BS People: S K Chakrabarti

Banking melody

To this banker-by-accident, seeing his bank’s billboard in a remote area gives S K Chakrabarti immense joy. For good reason: He has been with Axis Bank – then UTI Bank – since September 1994, barely a few months after it received a banking licence. From the position of deputy general manager, Chakrabarti was elevated to the position of deputy managing director last month. At Axis Bank, he has been associated with several key assignments and held positions that include executive director in-charge of retail banking, SMEs, and agriculture, as well as executive director for mid-corporate banking.

But banking isn’t his only love. A graduate in English literature, the 59-year old Chakrabarti’s favourite pastime is translating into Bengali Sir Arthur Conan Doyle stories other than of the famous and widely translated Sherlock Holmes. A passionate music lover, Chakrabarti takes a few days leave from work every January to attend the hugely popular Dover Lane Music Conference in Kolkata. He also has several compilations of old Bengali lyrics.

 

Chakrabarti spent two decades at State Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur before moving with a few colleagues to UTI Bank. The State Bank group has been a nursery of bankers for almost all private sector and foreign banks. Chakrabarti’s tenure included a stint as faculty at the premier staff college of the State Bank group. He is an involved banker, but an even more involved music lover, who can often be heard humming the songs of Hemant Kumar or Mohammad Rafi.