Sashidhar Jagdishan to succeed Aditya Puri as HDFC Bank CEO

Sashidhar Jagdishan will be the new CEO of HDFC Bank to replace the private lender’s long-serving leader Aditya Puri.

Jagdishan, 55 and group head and change agent at the Bank, will take over when Puri retires in October. Jagdishan was one of three candidates shortlisted for approval by the Reserve Bank of India. Jagdishan's name was approved last night and HDFC Bank will make formal announcement soon, sources said.

He joined the Bank in the 1996 and heads finance, human resources, and other departments.

He is a chartered accountant and holds a Master’s degree in Economics of money, banking and finance.

Kaizad Bharucha, head of HDFC's wholesale banking division, and Sunil Garg, of Citibank, were among the other candidates in race for the post.

Puri has been at the helm at HDFC Bank since September 1994, making him the longest-serving head of any private bank in the country.
Puri had recently assuaged shareholder concerns at his last annual general meeting as the MD and CEO, saying succession has been taken care of, news agency PTI reported.

"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 lender's virtual AGM.

Puri assuaged concerns on training and business understanding, assuring the shareholders that the candidate has "learnt very well".

Bloomberg New reported Jagdishan will have to mold his own management team after some veterans recently left the bank, including vehicle lending head Ashok Khanna. The RBI has asked HDFC Bank to provide details of an internal investigation into allegations of improper lending at that business.