MONEY

Madhabi Puri Buch, former ICICI Securities chief, becomes the first woman to head SEBI

Madhabi Puri Buch has been appointed the new chairperson of market regulator SEBI, the first woman to head the market regulatory watchdog. Ms Buch, who will be the tenth chair of the board, was earlier a wholetime member of the SEBI. She replaces the outgoing chief Ajay Tyagi, whose appointment ended on February 28. The new appointment comes as the stock markets were watching if Mr Tyagi would get another extension, or the government would appoint a new chairperson for the role. 


Ms Buch’s appointment as chairperson of SEBI is for a period of three years initially. Before this appointment, she has been a wholetime member at SEBI since April 2017. Last year, she was also appointed as a head of SEBI’s seven-member committee on technology – the Advisory Committee for Leveraging Regulatory and Technology Solutions. 


Her appointment as the head of India’s capital markets regulator comes at a time when domestic markets as well as the global markets have been roiled with uncertainty and volatility amid the backdrop of COVID-19 pandemic, central bank policy tightening actions and now the war between Ukraine and Russia. On the other hand, in the Indian markets, there has been an influx of new-age retail traders who have become an instrumental part and have found recognition in earlier statements of the SEBI. 


Ms Buch earlier had served as non-executive director of companies such as Idea Cellular, Zensar Technologies and Max Healthcare. She had headed ICICI Securities as chief executive for two years. She had studied at St Stephen’s College, University of Delhi, and completed a degree in management at Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. 


Ms Buch has donned various hats and served as a member on various committees, such as the National Stock Exchange’s Committee on F&O Segment. She has been a founding committee member of Indian Banks’ Association and has been a management committee member of Bombay Chamber of Commerce and Industry. 

Report By