Sashidhar Jagdishan will take over as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of HDFC Bank effective October 27. The Reserve Bank of India approved the appointment of Sashidhar Jagdishan as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of HDFC Bank for three years on 4 August. Jagdishan will replace India’s oldest CEO, Aditya Puri.
HDFC Bank said on Saturday that its “board of directors approved the appointment of Sashidhar Jagdishan as an additional director and also as managing director and chief executive officer of the bank.”
“Jagdishan’s appointment will be for a three-year term from October 27, 2020, as approved by the Reserve Bank of India in its email dated August 3, 2020,” he said.
Affectionately known as Sashi, Jagdishan has been a part of HDFC Bank since 1996. He joined the bank as a manager in the finance division in 1996 and became CFO in 1999. Subsequently, he was appointed as Official CFO of HDFC Bank in 2008. “Sashi has played a critical role in supporting the bank’s growth trajectory,” stated the lender.
At HDFC Bank, Jagdishan currently serves as Additional Director and CFO, HR. He was appointed as the bank’s “Strategic Change Agent” in 2019. With two decades of experience, Jagdishan oversees the Finance, Resources functions. Human, Legal and Secretariat, Administration, Infrastructure, Corporate Communications and Corporate Social Responsibility.
“He has led the finance function and has played a critical role in aligning the organization to achieve strategic objectives over the years,” the bank said.
Jagdishan’s biggest challenge will be maintaining the gold standard that Puri has set for the bank. Aditya Puri, the veteran banker, has been instrumental in building the bank from the ground up and making it the largest private sector lender in the country. Under Puri, the bank’s net profit has gone from ₹80 lakh in 1994-95 a ₹26,257 crore in 2019-20.
On his successor, Puri said: “I have always maintained that the best is yet to come, and with Sashi now in command, I have no doubt that the best will come.”
“He would not enter into the qualities he possesses because most of us would know it. Suffice it to say that in him you have the best person to lead and I have the most worthy person to whom to deliver the witness,” Puri added.
Jagdishan holds a BA in Physics from the University of Mumbai and an MA in Money Economics, Banking and Finance from the University of Sheffield, UK. He is also a Chartered Accountant with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India.
The private sector lender reported an 18.4% increase in its net profit for ₹Rs 7,513 crore for the quarter ended September 2020. HDFC Bank’s net interest income increased by ₹15,776.4 crore during the last quarter. Gross non-performing assets fell to 1.08% while net NPA decreased to 0.17% in Q2FY21.
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