Paresh Sukthankar resigns as deputy MD of HDFC Bank
MUMBAI: Paresh Sukthankar, deputy managing director and founding member of HDFC Bank Ltd has resigned, the private lender said in a regulatory filing on Friday.
“Mr Paresh Sukthankar has tendered his resignation as deputy managing director of the Bank, to be effective 90 days from the close of business hours of today (Friday),” the bank said.
Sukthankar’s resignation comes as a surprise as he was considered one of the front-runners to succeed managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO) Aditya Puri, who is set to retire in October 2020.
At an analyst meet in May this year, Puri had laid down a roadmap for leadership transition at the bank. The bank will look at both internal and external candidates and will announce the name 12 months before the retirement deadline, he had said.
“He cited personal reasons for leaving. I had told him that he was one of the candidates considered for the post of MD. However, the process would take two years before a final decision is taken,” said Deepak Parekh, chairman, HDFC.
“He is not going to any compe- tition,” Parekh said in response to a question on whether Sukthankar is headed to Axis Bank which will be headless once its CEO Shikha Sharma steps down in December.
Sukthankar has been with HDFC Bank since its inception in 1994. He has direct or supervisory responsibilities for the credit and risk management, finance and human resources functions, and for various strategic initiatives of the bank.
Sukthankar was appointed deputy managing director in 2017 after spending nearly two decades with the lender.
Before joining HDFC, he worked with Citibank in several departments, including corporate banking and risk management.