Two global firms to help BBB select, train the right men for top PSB jobs

One of the two firms, Korn Ferry, has been in the news for a mandate from YES Bank to assist in selecting a successor to Rana Kapoor

Two global personnel advisory firms, Korn Ferry and Egon Zehnder, will assist the Banks Board Bureau (BBB) to assess people for top jobs and in leadership development at public sector banks (PSBs).

A BBB functionary said Hay Consultants (part of Korn Ferry) and Egon Zehnder have already begun work in this regard.

Korn Ferry has been in the news for a mandate from private lender YES Bank to assist its board of directors' panel in selecting a new managing director and chief executive (MD & CEO), to succeed incumbent Rana Kapoor. Four entities were earlier considered for this mandate.

Hay Consultants will apparently assist the BBB in assessing the capabilities of those considered for appointment as MD & CEO and as executive directors at PSBs. Egon Zehnder, said a source, would work as a ‘knowledge partner’ to design, implement and institutionalise a leadership development strategy for state-owned banks. 

A senior executive with a Mumbai-based bank said the need for these functions had become more important in the light of efforts to turn around 11 PSBs, all of which have been put under the Reserve Bank of India’s prompt corrective action, for a surge in loans gone bad.

The government has also begun an exercise for consolidating PSBs, starting with a decision to integrate Bank of Baroda, Dena Bank and Vijaya Bank.

The BBB in its report card for this financial year's first half said it had begun a leadership development strategy for and at PSBs. 

About 450 senior management personnel across these banks are undergoing an assessment phase for identifying potential leadership talent. Those so identified are to undergo a leadership development programme, to deal with the challenges faced by PSBs in an increasingly competitive marketplace.

The BBS is reportedly also in the process of identifying a globally-ranked Indian institution to run this leadership development programme.