Fit to Lead | Should you exercise just before a big meeting or presentation if you are over 40? Adhil Shetty of BankBazaar.com says he always does

Adhil Shetty, CEO and co-founder, BankBazaar.com.

Fit to lead is a series of interviews with business leaders on their approach to fitness, leadership and navigating the new normal.

Adhil Shetty, 44, was working as a management consultant at Deloitte in New York in 2007 when he had an idea that eventually took on the shape of what is now known as BankBazaar.com. “But I didn’t act on it right away. I had seen the dot-com bubble of the early 2000s go bust. So, I worked on the idea for a few months and then took the leap of faith in 2008 and incorporated the start-up,” recalled Shetty on a video call he took while driving to yet another meeting in Mumbai.

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The first avatar of BankBazaar as a personal finance consultancy was launched in the middle of 2008. Back then all the on-boarding of customers and KYC (know your customer) verification was a combination of digital and physical processes, which involved signing forms and furnishing multiple documents. Once the process became fully digital, it not only changed the game for BankBazaar but the entire fintech industry. Post digitisation of KYC, the number of cards issued in India grew by 20 percent and metrics show the trend is growing fast, says the CEO and co-founder of BankBazaar.com.

An electronics and communication engineer, Adhil Shetty started his career with Cisco Engineering in Bengaluru before pursuing a master’s in New York City’s Columbia University and landing the Deloitte job. In 2023, Shetty wrote 'The Bee, The Beetle, and The Money Bug', a book on personal finance, along with A.R. Hemant, BankBazaar’s head of communications. The book, he says, is a result of 10 years of learning in the personal finance space. “Our aim was to give back so that people can use the tools to make good financial choices and decisions,” he said.

Apart from work, Shetty is fully invested in his family and health. While he played sports such as cricket, tennis, table tennis and basketball while at school in Chennai, he never got very good at any of them. But this experience was valuable as it taught him the importance of focus, which he has kept in mind ever since. Also, since turning 40, he has a renewed emphasis on strength and fitness as he recently learned that human lose skeletal muscle every year post 40 unless they utilise strength training to counteract it. He also emphasises the importance of compassion and breathing in a work environment in order to perform well and thrive in your career. Edited excerpts from the interview:

Your fitness routine…

I try to exercise 45 minutes per day five times a week. Two strength training sessions, two cardio sessions and swimming once a week.

Favourite fitness activity…

Strength training, as it makes my body feel younger.

The toughest?

I am not sure if any of my regular fitness activities are tough.

The new normal for you…

The new normal in life is constantly changing… I lost someone very close to me recently and am learning the importance of leading a balanced life and of compassion towards others.

Has your fitness routine helped you navigate the uncertainties of recent times?

I feel much more prepared to deal with uncertainties when I exercise and meditate. For example, before a big meeting or presentation I will always exercise on the morning of and meditate the night before as I know it will help me better handle the situation.

The one change you would encourage your teammates to make...

To keep constantly learning. The world of fintech is changing fast with new digital public infrastructure, new data models, artificial intelligence, and partnership structures. We need to be able to adapt to be able to handle and manage these changes.

Your leadership style…

I like to set structured goals and extend teams the space to choose their path towards the objectives. I like to share my experiences in dealing with challenges so the team can evaluate and learn for themselves on how to manage change. The two things I want to change is to be less serious at work and to be more compassionate.

Leadership lessons in your fitness journey…

The lesson would be in the discipline required to maintain a fitness routine day after day, week after week, and the importance of remembering to breathe. Even in meetings, I find that breathing calmly makes such a big difference to be able to handle stressful situations while maintaining equanimity.

What impact does the image of a fit leader have on a team?

Haha, I don't know. However, I feel that whether it’s me, my 4-year-old daughter or anyone else, we all learn by observing what people do versus by what they say. I suspect many of my colleagues are much fitter than me… we have a marathoner on the team, we have a serious fitness focused individual who wakes and exercises early every morning, so I am pretty sure I am not the fittest person on the team.

Has being fit helped you become a better leader and a better version of yourself?

Absolutely. Meditating and working out help me keep calm, manage stress, become less reactive to stress, sleep better, feel younger by reversing skeletal muscle loss that starts at 40.

Goals and challenges for the next year…

Exercise and meditate daily and strengthen my relationship across family, friends, and community. At work, I want to be less serious at work and be more compassionate to everyone I come in contact with.