Ex-HDFC CEO Aditya Puri joins Carlyle as senior advisor

The first CEO of HDFC Bank Aditya Puri has joined Carlyle as the senior advisor. Puri will advise the Carlyle team on investment opportunities across Asia. He will guide the evolving market landscape and new investment opportunities. He will also advise the company’s investment professionals and portfolio management teams on building differentiated high-quality businesses.

Aditya joined HDFC bank in 1994 as its first CEO. Back then, he was a banker and a chartered accountant who was serving Citibank. He left Citibank, Malaysia when he was the CEO there. It was, perhaps, one of his toughest decisions to leave a multinational bank and join a startup bank. Under his leadership, HDFC has grown multifold. His revolutionary mindset and experience of working in the banking industry was the reason that HDFC Bank’s share jumped to Rs 1213 on October 26^th from Rs 4 per share in 1995. The stock saw a 303-fold increase during Puri’s years with HDFC. It emerged as one of the largest private-sector lenders in the country by market capitalization, total loan and interest income. Apart from this, it also widened the gap with the rival ICICI Bank.

Puri retired as the CEO of HDFC Bank on October 26^th. He is replaced by Sashidhar Jagdishan who will also be working as the managing director of the bank.

About Carlyle

Carlyle is a renown global investment firm that has made investments of around $4.9 billion in financial services. The companies that it has backed include SBI Card, SBI Life, HDFC Limited, PNB Housing Finance, Repco Home Finance. Other names include Edelweiss, IIFL, KB Financial Group, China Pacific Insurance, Ant Group, Du Xiaoman Financial etc.

From the leaders

Commenting on the newly-joined company, Puri said,

“Carlyle is known for its ability to transform businesses, working closely in partnership with management teams and other key stakeholders to drive sustainable long-term growth. I am very impressed with the company’s track record in several key industry sectors, including its leadership position in financial services, not just in India but across Asia. Whether this is with founder-led businesses or large conglomerates, Carlyle’s focus on building better businesses is something I have a great affinity for. It will therefore be a pleasure to act as senior advisor to the team in support of their investing activities across Asia.”

“We are excited to have Mr Puri join Carlyle as a senior advisor in Asia. We look forward to leveraging his deep expertise and relationships to source new investment opportunities and to help our portfolio companies build better businesses,” said XD Yang, managing director and chairman of Carlyle Asia.

“I have had the privilege of knowing and following Mr Puri from his Citibank years. To have someone of his stature join Carlyle as a senior advisor will add significant value to our capabilities across the region, not only in financial services but across sectors given his unparalleled experience in the business world,” said Sunil Kaul, managing director and financial services sector lead for the Carlyle Asia advisory team.