Mumbai: Sashidhar Jagdishan, the ‘Strategic Change Agent’ at HDFC Bank, will succeed Aditya Puri as the CEO and MD. Sashidhar Jagdishan will lead India’s largest private sector lender from late October. HDFC Bank said Tuesday the appointment of Jagdishan has been approved by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). His tenure will last for three years starting October 27.
Puri has led the bank since its founding more than 25 years ago. The appointment of the 55-year-old Jagdishan ends one of the most keenly watched successions in the Indian banking space.
Under Puri’s leadership, HDFC Bank has become the most valued Indian lender by investors with a market cap of over Rs 5.71 lakh crore. This has happened majorly due to its ability to keep strong controls over dud assets and delivering healthy profit growths. HDFC Bank has retained its place even as the banking system witnessed a spurt in bad loans.
The RBI approved Jagdishan’s name – the first choice for the bank board – in response to three names sent to it late Monday evening, sources said. A board meeting would be convened soon to ratify the appointment of Jagdishan, HDFC Bank said in a regulatory filing to the stock exchanges. Puri’s term ends October 26.
Jagdishan’s journey with HDFC Bank started in 1996, after he quit his job with German lender Deutsche Bank. He joined as as a manager in the finance department of HDFC Bank. At that time it was considered an upstart venture spearheaded by a group of professionals from foreign banks led by Puri.
Jagdishan became the business head of finance in 1999 and rose to being appointed as the CFO in 2008. He was later appointed as the ‘Change Agent’.
The bank said Jagdishan has helped the organisation achieve strategic objectives over the years. He played a critical role in supporting the growth trajectory of the bank. At present, Jagadishan is the group head for finance, human resources, legal and secretarial, administration, infrastructure, corporate communications, corporate social responsibility and the ‘Strategic Change Agent’ for the bank.
In an interview with a TV channel, Puri said he is ‘absolutely delighted’ with Jagadishan. He added that Jagdishan has been working ‘intensely’ with him since being appointed as the ‘Change Agent’.
“I do believe he has the necessary skills and I am delighted that HDFC Bank is in good hands. The best is yet to come,” Puri said. He termed Jagdishan as a humane person who cares about people and a thorough executioner.
Jagdishan will be in charge of a balance sheet that stood at Rs 15.45 lakh crore as of June this year and included over Rs 10 lakh crore in advances. The bank, which was promoted by largest pure-play mortgage lender HDFC, also has a dedicated non-bank subsidiary HDB Financial Services which may go in for listing soon.
The bank had first spoken about looking for a successor in May 2018, when it reportedly told analysts that an internal or external candidate will be announced 12 months prior to Puri’s retirement on attaining the age of 70.