Centre appoints Natarajan Venkatram as Part Time member of SEBI

Venkatram is not new to SEBI, he was part of the regulators High Powered Advisory Committee on settlements before being appointed to SEBI board as Part time member.

Ministry of Finance has appointed Country Chair of CDPQ India and CDPQ Global, Natarajan Venkatram, as a Part-Time Member of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). The Department of Economic Affairs under the Ministry of Finance issued a notification on December 30th. The appointment is effective for 3 years or until the age of 70 years or until further government orders, whichever comes earliest.

The notification stated, "the Central Government hereby appoints Shri N. Venkatram, Country Chair, CDPQ India, CDPQ Global, as Part-Time Member of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), for a period of three years from the date of assumption of charge of the post, or until attaining the age of seventy years, or until further orders, whichever is the earliest”.

The post of part time member from the academic or industry experience domain was vacant after the end of tenure of Professor V. Ravi Anshuman, whose extended tenure ended in August last year. Anshuman is professor for Finance & Accounting at IIM Bangalore.

Who is N Venkatram?

Venkatram is not new to SEBI. He was part of the regulators High Powered Advisory Committee on settlements before being appointed to SEBI board as Part time member. He comes up with four decades of experience in corporate finance, strategic advisory, capital raising, mergers and acquisitions, and governance, experience that is expected to add further depth to SEBI board’s oversight and policy formulation. Before joining CDPQ, he was the CEO and Managing Partner of Deloitte South Asia for eight years, a role he held until his term ended in March 2023.

The SEBI Board consists of nine members: a Chairman, two Central Government officials from the finance and company law administration—usually the Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, and the Secretary, Ministry of Corporate Affairs. One Deputy Governor from the Reserve Bank of India is also a member of the Board. It also includes five other members, of whom at least three must be whole-time members. As per precedent, there are four whole-time members and one member from academia or with domain expertise. This composition ensures a balance between government representation, domain expertise and full-time regulatory oversight.