Sashidhar replaces Aditya Puri as MD and CEO, HDFC Bank

Sashidhar Jagdishan succeeds Aditya Puri as Managing Director and CEO of HDFC Bank, marking a historic change of guard after 26 years. The RBI’s approval to appoint Sashidhar, enables him to hold the fort for the next three years, ending the year-long speculations for the bank’s top-most role. The 69-year-old Puri retires in October 2020 and Sashidhar’s biggest challenge will be to maintain the optimal standard that Puri has set for the private sector lender. He will have to manoeuvre through a tough mix of growth, compliance, and risk as HDFC’s group head. Sashidhar pipped other shortlisted contenders like Kaizad Bharucha and Sunil Garg, for the post. A year ago, Sashidhar was seen as a “change agent” for the bank and was made to head all important portfolios of the bank, signalling his candidature for the top post. Last November, a six-member bench with Puri as an advisor was set up to scout for his replacement and hired Egon Zehnder for assistance. Sashidhar, a BSc. (Physics) from the Mumbai University is also an alumnus of the University of Sheffield, UK, where he did his master’s degree in Economics. He is also a Chartered Accountant from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India. The last few months witnessed a marked exodus of senior level executives, all close aides of Puri Abhay Aima, group head of private banking, Ashok Khanna, group head of secured vehicle loans, and Munish Mittal, chief information officer.

Retirement sets in for CEO & President of Ford Motor

Jim Hackett, CEO and President of Ford Motor will hand over the much awaited baton to his heir apparent, Jim Farley, effective from October 1, 2020. Hackett’s retirement move comes in the wake of an $11 billion restructuring plan that failed to impress investors. Hackett and Farley will be working closely in ensuring a smooth transition for the next two months. In his new role, Farley is optimistic about the company’s growth plans for its commercial line-up as well as emerging plans for autonomous and all-electric vehicles, which includes the upcoming Mustang Mach-E crossover. With Hackett continuing his association with Ford as an adviser through March next year, his stepping down as part of succession plan would make Farley the fourth CEO of the auto major since the Great Recession. Farley joined Ford in 2007 as global head of marketing and sales and has since held a variety of roles including head of the automaker’s Lincoln luxury brand and several international operations in Europe and South America. Hackett known for his unique leadership style, executed his multiyear restructuring plan, aimed at increasing profitability by focusing on core products and on all-electric and autonomous vehicles. In a brave move, Hackett had also shifted Ford’s product portfolio away from passenger cars. Amidst the pandemic Hackett has been appreciated for streamlining the company’s operations, so also for forging a global partnership with Volkswagen.

Uber promotes Prabhjeet Singh as President

Uber has appointed Prabhjeet Singh as President (India and the South Asia) as he moves up from his previous role as the company’s Director of Operations and Head of Cities. He will oversee the next phase of growth in the company’s mobility business by ensuring safety for riders and drivers across India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh. He is expected to get good support in his new role by a regional leadership team. A passionate and innovative leader, he has been instrumental in helping build Uber from scratch and established category leadership in the ride-sharing market. Prabhjeet, an alumnus of IIT Kharagpur and IIM-A, joined Uber in August 2015 relinquishing his post as an Associate Partner with McKinsey and Co.

Ashwini Kumar Tewari appointed as MD & CEO, SBI Card

Ashwini Kumar Tewari replaces Hardayal Prasad, as the new MD and CEO of SBI card. An insider, he has had over 29 years of association with the country’s second largest credit card issuer, including domestic and international postings. Prior to his new role, he was Country Head of SBI’s U.S. Operations, since 2017. He also served as Vice Chairman of the State Bank of India (California) Board of Directors. His journey from a probationary officer with SBI in 1991 saw him drive business, administration, and HR across diverse leadership roles, in functions such as Credit, International and Retail Banking and business process re-engineering. His involvement with the bank’s technology upgrades in core banking and Internet banking platforms, also added acquisition of a new trade platform. In previous roles, he was Regional Head and GM, East Asia Hong Kong overseeing SBI’s operations in Hong Kong, China, Japan, Korea, and the neighbouring regions as Deputy General Manager, (Operations & Information Systems), IBG, Mumbai and Head of SBI’s cash Management Services. An electrical engineer, he is also a Certified Associate of Indian Institute of Bankers (CAIIB) and a Certified Financial Planner (CFP). Tewari has also served on the boards of International Institute of Bankers, New York, and University of Washington Global Bankers Programme.

