ICICI Bank today announced the appointment of Chanda Kochhar as the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer. She will succeed K V Kamath who will take over as the non-executive Chairman.
The board decided to give Kochhar, who is at present the Joint Managing Director & Chief Financial Officer, a five-year term starting May 1, 2009.
Kamath, who started his career at ICICI, the erstwhile development financial institution that merged with ICICI Bank in 2001, expressed his desire to step down from his executive responsibilities, the bank said. His term as Managing Director & CEO is scheduled to end on April 30, 2009.
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N Vaghul, the present non-executive Chairman ICICI will retire from the board on completion of his term on April 30, 2009. The management changes are subject to the approval of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the shareholders, the bank said in a statement.
Today’s announcement will usher in new era at ICICI Bank with Vaghul’s 24-year association with the entity coming to an end. Kamath, who returned from a stint at the Asian Development Bank, took over as the chief executive of ICICI in 1996 and oversaw the institution’s transformation into a universal bank.
“The board expressed the view that Kamath's experience and expertise would prove invaluable to the board in maintaining continuity in strategic leadership and governance and providing guidance to the executive management. The board expressed the view that Kochhar's deep experience across the bank's businesses and functions would be invaluable in providing stability while at the same time charting the bank's future strategic course in the emerging global environment,” the statement said.
Kochhar had joined the erstwhile ICICI as a management trainee in 1984 and joined the board of ICICI Bank in 2001. She has worked across all key areas ranging from corporate banking, project finance, institutional finance and major clients group and retail banking and played a key role in the establishment of ICICI Bank.
