Making Bold Moves
For Zarin Daruwala, CEO, Standard Chartered Bank India, having two children was easily her best decision. Says Daruwala: “Very often working women push back or postpone that. It’s a very important thing to be a mother first.”
A big turn in Daruwala’s life came when she was offered the role of CEO at Standard Chartered Bank India. For her, after having worked with ICICI Bank as one of its top executives for more than 26 years, the decision to move to Standard Chartered India did not come easy. The media termed it a “bold move”.
“When you work in an organisation that long, you don’t even have your resume ready. Because you actually never think of leaving after working so long, it’s almost like family. It needed a lot of convincing in my family to make that move,” she notes.
Life at Standard Chartered Bank, though, has been a 180-degree turn for Daruwala. First, coming from corporate and investment banking, she had to learn from scratch about retail banking and related technology. And second, she also had to steer the bank through its troubles soon after she joined, and face the tough scrutiny of the media. That said, the challenges never perturbed her as it was all about personal enrichment.
“There has been a lot of learning and personal enrichment. You have to learn, strategise, and execute at the same time. You have to handle regulators, media and so many things. It gives a good 360 degree view.”
Daruwala now has steered Standard Chartered back to its profitable ways. The bank swung to a profit before tax of $110 million in the first half of 2017 compared to a $25-million loss in six months in June 2016.
A few years ago, Standard Chartered India was the largest contributor in profits to its global parent. Daruwala wants to restore that status. “Clearly, we have turned the corner, and I would really like Standard Chartered India to contribute to the profitability of its parent.”
She also never wants to quit. “I can’t see myself hanging up my boots. It will be a big challenge for me after so many years of working. I will definitely do something in the social sector.”
