According to an exchange filing, Bajaj Finance has appointed investor and senior advisor Arindam Bhattacharya as an independent director of the firm.
After starting as a graduate engineer trainee with Eicher Group, Bhattacharya has over 30 years of experience in the industry and consulting with focus on the industrial sector.
In recent years he has led the BCG's growing engagement with Central and State Governments on both economic and on social sector topics like education and health, and consulted with organizations like World Food Programme, Save the Children, Gates Foundation and World Bank.
Executive directors appointed as well
Apart from Bhattacharya, Bajaj Finance Deputy CEOs Anup Saha and Rakesh Bhatt have also been appointed as executive directors.
Before joining Bajaj Finance in 2017, Saha worked as their Senior General Manager and Group Product Head for ICICI Bank and focused on retail home loan, vehicle loans, developer funding, and retail and rural collections for 14 years.
Bhatt joined Bajaj Finance in 2009, and was the CEO at Bajaj Finance Limited until 2018, heading critical functions, including technology, analytics, credit operations, customer experience and quality. He was the CEO of Bajaj Finserv Direct Limited for 4 years and spearheaded the launch of a diversified Digital Marketplace business in Financial Services and e-commerce.
Bajaj Finance's volatile position
As Indian stock market indices were in the red following concerns about the Silicon Valley Bank crash, Bajaj Finance investors lost Rs 24,000 crore in a week. The Bajaj Finserv subsidiary lost 6 per cent in market value, as it battled competition in the home loan market, as well as rising interest rates.
Despite the stock being in the red zone for days, Morgan Stanley has retained an overweight view of the non-banking financial company.
The research firm has given a positive outlook for Bajaj Finance, and predicted a spike of 40 per cent form current prices.
Morgan Stanley sees the share currently hovering around Rs 5,728, rising up to hit Rs 8000 per unit, as the company prioritises profit margins over growth.
Bajaj Finance had been struggling because of B2B sales slowing down after a festive surge, but is hoping to capitalise from a turnaround.
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