Sashidhar Jagdishan (MD and CEO of HDFC Bank)

Some Lesser Known Facts About Sashidhar Jagdishan

• Sashidhar Jagdishan was born and raised in Mumbai, Maharashtra.

• He spent his early years in the peaceful suburb of Matunga, Mumbai and attended his early schooling there.

• For his higher studies, he shifted to Mumbai and took admission in Mumbai University for his graduation degree.

• After graduation, Sashidhar started preparing for the Chartered Accountant exams and cleared his CA exam on his first attempt.

• He became a Chartered Accountant, having earned his stripes from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, and later pursued a Master’s in the Economics of Money, Banking, and Finance at the University of Sheffield in the UK.

• In an interview, Jagdishan revealed that banking had captured his interest since he was a child, and he aspired to excel in this field. This drove him to pursue a master’s degree in Economics of Money, Banking, and Finance.

• In 1992, Sashidhar Jagdishan started his professional career and joined as a senior officer in the Country Financial Control division at Deutsche Bank in Mumbai. He had worked there for about three years.

• In 1996, Sashidhar Jagdishan joined HDFC Bank as a finance manager.

• In 1999, Jagdishan was promoted to the Business Head of Finance.

• In 2008, he was appointed as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for HDFC.

• For the financial year 2013-2014, he was honoured with the Best CFO in the banking sector at the CNBC TV18 CFO Award.

• Sashi has played a pivotal role in aligning HDFC Bank with its strategic objectives, so he was appointed as the Strategic Change Agent of the Bank in 2019.

• As a Change Agent of the Bank, his responsibility included oversight of crucial functions such as Legal and Secretarial, Human Resources, Corporate Communication, Infrastructure & Administration, and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

• In 2019, he received the prestigious title of Best CFO by a special jury at the 3rd Financial Express CFO Awards.

• Sashidhar Jagdishan took charge as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at HDFC Bank during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, replacing India’s longest-serving CEO, Aditya Puri.

• In October 2020, he made his debut in the 10th edition of India Today’s prestigious High and Mighty List.

• In 2022, Jagdishan was awarded the Banker of the Year by Business Standard.

• During his service tenure, Sashidhar supported the HDFC Bank’s merger with HDFC Ltd and has directed the bank through major challenges, including the COVID-19 pandemic and regulatory shifts.

• Under his leadership, HDFC Bank has received numerous awards and accolades, such as Best Large Indian Bank from the BT-KPMG Best Banks Awards in 2020, 2021, and 2022, Best Bank in India from Euromoney at the Euromoney Awards for Excellence in 2021 and 2022, ranked 1st in the Large Bank category in Fortune India – Grant Thornton Bharat’s study of India’s Best Banks 2022, most committed to High Governance Best Standards” by FinanceAsia Magazine in 2022, and Best Private Sector Bank” at the Financial Express Best Banks Awards in 2023.

• Sashidhar Jagdishan was India’s highest‑paid bank CEO in FY 2022–23 with a total remuneration of ₹10.55 crore, a 62 % rise from the previous year.

• In 2023, Sashidhar was re‑appointed as MD & CEO by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for three more years, starting October 27, 2023, till 2026.

• In 2025, he encountered a legal controversy after the Lilavati Trust in Mumbai filed an FIR against him. HDFC Bank promptly initiated legal action, publicly stating it would “seek legal recourse” and vigorously defend Jagdishan, insisting that the accusations were “baseless” and merely a retaliatory attempt to hinder loan recovery efforts.

• Jagdishan’s professional experience spans over 30 years, 27 of which he has spent at HDFC Bank.

• In his free time, Sashidhar enjoys cooking and loves experimenting. In an interview, he mentioned that while he is in the kitchen, he loves to cook ‘thayir shadam’ or the staple curd rice, and every weekend he cooks for family and friends.

• Sashidhar Jagdishan also enjoys listening to music, particularly Carnatic music and reading history books when he finds time.

• He is a fitness freak, and cycling is his sport of choice when it comes to his fitness regimen.