Bhavesh Gupta joins Paytm’s top management

Bhavesh Gupta takes over as CEO of Paytm’s lending business and will be reporting to President Amit Nayyar. His appointment adds to Paytm’s ongoing multiple senior hires in the past year across insurance, Paytm Money, and in the lending business vertical. Paytm Money recently appointed Varun Sridhar as its new CEO, replacing Pravin Jadhav, former MD and CEO while also onboarding Aviva India’s former CEO Amit Kapoor, as its new Chief Financial Officer and Vice President. Gupta’s responsibilities include developing and expanding the company’s services in strengthening its vision of including 500 million Indians with smartphones. With over two decades of experience, Gupta has led the digital transformation of some top retail banks and NBFCs in India. In previous roles, Bhavesh was founding member & CEO of Clix Capital (former GE Capital India) where he built on a diversified NBFC for the digital consumer and MSME lending sectors, also urban affordable housing segment. Bhavesh’s decade long association with ICICI Bank saw him function across retail banking, both on liabilities and lending aspects of the business in a senior position. He was also the founding member and head of SME & Business Banking at IDFC First Bank.

Biocon Biologics CEO upbeat on Tata Capital stake

With Tata Capital set to pick minority (0.85%) stake in Biocon Biologics for $30 million, Christiane Hamacher, CEO, Biocon Biologics India Ltd. said that this equity infusion is the next step in the company’s quest for prudent investments in R&D and high-quality manufacturing infrastructure. Post the completion of this transaction, flagship Biocon will hold 95.25% stake in Biocon Biologics. The fund infusion by Tata Capital is part of a larger $200-300 million round which the company plans to raise over the next few months that ties in with its proposed plan to float an IPO in the next three years. Akhil Awasthi, Managing Partner, Tata Growth PE noted that the new investment brings together Tata’s brand equity with Kiran Mazumdar Shaw’s strong R&D base in conceptualising, investing and creating billion-dollar businesses in combination with its R&D strengths and an exceptional management team. Earlier in January, PE fund True North had also acquired 2.4% stake in Biocon Biologics for $75 million. Executive Chairperson Kiran Mazumdar Shaw had indicated in the past that Biocon Biologics is in talks with few other private equity firms interested in acquiring a minority stake in the company.

Byju clinches $300 million deal with code-skilling platform

Byju Raveendran, CEO, of edtech platform Byju’s The Learning App, has clinched a $300 million deal with Mumbai-based code training platform, WhiteHat Jr. The deal routed via its flagship company, Think and Learn, that owns and operates Byju’s platform is the company’s fifth acquisition and the largest in India’s edtech segment. The deal is expected to fuel Byju’s entry into the code-skilling segment; forge possible merger and acquisition (M&A) plans; and a maybe an initial public offering (IPO) in the near future. WhiteHat Jr, founded by Karan Bajaj, former chief executive of Discovery Networks India, operates in the K-12 segment, enabling students to learn to code, as they build commercial-ready games, animations, and apps, by applying fundamentals of coding. Raveendran is optimistic about the opportunity in scaling Byju’s expansion plans in India as well as international markets. While coding skills are not currently part of the larger curriculum in Indian schools, Raveendran believes that the scenario is likely to change soon. He categorises coding skills as an active learning tool that can be harnessed to the tapped curiosity of young minds, especially in the early schooling days, which unfortunately gets dampened down the line, due to the prevailing performance-based examination system.

SRL Diagnostics appoints Anand K as CEO

Anand K. takes over as CEO of Diagnostics firm, SRL Limited, following the resignation of former CEO, Arindam Haldar, who has relinquished his four-year old position for prospects outside of SRL. A graduate in Medical Laboratory Technology from JIPMER, Pondicherry and a Postgraduate in Management, Anand has over 25 years of experience in the Indian healthcare sector and international markets. Before SRL, Anand lead the diagnostics business of Apollo Health and Lifestyle and has successful mileages in his role with Neuberg Diagnostics, Metropolis, and others.

Ex-Google Cloud Exec joins itopia as VP

Harshal Pendse has joined as Vice President and Country Manager, India of itopia, the cloud-native automation, and orchestration solution for Google Cloud Platform, marking the company’s entry into India and the APAC region. Pendse, a former Google Cloud executive and is expected to manage itopia’s business operations in the enterprise, mid-market, and SMB segments, overseeing professional services, technical pre-sales, and post-sales functions across APAC. His appointment comes in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic as demand for itopia’s Desktop as a Service solution has increased on the back of Google Cloud’s increased strategic focus in India. Pendse, popular as a digital transformation catalyst was responsible for creating sales consulting practice for Google Cloud India as well as expanding its channel and partner program. Pendse will bring in his experiences in leading roles at Oracle Middleware and ICICI Group which is seen as highly strategic for itopia in the Indian market.

