NUMBER CRUNCHER

Madhabi Puri Buch, SEBI's first woman chair, has speeded up its approval and investor complaint redressal systems

- NACHIKET KELKAR

When Madhabi Puri Buch took over as chairperson of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) in 2022, there were several firsts. She is not only the first woman to become the head of the capital markets regulator, but also the first woman to lead any financial market regulator in India. She is also the youngest SEBI chief and the first from the private sector.

Buch, 58, is also only the second non-IAS SEBI chief. The first one was G.N. Bajpai, former chairman of Life Insurance Corporation of India, who took over in 2002. While many were surprised that the new chief was not from the Central services, Buch was well-qualified to head SEBI at a time when capital markets in India were seeing a huge growth.

Buch, who did her schooling in Fort in Mumbai and in Delhi, graduated in mathematics from St Stephen's College and joined IIM Ahmedabad for her MBA.

Buch spent much of her career at ICICI Bank in various positions, including as CEO of ICICI Housing Finance, CEO of ICICI Securities, and executive director. From ICICI, she went to Greater Pacific Capital, Singapore. She was consultant for the New Development Bank (earlier known as BRICS Bank) and Agora Advisory. She has served on the board of various companies, including Max Healthcare, InnoVen Capital, Zensar Technologies and Idea Cellular. Buch was also the whole-time member of SEBI for over four years. All that experience of more than three decades has given Buch an insider’s view on how financial markets and institutions function, thereby helping her in her role as SEBI boss.