Chief Executive Officer — Retail Bank

The mandate

The board has concluded that incremental adjustment will not resolve portfolio reset after a board-led strategic review within a listed regulated universal or specialist bank. The immediate arena is the retail bank during asset-quality pressure. For mandate 051, the successful executive inherits decisions that have been deferred, competing stakeholder expectations and a need to establish facts before committing further capital.

The Chief Executive Officer operating perimeter covers approximately ₹48,950 crore in loan and deposit book, with activity spanning several retail bank customer, product and delivery clusters rather than a single asset. The Chief Executive Officer Banking remit carries direct influence over roughly 450 colleagues and third-party capacity.

The board and its investment committee want a Chief Executive Officer who can convert ambiguity into a short list of explicit choices for the retail bank. The Chief Executive Officer Banking seat must resolve asset-quality pressure, while preserving the underlying strengths of the retail bank. For mandate 051, value will come through sharper allocation, stronger leaders and an operating cadence that exposes variance early.

The Chief Executive Officer’s first year on the retail bank is expected to end with enterprise value, cash conversion and leadership credibility. In mandate 051, authority covers resources and leadership appointments; material trade-offs go directly to the board sponsor.

Why this seat is open

This is a newly created Chief Executive Officer — Retail Bank seat, established because asset-quality pressure now requires one accountable executive rather than distributed ownership. The board has classified the appointment as urgent and intends to move from qualified shortlist to offer within 6–8 weeks. Interim governance protects the retail bank, but it is not a substitute for a permanent appointee. The external search remains confidential to avoid unnecessary disruption before the appointment is agreed.

What you will own

• Set the Chief Executive Officer value-creation thesis for the retail bank, translate it into no more than five enterprise priorities and stop work that does not support them.
• Carry stewardship of approximately ₹48,950 crore in loan and deposit book, including allocation, risk acceptance and board forecasts.
• Lead the Chief Executive Officer Banking organisation of about 450 employees and partners, appointing a team with clear decision rights and credible succession for every critical seat.
• Resolve the retail bank economics and execution constraints created by asset-quality pressure, with Chief Executive Officer-approved owners, dated milestones and transparent escalation thresholds.
• Establish one Chief Executive Officer operating review across commercial, customer, financial, people, technology and risk outcomes for the retail bank; remove reconciliations that obscure accountability.
• Show personal ownership of a whole-enterprise choice involving capital, customers and leadership, not merely sponsorship of a functional programme in mandate 051.
• Build the Chief Executive Officer’s three-year succession and capability plan for the retail bank, reducing dependence on individual executives and improving mobility across the wider Banking organisation.

The first 12 months

• Days 1–90: Validate the retail bank baseline, meet the 30 stakeholders most consequential to portfolio reset after a board-led strategic review, assess the leadership team, stabilise immediate delivery risks and agree a board-owned scorecard with explicit decision gates.
• Months 4–9: Make the principal Chief Executive Officer portfolio and organisation choices for the retail bank, install the new operating cadence, fill critical leadership gaps and deliver the first measurable release of cash, capacity or customer value.
• Months 10–12: Demonstrate a repeatable retail bank trend against enterprise value, cash conversion and leadership credibility, lock the following year’s capital and talent plan, evidence control sustainability and present a credible three-year value case with downside actions.

What the board will measure

• Delivery of the Chief Executive Officer’s agreed first-year retail bank value case within a 10% tolerance, with variance explained before rather than after the relevant quarter closes.
• A Chief Executive Officer forecast that remains decision-useful across three consecutive quarters and reconciles the retail bank’s operating, cash, customer and people assumptions.
• Closure of the Chief Executive Officer mandate’s highest-priority retail bank risk and execution issues by their board-approved dates, with independent evidence that fixes are sustained.
• Retention of at least 90% of critical retail bank talent and ready-now successors for at least 70% of the Chief Executive Officer’s direct reports.
• A quantified Chief Executive Officer-owned improvement in the retail bank operating constraint behind asset-quality pressure, supported by a clean baseline and named data owner.
• Clear stakeholder confidence in mandate 051: no unresolved high-severity escalation older than 30 days and no material surprise withheld from its agreed governance forum.

The person

You are currently a Chief Executive Officer, Business CEO or Group President in a listed Banking or adjacent enterprise. In relation to the retail bank, your Chief Executive Officer track record includes a transition where the original plan was no longer sufficient; you can explain your choices, evidence and numerical impact. Candidates from financial services, payments, lending, insurance or regulated fintech will be considered where the operating model, customer stakes and governance intensity match this Chief Executive Officer brief.

As a Chief Executive Officer candidate, you bring 28+ years of progressive Banking or adjacent-sector experience, consistent with the 28-plus experience band. At minimum, you have carried a P&L, book, budget or accountable portfolio of ₹28,400 crore and led an organisation of at least 450 people.

For mandate 051, the board wants two transitions: a difficult retail bank portfolio choice and a leadership-system change during asset-quality pressure. As the prospective Chief Executive Officer for this retail bank, you must challenge optimistic cases and still create followership. References for mandate 051 must distinguish your contribution from the institution around you.

The Chief Executive Officer role in Banking is based in Mumbai; relocation is expected, although a structured weekly commute may be considered during the first quarter.

Non-negotiables

• Current or recent accountability at the level of Chief Executive Officer, Business CEO or Group President, with direct exposure to a board, investment committee or equivalent Banking governance forum.
• Proven Chief Executive Officer ownership of at least ₹28,400 crore and leadership of no fewer than 450 employees in a comparable retail bank context.
• One completed Banking or adjacent-sector example of portfolio reset after a board-led strategic review with outcomes sustained for at least two reporting periods after the initial intervention.
• Sector credibility from financial services, payments, lending, insurance or regulated fintech; experience that is purely functional and lacks Chief Executive Officer-level retail bank consequences will not meet the bar.
• Willingness to meet the Mumbai location expectation, complete conflicts and background diligence, and protect the confidentiality of mandate 051.

Compensation and terms

The anticipated Chief Executive Officer package is ₹5.0–7.5 crore fixed + performance variable and LTI, calibrated to the final retail bank scope and the candidate’s current mix. Any long-term participation for mandate 051 follows standard vesting and performance conditions. The Chief Executive Officer appointment in Mumbai, centred on the retail bank, offers regular exposure to the board and its investment committee. A notice period of up to 6 months can be accommodated for the selected executive in mandate 051.

Confidentiality

The organisation will be identified only after reciprocal interest and a confidentiality undertaking for mandate 051. The market, scale and situation in this brief are intentionally composite and are not a coded description of a named enterprise for mandate 051.