Street Food: Three Ravis of National Stock Exchange

The December exit of Chitra Ramkrishna seems to have hit the 'undo' button on this reshuffle

Though it might not have been so apparent, the National Stock Exchange (NSE) saw a significant amount of human resource churn over the past couple of years. People in significant positions were sent to ‘academic’ roles; new people from outside had gained prominence. Some were transferred to locations out of their comfort zones. 

The December exit of (chief executive) Chitra Ramkrishna seems to have hit the ‘undo’ button on this reshuffle. While a number of roles have changed, three Ravis stand out, right at the top of the organisation. Ravi Narain, J Ravichandran and Ravi Varanasi share between themselves the role of managing the country’s largest bourse, even as the board is busy in the selection process for Ramkrishna’s successor.

J Ravichandran 

Fiftyfive, he is now the bourse’s public face as chief executive officer in-charge. Though preferring to be away from the limelight through most of his two decades in the bourse, Ravichandran was seen sharing the dais with fellow exchange chiefs Ashish Chauhan and Mrugank Paranjpe at the recent Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit. A lawyer and senior company secretary, he has worn various hats — heading finance, accounts, treasury, taxation, regulatory, legal, secretarial, strategic investments, shareholder relations and corporate social responsibility functions. 

The bourse’s draft prospectus for its initial public offer (IPO) of equity showed that on April 1, 2015, when Ramkrishna’s lieutenant, Anand Subramanian, was designated the group operating officer, Ravichandran, who was company secretary, was given the role of group president (finance & legal). On October 21, the same day Subramanian foreclosed his contract, Ravichandran handed over his company secretary role to S Madhavan. On December 2, when Ramkrishna stepped down, he donned his latest avatar. 

Ravi Varanasi

The 54-year-old chief business development officer is equally at ease with operational matters and spearheading the bourse’s new initiatives. A banker in his early years, Varanasi came to the bourse in 1995. He spearheaded the NSE’s platform for small and medium enterprises, and was sometimes seen on television, representing the bourse. Of late, he was concentrating on his role as chief executive of NSE Academy, that focused on “conducting tests and certification programmes in India and abroad in various areas, including financial markets, conducting professional education programmes and providing professional training to individuals in collaboration with various educational and financial institutions”.

Three days after the rejig at the top, on December 5, Varanasi was appointed chief business development officer, the prospectus showed.

Ravi Narain

To twist the phrase a bit, it seems you can neither take NSE out of Narain and nor can you take him out of NSE. On November 27, 1992, seven entities subscribed to the memorandum of association of NSE and brought it to life. Wharton-educated Narain, 61, then an IDBI executive, was one. Almost a quarter century later, Narain continues to be a significant presence in the NSE boardroom, though he relinquished executive position in favour of his deputy nearly four years ago. 

The Delhi-ite still has a little over a year of his term as vice-chairman of the bourse. He is a part of the board’s audit committee, nomination & remuneration committee and stakeholder relationship committee, beside chairing the corporate social responsibility committee. 

The draft prospectus quotes copiously from a report prepared by Oliver Wyman on the exchange business and business landscape. Apart from his role in the exchange, Narain is associated with Oliver Wyman as an advisor, the prospectus stated.

Though it is difficult to imagine NSE without these three, it is likely that none of them are in the race for the top job. But, then, who would have imagined NSE going into the IPO without Ramkrishna?