Nationality Indian | Residence Mumbai | |
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Born January 2, 1968 (age 49) ( 1968-01-02 ) Occupation Chairman and Managing Director of Capital First Alma maters Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra, Harvard Business School | ||
V vaidyanathan executive chairman capital first group
V. Vaidyanathan is founder and Executive Chairman of Capital First Ltd. He founded Capital First Ltd. by acquiring an equity stake in an existing wholesale NBFC, and then securing an equity backing of Rs. 810 crore in 2012 from reputed PE Warburg Pincus and concluded a successful buyout of the company which resulted in buyout of other majority and minority shareholders through an open offer to public. As part of the process, fresh capital of Rs. 1.00 billion was infused into the company, the board of directors was reconstituted, the business of the company was changed from wholesale to retail lending, and a new brand, Capital First was created. Post the buyout, Vaidyanathan holds shares and options totaling 13% of the company on a fully diluted basis through personal holdings and related entities. Before this entrepreneurial foray at 42, he was the MD and CEO of ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, and earlier on the Board of ICICI bank.
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Educational qualifications
V. Vaidyanathan is an alumnus of Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra. Post that, he completed his Advanced Management Program from Harvard Business School, Boston.
Career
Vaidyanathan began his career at Citibank, and worked there from 1990-2000 in consumer banking. In 1999-2000, when ICICI decided to foray into Retail lending from Project Lending, he joined them to spearhead the Retail businesses. His responsibility included setting up the businesses including all key functions related to these businesses like strategy, team building, business relationships, Credit policy, Credit administration and risk management.
He joined ICICI when it was a Domestic Financial Institution (DFI) known for project financing, and the retail business he built helped the transition of ICICI from a DFI to a Universal Bank. He was appointed MD and CEO of ICICI Personal Financial Services (PFS) Limited at 32, and built the Retail Lending Business for ICICI since its inception. In 2002, ICICI Limited merged with its subsidiary ICICI bank and with ICICI PFS Limited. Post the merger, he became the Head of Retail Banking in charge of both Lending and Retail Liabilities in the merged entity, ICICI Bank Limited. He grew the retail business to over 1400 bank branches in 800 cities, 25 million customers, a vast CASA and retail deposit base, branch, internet and digital banking, and built a retail loan book of over Rs. 1.35 trillion in Mortgages, Auto loans, Commercial Vehicles, Credit Cards and Personal Loans. As an additional responsibility, he also built the ICICI Bank's SME business since 2003, and managed the Rural Banking Business after 2007.
He was appointed Executive Director on the Board of ICICI Bank at the age of 38 and became the MD and CEO of ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Co at 41. He was also the Chairman of ICICI Home Finance Co. Ltd, and served on the Board of ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company, CIBIL- India's first Credit Bureau, and SMERA- SIDBI's Credit Rating Agency.
In 2012, venturing down the entrepreneurial road, he acquired a stake in an existing NBFC, then secured an equity backing of Rs. 8.10 billion from Warburg Pincus and thus founded Capital First Limited. Today, he is the Executive Chairman and Managing Director of this successful Retail NBFC. Vaidyanathan believed that there is a unique opportunity in financing India's 30 million MSMEs and India's emerging middle class, with a differentiated model based on new technology platforms. As part of this belief he exited four legacy businesses- Forex, Broking, Wealth management and Investment management and instead started retail financing in the company which includes MSME and Consumer lending businesses. Thus he transformed the existing wholesale NBFC, (90% of loan book was wholesale in March '10), into a retail finance institution where over 85% of the business was migrated to retail. The company grew from 9 locations to 222 locations across India within 5 years. During this period, he has grown the total loan book from Rs. 9.35 billion to Rs. 149.73 billion as of 31 Dec 2015, of which retail financing which grew from Rs. 0.94 billion to Rs. 127.00 billion, has grown the capital (T1+T2) from Rs. 6.90 billion to Rs. 23.63 billion (31 Dec 2015), reduced the NPA from 5.36% to 1% (150 DPD recognition norm), and got the long term credit rating upgraded thrice from A+ to AA+. (Rs. 1.00 billion = USD 15 million @ 1 USD = Rs. 66.7)
Personal life
Apart from his professional commitments, V. Vaidyanathan is an active marathoner. He has till now run 7 full marathons and 15 half marathons. In his spare time he strums the guitar and occasionally plays golf. He lives in Mumbai with his family consisting of his father, wife and three children.
Awards and recognition
In March 2016, he was awarded the prestigious Asia Pacific Entrepreneur Award (APEA) 2016, in the "Outstanding Entrepreneur" category. During his career, he and his organization have received a large number of domestic and international awards including Greatest Corporate Leaders of India – 2014, "Best Retail bank in Asia 2001", "Excellence in Retail Banking Award" 2002, "Best Retail Bank in India 2003, 2004, and 2005 from the "Asian Banker", "Leaders under 40" from Business Today in 2009, and was nominated for "Retail Banker of the Year" by EFMA Europe for 2008.