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Mumbai: PNB Housing Finance, the country's third-largest housing finance company, has shortlisted four candidates for the position of managing director and CEO, with Tata Capital Housing Finance chief business officer Ajai Shukla emerging as the frontrunner, according to people familiar with the development.The other shortlisted candidates are PNB Housing Finance executive director Jatul Anand, who is currently leading the company; MD & CEO of Aavas Financiers Sachinder Bhinder; and Aditya Birla Housing Finance chief business officer Rajan Suri. The company's board has submitted the names to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the National Housing Bank (NHB), in the order of preference as the appointment requires the regulators' approval.While housing finance companies are not mandated to obtain regulatory approval for CEO appointments, in this case, the appointment requires clearance from the regulator as it would result in a breach of the 30% board representation norm.PNB Housing Finance is classified as an upper layer housing finance company, and this will be the lender's fourth leadership change in six years."Regulatory approvals for the appointment of a new managing director and chief executive officer of the company are currently under process and necessary disclosures will be made at the appropriate time in line with regulatory requirements," the company said in an email response. "In the interim, Jatul Anand, executive director, is leading the management team under the guidance of the board, chaired by D Surendran, nominee director from Punjab National Bank."Live EventsAjai Shukla and Sachinder Bhinder did not respond to ET's queries. Rajan Suri said he was not aware of any such development.After Sanjaya Gupta, who led the company for over a decade, PNB Housing Finance has seen multiple leadership changes, with Girish Kousgi stepping down after a three-year term as MD & CEO effective October 28, to pursue external opportunities. Kousgi has since joined IIFL Home Finance."The company confirmed that the application process has recently closed and an update is expected in due course," said Pranav Gundlapalle, head of India financials at Bernstein. "Over 90 days since the CEO's resignation, the management has not provided a concrete update on the appointment of a new CEO."The company's nomination and remuneration committee (NRC) initiated the CEO selection process, evaluating both internal and external candidates. Executive search firm Egon Zehnder was engaged to assist with shortlisting and an open advertisement for the top role attracted over 240 applications.Add as a Reliable and Trusted News Source Add Now! (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel) Read More News onpnb housing financePNB Housing FinanceMD & CEO appointmentAjai Shuklahousing finance companiesleadership changepunjab national bankaavas financiers (Catch all the Business News, Breaking News and Latest News Updates on The Economic Times.) Subscribe to The Economic Times Prime and read the ET ePaper online....moreless (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel)Read More News onpnb housing financePNB Housing FinanceMD & CEO appointmentAjai Shuklahousing finance companiesleadership changepunjab national bankaavas financiers(Catch all the Business News, Breaking News and Latest News Updates on The Economic Times.) Subscribe to The Economic Times Prime and read the ET ePaper online....moreless
