Shikha Sharma set to stay as ICICI Pru CEO

The ICICI Group has finalised a compromise formula to retain Shikha Sharma, managing director and chief executive officer of its life insurance subsidiary.

Sources said that K V Kamath, the current chairman of ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, may continue in that position even after he leaves the post of MD and CEO of ICICI Bank on April 30 and becomes non-executive chairman of the bank. Hence, Sharma will continue to report to Kamath, as all CEOs of subsidiaries report to their respective chairmen.

This marks a noticeable departure from convention at ICICI Bank. As a practice, the chairman of ICICI Bank does not hold any position in any of the bank’s subsidiaries. N Vaghul, the current chairman of ICICI Bank, is not holding the post of chairman in any of the subsidiaries.

ICICI Bank had in December announced that Chanda Kochhar, joint managing director and chief financial officer, will be promoted as managing director and chief executive officer after Kamath’s term ends. Sources said the bank may give the role of chairperson in select subsidiaries to Kochhar.

“The CEOs of subsidiaries report to their respective chairmen. By default, the CEO and MD of the bank does not become the chairman of a subsidiary. The board of the subsidiary needs to approve the appointment of a chairman,” an ICICI official said, hinting that ICICI Prudential Life board may not take up appointment of new chairman at its board meeting on April 25.

This, in effect, means that Kamath will continue as chairman of ICICI Prudential.
The change in convention of keeping Kamath as chairman of ICICI Prudential even after he vacates the bank’s CEO post was aimed at retaining Shikha Sharma, who was not comfortable with the reporting structure that was supposed to be implemented from May 1.

Sharma was not available for comment when Newswire18 contacted her office.