Dhananjay Saraswat

Senior Risk, Compliance and Operations leader with 13+ years of experience across financial crime risk, CDD/EDD and integrity due diligence, AML/sanctions, quality assurance, governance, investigations and global operations. Leading 20+ professionals, strengthening control and QA frameworks, identifying risk themes and control weaknesses, driving remediation and continuous improvement, and presenting management information to senior stakeholders. Strong track record of translating operational data into actionable risk and control insights and using automation to improve quality, efficiency and auditability.

Director – Operations at Alea International Consulting (2018-07 – Present)

Progressively promoted through Associate Case Manager, Case Manager, Senior Case Manager, Deputy Director and Director – Operations roles.

• Lead global compliance, integrity due diligence, investigations and risk advisory delivery for multinational corporations, private equity and VC investors, and global law firms across multiple jurisdictions.
• Direct and develop a 20+ professional team across operations, quality and client delivery, with responsibility for workload allocation, capacity planning, performance management, coaching and succession planning.
• Established and strengthened governance frameworks, standardized controls, SOPs and quality measures to improve consistency, accountability and control effectiveness.
• Oversee risk assessments and governance reviews, identify regulatory, operational and reputational risks, and drive appropriate escalation, remediation and process improvements.
• Analyze QA and operational data to identify recurring issues, quality themes, control weaknesses and improvement opportunities; translate findings into management actions.
• Develop and present management reporting and dashboards covering quality, productivity, operational performance, risk indicators and emerging themes for senior stakeholders.
• Lead ISO/QMS initiatives for 5+ years and implement quality-control measures supporting consistent standards, documented processes and auditability.
• Test and implement automation initiatives that reduced manual effort by up to 30% and improved reporting accuracy, control visibility and operational scalability.
• Partner with senior internal and client stakeholders to challenge complex compliance issues, agree actions and maintain delivery against competing priorities and deadlines.
• Lead forensic investigations involving white-collar issues, applying structured risk analysis, evidence assessment and documented findings.
• Drive change management, continuous improvement and standardized operating practices while maintaining business continuity and service quality.

Assistant Manager – Compliance Operations at Gerson Lehrman Group (GLG) (2012-09 – 2018-06)

Progressed through Research Support Specialist, Analyst, Senior Analyst and Assistant Manager roles.

• Managed global compliance operations supporting North America and EMEA, coordinating delivery, quality and stakeholder requirements across multiple jurisdictions.
• Conducted AML, sanctions, PEP, anti-corruption and third-party risk assessments, including reputational and adverse-media reviews, and escalated material risk indicators.
• Supported implementation of compliance policies, procedures and control requirements across global operations.
• Performed quality assurance and compliance monitoring of team deliverables to identify process gaps, improve adherence to standards and strengthen control consistency.
• Led the India screening team, overseeing workflow, priorities, quality and execution against ongoing project and council-member screening requirements.
• Developed KPIs, management dashboards and MIS reporting for senior management to support oversight, prioritization and decision-making.
• Partnered with global compliance teams to strengthen governance, internal controls, processes and service quality.

PGPM in Marketing & Finance – IILM Institute for Higher Education, Gurgaon (2012)

MBA in Marketing – Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi (2012)

BBA in Management – Swift College of IT & Management, Bhilwara (2009)