ICICI Securities remembers Madhabi Puri Buch as an ideas person

Madhabi Puri Buch has a strong understanding of stock markets,' recalls a former colleague

Madhabi Puri Buch’s colleagues at ICICI Securities remember her as an ideas person. “She has a strong understanding of stock markets and investment banking. Also, she was a good thinker when it came to tapping retail (individual) investors or any branding exercise,” recalls a former colleague at the investment bank-cum-broking outfit, which she headed for two years.

Buch, 50, then spent some years abroad, heading private equity entity Greater Pacific Capital and serving as a consultant to the New Development Bank, set up by the BRICS bloc of nations. She has now joined the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) as a wholetime member (WTM). The first woman to be a WTM, a key Sebi position; it is also rare for such an appointment to come from the private sector.

The core departments assigned to the former investment banker include market regulation, market intermediaries regulation and supervision, and integrated surveillance. She will be essentially working on formulation of rules for the primary and the secondary market, and overseeing key market stakeholders like brokers and stock exchanges. She would also be in charge of surveillance, a very important function of Sebi. And, have to take charge of investor education, policy analysis and the technology department. “Having worked as a broker and investment banker, Buch has a unique experience of being on the other side of the system. This will definitely help in policy formulation and addressing issues faced by market intermediaries, as she gets ground-level experience to the table,” said a former Sebi official.

An alumna of Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmedabad, Buch has nearly three decades of financial market experience having joined ICICI Bank in 1989. At the private lender, Buch has worked in corporate finance, branding, treasury and loans, before moving to ICICI Securities. She was among the executives at ICICI Bank who were groomed by K V Kamath, the then chief executive and current chairman. Kalpana Morparia, Shikha Sharma and Chanda Kochhar, others mentored by Kamath, have all made their way to the top in financial services.

Buch joins when Sebi’s brass has seen an overhaul. Ajay Tyagi recently replaced U K Sinha as chairman; G Mahalingam has joined from the Reserve Bank of India as a WTM. 

Meanwhile, Rajeev Agarwal and Prashant Saran have demitted office as WTMs.