India’s second-largest private lender by assets and the top private bank by market capitalisation, HDFC Bank has appointed Paresh Sukthankar, currently executive director of the bank, as deputy managing director for three years, the company said in a filing with the stock exchanges. Already a de facto number 2, the new designation makes him a prime contender for the position of the CEO when Aditya Puri steps down.
Sukthankar, who has been with the bank since its inception in 1994, is already an executive director and currently has direct or supervisory responsibilities for the bank’s credit and risk management, finance and human resources functions and its various strategic initiatives.
Before joining HDFC Bank, Sukthankar was associated with Citibank for around 9 years, in various functions including corporate banking, risk management, financial control and credit administration. He has also been part of various committees formed by Reserve Bank of India and Indian Banks' Association.
He completed his Masters in Management Studies (MMS) from Jamnalal Bajaj Institute (Mumbai) and the Advanced Management Program (AMP) from the Harvard Business School.
HDFC Bank has also appointed Kaizad Bharucha as an executive director for three years.
Bharucha holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Mumbai and is the head of Corporate Banking at HDFC Bank. Previously, he worked with SBI Commercial and International Bank Ltd as group head, credits.
(Edited by Joby Puthuparampil Johnson)