Chanda Kochhar

Chanda Kochhar (née Advani, born 17 November 1961) was the managing director and chief executive officer of ICICI Bank.[1] However, on 4 October 2018 she stepped down from her position following allegations of corruption.[2] Amidst investigations related to Videocon bad loans, she was forced by the board of ICICI Bank to take indefinite leave. The Central Bureau of Investigation named Chanda Kochhar and her husband as beneficiaries in the financial fraud.[3] The Justice B N Shrikrishna probe panel reported that Kochhar had violated ICICI Bank's Code of Conduct, following which her service was terminated with all her entitlements and benefits revoked.[4] After her exit, Sandeep Bakhshi, who was the interim Managing Director and CEO became the full-time MD and CEO of ICICI Bank.[2]

Chanda Kochhar
Born
Chanda Advani

(1961-11-17) 17 November 1961
Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India
Alma materInstitute of Cost Accountants of India University of Mumbai
OccupationFormer MD & CEO, ICICI Bank
Spouse(s)Deepak Kochhar
Children2

Early life

Kochhar was born in Jodhpur, Rajasthan in a Hindu Sindhi family. She was educated at St. Angela Sophia School, Jaipur. She then moved to Mumbai, where she joined Jai Hind College and earned a bachelor of commerce degree from the University of Mumbai. After graduating in 1982, she studied cost accountancy from Institute of Cost Accountants of India, and later did a master of management studies degree in University of Mumbai from Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies. She received the Wockhardt Gold Medal for Excellence in Management Studies as well as the J. N. Bose Gold Medal in Cost Accountancy.[5]

Career

1984–1993

In 1984, Kochhar joined the Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India (ICICI)[6] as a management trainee. During her early years at ICICI, she handled project appraisal and monitoring and evaluated projects in industries such as textile, paper and cement.[5]

1993–2009

Kochhar was instrumental in establishing ICICI Bank during the 1990s. In 1993, Kochhar was appointed as one of the core team members who were assigned the responsibility of setting up the bank. She was promoted to assistant general manager (AGM) in 1994 and then to deputy general manager (DGM) in 1996.

In 1996, Kochhar headed the newly formed Infrastructure Industry Group of ICICI Bank, which aimed to create dedicated industry expertise in the areas of power, telecom and transportation.

In 1998, she was promoted as the General Manager (GM) and headed ICICI Bank's major client group, which handled relationships with ICICI's top 200 clients. In 1999, she also handled the strategy and e-commerce divisions of ICICI Bank.

Under Kochhar's leadership, ICICI Bank started building the nascent retail business in 2000 focusing largely on technology, innovation, process engineering and expansion of distribution and scale. In April 2001, she took over as executive director.[5]

In 2006, Kochhar was appointed as deputy managing director of ICICI Bank. In 2006–07, Kochhar handled the international and corporate businesses of the bank. From 2007 to 2009, she was the bank's chief financial officer (CFO) and joint managing director.[7]

2009 to 2018

In 2009 Kochhar was appointed as managing director and chief executive officer of the bank and has been responsible for the bank's diverse operations in India and overseas.[8] She also chairs the boards of most of the bank's subsidiaries, which include India's leading private sector life and general insurance companies.

Kochhar is a member of the India–Russia Business Leaders Forum and the US-India CEO Forum.[9] She was the president of the International Monetary Conference, an organisation that annually brings together the chief executives of approximately 70 of the world's largest financial institutions from 30 countries, along with officials from government institutions in 2015–16. She is the deputy chairman of the Indian Banks Association. Kochhar is the chairperson of the board of governors at IIIT Vadodara. She is also on the boards of the National Institute of Securities Markets and Institute of International Finance. Kochhar has been a member of the Prime Minister's Council on Trade & Industry, the Board of Trade and High-Level Committee on Financing Infrastructure. She was co-chair of the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting in 2011.

