Barclays India has appointed Sonali Sharma as Managing Director, Head of Legal, including the Global Capabilities Centre (GCC), and Lead – Regulatory & Government Relations. With over 25 years of experience across banking law, capital markets, structured finance, regulatory affairs and corporate legal advisory, Sharma brings extensive expertise in legal leadership and financial services regulation.
Before joining Barclays India, Sharma served as Head of Legal – India at Bank of America from September 2024 to October 2026. Based in Mumbai, she led the bank’s legal function in India, focusing on banking law, financial services regulation and corporate legal governance.
Earlier, Sharma served as Head of Legal at Avendus, overseeing legal matters across equities, mergers and acquisitions, credit, wealth management, debt and equity funds, private equity and general corporate affairs. She later worked as an Independent Legal Consultant, advising on fundraising, private equity and credit-related transactions.
Sharma also spent over 7 years at Standard Chartered Bank as Senior Legal Counsel, specialising in capital markets, corporate finance, loan syndications, structured credit and derivatives.
Before joining Standard Chartered, she spent over 12 years at Juris Corp, progressing from Associate to Partner. Her work covered structured finance, banking and securities, debt capital markets, securitisation, regulatory litigation and advisory services for non-banking financial companies.
Sharma began her legal career as a Trainee at Mulla & Mulla and Craigie Blunt & Caroe, where she worked from June 1998 to April 2001. Her professional journey across law firms and major financial institutions reflects her progression from legal practice to senior leadership roles in the banking sector.
Alongside her professional career, Sharma has been associated with Cuddles Foundation as a volunteer since May 2024.
In her new role at Barclays India, Sharma will oversee the legal function, including the bank’s GCC, while leading regulatory and government relations across its Indian operations.
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