects of banking during her nearly 30-year career. Since joining Bank of the West in mid-2016, she has led a major rebranding, sharpened the bank’s focus on the customer experience, begun to build a culture of innovation, and solidified Bank of the West’s reputation as the local bank with global expertise.

As President and CEO, Bakhshi – known to employees as “Nandita” – oversees the bank’s three main business lines of Commercial Banking, Consumer Banking and Wealth Management as well as its functional lines – a total team of 10,000 employees in more than 20 states.

Prior to joining Bank of the West in 2016, Bakhshi served with TD Bank, where she held several leadership positions, including Executive Vice President and Head of North American Direct Channels. In that role, she was responsible for driving innovation in direct and electronic channels to improve digital adoption and provide customers a unified banking experience. Earlier, she served as Executive Vice President and Head of Consumer Banking at TD Bank in the U.S.

Before TD Bank, Bakhshi was Executive Vice President of Consumer Deposits and Payments at Washington Mutual in Seattle, now JP Morgan Chase. Bakhshi has also held leadership positions at FleetBoston, now Bank of America, as well as at First payments division.

Bakhshi is a member of the FDIC Advisory Committee on Economic Inclusion. She also serves on the Global Board of Directors of Operation Hope, the Board of Trustees of World Affairs and the Supervisory Board of The Clearing House.

She was recognized as one of the Most Influential Women in Bay Area Business in 2017 by the San Francisco Business Times, and was one of three CEOs honored with the inaugural Inspire Award for women who are leading their companies with creativity, integrity and strategic vision.

Bakhshi holds a Master of Arts degree in international relations from Jadavpur University and a Bachelor of Arts in history from the University of Calcutta.