ICICI's new crisis manager is patient listener, but his own man in making decisions

Girish Chandra Chaturvedi, the new non-executive chairman of ICICI Bank, brings with him rich experience in general administration and the financial sector, with sensitive assignments including Joint Secretary, banking and insurance, and additional secretary for financial services — positions that placed him on the boards of LIC and state-run several banks.Chaturvedi, a physics graduate who holds an M.Sc in economics from the London School of Economics, joined the Indian Administrative Service in 1977 and was allotted the Uttar Pradesh cadre along with his batch-mate Cabinet Secretary PK Sinha. He has undertaken key reforms before retiring as India’s petroleum secretary in January 2013 and gathered valuable experience in handling sensitive investigations such as the CAG audit and probes by various agencies into the affairs of the Commonwealth Games.As petroleum secretary, he adopted a liberal approach and was actively involved in setting in motion the process of gradually increasing diesel rates every month until they reached market levels and could be decontrolled. He had also proposed reforms in the pricing of natural gas and was involved in building India’s strategic petroleum reserves.Officials and executives who have worked with him recall Chaturvedi as an upright man, who patiently listens to all sides without being very assertive, but takes his own decision fairly.“He’s a man of integrity. He would harbour no bias, not get influenced by any pressure group. Everyone would have good things to say about him. He’s a very patient listener,” said RS Sharma who was chairman and managing director of ONGC when Chaturvedi was petroleum secretary.Chaturvedi left a similar impression in the financial world, recalls SB Mathur, former chairman of LIC. “He is a simple person, upright with good administrative skills. He is very knowledgeable, simple, down to earth person,” Mathur said.Chaturvedi comes to ICICI bank as non-executive chairman and independent director soon after Sandeep Bakhshi was made chief operating officer as chief executive Chanda Kochhar went on leave because of a probe into an alleged conflict of interest.Bakhshi and Chaturvedi have known each other for long and said to have the bandwidth and rapport needed to steer the bank out of the situation it faces. Bakhshi --who headed ICICI Lombard General Insurance when Chaturvedi was in the finance ministry – probably had a role in bringing the former bureaucrat as chairman, sources said.Chaturvedi recognises the challenges that his new job brings, but he is optimistic about ICICI Bank dealing with its problems and moving on. “I don't subscribe to this that it's (ICICI Bank) in a mess. Incidents keep happening, but basically we have to learn lessons from them, we have to rectify, and move ahead. I think we will be able to do that,” he told ET Now.He has dealt with challenging situations such as the Commonwealth Games, which faced many allegations and media scrutiny.He was Special Director General (Finance & Accounts) in the Commonwealth Games 2010. In this capacity he facilitated probes by the Central Vigilance Commission, Enforcement Directorate, Central Bureau of Investigation and Income Tax authorities.His administrative experience includes sought-after positions such as CEO of Greater Noida, commissioner of Lucknow, and stints as collector of Saharanpur, Meerut and Muzaffarnagar. He has also been the chairman of the Warehousing Development and Regulatory Authority.In the finance ministry he was involved in drafting the Insurance Act Amendment Bill to facilitate level playing field for the private sector and proposing increase in foreign equity limits to 49% from 26% in the insurance sector. Chaturvedi was also actively involved in amalgamation of more than 100 regional rural banks to make them viable.“He encouraged new companies and contributed a lot to the growth of insurance industry,” said G Srinivasan, chairman, New India Assurance.He has been the government’s nominee as director on the Boards of LIC of India, GIC of India, Canara Bank, Bank of Baroda, IDBI Bank, IDFC, New India Assurance Company, United India Insurance Company, Agriculture Insurance Co. of India Ltd, Institute of Banking Personnel Selection and National Insurance Academy Pune.

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