- Open to new programs
- PMP
- PRINCE2
- SAFe 6
Meera Iyer
Senior Program Manager and PMO lead
Eleven years running multi-team programs for banks and retailers. I turn a crowded portfolio into one plan, one RAID log and one honest status report every Friday.
Current portfolio
- Core banking migration, 42 branchesLive in AugustDone
- Group PMO setupWeek 9 of 12On track
- Vendor consolidation, 18 to 6Saving ₹2.1 Cr a yearOn track
- Data centre exitWaiting on a vendorAt risk
- FY28 portfolio planningStarts JanuaryPlanned
Programs delivered for
- Northwind Bank
- Kaveri Retail
- Sahyadri Insurance
- Indus Logistics
- Lotus Health
- Years running programs
- 11+
- Program budgets managed
- ₹180 Cr
- Projects closed on plan
- 26
- Teams coordinated at once
- 14
/ Project brief
The person behind the plan.Scoped like any project.
I am Meera, a program manager who likes the unglamorous parts of delivery: the dependency nobody mapped, the risk nobody owned and the status report that says amber when it is amber.
For eleven years I have run programs across banking, retail and logistics, from a 42-branch core banking migration to setting up a group PMO from scratch. I keep teams focused on the few decisions that matter each week, and I make sure leaders hear bad news early, with options attached.
- One plan, one owner. Every workstream rolls up to a single integrated plan, and every risk has a name next to it.
- Green means green. Status reflects the facts, not the mood of the steering committee.
- Decisions on a page. Leaders get the three decisions they need to make this week, not sixty slides.
Project brief: Meera Iyer
- Status
- Open to new programs
- Based in
- Bengaluru, hybrid or remote
- Target role
- Program manager or head of PMO
- Industries
- Banking, retail, insurance
- Budgets
- Up to ₹60 Cr a program
- Notice
- 30 days
/ Program phases
My career,in delivery phases.
Every role scoped, run and closed. The current one is still on track.
Phase 1: Project Manager · Indus Logistics, Pune
Jul 2015 - Mar 2018Completed
- Rolled out warehouse management software at 11 sites, on budgetDone
- Introduced Scrum to two teams and moved releases from quarterly to monthlyDone
- Scrum
- Jira
Phase 2: Program Manager · Northwind Bank, Mumbai
Apr 2018 - May 2022Completed
- Delivered the core banking migration across 42 branches with no failed cutoversDone
- Ran a RAID log of 300+ items and a weekly steering committee with the CIODone
- Brought a late regulatory program from red to green in 10 weeksDone
- PRINCE2
- Smartsheet
- Confluence
Phase 3: Senior Program Manager, PMO lead · Kaveri Retail Group, Bengaluru
Jun 2022 - PresentActive
- Set up the group PMO: intake, stage gates and one portfolio dashboard for 38 projectsOn track
- Run the store systems program: 4 workstreams, 9 vendors, 1,200 storesOn track
- Cut the monthly status pack from 60 slides to one page leaders actually readOn track
- Jira Align
- MS Project
- Power BI
Phase 4: Your program
Next
/ Delivery framework
How I run a program.
The same four steps, whether it is a six-week pilot or a two-year transformation.
Mobilise
Charter, RACI and governance agreed in the first two weeks, so everyone knows who decides what.
Plan
One integrated plan with the critical path, a budget baseline and the dependencies between teams.
Deliver
Sprints or stage gates, a live RAID log and a Friday status report that stays honest.
Close and hand over
Benefits tracked against the business case, lessons written down and the team handed over cleanly.
/ Delivered work
Key deliveries.
Four programs, the numbers they moved and what I did on each.
- Delivered
- Northwind Bank
- 2020 - 2022
Core banking migration
Moved 42 branches and 1.8 million accounts to a new core banking platform over five weekend cutovers.
42
branches cut over
0
failed cutovers
3%
under budget
- Ran dress rehearsals for every cutover
- Kept branches open through the program
Role: Program manager
Case study- Delivered
- Kaveri Retail
- 2022 - 2023
Group PMO setup
Built a PMO from nothing: project intake, stage gates, templates and one dashboard the board reviews monthly.
38
projects in one view
60 → 1
slides per status pack
9 days
faster decisions
- Trained 14 project managers on the new gates
- Stopped 5 projects that no longer paid back
Role: PMO lead
Case study- Delivered
- Kaveri Retail
- 2024
Vendor consolidation
Moved store IT support from 18 vendors to 6 without a single store going offline.
18 → 6
vendors
₹2.1 Cr
saved a year
4 mo
to transition
- Ran the tender with procurement and legal
- Agreed service levels each store can see
Role: Program manager
Case study- Delivered
- Northwind Bank
- 2021
Regulatory reporting recovery
Took over a late regulatory program six months before its deadline and brought it back on plan.
10 wks
red to green
100%
deadlines met
0
audit findings
- Re-baselined the plan in week one
- Weekly risk review with the regulator's liaison
Role: Recovery lead
Case study
/ Skills board
The toolkit.Sorted like a backlog.
Delivery6
- Program planning
- Critical path
- Budget and forecasting
- Risk and issue management
- Stage gates
- Change control
People4
- Stakeholder management
- Steering committees
- Vendor management
- Coaching project managers
Methods5
- PRINCE2
- Agile and Scrum
- SAFe
- Hybrid delivery
- Benefits realisation
Tools6
- Jira and Jira Align
- MS Project
- Smartsheet
- Confluence
- Power BI
- Excel
/ Certifications
Credentials.
Each one links to the issuer's register, so you can check it in a click.
PMI
Project Management Professional (PMP)
Credential ID 0000000, renewed 2026
PeopleCert
PRINCE2 Practitioner
Certificate number on request
Scaled Agile
SAFe 6 Agilist
Renews every year
Scrum.org
Professional Scrum Master (PSM I)
No expiry
/ Ways to work
Three ways to work together.
A permanent role, a program in trouble or a PMO that needs building.
- Full time
Program manager or PMO lead
A permanent role leading a portfolio or a large program.
- Portfolio and program governance
- Leading project managers
- Reporting to the leadership team
- Interim
Program recovery
Three to six months to bring a red program back on plan.
- Health check in the first two weeks
- A re-baselined plan leaders sign off
- Handover to a permanent lead
- Project
PMO setup
Twelve weeks to stand up a PMO that teams actually use.
- Intake and stage gates
- Templates and a portfolio dashboard
- Training for project managers
/ Kind words
From the steering committee.
Meera gave us the first status report I trusted. When something was amber, we knew about it a month early and with options on the table.
Rajesh MenonCIO, Northwind Bank She set up our PMO in twelve weeks and, more importantly, the teams kept using it after she moved on to the next program.
Priya NairCOO, Kaveri Retail Calm in every cutover weekend. Her rehearsals meant the real thing felt like the fifth run, because it was.
Arjun KapoorHead of Branch Operations, Northwind Bank
New task · Ready to assign
Got a program to deliver?Let us plan it.
Tell me about the program, the team and the deadline. I reply within two working days.
Bengaluru, India · IST (UTC+5:30)