Valley Bank names its 1st chief data and analytics officer

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Recognizing the vital role of data and analytics in the banking industry, Morristown-based Valley National Bank has appointed its first executive to oversee these functions. 

The wholly owned subsidiary of Valley National Bancorp named Sanjay Sidhwani as chief data and analytics officer, according to an Aug. 30 announcement. Sidhwani will oversee the bank’s data strategy and data management capabilities, which includes enterprise data architecture, data platforms and services, data governance, data risk and data literacy. 

Valley added he will also be responsible for building out the bank’s advanced analytics capabilities to drive strategic objectives. 

Sidhwani has more than 25 years’ experience in the field, according to his LinkedIn profile, including more than 15 in the banking/financial services industry. Most recently, he was executive vice president and head of data and analytics at Santander Bank. Prior to that, he held various analytics leadership roles at companies such as KeyBank, Synchrony Financial and FedEx, among others. 

“Sanjay has extensive experience and expertise in driving digital transformation and delivering measurable business results through advanced analytics,” Russ Barrett, Valley’s executive vice president, chief transformation officer, said in a statement. “Today, data and analytics play a significant role in the way we develop and manage our business strategies and Sanjay will have a major impact in building our capabilities and data-driven culture.” 

Sidhwani earned his bachelor’s in engineering and mechanical engineering from Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani, and his MBA in marketing and operations research from Gies College of Business, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. 

Valley National Bank is a regional bank with nearly $62 billion in assets. Valley operates branch locations and commercial banking offices across New Jersey, New York, Florida, Alabama, California and Illinois, according to the financial institute.