ICRA onboards former L&T executive as Group CEO-MD

ICRA, the full-service Credit Rating Agency has appointed N Sivaraman as its Managing Director and Group Chief Executive Officer, with effect from August, 2020. He is expected to drive ICRA’s business strategy and innovation, build organisational capabilities, nurture ICRA’s strong culture of analytical excellence, and strengthen the independence and objectivity of ICRA’s ratings while also enhancing the company’s thought leadership. Sivaraman brings in his 34-year career experiences with his former company, where he held senior positions as President & Wholetime Director of L&T Finance Holdings, which he had established within a relatively short span of 10 years. He’s also had a stint with as CEO with IL&FS (Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services) with responsibilities on asset monetisation and creditor engagement, also loan restructuring by the government-constituted Board to help turn the company around. ICRA Group plays a critical role in the Indian capital market with its analytical views, independent rating opinions and data and analytics.

Parekh Ashvin is independent director at Nippon AMC

Parekh Ashvin picks up the reins as an independent director on the board of directors of Nippon Life India Asset Management for five years. He brings with him more than 40 years of experience across business and operational strategies; having worked across functions in banking, insurance, asset management and para-banking institutions across India, the US, Europe, and Australia. Before his retirement, he was a senior partner at Ernst &Young and was the Chairman of National Pension Scheme in recent times.

Oyo founder floats personal investment entity

Ritesh Agarwal, founder and Group Chief Executive, Oyo Hotels & Homes, has set up a new entity, Aroa Ventures, as he joins in the latest wave of Indian entrepreneurs in creating a vehicle for personal investments. The Singapore based entity plans to invest between $500,000 and $5 million, on opportunities across the consumer, technology, and leisure infrastructure sectors. The investment firm is being sponsored by RACo Holding, also controlled by Agarwal, as quoted in the digital publication Entrackr. Agarwal is also said to have roped in Gaurav Gulati, former CEO at co-working company Innov8, which Oyo had acquired for an estimated Rs.200 crore in 2019. Agarwal joins in the new brigade of investors like Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal, co-founders of Snapdeal, who count amongst active angel investors in India and have set up Titan Capital a holding company for all their personal bets. Paytm CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma is reported to have set up two new entities VSS Investco and VSS Holdings to host his personal investments.

NMDC appoints Sumit Deb as CMD

Sumit Deb has assumed office as Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of NMDC Limited, a Navratna PSE under the Ministry of Steel, Government of India. He succeeds N. Baijendra Kumar (IAS) who has superannuated from the services of the corporation which is the single largest producer of iron ore in India. Prior to his current role, Deb was Director (Personnel) and brings in his vast knowledge gathered through his previous 25 years of association with Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL– Visakhapatnam Steel Plant) and through his journey with NMDC since 2015. He assumed charge as Director (Personnel) in 2019 with NMDC and has since headed functions across Personnel and Admin, Human Resource, manpower and succession planning, training & development, and other HR functions. He is a proud recipient of the Jawahar Purushkar (2007 – 08). A Mechanical Engineer from the Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology, Bhubaneshwar, he has worked in diverse regions of the country, dealing with both external as well as internal customers across cross HR, distribution, and marketing domains.

Ratan Shrivastava joins as MD, BowerGroupAsiav

BowerGroupAsia India Pvt. Ltd appoints Ratan Shrivastava as Managing Director with a focus upkeeping the strong foundation established by ambassador Alok Prasad, Persis Khambatta and BGA’s India and global teams. Shrivastava will liaise with BGA’s 23 country offices panning the Indo-Pacific region. A senior executive and management consultant, he has a proven track record in both the government sector as well as the industry across India, Asia, Middle East & Africa. In previous roles, he headed the defence exports division at Ashok Leyland Ltd., built and led Frost & Sullivan’s aerospace and defence consulting practice with global companies as well as the government entities in India, UAE, and Singapore. He developed growth strategies, market planning and market access, including the identification of new markets, competition analysis and localisation. He has been associated with KPMG India and as an advisor to the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), where he enabled developing domestic space and satellite industry initiatives. He has also steered collaborative business strategies between Indian industries and international partners. An ex-Indian army man for nearly 20 years, he voluntarily retired as Lieutenant Colonel, earning his MBA, before starting his journey in the private sector.