Chanda Kochhar
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A profile
As the head of India's largest private sector bank, she oversees nearly $152 billion (over Rs.9 lakh crore) in assets and is credited with a sharp turnaround of ICICI Bank from the tough days following the 2008 financial crisis.
In 2013-14, ICICI Bank added 653 branches and 834 ATMs to its network, and with its total network of 3,753 branches and 11,315 ATMs continues to be the largest among private sector banks in India.
Her push for mobile banking, especially in rural areas, is hailed as a model for expansion for the banking industry.
Starting young
She joined the erstwhile ICICI in 1984 as a management trainee and was part of the core team that set up ICICI Bank in 1994.
Role model is her mother, who worked as a designer in a clothing boutique to support her three children after their father died.
Controversies
In the Videocon case, 2018
Mayur Shetty, A crisis which Kochhar could not overcome, June 19, 2018: The Times of India
From: Mayur Shetty, A crisis which Kochhar could not overcome, June 19, 2018: The Times of India
Weathered Rumours Of Run On Bank, Sr Exec Exodus When She Took Charge
Chanda Kochhar has been an old hand in dealing with crises. As the bank’s retail head, she was part of the team that had to deal with a run on the bank in 2003 that began in Gujarat following rumours. After taking charge as joint managing director during the global financial crisis, she had to again battle a near-run on the bank caused by rumours.
When in 2009 she took charge of the bank at the age of 48, becoming the youngest CEO to do so, a large chunk of the senior management exited. Kochhar was unruffled and drew up a post-crisis strategy, with the focus on 4Cs (Cost, Credit, Current and savings account, and Capital). The clearly articulated strategy was a success and the bank was again on a high growth path.
While there have been whispers of deals between her husband Deepak Kochhar and Videocon for over two years, she has maintained a stoic silence over it. But even as this progressed from whispers to headlines in mainstream media, and then to a full-blown investigation by authorities, Kochhar’s demeanour has not changed. Employees are not able to gauge to what extent she is affected by the crisis. Kochhar, who used to do theatre during her college days, is not known to reveal her emotions.
As a career ICICI banker, Kochhar had played a major role in building the retail business. More recently, she demonstrated how quick decisions help in effective resolution of bad loans, though ICICI was in the same boat as publicsector lenders when it came to non-performing assets.
Where she differed from her peers was in her personal life where she was an intensely private person. Unlike her mentor and predecessor K V Kamath, who believed in steering with a light touch, Kochhar has always maintained a tight grip on things. Some insiders attribute this to a trust deficit on her part. Kochhar herself is understood to believe that the allegations against her are the handiwork of a disgruntled corporate borrower.
At all events, including quarterly result announcements, Kochhar has been the only spokesperson. For the press, it’s not unusual to see only one chair on the dais. The downside of not having enough spokespersons is that there are no voices of support now from within the organisation.
Insiders say that one of the reasons why Kochhar has been able to carry on even in difficult circumstances was that she always maintained a tight schedule, budgeting even the time during her car ride for telephonic engagements. Time management was an art that she had mastered when her children were growing up, ensuring that she managed to leave office around 6pm even as she continued to work out of her car. The family-first approach has continued even after she became CEO, squeezing in a lunch with her husband or working out of the ICICI Securities office at Backbay in south Mumbai, a few hundred meters from her home, when a family member was unwell.
