NSE MD & CEO Vikram Limaye says not seeking second term after July

NSE Managing Director and CEO Vikram Limaye on Wednesday said that he will not seek a second term at the stock exchange when his five-year term ends in July.

This comes amid the National Stock Exchange (NSE) facing the regulatory probe in a case related to governance lapses at the bourse as well as in the co-location matter.

"I have informed the board that I am not interested in pursuing a second term and will therefore not be applying and participating in the process that is underway. My tenor ends on July 16, 2022," Limaye said in a statement.

The exchange's MD & CEO said, "I have done my best to lead the organisation in a very difficult period and to stabilise, strengthen and transform the NSE. We have come a long way in terms of controls, governance, technology, regulatory effectiveness and business growth."

The NSE recently invited applications from candidates for the role of MD and CEO. The applications have been invited from candidates having IPO (initial public offering) experience for the role of the top post before March 25.

Limaye is eligible for another term but as per markets regulator Sebi's rule, incumbent needs to compete with other candidates to win the next term.

He was appointed as the NSE chief in July 2017, following the exit of the exchange's former MD and CEO Chitra Ramkrishna. Among various allegations, issues have been raised in various quarters that why application was not invited at the time when Ramkrishna was appointed as the MD and CEO in 2013.

Before joining the NSE, Limaye was MD and CEO of IDFC. The current chief, Limaye, is credited with re-branding the NSE, besides trading in derivatives witnessed tremendous growth under his leadership.

During Limaye's tenure, the exchange's revenues surged from Rs 2,681 crore in FY17 to Rs 8,500 crore (estimated) in FY22 and net profit climbed from Rs 1,219 crore to Rs 4,400 crore during the same period. Further, the company's return on equity increased from 17 per cent to 34 per cent during the period under review.

Also, the NSE managed to increase its market share in all segments of business, including currency futures and options and equity futures and options.

Listing out eligibility criteria, the NSE's notice stated that the candidate must have a track record of strengthening corporate governance, enterprise risk management and compliance management framework.

In addition, the candidates with exposure to working in a publicly listed company or having led an organisation through an initial public offering process "will be an added advantage", it added.

The NSE is planning to come out with its initial share-sale for long. However, the plan to go public derailed after the bourse got embroiled in the co-location controversy, where certain brokers were allegedly given unfair access to the exchange data feeds over other members.

Following the deadline, the candidates will be short-listed by the nominations and remuneration committee (NRC) of the company.

A selection committee set up by the NSE, comprising NRC members and the independent external members, will recommend candidates to the board, which will then send the name to Sebi for final approval.

In a recent order, Sebi penalised the NSE's former MDs and CEOs, Ramkrishna and Ravi Narain, and others for various violations in a case related to the appointment of Anand Subramanian as group operating officer and advisor to then MD Ramkrishna.

The regulator in its order revealed that Ramkrishna was steered by a "yogi" dwelling in the Himalayan ranges in the appointment of Subramanian.

Also, she was accused of sharing confidential information, including the bourse's financial and business plans, dividend scenario, financial results with the yogi, and even consulted the yogi over the performance appraisals of the exchange's employees.

The "yogi", according to Ramkrishna, was a "spiritual force that could manifest itself anywhere it wanted and did not have any physical or locational coordinates and largely dwelt in the Himalayan range".

Besides, the e-mails exchanged between the yogi and Ramkrishna referred that the NSE was planning for a self listing, the order found.