Man for the crisis

RAJIV ANAND HAD two job offers when he passed out as a chartered accountant in 1990—HSBC and HUL. By his own admission in a recent interview, he chose HSBC because he was being sent to Hong Kong for six months. HUL, on the other hand, wanted him to go to a village called Eta. The decision seems to have worked out quite well.

- KSHIPRA PETKAR

The former deputy managing director of Axis Bank will be in the 'hot seat' as MD & CEO of IndusInd Bank at a time when the bank is under regulatory scrutiny from the Reserve Bank of India for unreported forex derivatives losses of around ₹2,000 crore. And even the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) had charged its former CEO, deputy CEO, and three others for alleged insider trading. Clearly, things aren't hunky-dory at the country's fifth-largest private sector bank.

But what works in Anand's favor is his long experience in the financial sector, and that too, as deputy managing director of the country's third-biggest private sector bank that has been growing at a fast pace through acquisitions. With over 35 years of experience across marquee institutions—Standard Chartered, ANZ Grindlays, HSBC, and Axis Bank—Anand brings a pedigree of leadership and a reputation for navigating complex transitions.