NSE receives over 90 applications for MD & CEO post

More than 90 persons have applied for the post of Managing Director and CEO at the National Stock Exchange (NSE).

The country's largest bourse started the selection process after the sudden resignation of Chitra Ramkrishna as MD and CEO on December 2. While a four-member search panel is looking for a suitable candidate, senior executive J Ravichandran has been given the interim charge.

Sources said the exchange has received over 90 applications for the top job and the last day for applying was today.

Most of the applicants are from banks and financial institutions while there are also people from non-financial background who have applied, sources added.

Public interest directors at NSE -- Dinesh Kanabar and T V Mohandas Pai -- industrialist Anand Mahindra and former RBI Deputy Governor Usha Thorat make up the four-member search panel.

Consultancy Egon Zehnder has been appointed to help with the hiring process.

According to sources, NSE is expected to seek approval from capital market regulator Sebi by mid-February.

Since a new chairman is likely to be in place at the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) in March, it is not immediately clear whether approval would be granted by incumbent U K Sinha or his successor.

The filling up of the top post would also be closely watched by investors as the exchange is preparing for an initial public offer which is expected to be one of the biggest in recent times.

In a surprise move, Ramkrishna, on December 2, quit with immediate effect presumably over differences with some board members, after having served the premier bourse for over two decades since its inception.

The exit of 52-year-old Ramkrishna, one of the few women executives heading a leading exchange globally, also came at a time when NSE has been in focus over a new regulatory framework for high frequency trades and co-location facilities, which some believe give undue advantage to some brokers and traders.