Winds Of Change - Full Circle

Axis Bank CEO Shikha Sharma’s exit has been as stormy as her entry. It also signals a strong message by the RBI to the banking industry

- Salil Panchal

WHEN AXIS BANK

Managing Director and CEO Shikha Sharma’s request to curtail the tenure of her fourth term at the bank to six months (now December 31, 2018) from the earlier three years (to end May 2021) was acceded by the bank’s board— after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) called for a reconsideration recently—it signalled two things. That Sharma had decided she had had enough of the negative news that had come to surround her leadership in recent years. It also sent a message to the banking sector that the RBI will put its foot down when the situation demands.

Sharma’s journey at Axis Bank has been as stormy as her entry in 2009. Sharma, who previously headed ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, entered Axis as an “outsider” with backing from the board. That did not go down well with her predecessor PJ Nayak, who quit in three months before his term ended, as he had wished for an “insider”.

Almost nine years later, Sharma has chosen to cut her own term short, after several issues that have plagued the bank over the last couple of years.