About Us

Board of Directors

Anup Kumar Singh :: Managing Director

Before starting SONATA, Anup was associated for more than 8 years with the CASHPOR group of companies, since its inception. At the time of leaving CASHPOR, he was an ex-officio Chief Executive and the second most senior executive in the CASHPOR group of companies. Anup holds a Masters degree in Economics & Sociology, a Postgraduate Diploma in Rural Development and Management, and a MBA in Finance. He was born and brought up in Uttar Pradesh, India, and presently resides in Allahabad, with his wife and three children.

Geeta Dutta Goel :: Nominee Director

Geeta Dutta Goel manages the MSDF's microfinance initiative in India. She spent over 12 years with the Corporate Finance Group of Pricewaterhouse Coopers in India, advising large Indian and multi-national clients on joint ventures, mergers & acquisitions, equity investments and financing, and valuations. Geeta has also advised clients in capital structuring and raising private equity.

Mr. Ajit Varma

Executive Director, Operation Smile India acting as Independent Director. An alumni of the Madras Christian College, Ajit brings with him more than 25 years of experience in Advertising and Brand building. His leadership skills and passion for people have seen him excel in various capacities from an account manager on Unilever at Lintas Mumbai (now Lowe) to Business head and 'Owner of the people process' at Bates Mumbai. Ajit remained with Bates as the Mumbai business head till 2002 when he moved to JWT APAC to head JWT Indonesia and later became the Director in charge of Lux for APAC at JWT Bangkok.
Today, Ajit remains passionate about building and nurturing vibrant and effective institutions that inspire people to discover and channel their own unique potential. The past 15 months has seen him follow his heart into a totally different space. He now runs an International medical NGO called Operation Smile which focuses on the issue of Clefts.
Sonata is proud to have him on its Board.

Mr.Vishal Bharat

Vishal has over 14 years of corporate banking experience in multinational banks in three continents. Most recently, he was with JP Morgan Chase's commercial bank for 9 years, relocating from Dallas, TX to Mumbai, India to launch the Commercial Bank in India. Vishal started with Citibank as an FX Trader followed by a stint as the Operations Manager in the Global Transactions Group. After that, Vishal launched the Global Cash Management Services for Standard Chartered Bank in India.
Vishal has had an association with rural development and microfinance for 20 years. He worked with a rural cooperative bank in rural Rajasthan during his high school days and more recently he started, managed and eventually sold a "Fair Trade" business in Dallas, TX.
Vishal holds a Master of International Management Degree from Thunderbird, The Garvin School of International Management, Glendale AZ; Master of Business Administration from University of Delhi, India and Bachelor of Technology (Mechanical Engineering) from Banaras Hindu University, India.