Kochhar received an honorary doctorate from Carleton University, Canada in 2014,[10] in recognition of her pioneering work in the financial sector, effective leadership in a time of economic crisis and support for engaged business practices. She was conferred with the Padma Bhushan, one of India's highest civilian honours, in 2011. [11]

Acting on a 2016 allegation of a shareholder of Videocon Group over a possible conflict of interest of Kochhar, ICICI Bank's board reviewed its credit approval process and found them strong and cleared Kochhar of the allegations. On 4 October 2018 she stepped down from her position as Managing director and CEO of ICICI Bank, following a fresh complaint from an anonymous whistleblower.[12][13][14] After an enquiry concluded that she had violated the bank's code of conduct regarding conflict of interest  and due disclosure or recusal requirements, she was terminated from service.[15]

Recognition

Under Kochhar's leadership, ICICI Bank won the "Best Retail Bank in India" award in 2001, 2003, 2004 and 2005 and "Excellence in Retail Banking Award" in 2002; both awards were given by The Asian Banker. Kochhar personally was awarded "Retail Banker of the Year 2004 (Asia-Pacific region)" by the Asian Banker, "Business Woman of the Year 2005" by The Economic Times and "Rising Star Award" for Global Awards 2006 by Retail Banker International. Kochhar has also consistently figured in Fortune's list of "Most Powerful Women in Business" since 2005.[5] She climbed up the list debuting with the 47th position in 2005, moving up 10 spots to 37 in 2006 and then to 33 in 2007.[16][17] In the 2008 list, Kochhar features at the 25th spot.[18] In 2009, she debuted at number 20 in the Forbes "World's 100 Most Powerful Women list". She is the second Indian in the list behind the Indian National Congress party chief Sonia Gandhi at number 13.[19] In 2010, she fell to number 92 in the Forbes list, but in 2011 bounced back to 43.[20][21] As of 2014, she ranks at #43.[22] And in 2015 she climbed up to #35 again.[23] In 2017, she was ranked at # 32 and she ranked the highest among the 5 Indian woman who made it on the list, which included #57 Roshni Nadar Malhotra, #71 Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, #92 Shobhana Bhartia and #97 Priyanka Chopra.[24]

Kochhar has also consistently figured in Fortune's list of "Most Powerful Women in Business" since 2005. In 2009, she debuted at number 20 in the Forbes "World's 100 Most Powerful Women list",[25] and climbed to the 10th spot in 2010.[26] In 2011, she featured in Business Today's list of the "Most Powerful Women – Hall of Fame".[27] In 2011, she also featured in the "50 Most Influential People in Global Finance" List of Bloomberg Markets.[28] Chanda Kochhar was awarded with ASSOCHAM Ladies League Mumbai Women of the Decade Achievers Award on 2 January 2014.[29]

In 2011, Kochhar was awarded the "ABLF Woman of Power Award (India)" at the Asian Business Leadership Forum Awards.[30]

Kochhar was ranked as the most powerful businesswoman in India in Forbes' list of 'The World's 100 Most Powerful Women 2013'.[31] Kochhar was also featured in the Power List 2013 of 25 most powerful women in India by India Today, for the third year in a row.[32]

Kochhar was selected in Time magazine's list of the 100 Most Influential People in the World 2015.[33] In 2015, she was ranked first in the Fortune List of 100 Most Powerful Women in Asia Pacific.[34]

Kochhar ranked 40th on India Today's 'High and Mighty Power List 2016' in 2016.[35] In the same year, she was 22nd in the Forbes Asia's '50 Power Businesswomen List 2016'.[36] She was also listed in Forbes list of 'The World's Most Powerful Women in Finance 2016' at number 10.[37]

In 2017, Kochhar was featured in Business World magazine's 'BW's Most Influential Women' list as an evergreen woman leader. In May of the same year, she received the Woodrow Wilson Award for Global Corporate Citizenship from the Woodrow Wilson Centre located in Washington, US. She is the first leader to receive an award in this category.[38] In the same year, Kochhar was ranked 5th in Fortune's list of 'Most Powerful Women in business outside the U.S.'.[39]

