Gaurav Saxena
Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance Co. Ltd.
Chief Distribution Officer – Bancassurance
Gaurav Saxena is Chief Distribution Officer – Bancassurance at Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance. He speaks with Boris Plantier from Qorus about his leadership experience and advice, as well as the importance of staying curious and living a healthy life.
Please tell us a little bit about your background.
I began my academic journey with engineering, followed by a degree in management. Since then, I’ve spent 27 years navigating the dynamic worlds of FMCG and life insurance. It’s been a journey of continuous evolution, far from linear, and rich with learning. It has been shaped by a relentless pursuit of excellence, a deep understanding of consumer behavior, and a knack for forging partnerships that last. I’m passionate about learning. I read, I mentor, and I listen to people around me. I’ve found that some of the best insights come from the most unexpected places. Staying curious keeps me grounded and helps me evolve with the industry.
What does your workplace look like?
My workplace looks very lively and dynamic. It’s a very well-equipped office in co-location with the key teams like sales, strategy, marketing, and underwriting, to enable quick collaboration. There’s a large screen with dashboards displaying real-time distribution metrics, partner performance, and overall channel health. There’s an area for brainstorming sessions where I regularly convene with the channel managers and various teams to ensure that sales and distribution efforts are synchronized—eliminating inefficiencies and avoiding siloed initiatives. Many a time when I am travelling for work, I have all the mobile-first tools for on-the-go access to performance dashboards, partner updates, and approvals.
Could you describe your usual working day?
To stay on top of things, I like to start my day early. It usually starts with reviewing key performance metrics, regulatory reviews, industry updates, and planning. In the morning, there’s a team huddle for executive sync-up in which we discuss channel performance, bottlenecks, new initiatives, and plan our next steps. There’s frequent engagement with our partners through meetings and calls. I ensure there’s field connect either in person or virtually to address challenges, recognize top performers, and gather ground-level insights. Lunch is more often than not a working lunch with informal catch-up with team leaders or external stakeholders discussing industry trends, competitor moves, or innovation ideas. There are CXO level meetings for ensuring leadership alignment. Towards the end I review what worked and what didn’t and plan for the next day. I make it a point to be present at family dinners. Finally, I end my day with some retrospection, reflection, and journaling.
What is your favorite food?
Typically, I lean towards eating meals that are nutritious, satisfying, and easy to eat—something that keeps my energy and focus levels high. I like simple regional food and seldom indulge in hearty meals or guilty pleasures. However, I do like having sweets occasionally.
What do you do when you need a break from work?
Apart from work, I am passionate about fitness and spirituality. I love marathons and really enjoy the occasional “runner’s high”. Finishing a marathon instills deep pride and boosts confidence in both athletic and personal realms. I like travelling and exploring different cultures. Understanding cultural diversities helps widen my perspective as a leader. Occasional spiritual retreats help me focus on what truly matters. In short, when I am not driving into work, I reset through spiritual grounding, movement, and exploration—a blend that keeps my work and life in balance.
What is the key to building a successful team?
I lead with three core values: commitment, passion, and integrity. These aren’t just buzzwords, they’re the principles I live by. I’m a big believer in discipline and focus, and I try to bring that into every conversation, every strategy, and every partnership. My team knows that when we show up, we show up fully prepared, aligned, and ready to deliver. My approach is to equip teams with clear objectives, the autonomy to execute, and accountability for the outcomes.
There is a saying that we learn more from failure than success. Tell me about one of your failures and what you have learned from it.
Over the years, I’ve made my share of mistakes—and each one has taught me something valuable. A few that stand out are timing and embracing change. Timing is not just important—it’s strategic—whether it is reading the market signal to launch the right product at the right time, or partner engagement windows, or timely training and activation, or scaling at the right moment. Even on a personal level, timing can make the difference between a breakthrough and a missed opportunity. Then, there were moments when I clung to legacy models, even when the market was shifting. Now, I embrace agility and experimentation—because staying relevant means staying adaptable.
What advice would you give to someone who wants to succeed in financial services?
The mantra to succeed in financial services is to be ever curious, proactive, and customer-centric. One must not hesitate to dig into how things work. The financial sector is fast-paced and in this rapidly changing market, one should stay abreast of innovations like AI and digital transformation. One must adapt to changing regulatory guidelines, understand operations, profit drivers, and market dynamics to make informed decisions. Lastly, one should uphold the ethical standards—putting clients’ interests first and building long-term trust and reputation.
Disclaimer: Views expressed are personal and do not necessarily reflect those of my employer or any affiliated organizations.
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