Incoming Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (MD & CEO) Anup Bagchi will have to oversee changes to the bank’s senior leadership following the exits of Shashidhar Jagdishan in October, Bharucha in December and V Srinivasa Rangan in November next year. The bank may fill the vacancies through internal elevations or external hires.
The bank currently has three WTDs: Jagdishan, Bharucha and Rangan. Jagdishan, who joined HDFC Bank in 1996, will step down on October 26 after six years as MD & CEO. Bagchi will take over from October 27.
Bharucha, who joined the bank in October 1995, has played a key role in its corporate lending business over the past decade. Rangan was reappointed as WTD, designated executive director, in September for another year, until November 2027. By then, all three current WTDs will have left their positions.
The board has already elevated Jimmy Tata, the bank’s chief credit officer, to WTD, designated executive director, for a three-year term, effective from the date of regulatory approval. Tata joined HDFC Bank in 1994 as a relationship manager in corporate banking, later headed the department and became chief risk officer in June 2013.
The bank will need to identify candidates for the remaining WTD positions, with the choice between promoting executives from within and bringing in talent from outside.
“The depth of management is large. But I’m sure Anup will have the wisdom, along with the board, to decipher who the potential candidates are for any future vacancies that may arise. It’s too premature for any one of us to comment. But I can assure you that the talent is pretty much available. But that’s for the board and for Anup to decide in future,” Jagdishan said during the media call following the bank’s second-quarter earnings.
The transition extends beyond the board. Chief Financial Officer Srinivasan Vaidyanathan is set to retire on November 30, 2026, and will be succeeded by Puneet Sharma, former CFO of Axis Bank. Sharma has been functioning as CFO-designate since September 1.
Rajiv Kumar, former chief election commissioner and finance secretary, has also taken over as the bank’s chairman following the resignation of Atanu Chakraborty earlier this year. The changes add to the leadership transition as Bagchi prepares to take charge as MD & CEO.