Allegations

Kochhar allegedly favoured Videocon Group in lending practices.[40][41] ICICI Bank said it has decided to institute an independent enquiry into the allegations.[42] On 29 March 2018, The Indian Express first reported that Videocon group promoter Venugopal Dhoot provided crores of rupees allegedly to NuPower Renewables Pvt Ltd (NRPL), a firm he had set up with Chanda Kochhar's husband Deepak Kochhar and two relatives six months after the Videocon group got Rs 3,250 crore as loan from ICICI Bank in 2012.

He allegedly transferred proprietorship of the company to a trust owned by Deepak Kochhar for Rs 9 lakh, six months after he received the loan from ICICI Bank. The Videocon account was declared an NPA (Non-performing Assets) or a bad loan in 2017 according to the report. "The Income Tax department is also probing the acquisition of the swanky family residence of Chanda Kochhar, the CEO and MD of ICICI Bank, in South Mumbai by her husband Deepak Kochhar in a complex transaction involving firms linked to Videocon Group", reported the Indian Express.

The Indian Express also reported similar transactions and favourable loans granted by Kochhar allegedly to Essar Group which was also later classified as NPAs. Chanda Kochhar subsequently quit ICICI bank following these allegations and is currently being investigated.[43][44]

On 24 January 2019, Chanda, her husband Deepak, and industrialist Venugopal Dhoot were named in a CBI FIR for cheating and defrauding ICICI Bank to the tune of Rs 1,730 crore. CBI detailed the modus operandi and charged them with offences punishable under Section 120B (conspiracy) and 420 (cheating) of IPC, section 7 (taking gratification) and 13(2) (criminal misconduct) read with 13(1)(d) (pecuniary advantage) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.[45]

Following CBI action, the Enforcement Directorate lodged a case of money laundering against Chanda Kochhar in connection with loans disbursed by bank to the Videocon Group which later turned into NPAs.[46] There are several public complaints sent to the Ministry of Finance, particular to the Union Finance Minister suggesting to withdraw esteemed civilian awards such as Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan awarded to Chanda by the Union Government of India. The Enforcement Directorate attached the properties of Chanda Kochhar and her family in connection with the money laundering case on 10 January 2020. The book value of the attached assets was Rs 78 crore according to ED.[47]

Personal life

Kochhar resides in Mumbai, and is married to Deepak Kochhar,[48][49] a wind energy entrepreneur and her business schoolmate. They have two children, a daughter Aarti[50] and a son, Arjun.[5][19][49][51]

