Citigroup names Raj Rathi as L
The bank has named former Dream Sports executive and investment banker Raj Rathi to lead the M&A business in India.
Citigroup Inc has appointed veteran investment banker Raj Rathi as the new head of mergers and acquisitions in India, effective from this month. The appointment comes as Citi deepens its advisory capabilities to capitalize on opportunities in the Asian market.
Rathi’s appointment follows several high-profile additions to the bank’s regional investment banking team. Citi recently lured Bhavin Shukla from JPMorgan Chase & Co. to serve as managing director and head of infrastructure investment banking for Japan, North and South Asia and Australia. Last year, Citi appointed Goldman Sachs Group’s Vikram Chawli as Asia-Pacific head of global asset managers.
From fantasy to finance
Rathi was hired from Dream Sports, the billion-dollar parent company of fantasy gaming giant Dream 11, where he served as head of strategy and corporate development and oversaw the deployment of approximately $150 million in several strategic transactions.
Citi’s move underscores a trend in which global banks are recruiting experienced corporate executives to navigate complex digital infrastructure, energy transitions and cross-border capital flows. Its recent high-profile transactions in the sector include advising United Spirits Ltd on the sale of its 100% stake in the Royal Challengers Bengaluru cricket team and taking over Chinese appliance giant Haier Group by selling its 49% stake in Haier India to a consortium backed by Bharti Enterprises and Warburg Pincus.
Prior to his corporate development role at Dream Sports, Rathi spent five years as an executive director at JPMorgan, focusing on technology investment banking. They covered the technology, fintech and consumer internet sectors and executed deals worth approximately $35 billion in total transaction value.
His career included positions in the investment banking divisions of Guggenheim Partners and Guggenheim Securities, as well as at Ernst & Young, where he focused on financial due diligence and transaction advisory services for institutional clients following early corporate development experience at Sutherland.
This article is published in the June 2026 issue Global Finance Journal.
