Chanda Kochhar is a living inspiration for today’s woman. She is the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of ICICI Bank, which is the India’s largest private and overall second largest bank in the country. She also heads the Corporate Centre of ICICI Bank.
She was born on November 17, 1961 in Jodhpur, Rajasthan. She completed her Bachelor of Arts degree from Jai Hind school, Mumbai. Later, she took Masters degree in Management Studies (Finance) from the Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai and completed her Cost Accountant course from the Institute of Cost and Works Accountants of India. She was awarded the Wockhardt gold medal for Excellence in Management Studies.
She started her career as a Management trainee with ICICI in the year 1984. Later, by efficiently handling the major functions in the bank, she has successfully risen to higher rank. In 1993, she was selected in a core team of ICICI bank, when it decided to venture into commercial banking. She got promotion in 1994 & 1996 as Assistant General Manager and then Deputy General Manager respectively.
Later, in the year of 1998, she was promoted as the General Manager. She was entrusted with handling relationships with ICICI’s top 200 clients. In April 2001, for the retail business in ICICI, she was promoted as Executive Director. In the year 2007, she was appointed as the Joint Managing Director & Chief Financial Officer (CFO). She was also the official spokesperson for ICICI Bank. Apart from being on the Board of ICICI Bank and various group companies, she is a member of the Prime Minister’s Council on Trade & Industry.
The 49-year-old bank chief, in recent years has won so many awards and accolades that she has lost count. She was conferred with Padma Bhushan in 2011 for her contribution to establish an ICICI bank as a leading player in the banking industry. She clinched the 20th spot in the Fortune’s List of Most Powerful Women in Business, 2009. She was awarded the ‘Business Woman of the Year’ 2005 by The Economic Times of India and the ‘Retail Banker of the Year’ 2004 by The Asian Banker. In the year 2007, she was ranked 33rd in the Fortune’s List of ‘Most Powerful Women in Business’. Under Kocchar’s leadership, ICICI Bank won the ‘Best Retail Bank’ India award consecutively for four years.
A mother of two, Kochhar efficiently juggles her career with family. She never slacks in her 24-hour schedule and utilizes her breathing time to go through mails, telephonic conferences or to catch up on sleep. Her appointment as the head honcho of ICICI is an inspiration for all the women aspiring to make a mark in the corporate world.
In India’s male dominated banking sphere, Chanda Kochhar carved a niche for herself. This was no easy task. In her career which extends to over three decades, she remained strong willed and alert. Her determination to make it to the top only grew from year to year. Kochhar’s career growth can be traced along with the expansion of the bank over the past several years. She never stuttered in her growth and was one of the few who kept up with the aggressive development run of ICICI bank. It was her sharp strategic planning which made the ICICI bank the ‘Best Retail Bank in India’ for five consecutive years. As per Forbes, It’s no wonder that she has been ranked 20th amongst the most powerful women in business in the world.
