Chanda Kochhar

Born November 17, 1961
Occupation CEO and MD, ICICI Bank
Children A son and a daughter

Chanda Kochhar (born November 17, 1961) is currently the Managing Director (MD) of ICICI Bank and Chief Executive Officer (CEO). ICICI Bank is India's largest private bank and overall second largest bank in the country. She also heads the Corporate Centre of ICICI Bank. Kochhar has also consistently figured in Fortune's list of "Most Powerful Women in Business" since 2005. In 2009, she debuted at number 20 in the Forbes "World's 100 Most Powerful Women list".

Personal life
Chanda Kochhar was born in Jodhpur, Rajasthan and raised in Jaipur, Rajasthan. She then moved to Mumbai, where she joined Jai Hind College for a Bachelor of Arts degree. Kochhar graduated from the College in 1982 and then pursued MBA and Cost Accountancy(ICWAI). Later, she acquired the Masters Degree in Management Studies from the prestigious Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai. Kochhar received the Wockhardt Gold Medal for Excellence in Management Studies as well as the J. N. Bose Gold Medal in Cost Accountancy for highest marks in the same year. Kochhar currently resides in Mumbai, and is married. She has two children, a son and a daughter.
Education & Certifications
Mrs. Kochhar joined Jaihind College for a Bachelors Degree in Arts and after graduating in 1982, completed her MBA and Cost Accountancy. She did her Masters in Management Studies (Finance) from the Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai and topped her batch and received the Wockhardt Gold Medal for Excellence in Management Studies. In Cost Accountancy, she received the J. N. Bose Gold Medal for highest marks in that year.

Career
1984–1993
In 1984, Chanda Kochhar joined "The Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India Ltd" or ICICI Ltd. as a Management trainee after her Masters. In her early years in ICICI, she handled Project Appraisal and Monitoring and projects in various industries like Petrochemicals, Textile, Paper and Cement.
1993–2006
In 1993, Kochhar was sent to ICICI bank as part of a core team to set the bank. She was promoted to Assistant General Manager in 1994 and then to Deputy General Manager in 1996. In 1996, Kochhar headed the newly formed the Infrastructure Industry Group of ICICI, which aimed "to create dedicated industry expertise in the areas of Power, Telecom and Transportation". In 1998, she was promoted as the General Manager and headed ICICI's “Major Client Group”, which handled relationships with ICICI's top 200 clients. In 1999, she also handled the Strategy and E-commerce divisions of ICICI. Under Kochhar's leadership, ICICI bank started the Retail business in July 2000 and emerged the largest retail financer in India, in the next five years. In April 2001, she took over as Executive Director, heading the in ICICI Bank.
2006–present
In April 2006, Chanda Kochhar was appointed as Deputy Managing Director of ICICI Bank. She managed the Corporate and Retail banking business of ICICI Bank. From October 2006 to October 2007, she handled the International and Corporate businesses of ICICI Bank. From October 2007 to April 2009, Kochhar was also the bank's Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Joint Managing Director (JMD) and the official spokesperson. She also headed the Corporate Centre of ICICI Bank. She is also a director of different ICICI group companies. She is the chairperson of ICICI Bank Eurasia Limited Liability Company and ICICI Investment Management Company Limited. Kochhar is the Vice-Chairperson of ICICI Bank UK PLC and ICICI Bank Canada. She is a director in ICICI International Limited and ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company Ltd. and part of the Governing Council in The ICICI Foundation for Inclusive Growth-Member.
Kochhar is CEO and MD of ICICI Bank from May 2009 for a period of five years. She succeeds K. V. Kamath, who was CEO of the bank since 1996.

Ms. Chanda D. Kochhar is the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of ICICI Bank Limited. She began her career with ICICI as a Management Trainee in 1984 and has thereon successfully risen through the ranks by handling multidimensional assignments and heading all the major functions in the Bank at various points in time.
In 1993 when ICICI decided to enter commercial banking, she was deputed to ICICI Bank as a part of the core team to set up the bank. When ICICI set up the Infrastructure Industry Group in 1996 to create dedicated industry expertise in the areas of Power, Telecom and Transportation sector, she was handpicked and made incharge of the Infrastructure Industry Group. Further in 1998, when ICICI created the ”Major Client Group“ to handle the relationships with the top 200 clients of ICICI, she was promoted as General Manager and was made the head of the Major Clients Group. In the year 1999 she simultaneously started handling the strategy and E-commerce divisions of ICICI. In July 2000, she was chosen to head the Retail Finance division of ICICI and has been instrumental in scaling up the business. In April 2001, she was promoted as an Executive Director, heading the retail business in the Bank. Having joined it during its nascent stage, her strategic thinking and skills to convert challenges into opportunities ensured that within a short span of around 5 years ICICI Bank emerged as the largest retail financer in India. In the process of transforming a small bank into the largest private sector bank in the country, within a decade of its inception, the various steps taken by her also shaped the retail finance industry in India.
In April 2006, she was appointed as the Deputy Managing Director of ICICI Bank, with responsibility for both Corporate and Retail banking business of ICICI Bank and from October 2006 to October 2007, she handled the International and Corporate businesses of ICICI Bank. Once again under her leadership, International banking was the fastest growing businesses within the Bank aiming to cater to the cross-border needs of clients.
In October 2007, she was appointed as the Joint Managing Director & CFO. She was heading the Corporate Centre, was the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and was also the official spokesperson for ICICI Bank. In addition to finance, planning and communications; her responsibilities included the global treasury, principal investments & trading, risk management and legal functions. She was also responsible for day-to-day guidance and administrative matters relating to the compliance and internal audit functions.
Awards
Under the leadership of Ms. Kochhar ICICI Bank had won The Asian Banker - “Best Retail Bank in India“award for five consecutive years from the year 2001 to 2005. As recognition of her contribution to establish ICICI Bank as a leading player in the banking industry Ms. Kochhar has also been:
- Ranked 20th in the Forbe's list of Most Powerful Women in the World, 2009.
- Ranked 25th in the Fortune’s List of Most Powerful Women in Business, 2008.
- Featured in the list of 25 most powerful women leaders in Business Today, 2008.
- Selected as ‘Rising Star Award’ for Global Awards 2006 by Retail Banker International.
- Awarded Business Woman of the Year 2005 by The Economic Times of India.
- Selected as Retail Banker of the Year 2004 (Asia-Pacific region) by The Asian Banker from amongst prominent retail bankers in the Asia Pacific region

Recognition
Under Kochhar's leadership, ICICI Bank won the “Best Retail Bank in India” award in 2001, 2003, 2004 and 2005 and “Excellence in Retail Banking Award” in 2002; both awards were given by the The Asian Banker. Kochhar personally was awarded "Retail Banker of the Year 2004 (Asia-Pacific region)" by the Asian Banker, "Business Woman of the Year 2005" by The Economic Times and "Rising Star Award" for Global Awards 2006 by Retail Banker International. Kochhar has also consistently figured in Fortune's list of "Most Powerful Women in Business" since 2005. She climbed up the list debuting with the 47th position in 2005, moving up 10 spots to 37 in 2006 and then to 33 in 2007. In the 2008 list, Kochhar features at the 25th spot. In 2009, she debuted at number 20 in the Forbes "World's 100 Most Powerful Women list". She is the second Indian in the list behind the ruling Indian National Congressparty chief Sonia Gandhi at number 13.