Sukthankar’s exit not linked to MD search: Puri
HDFC Bank’s Deputy Managing Director (DMD) Paresh Sukthankar’s shock resignation has triggered talks that the bank is looking for a successor to Managing Director (MD) Aditya Puri, who retires in October 2020. Sukthankar was considered the mostlikely successor to Puri.
Addressing a concall, Puri said Sukthankar’s exit was not linked to search for his successor. He, however, did not delve into the reason on Sukthankar’s request.
The bank will no longer have a post of DMD following Sukthankar’s exit. “The DMD role was created for Sukthankar valuing his contribution (to the company),” said Puri. “The board and I will put right people in place in 10-15 days,” he said. HDFC Bank has been vocal about its succession plan for the past few months. Puri said the bank still had internal candidates to succeed him.
“The process (of finding my successor) will begin 18 months before the end of my term and my successor will be put 12 months before my term ends,” said Puri. The MD said Sukthankar’s exit though ‘graceful’ was a “shock and loss to the bank.” The exit would not affect the daily functioning of the bank, he said. “Seventy-five per cent of my succession is already baked in.”
Sukthankar, who was appointed as the DMD in March 2017, oversees the banks’ credit- and risk-management departments as well as finance and human resources. He will be serving 90 days of notice period, effective from August 10, said the bank in a filing to the exchanges. The private lender also said it would focus on Indian market as it wanted to cement its position here. The bank saw an 18.2 per cent year-over-year increase in net profit to ~46.01 billion for the June 2018 quarter, falling a little short of analyst expectations. The bank’s stock closed at ~2,090.65 on BSE, down by 1.15 per cent from previous close.