Mr. Prakash Rao is a distinguished financial services professional with over four decades of leadership experience across the Indian banking and infrastructure sectors. Throughout his distinguished career, he has demonstrated exceptional acumen and a distinctive capability for institution building, strategic investment management, and the creation of sustainable financial ecosystems. Prakash Rao
Non-Executive Board Member
- Currently he is serving as a Senior Advisor, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, India. Prior to this, he served as Executive Director and Chief Investment Officer at the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF), India’s quasi-sovereign wealth fund, from 2017 to 2023. Mr. Rao was responsible for setting up the institution and launching its investment operations. He established NIIF’s four flagship platforms, the NIIF Master Fund, the NIIF Fund of Funds, he NIIF Strategic Opportunities Fund, and set up the NIIF–JBIC Partnership Fund in collaboration with the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) to deepen bilateral investment and strengthen NIIF’s international co-investment platform. He built the team, structure, and governance framework that enabled NIIF to grow to over USD 4.5 billion in assets under management. Under his leadership, NIIF evolved into a globally recognized investment institution attracting long-term international capital into India’s infrastructure sector.
- Mr. Rao played a pioneering role in setting up and scaling two infrastructure-focused Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs), demonstrating a proven track record of creating institutions with superior governance standards. He chaired the Boards and Credit Committees of these NBFCs, providing strategic direction and oversight during their formative years.
- Mr. Rao also served as Officer on Special Duty at the Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Government of India, where he helped conceptualize and operationalize the framework for NIIF, an initiative that today stands as a flagship for public-private partnership in infrastructure investment.
- Prior to his role at NIIF, Mr. Rao spent over 30 years with the State Bank of India (SBI), where he held several leadership positions. Notable roles included Chief General Manager for Tamil Nadu and Puducherry operations, one of the Bank’s largest regional networks; GM & Head of the Private Equity and Venture Capital vertical; and Deputy CEO of the SBI Macquarie Infrastructure Fund. He also headed SBI’s Western Canada operations. His expertise spans Corporate Finance, Infrastructure and Project Finance, Risk Management, Private Equity, and Venture Capital.
- Mr. Rao’s career highlights include setting up SBI Ventures Limited and playing a key role in the establishment of joint venture funds such as the SBI Macquarie Infrastructure Fund, the Oman India Joint Investment Fund, and the NEEV Fund. These organizations, each successfully minted under his leadership, continue to play a vital role in channeling long-term capital into India’s development sectors.
- He is an Associate Member and Merit Rank Holder of the Institute of Cost and Management Accountants of India (ICMAI), a Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA), and holds a Diploma in Banking and Finance (DBF). He is also a Certified Associate of the Indian Institute of Banking and Finance (CAIIB). Mr. Rao has attended executive education programs on Private Equity and Management at Harvard Business School, the Indian School of Business, IIM Ahmedabad, and IIM Calcutta.
