Singapore, January 2026 — Standard Chartered has appointed Seetal Bhatti as Global Head of HR for Technology & Operations (MD, Head of HR, Technology and Operations), based in Singapore. In this role, Bhatti will lead the people agenda for the bank’s Technology & Operations organization, aligning workforce strategy, operating model evolution, and leadership capability with the bank’s priorities across its international footprint.
A seasoned HR leader with deep expertise in business transformation, workforce planning, operating model redesign, and M&A integration, Bhatti brings a track record of delivering large-scale organizational change across complex, global environments—capabilities that are increasingly central as banks modernize technology platforms, strengthen resilience, and build future-ready operating models.
Before joining Standard Chartered, Bhatti spent over seven years at BT Group, most recently serving as Director of People and Culture, where she led the organizational carve-out of BT’s International B2B division (reported at £2.2bn revenue, 10,000 people, 43 countries) to enable accelerated transformation of the UK core business while preparing the international unit for strategic options. She also delivered significant workforce design and cost outcomes, including reported 10% headcount cost reduction in year one and shaping a target operating model to support business model transformation.
Earlier at BT, she served as Director of HR, BT Business, where she held CHRO accountability for a global B2B business (reported at £8.3bn, 24,000 employees, 43 countries) and led an end-to-end HR function spanning talent, reward, employee relations, organization development, workforce planning, leadership, and HR operations. Her work included partnering the CEO on a multi-year turnaround and supporting major transformation across customer, digital, product, and operating model priorities.
Bhatti also held senior HR leadership roles within BT’s infrastructure and technology organizations, including HR Director, Service Delivery – Openreach, supporting a large service delivery workforce and capability build for the UK’s fibre upgrade program, and HRD (Dynamic Infrastructure) and Leadership, Learning and Diversity Director – BT Technology, combining HR leadership for core network/IT infrastructure with enterprise leadership and talent priorities for BT Technology.
Prior to BT, Bhatti worked across global integration and organizational design roles in large-scale M&A environments. At Anheuser-Busch InBev, she served as Global People Director, Integration & OD following the SABMiller acquisition, partnering the CTIO as HRD for IT and Business Services and leading post-merger target operating model redesign and implementation. She previously served as Head of HR, Corporate Offices at SABMiller, acting as business partner to executive leadership and supporting people strategies tied to the acquisition phase.
Earlier in her career, Bhatti spent multiple years with British Gas / Centrica, holding a sequence of HR leadership roles across talent, development, commercial, and operations-focused units, building breadth across employee experience, capability building, and workforce strategy. She began her career as a Trainee Economist at the London Development Agency.
Standard Chartered is a leading international banking group with a presence in 54 markets. The bank’s purpose is to drive commerce and prosperity through its diversity, with its heritage and values expressed through the brand promise “here for good.”
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