Nandita Bakhshi

Nandita Bakhshi is President and Chief Executive Officer of Bank of the West and co-Chief Executive Officer of BNP Paribas USA Inc. Nandita 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 joined Bank of the West in June 2016 and oversees a team of more than 10,000 employees across the bank’s five business lines: Corporate and Commercial Banking, Personal Finance, 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. American Banker named her one of the top Most Powerful Women in Banking in 2019 and the #1 Woman to Watch in Banking in 2016. The San Francisco Business Times recognized her as one of the Most Influential Women in Bay Area Business in 2019 and 2018, and in 2017, honored her with the inaugural Inspire Award for women who are leading their companies with creativity, integrity, and strategic vision.

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).

Nandita serves on the Board of Directors of Grameen America; the Board of Directors of the U.S. India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF); the Supervisory Board of The Clearing House; and is a member of the Pacific Bankers Management Institute Board of Directors at the Pacific Coast Banking School (PCBS).

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