Global investment firm The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ: CG) today announced that Aditya Puri, former Chief Executive Officer of India’s largest private sector bank, HDFC Bank, has been appointed as a Senior Advisor to Carlyle in Asia.
Mr. Puri will advise the Carlyle team on investment opportunities across Asia. Mr. Puri will provide guidance on the evolving market landscape and new investment opportunities, while also advising Carlyle’s investment professionals and portfolio management teams on building differentiated high-quality businesses.
Mr. Puri was appointed as the first CEO of HDFC Bank when it was established in 1994. Over his 26 year tenure leading the business, Mr. Puri grew HDFC Bank into the largest private sector bank in India with over $210 billion of assets (as of September 30, 2020), and the most valuable bank in India with a market cap of over $90 billion (as of October 2020). Under Mr. Puri’s leadership, HDFC Bank became well-known for its customer-focused approach, disciplined risk management and strong consistent year-on-year growth.
Mr. Puri previously spent over 20 years at Citibank overseeing parts of the bank’s activities across India, Greece, Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, Korea, Taiwan and mainland China, with his last role as CEO of Citibank’s operations in Malaysia from 1992-1994. He has won several awards and accolades during his tenure, including being named among Barron’s Top 30 Global CEOs in 2015 and 2018, Fortune’s Top 50 Businesspersons globally in 2016, and most recently, Euromoney’s lifetime achievement award.
Whether this is with founder-led businesses or large conglomerates, Carlyle’s focus on building better businesses is something I have a great affinity for. It will therefore be a pleasure to act as senior advisor to the Carlyle team in support of their investing activities across Asia.”
X.D. Yang, Managing Director and Chairman of Carlyle Asia commented, “Mr. Puri has been repeatedly accredited as one of the world’s leading global CEOs. We are excited to have him join Carlyle as a senior advisor in Asia, and look forward to leveraging his deep expertise and relationships to source new investment opportunities and to help our portfolio companies build better businesses.”
Sunil Kaul, Managing Director and Financial Services sector lead for the Carlyle Asia advisory team, commented, “I have had the privilege of knowing and following Mr. Puri from his Citibank years. To have someone of his stature join Carlyle as a senior advisor will add significant value to our capabilities across the region, not only in financial services but across sectors given Mr. Puri’s unparalleled experience in the business world. We’re delighted to have him join us and excited by the potential of what we can achieve by working together.”
Carlyle has a well-established history of investing in financial services, both in Asia and globally, fueled by a deep understanding of the market and an ability to create value through its operational expertise and close partnerships with management. Across Asia (ex-Japan), Carlyle has made investments of around $4.9 billion in financial services as of September 30, 2020, in companies including SBI Card, SBI Life, HDFC Limited, PNB Housing Finance, Repco Home Finance, Edelweiss, IIFL, KB Financial Group, China Pacific Insurance, Ant Group, Du Xiaoman Financial, among others.
