Amitabh Chaudhry MD& CEO Axis Bank

 

                          Amitabh Chaudhry 

                        MD& CEO Axis Bank

 

Amitabh Chaudhry has been helming Axis Bank from 1^st January 2019. He was 54 when he took over. It has been 5 years. He is the passionate, focussed and measured banker with a clear agenda.

 

As he had turned around HDFC Life and was basking in the success of its IPO with the most successful listing, no one had ever thought that he would move over.

 

He says, “In the last five years, I’ve constantly reminded myself that if there is a choice between something short term and long term, let’s go with long term, and if there is a hit which happens because of that, it’s okay.”

 

He has the technology background with his stint as MD&CEO Infosys BPO.

 

He articulates, “I worked for a foreign bank. I left it and was out of banking for a long period of time.” “Diversity helps because you have questions which don’t have easy answers. You can bring perspectives from outside which people who have been working within the system for long lose because they are in it every day.” “You have to watch your risk and react. You have to be seen as the crouching tiger that seizes every opportunity.” “Scale will come easily if I am giving the best customer experience in the industry.”

 

 An avid reader, he takes to his hobby only after he’s done catching up with e-mails. “I do read my e-mails, and I don’t let anyone else do it, especially because there are customer complaints.”

 

His team reveal he’s up to date with every customer complaint, and won’t let go till it’s sorted.

 

He concludes, “I came with my eyes and ears open and knew there will be challenges. Covid, obviously did not help. But going through this journey and working with a wonderful set of people has been a great journey, and I have no regrets whatsoever.’

 

Condensed from an article in BusinessLine, 4^th December2023