Axis Bank and Bandhan Bank announce finance chief exits

Two private-sector lenders saw their chief financial officers resign within a day of each other. Axis Bank's CFO Puneet Sharma quit on Sunday to pursue the next phase of his professional journey, and will step down on 31 August, the bank said in an exchange filing on Monday. Bandhan Bank said on Monday that CFO Rajeev Mantri resigned to pursue another career opportunity, and will continue in his role until 25 September as per the bank's notice period policy.

Sharma has served as Axis Bank’s group head and chief financial officer since March 2020, overseeing not only the bank’s finance function but also its legal, secretarial, investor relations and procurement divisions. Sharma would cease to be the bank’s key managerial personnel and part of its senior management, according to the exchange filing. The private-sector bank also thanked him for his contributions during his tenure.

“When I accepted this role more than 6 years ago, my core mandate was to build a strong team with deep functional strength, robust financial controls and reporting discipline, incorporate prudent financial practices, build a resilient balance sheet and improve shareholder trust. These objectives are now largely complete,” according to Sharma’s resignation letter, disclosed to exchanges.

Axis Bank also said it places on record its appreciation for Sharma’s contribution during his tenure and wishes him the very best in his future endeavours.

Career profiles

A finance veteran with over 20 years of experience, Sharma joined Axis Bank after a 12-year stint at Tata Capital, where he was group chief financial officer of Tata Capital Ltd and Tata Capital Financial Services Ltd from 2014. In that role, he was responsible for financial control, financial planning, procurement and taxation.

Before Tata Capital, Sharma worked at Citibank N.A., handling structured cash solutions, treasury operations, risk monitoring and fixed-income securities reporting. He began his career at Bharat S. Raut & Co. before moving to Boston Consulting Group, where he advised financial services clients on strategy, transformation and process improvement.

At Axis Bank, Sharma was also a nominee director on the boards of Axis Finance Ltd and Axis Securities Ltd. A qualified Chartered Accountant, he holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Mumbai and is an alumnus of the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad.

Separately, the bank’s board approved the re-appointment of independent director CH S. S. Mallikarjunarao for a second four-year term from 1 February 2027, subject to shareholder approval. It also approved the re-appointment of executive director Munish Sharda for another three-year term beginning 27 February 2027, subject to approvals from the Reserve Bank of India and shareholders.

The bank clarified that neither Mallikarjunarao nor Sharda has been debarred by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) or any other statutory authority from holding the office of director.

Mantri joined Bandhan Bank as executive president and CFO in 2023. He is a seasoned finance professional with more than two decades of experience across banking, financial services and capital markets. Before joining Bandhan Bank, he served as group CFO at Poonawalla Fincorp, where he led the finance function during the company’s transformation into a digitally focused retail lending franchise.

Earlier, he held senior leadership positions at IDFC FIRST Bank, where he was instrumental in finance, investor relations and business planning following the merger of IDFC Bank and Capital First. He has also worked with Nomura, CLSA and Ernst & Young, building expertise across investment banking, equity research, corporate finance and financial strategy.

Late on Monday night, the board of HDFC Bank said it has approved the appointment of Puneet Sharma as CFO-designate effective 1 September and as chief financial officer with effect from 1 December. At HDFC Bank, Sharma will replace incumbent CFO Srinivasan Vaidyanathan, whose current term is set to end in October.