Arundhati Bhattacharya CEO Salesforce India
Image: Neha Mithbawkar for Forbes India
Tough people take on tough situations as challenges to overcome. This is why former banker Arundhati Bhattacharya—who led the journey of India’s largest bank, State Bank of India (SBI), through its toughest phase—decided, at 64, to reinvent and challenge herself in the world of information technology. “Was I successful because I had walked into the readymade platform of SBI?” Bhattacharya questioned herself while choosing a new role.
Raw data does not reflect Bhattacharya’s impact in reshaping SBI. Gross non-performing assets for the bank rose 462 basis points to 10.35 percent in September-end 2017, a few days before her four-year leadership ended. Provision for bad loans rose to near 66 percent from 58 percent in the same period, hurting profitability.
(This story appears in the 03 December, 2021 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)