India’s first woman, Madhabi Puri Buch, faces allegations of conflict of interest from short salesman Hindenburg, a U.S.-based short salesman, will also complete her three-year term after that, which will be completed on Friday (28 February 2025) and will be inherited by Finance Minister Tuhin Kanta Pandey.
Prior to being appointed head of SEBI, he also worked with the country’s leading private sector lender ICICI Bank, who joined the SEBI Board of Directors in April 2017 and later served as chairman in March 2022.
She succeeded former IAS official Ajay Tyagi, who held the top position for five years from March 1, 2017 to February 28, 2022.
Ms. Buch’s position as the SEBI leader has both great progress and significant challenges. Ms. Buch received the head on March 2, 2022 as the first woman to lead the market regulator and the first private sector individual to hold the position.
Although, Ms. Buch has made great progress in her tenure, such as in fair faster settlements, enhanced FPI disclosures and increased mutual funds through Rs 250 exchanges, the final year of her tenure sparked controversy when she fought a series of protests at Fort India and Congress parties, while protesting against protesters in protests in protests.
Last August, Ms. Buch faced pressure to resign after Hindenburg research alleging her conflict of interest, which prevented a thorough examination of the manipulation and fraudulent claims by the Adani Group.
Hindenburg accused Ms. Buch and her husband Dhaval Buch of investing in offshore entities allegedly part of the fund structure, including Vinod Adani, brother of Gautam Adani, founder of Adani Group.
Ms. Buhes denied the allegations, saying the investments were made before joining the regulator and she complied with all disclosure requirements.
Hindenberg announced the closure of its operations earlier this month.
The government has not disclosed publicly whether to seek Buch’s explanation. As part of a review of financial regulators, the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) convened her. However, she skipped the meeting for personal reasons.
Despite the controversy, Ms. Buch has established an extraordinary career in leading companies, most notably ICICI Bank, ICICI Securities and ICICI Web Trade Ltd. Her tenure at these institutions played an important role in shaping the Indian banking and financial services sectors.
Born in 1966, Ms. Buch grew up in Ms. Buch developed a strong interest in mathematics and finance, which laid the foundation for her future career. She pursued her MBA from the prestigious Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad (IIM), further strengthening her academic foundation.
Ms. Buch’s career in the financial sector began in 1989 when she joined ICICI Bank, where her skills and dedication quickly pushed her ranks, laying the foundation for her extraordinary journey in the Indian business community.
During his 12-year period at ICICI Bank, Ms. Buch held several key roles, such as the Head of Marketing and Sales from 1997 to 2002, the Head of Product Development from 2002 to 2003, and the Head of Operations from 2004 to 2006.
In 2006, Ms. Buch was promoted to Executive Director of ICICI Bank, where she held the position in 2009 until a period of change in banking and the broader financial industry.
After leaving ICICI Bank, Ms. Buch’s leadership journey continued to be appointed CEO of ICICI Securities in 2009. During her tenure, she made a difference until 2011.
After his time at ICICI Securities, Ms. Buch was head of international business development in Singapore’s Greater Pacific Capital from 2011 to 2013, expanding her career horizon.
From 2011 to 2017, she also served as a non-executive director of Idea Cellular, whose expertise guides the company through a rapidly growing telecommunications environment.
However, Ms. Buch’s influence is beyond the business world. She has served as non-executive director roles in several organizations, including Max Healthcare, Zensar Technologies, Innoven Capital and Gabelhorn Investments.
After returning to India, Ms. Bohh served as the non-executive director of the company. Her extensive and diverse experience led to her appointment at the SEBI Full Year Membership (WTM) in 2017, where she manages important portfolios such as surveillance and mutual funds.
Her close collaboration with then-Sebi Chairman Ajay Tyagi further consolidated her impact in India’s regulatory environment.
The decisive moment in Buch’s life was in the pain of the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks. At the time, she served as executive director at ICICI Bank and found herself part of a group of company leaders in Mumbai Hotel during the tragic event.
But she unscathed a terrorist attack with her husband Dhaval Buch, who was then a director of Hindustan Unilever Ltd.
publishing – February 28, 2025 at 11:18 am
