HDFC Bank has formally set the process in motion to find a successor to managing director and chief executive officer (MD&CEO) Sashidhar Jagdishan, sending Reserve Bank of India (RBI) the names of two candidates in order of preference for the top job. The Bank did not disclose the names of the two candidates in the filing.
The Bank’s board approved the proposal at its meeting on 12 September 2026 and will now seek RBI approval for the appointment and the proposed remuneration for a three-year term,
it said in a regulatory filing.
The move comes about a fortnight after Mr Jagdishan opted out of seeking another term as MD&CEO, bringing to an end months of uncertainty over the leadership of India’s largest private sector bank. Mr Jagdishan is set to retire in October.
In the regulatory filing, HDFC Bank said the board had acted on the recommendations of its governance, nomination and remuneration committee and in accordance with the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 and the RBI’s Commercial Banks - Governance Directions, 2025.
Alongside the CEO succession process, the board approved a series of changes to strengthen its senior leadership structure.
It approved the reappointment of V Srinivasa Rangan as a whole-time director, designated as executive director, from 23 November 2026 to 22 November 2027, subject to the applicable approvals.
The board also approved the appointment of Jimmy Tata, the Bank’s chief credit officer, as a whole-time director designated as executive director (ED) for three years, with effect from the date of RBI approval or such other date or period as specified by the regulator.
The changes will increase the number of whole-time directors on HDFC Bank’s board to four, from the current three, in addition to the MD&CEO.
The Bank said the additional whole-time director position is being created to provide 'sharper synergy and oversight', including over its subsidiaries, and to create a larger pipeline for succession planning.
The newly-created position will be filled in consultation with the new MD&CEO after he or she takes charge.
HDFC Bank said necessary shareholder approvals would be sought in due course.
Rangan To Continue as Executive Director
Mr Rangan is already an ED at HDFC Bank and has a wide portfolio covering several critical functions. He currently oversees human resources, corporate legal, group oversight and secretarial functions, investment banking, information security, ethics, and fraud and vigilance.
Before the merger of HDFC Ltd with HDFC Bank in July 2023, Mr Rangan was an ED and chief financial officer (CFO) at HDFC Ltd.
His reappointment as a whole-time director for another year will provide continuity at the senior management level as the Bank prepares for a change at the top.
Jimmy Tata Gets Expanded Role
Mr Tata, meanwhile, is set to move from his current role as chief credit officer to the board as a whole-time director.
He has more than 35 years of experience in banking and financial services and has been associated with HDFC Bank since 1994. Before becoming chief credit officer, he served as the Bank’s chief risk officer.
His appointment brings HDFC Bank’s credit and risk experience into a broader executive leadership structure at a time when the lender is also seeking to strengthen governance and oversight.
The appointments, however, are not final yet. The proposed MD&CEO appointment, Mr Rangan’s reappointment and Mr Tata’s appointment will be subject to the regulatory process, with RBI approval required. Shareholder approvals will also be obtained where necessary.
Leadership Reset after Mr Jagdishan’s exit
The succession exercise marks a significant leadership transition for HDFC Bank which has been dealing with heightened scrutiny of its governance framework in recent months.
Mr Jagdishan decided on 29 August 2026 not to seek reappointment, ending a nearly six-month period of uncertainty over whether he would continue at the helm.
The leadership transition follows the surprise resignation of non-executive chairman Atanu Chakraborty in March. Mr Chakraborty had cited concerns relating to values and ethics at the bank. Subsequent developments also brought specific governance shortcomings into focus.
Against this backdrop, the board’s decision to expand the whole-time director structure and strengthen succession planning assumes added significance.
HDFC Bank said the additional position would provide greater oversight of its subsidiaries while creating a broader leadership pipeline. The move effectively separates the immediate CEO succession process from the longer-term effort to build depth in the Bank’s executive leadership.
For HDFC Bank, the immediate priority is finding a new MD&CEO. But Saturday’s board decisions indicate that the Bank is using the transition to undertake a broader reshaping of its executive leadership, with greater board-level oversight and a more deliberate succession pipeline built into the structure.
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