Global investment firm The Carlyle Group on Monday announced the appointment of Aditya Puri, former chief executive of HDFC Bank, as a senior advisor in Asia.
Puri, it said, will advise the Carlyle team on investment opportunities across Asia. “Puri will provide guidance on the evolving market landscape and new investment opportunities, while also advising Carlyle’s investment professionals and portfolio management teams on building differentiated high quality businesses,” the group said in a statement.
Puri was appointed as the first CEO of HDFC Bank when it was established in 1994. Over his 26-year tenure leading the business, he grew HDFC Bank into the largest private sector bank in India, and the most valuable bank in India with a market cap of over. Puri previously spent over 20 years at Citibank overseeing parts of the bank’s activities across India, Greece, Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, Korea, Taiwan and mainland China, with his last role as CEO of Citibank’s operations in Malaysia from 1992-1994.
“Carlyle is known for its ability to transform businesses, working closely in partnership with management teams and other key stakeholders to drive sustainable long-term growth. I am very impressed with Carlyle’s track record in a number of key industry sectors, including its leadership position in financial services, not just in India but across Asia,” Puri said in a statement.
Sunil Kaul, managing director and financial services sector lead for the Carlyle Asia advisory team said, “I have had the privilege of knowing and following Mr. Puri from his Citibank years. To have someone of his stature join Carlyle as a senior advisor will add significant value to our capabilities across the region, not only in financial services, but across sectors given.”
Across Asia (ex-Japan), Carlyle has made investments of around $4.9 billion in financial services as of 30 September 2020, in companies including SBI Card, SBI Life, HDFC Ltd, PNB Housing Finance, Repco Home Finance, Edelweiss, IIFL, KB Financial Group, China Pacific Insurance, Ant Group, Du Xiaoman Financial, among others.
