Leading independent brokerage and financial services player Centrum Group today appointed Jaspal Bindra, ex-Asia Pacific CEO Standard Chartered Bank, as its new chairman in place of Chandir Gidwani who will continue to be the main promoter.
Gidwani has divested around 25 per cent of his personal holdings in the group he set up over 20 years ago to Bindra who has spent three decades working at MNCs, sources told PTI, who, however, could not confirm the value of the stake sale.
For 55-year-old Bindra, who was one of the poster boys of the Indian management talents in global financial markets for over three decades, this is a home coming.
He will be the executive chairman at the diversified Centrum Group and with his considerable stake in the company this is also an entrepreneurial journey for him.
The Centrum Group, set up in 1995 by Gidwani and Khushrooh Byramjee, has 125 branches spanning 48 cities and offers integrated financial services to corporate and retail clients with its investment banking (equity & debt), wealth management, institutional broking and forex services, serving over 1 million customers.
The group also has an NBFC for retail lending and has applied to NHB for a licence to foray into housing finance.
"This is the perfect time for Jaspal to come in as our executive chairman. With his rich and extensive global experience, I am sure he will be able to accelerate our growth. His strategy and execution track record will be extremely helpful as we enter the next chapter of growth," Gidwani said.
Bindra's last position at Standard Chartered was as the chief executive of the Asia Pacific region. In February 2015, the bank announced that he would be leaving the company in major global revamp.
"With its reputation, commitment to values, profitable growth track record, large client base and a national presence, the Centrum Group is well-poised for higher growth. I look forward to working closely both with the promoters and the proven executive team," Bindra said.
Out of the successful global career of over 30 years, he has spent 18 years with StanC alone. He joined the Asia-focused British bank in 1998 and became a director in 2010. He has served in leadership roles in Mumbai and several other Southeast Asian centres heading treasury, capital markets, investment and consumer banking.
He is among a handful of Indian-born executives who have reached the pinnacles of the global financial industry.
Bindra, who grew up in Calcutta, joined Bank of America after an MBA from XLRI Jamshedpur in 1984. He later joined UBS and moved to StanC in 1998 as chief executive for India.
He is credited for making StanC India one of the three largest international banks in the country by assets and its third-largest profit and revenue driver.