References
  1. "Executive Director's Profile". ICICI Bank. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
  2. "Chanda Kochhar quits ICICI Bank; Sandeep Bakhshi appointed new CEO - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 4 October 2018.
  3. "Who is Who named by CBI in Chanda Kochhar Case". The Indian Express. Retrieved 27 January 2019.
  4. "Justice Shrikrishna Panel indicts Chanda Kochhar". The Economic Times. Retrieved 30 January 2019.
  5. Ms. Chanda Kochhar, Joint Managing Director, ICICI Bank Limited. ICICI Bank official site
  6. ICICI was merged into its daughter project ICICI Bank in 2002.
  7. "Chanda Kochhar's Success Story".
  8. "Chanda Kochhar appointed ICICI Bank CEO from May '09".
  9. "Chanda Kochhar - India Conference at Harvard".
  10. "Chanda Kochhar Gets Honorary Degree from Canadian University".
  11. "Azim Premji, Chanda Kochhar win Padma Award".
  12. "RBI probed ICICI Bank's loan to Videocon in 2016". The Hindu. 3 April 2018.
  13. "Complaint by ICICI insider forced board to probe Chanda Kochhar". The Indian Express. 2 June 2018. Retrieved 9 September 2019.
  14. "ICICI Bank chairman backs Chanda Kochhar again, questions timing of charges". Livemint. 5 April 2018.
  15. "Justice Srikrishna Report" (PDF).
  16. "37. Chanda Kochhar". CNN. Retrieved 28 April 2010.
  17. "33.Chanda Kochhar". CNN. Retrieved 28 April 2010.
  18. "International Power 50". CNN. 29 September 2008. Retrieved 28 April 2010.
  19. Naazneen Karmali (19 August 2009). "The 100 Most Powerful Women". Forbes. Retrieved 20 August 2009.
  20. "World's 100 Most Powerful Women list". Forbes. 9 September 2010. Retrieved 14 September 2011.
  21. "World's 100 Most Powerful Women list". Forbes. August 2011. Retrieved 14 September 2011.
  22. "The World's 100 Most Powerful Women". Forbes. Retrieved 25 June 2014.
  23. "Chanda Kochhar Forbes 100 in 2015". Forbes. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  24. "World's Most Powerful Women". Forbes. Retrieved 20 March 2018.
  25. "The 100 Most Powerful Women". Forbes. 19 August 2009.
  26. "Indra Nooyi, Chanda Kochhar among most powerful biz women: Fortune". The Times of India. 29 September 2010. Retrieved 14 September 2011.
  27. "The most powerful women in Indian business". Business Today. 2011. Retrieved 14 September 2011.
  28. "The 50 Most Influential People in Global Finance". Bloomberg Markets. Archived from the original on 16 July 2012. Retrieved 14 September 2011.
  29. "Director's Profile: Mrs. Chanda Kochhar, MD & CEO". ICICI Bank.
  30. "ABLF Awards 2011 Winners". Asian Business Leadership Forum Awards. Retrieved 1 March 2012.
  31. "The World's 100 Most Powerful Women 2013'". Forbes. May 2013.
  32. "Fortune names ICICI's Chanda Kochhar as most-powerful Indian woman in business". India Today. 16 November 2012.
  33. "The 100 Most Influential People". Retrieved 16 April 2015.
  34. "The 100 Most Influential People". Retrieved 28 September 2015.
  35. "High and Mighty rankings". Retrieved 10 March 2016.
  36. "Forbes Honors 50 Power Businesswomen in Asia". Retrieved 7 April 2016.
  37. "The World's Most Powerful Women In Finance 2016". Forbes.
  38. "Ms. Chanda Kochhar, Managing Director & CEO". ICICI Bank. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
  39. "Most Powerful Women International". Fortune.
  40. "ICICI Bank to probe charges against CEO Chanda Kochhar". The Times of India. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
  41. "ICICI Bank To Probe Allegations Against CEO Chanda Kochhar". NDTV. Reuters. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
  42. Shukla, Saloni. "ICICI Bank okays external investigation into charges against CEO Chanda Kochhar". ET. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
  43. "More conflict of interest? Mumbai house of Kochhars has Videocon connection". The Indian Express. 21 June 2018. Retrieved 30 January 2019.
  44. "Complaint by ICICI insider forced board to probe Chanda Kochhar". The Indian Express. 2 June 2018. Retrieved 30 January 2019.
  45. "CBI FIR Deconstructs How Former CEO Chanda Kochhar Allegedly Defrauded ICICI Bank". 25 January 2019.
  46. "After CBI action, ED files PMLA case against Chanda Kochhar". 3 February 2019.
  47. "ED Attaches Rs 78 Cr Assets of Former ICICI Bank CEO Chanda Kochhar in Money Laundering Case". 10 January 2020.
  48. "Deepak Kochhar | Profile". NuPower Renewables. Archived from the original on 5 October 2017. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  49. "Deepak Virendra Kochhar: Executive Profile & Biography". Bloomberg. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  50. "Deeepak Kochhar's daughter Aarti set to marry beau Aditya". 19 October 2016.
  51. "Chanda Kochhar's daughter Aarti set to marry beau Aditya". The Economic Times. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
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