First Woman to Head India՚s Biggest Bank SBI is Arundhati Bhattacharya

For driving transformational change at the India՚s largest bank, pushing through major digital initiatives and restructuring the bank, HR practices to ensure it is future ready and in step with changing customer trends.

Personal Life

  • Born: 18 March 1956 in a Bengali Hindu Kulin Brahmin family in Kolkata (age 60) .
  • She spent her childhood in Bhilai.
  • Her father, Pradyuman Kumar worked at Bhilai Steel Plant.
  • Her mother, Kalyani Mukherjee was a homeopathy consultant in Bokaro.
  • She completed her schooling from St. Xavier՚s School, Bokaro.
Bhattacharya Loves Working Out of Her Comfort Zone

Career

  • Bhattacharya is the first woman to lead an India based Fortune 500 company.
  • She joined State Bank of India in 1977 as a probationary officer (PO) .
  • She has held several positions during her 36-year career with the bank including foreign exchange, treasury, retail operations, human resources and investment banking.
  • She held positions like chief executive of the bank՚s merchant banking arm- State Bank of India Capital Markets; chief general manager in charge of new projects.
  • She has also served at the Bank՚s New York office.
  • She was involved in the launch of several new businesses such as SBI General Insurance, SBI Custodial Services and the SBI Macquarie Infrastructure Fund.
  • She introduced two-year sabbatical policy for women employees for child or elder care.
  • In 2014, she was named the 36th most powerful woman in the world by Forbes. This was her first time ranked on the list.
  • Forbes listed her as the 25th most powerful woman in the world, in 2016.
  • In 2016, she was ranked among the FP Top 100 Global Thinkers by Foreign Policy magazine
  • She was named the fourth most powerful women in Asia Pacific by Fortune.

About Forbes

  • Forbes is an American business magazine.
  • Published bi-weekly, it features original articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics.
  • Forbes also reports on related subjects such as technology, communications, science and law. Its headquarters is located in Jersey City, New Jersey.
  • Primary competitors in the national business magazine category include Fortune and Bloomberg BusinessWeek.
  • Forbes is known for its lists and rankings, including its lists of the richest Americans and rankings of world՚s top companies.
  • Another well-known list by the magazine is the World՚s Billionaires list. Its chairperson and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes, and its CEO is Mike Perlis.

Examrace Team at Nov 28, 2016