IndusInd Bank chairman assures investors about CEO hunt

Sunil Mehta, Chairman, IndusInd Bank

IndusInd Bank is working to strengthen its senior management bench by identifying top-quality leadership talent, both internally and externally, Chairman Sunil Mehta confirmed during the Q1 FY26 investor call.

This comes amid a broader leadership transition at the bank following multiple high-level resignations earlier this year.

Mehta addressed investor concerns about leadership stability, noting that since the bank had lost its former CEO, Deputy CEO, and CFO, it is now revisiting the composition of its current management team.

In addition to some roles being vacated through resignations, Mehta also acknowledged that a few senior executives had superannuated as part of the bank’s natural progression.

“Wherever there were any open gaps, we are looking at both internal and external candidates and filling that up. All the building blocks from a management leadership team are being looked at very, very closely, and we are hopeful that a lot of these positions will get filled up in due course,” Mehta said.

He also said, after the appointment of the new MD & CEO, the bank will also look to create two whole-time director positions as part of its broader leadership restructuring plan.

“We lost the last CEO and of course the whole-time director who was the Deputy CEO. So as we move toward building the leadership team after we have the MD & CEO in place, we will also look at creating two whole-time directors in due course,” Mehta said.

Addressing growing speculation around the CEO succession process, Chairman Mehta also clarified the bank’s recommendations to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) have not been altered.

“I take this opportunity to make a clarification. There has been no change by the bank in its CEO recommendations as were submitted within the prescribed timelines to the regulator from what we had initially submitted,” Mehta said.

The RBI had directed the bank to submit a shortlist of CEO candidates by June 30, 2025, which the management confirmed was done on time.

The bank’s focus on leadership renewal follows a challenging quarter. CEO Sumant Kathpalia resigned on April 29, 2025, followed closely by Deputy CEO Arun Khurana. Both exits came amid internal and regulatory scrutiny over accounting irregularities related to derivative exposures.

Adding to the churn, Zubin Mody, Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO), resigned on July 25, 2025.

Until the RBI finalises its approval for the new CEO, IndusInd Bank is being managed by a Committee of Executives, approved by the regulator.

This interim leadership group includes Soumitra Sen (Consumer Banking Head) and Anil Rao (Chief Administrative Officer), among others.