MUMBAI: Amitabh Chaudhry, currently the managing director of HDFC Standard Life Insurance, would succeed Shikha Sharma as the next Managing Director and CEO, Axis Bank, third largest private sector bank in the country said in a regulatory filing with the stock exchanges.
The Board of Directors of the bank had taken on record the approval granted by the Reserve Bank of India for Chaudhry’s appointment as the CEO and managing director for a period of three years starting January 1, 2019. This ends months of speculation about the succession at Axis Bank after incumbent Shikha Sharma asked for her tenure to be extended till December 2018 indicating her exit in April. Prior to that, Axis Board had approved another three-year tenure for Sharma and had sought RBI approval.
Chaudhry, 54, a BTech graduate from BITS Pilani and an alumnus of Indian Institute of Management, started his career with Bank of America in 1987, moved to CALYON Bank, and then joined Infosys BPO in 2003. He has been with the HDFC Standard Life since January 2010. “Together, with the support of the Board and the Axis team, I am confident of continuing the bank’s remarkable journey these past 25 years and to contribute to its future growth,” Chaudhry said in a press release.