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Who is Madhabi Puri Buch?
Madhabi Puri Buch is the first-female chairperson of India's markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) since March 1, 2022.
Madhabi, a former whole-time member (WTM) of Sebi, replaced Ajay Tyagi, whose five-year term came to an end. The IIM-Ahmedabad alumnus is the youngest Sebi chief and the first person from the private sector to head the securities market watchdog.
Puri Buch oversees key departments relating to regulation, supervision and surveillance and spearheads economic and policy analysis, investor assistance and education and information technology departments.
The chief has direct supervision of the National Institute of Securities Markets (NISM).
She is the founder-director of Agora Advisory Pvt Ltd, a consulting and incubation firm, and has also worked at the New Development Bank in China prior to her appointment as the Sebi chairperson.
Buch has three decades of financial market experience. She joined ICICI Bank in 1989 and worked as an investment banker, headed the country's leading broking outfit, held a senior position at a private equity major and had a brief stint with the New Development Bank, set up by the BRICS bloc of nations.
Education and career
Madhabi Puri Buch holds an MBA degree from the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad and has a graduate degree in Mathematics from St Stephen's College, New Delhi.
She has served as the Consultant to the New Development Bank in Shanghai and as the Head of the Singapore office of the Private Equity Firm, Greater Pacific Capital.
She also worked as the Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at ICICI Securities Limited and as the Executive Director, on the Board of ICICI bank.
She has also set up a small foundation that undertakes projects with grassroot NGOs. Buch has also served as a non-executive director on the Boards of various companies. Puri Buch has worked closely with Tyagi during her stint as WTM between April 05, 2017, and October 04, 2021.
As Sebi’s WTM, she has handled key portfolios such as surveillance, mutual funds, and collective investment schemes.