HDFC Bank's Aditya Puri reveals 'successor has spent 25 years' with company

HDFC Bank would have an insider as the new CEO and managing director of the company, said HDFC Bank's Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Aditya Puri. Without revealing the name of the candidate, Puri said that that his preferred successor is an internal contender who has spent 25 years in the company.

"He (the successor) has been with us for 25 years… my successor was always in place, at least in my mind," Puri told shareholders at the bank's virtual AGM held on Saturday.

Elaborating on the preparedness of the next CEO in terms of training and business understanding, he even assured the shareholders that his successor has 'learnt very well' while justifying his choice for the next CEO.

Even as Puri has not revealed the name of his successor, Media reports had earlier stated that Sashidhar Jagdishan and Kaizad Bharucha from HDFC Bank and Citi's Sunil Garg were the possible candidates for the position. HDFC Bank had given the three names to RBI in June, as their preference. 

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"… it is up to the RBI now to decide among what we have given to them," Puri said, reiterating that succession was not a problem for the bank.

Jagdishan, an internal contender, has been with the bank since 1996 and joined as a manager in the finance function. He was appointed as a "change agent" recently and heads the finance, human resources, legal and secretarial, administration, infrastructure, corporate communications and corporate social responsibility functions.

Whereas Bharucha, another internal contender has been with the bank since 1995 and presently serves as an executive director in charge of wholesale banking.

Puri is optimistic about the economy as he said he witnessed a sharp recovery after April. However, the partial lockdowns being implemented across pockets may act as a roadblock, he opined.

 He said, 1,200,000 accounts were opened during the lockdown, which was 80 per cent of the pre-lockdown figure, adding that normal levels will be achieved by September.

(With PTI inputs)

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