 "Lunch with BS: Gunit Chadha")
Gunit Chadha, CEO (Asia-Pacific), Deutsche Bank talks to Shyamal Majumdar about his ‘taxing personal life but exciting professional life’ and the internal debate over Deutsche’s retail business in India
A lot has changed in Chadha's life since we met in Mumbai four years ago - he looks slimmer and younger even after having to go slow on his daily exercise regimen and has got two promotions (from Deutsche Bank's India head to co-CEO, Asia-Pacific, and then CEO) in a period that saw many of his colleagues, including both his bosses (global co-CEOs Anshu Jain and Juergen Fitschen) quitting. He now travels for almost 200 days a year (the highest has been 195 and the least 174) across the 16 countries that he is in charge of. There is another change, too: Chadha, known for his passion for golf during his Mumbai days, says he hasn't touched a golf club in the last four years. "Golf takes eight hours. I would rather spend that much time in five client meetings. That's how I manage to hold 400-plus client meetings a year these days," the 54-year-old, who is now based in Singapore, says.
The four years also saw a roller-coaster ride for the Frankfurt-headquartered bank - from a series of scandals regarding its role in Libor rigging to a turnaround phase scripted by the new CEO John Cryan that involves lowering risks, improving the bank's capital position, closing operations in 10 countries and cutting 15,000 full- and part-time jobs across the globe.
We are at the Megu for an early lunch because of his unsurprisingly super-packed schedule. The Japanese restaurant at The Leela Palace in Delhi starts serving guests only at 12.30, but agrees to advance it to noon as a "special exception" for him. Steamed peas arrive in no time and I ask Chadha whether he is ignoring his pet theory of work-life balance - a subject he had waxed eloquent on during our last meeting.
Chadha, also a member of the bank's global group executive committee, takes a deep breath and says, "I must admit my personal life has taken a back seat." For example, he says his mind was distracted while having a chat with his daughter the previous evening as he knew he would get to meet her only after three weeks. His wife used to accompany him earlier but doesn't do so now, as there is a limit to how many times anybody can see a country within the same year. But she is obviously making up for it by increasing her trips to Mumbai - if it's a friend's 25th marriage anniversary today, it could be someone's 50th birthday next week or even a baby shower the week after, Chadha says with a laugh.
Perhaps realising that a balance is in order at this point in our conversation, Chadha says, "Let's put it this way: My personal life is taxing, but my professional life is exciting." We opt for a "set menu" to save time. Chadha doesn't want anything that is deep-fried and opts for something called "Yellowtail Carpaccio", which looks like an appetiser of thinly sliced fish with sauce, and sea bass as the main course. For dessert, it's Yuzu creme brûlee. He prompts me to go in for something spicier - so it's crispy kanzuri shrimp, grilled chicken and wasabi cheesecake for me.
There is no doubt that Chadha has walked the talk on his "exciting" professional life. In 2015, five of the top 10 countries globally for Deutsche Bank (by profits before tax or PBT) were in Asia-Pacific. Even against a challenging global backdrop, the region's PBT has grown at a compounded annual rate of 26 per cent since 2012, doubling profits from 2012 to 2015. Revenues of the Asia-Pacific region were a record ^4.4 billion, ranking Deutsche Bank among the largest global foreign banks in the region. "Growth is like a tonic, which keeps me going despite the lack of family time," Chadha says, repeating "touch wood" several times. He attributes his quick-fire promotions in the midst of several departures at the top to a "combination of performance and governance".
He skirts specific issues regarding the regulatory problems Deutsche Bank faced globally, but says the external environment has indeed seen significant challenges prompting a change in the fundamental business model of banks. Also, the cost of global business has gone up, as a result of which many large global banks have gone local. The banking industry, he says, also has had to fight hard to tackle perception issues. "For example, my daughter had got offers from private equity and banking. It took her just a nanosecond to decide against banking," Chadha says.
He compliments the steward for the excellent sea bass preparation while I struggle with the grilled chicken, which tastes a bit too bland. The best part of his current job, Chadha says, is the diversity of experience and getting a world view from the trenches and not textbooks. While India Inc is known for its entrepreneurial spirit and cost focus, he is amazed by the companies based in Thailand that have made some of the biggest acquisitions ex-China. The mega ambitions and risk-taking capabilities of these companies are very different from the inclusive approach of their counterparts in India or Indonesia. In the latter, he says, the diaspora is almost non-existent, as a result of which not many companies carry the flag abroad. In Australia, Chadha says, it's not enough to meet the CEOs alone, as the boards are very powerful and take critical decisions, while Japan Inc prefers a deep relationship approach - so you develop bonds over a long period. But the country Chadha just can't stop talking about is China, as the sheer scale at which Chinese companies operate even now and the size of their capital markets are mind-boggling.
As we share the dessert, Chadha says everybody's favourite conversation about "India is moving up while China is going down" is meaningless. "If China slows down, the deflation it will export out will be catastrophic for India and other Asian countries. Don't forget in GDP terms, China adds an India every four years," he says. As a big picture, he is of the view that China will be a solution and not the problem of world's growth as it's an $11-trillion economy and is still growing at five to six per cent.
As our conversation shifts to Deutsche Bank India, I ask him about the intense speculation over the fate of the bank's retail operations in the country. Chadha is candid about it and says the bank's position is clear: every business that will survive must be critical to its global operations - either it has to be a global product which can be showcased before a global clientele or it has to be a local product with substantial scale. While some people in the bank say there is no reason to part with it, as the India retail business is profitable, well-managed and contributes 10 to 15 per cent of the India P&L, many others wonder whether it is "an orphaned business from the global point of view (India alone has a retail business) and whether chances of taking our eyes off it are real". Chadha says it's a difficult call but one that has to be taken.
As we walk to the hotel foyer where his Mercedes is waiting, I ask him about what he plans to do to bring in the work-life balance that he is obviously missing. "Hypothetical question," is all he would say. How does he see his former boss Anshu Jain's decision to set up a non-banking financial company in India? "No comments," is the cryptic answer. What about his friend Jaspal Bindra's (ex-CEO, Asia, of Standard Chartered Bank) move to start his entrepreneurial journey at Centrum? "It's a very interesting decision," is the answer. Would he be open to taking such an interesting decision? "Well, you have to do what you want to do when money ceases to be a determining factor," Chadha says, quickly suggesting we must meet in a typically Delhi food joint when we meet next time. I get the signal.
