Chanda Kochhar : The woman in leadership

Chanda Kochhar (née Advani, born 17 November 1961) is the former MD and chief executive officer of ICICI Bank. She is widely recognised for her role in shaping retail banking in India. However, on 4th October 2018 she stepped down from her position following allegations of corruption. Amidst investigations related to Videocon bad loans, she was forced by the board of ICICI Bank to take indefinite leave. The Central Bureau of Investigation named Chanda Kochhar and her husband as beneficiaries in the financial fraud. The Justice B N Shrikrishna probe panel reported that Kochhar had violated ICICI Bank's Code of Conduct, following which her service was terminated with all her entitlements and benefits revoked. After her exit, Sandeep Bakhshi, who was the interim Managing Director and CEO became the full time MD and CEO.


Under her outstanding leadership, ICICI bank has enhanced and flourished over the years. It has also concentrated on various aspects like diversification, expansion, distribution and technology. She went on to climb the ladder of success and promotions and finally in 2009, she was appointed as the CEO and managing director of the bank. Chanda Kochhar has been given many awards for her leadership skills and has featured in many business magazines’ list of ‘Most Powerful Women’.


Awards & Achievements

In 2005, Chanda Kochhar was awarded ‘Business Woman of the Year’ award by The Economic Times, and in 2006 she received ‘Rising Star Award’ for Global Awards by Retail Banker International.

She was also featured in the list of ‘30 Most Powerful Woman Leaders’ for eight consecutive years from 2002 to 2010.

She was ranked 10th in Fortune’s List of ‘Most Powerful Women in Business’ in 2010. In the same year, she was ranked 92nd in the Forbes List of ‘Most Powerful Women’ in the world.

In 2010, she also received ‘Outstanding Woman Business Leader of the Year’ award by CNBC TV18. Also, Financial Times ranked her 11th in list of ‘Top 50 Woman in World Business’.

In 2011, she was conferred with Padma Bhushan award, the third highest civilian award in India.

ICICI Bank-Videocon Loan Case

ED had registered a criminal case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) earlier this month against Kochhar, her husband Deepak Kochhar, Dhoot and others to probe alleged irregularities and corrupt practices in sanctioning of Rs 1,875-crore loans by the ICICI bank to the corporate group.

According to the CBI, six high-value loans were sanctioned to various companies under the Videocon Group from June 2009 to October 2011 in alleged violation of the guidelines.

The central probe agency also named Supreme Energy, a company founded by Dhoot, and Nupower Renewables, a company controlled by Deepak Kochhar, in the FIR.

Personal life

Kochhar resides in Mumbai, and is married to Deepak Kochhar, a wind energy entrepreneur and her business schoolmate. They have two children, a daughter Aarti and a son, Arjun