Vishwavir Ahuja

Early Life & Education

Ahuja was born in New Delhi. He was an alumnus of St. Columba’s where he completed his schooling. He later joined Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC), New Delhi where he received an undergraduate and then degree in B.Com (Hons.) in 1979. He completed his post graduation with an M.B.A degree from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad in 1981 followed by an MS degree in Finance from the University of Michigan (United States) in 1982.

Family

Ahuja resides in Mumbai and is married to Reva Ahuja. They have two daughters. His local guardian during his student life in Michigan was Vikram Talwar, a senior officer at Bank of America.

Career

Ahuja has been in the banking and financial sector for 35 years. He joined Bank of America (BOA) in May 1991 and was there till August 2009 as the CEO/Country Manager in India. At Bank of America, he took up assignments in United States, Hongkong, and all four regional offices of the Bank of America in India, and held various positions in BOA India’s Credit and Risk Management group, in Treasury and Foreign Exchange Market, in Strategic planning and Finance, as head of Corporate & Investment Banking, and eventually become the CEO of the Bank.

In July 2010, he joined as the MD & CEO of RBL Bank. His contribution has been in the bank’s capitalization, improved governance, high quality management teams, policies, system and technology upgradation, and in overall profitability and operating performance.

Ahuja is currently on the Board of Governors of Indian Institute of Management Kashipur, Uttarakhand and a Founder Member of Ashoka University, Sonipat, Haryana. He was until recently on the Board of Governors of the NIBM (Pune) (owned by RBI) and past Vice Chairman & Executive Board member of the American Chamber of Commerce – India, Executive Board member of Indo American Chamber of Commerce, and a member of the Managing Committee of Indian Banks' Association. He was also a fellow of Rotary International (Illinois, USA) and was selected as ‘India’s Student Ambassador of Goodwill to USA’ in 1981-82.

Achievements

1. Ahuja was awarded “The Best Indian Banker of the Year” at the Sunday Standards Best Banker Award, 2013.
2. Ahuja was a fellow of Rotary International (Illinois, USA) and was selected as ‘India’s Student Ambassador of Goodwill to USA’ in 1981-82.
3. He was a finalist in the EY Entrepreneur of the Year Award 2013.
4. He is also the recipient of the “Distinguished Alumni Award 2012- 2013” from Shri Ram College of Commerce.
5. During his tenure at Bank of America, the Bank was rated as the ‘Best Foreign Bank in India’, ‘Most Efficient bank in India’ (across the entire Industry) and amongst the top 2 in Credit Quality, by Ernst & Young / Financial Express surveys in 2008 and 2009.
6. During his tenure, RBL Bank has achieved the following awards:
   1. RBL Bank featured at the 31st position in the Fortune Next 500 list of Indian companies, 2015.
   2. Recognised as a Global Growth Company, 2014 by World Economic Forum.
   3. Rated as India’s Best Bank (Growth) in the mid-sized bank segment - A Business Today and KPMG study in 2012, 2013 & 2014.
   4. Rated as the Fastest Growing Small Bank according to Businessworld - PWC Best Bank Survey 2013 & 2014.
   5. Ranked as the Best Bank in the Priority Sector Lending (Private Sector), Dun & Bradstreet Banking Awards, 2014
   6. Rated as the Best Indian Bank (Small-Sized), Sunday Standards Best Bankers Award, 2013
   7. Winner of the Best Core Banking Project, India, 2012, Asian Banker Technology Implementation Award.