HDFC Bank Limited, Indian banking, and financial services company headquartered in Mumbai has started the hunt for a successor to Aditya Puri, Managing Director, and CEO of the bank. Puri is expected to retire in October 2020.

At an analyst meeting, Puri put forward a roadmap for the transition and said that the depth of leadership at the bank would ensure that the handover is smooth. The management plans to start the process of identifying a successor 18-24 months ahead of Puri’s retirement.

According to a statement given by Motilal Oswal Securities in media, management succession planning is in the place and that the bank will start looking out for candidates 18 months in advance and will announce the name 12 months before the retirement. The statement also mentioned that the candidate can be both external and internal.

According to media reports, the bank's top management told analysts that the bank's growth is on track. The retail credit will continue to grow and do well at least for the next five years. The bank also revealed that the company will focus on organic growth and M&A is not on the table.

Puri has been the managing director of the bank since 2004.  He has almost 40 years of experience in the banking sector in India and abroad. During his tenure, he led the bank through two major mergers in the Indian banking industry, i.e., the consolidation of Times Bank Limited and Centurion Bank of Punjab Limited with HDFC Bank Limited. Puri built HDFC Bank to become the most valuable private bank in India, achieving a market cap of Rs 1 lakh crore within ten years of its launch.

He was the only Indian to feature in Fortune's Businessperson of the Year list in 2016. He has also been awarded numerous recognitions like Outstanding Business Leader of the year-CNBC-TV18 India Business Leader Awards (IBLA), Barron's World's Top 30 CEOs, Best CEO Award - Business Today, Business Leader of the Year- AIMA Managing India Awards 2015, etc.

Following Puri’s retirement announcement, now three large private banks will be looking for new CEOs. Axis Bank CEO Shikha Sharma announced her decision to step down in December this year. Also, IndusInd Bank CEO Romesh Sobti will be stepping down in March 2020.

Image Credits: BloombergQuint