HDFC Bank ex-CEO Aditya Puri joins Carlyle as senior advisor

Former HDFC Bank CEO Aditya Puri will be guiding global Carlyle on investment opportunities across Asia as a senior advisor, the global private equity major said on Monday.

The announcement has come within a week of Puri's retirement from HDFC Bank as the chief executive and managing director.

Puri is widely credited for building HDFC Bank from scratch and making it the largest in the private sector space and the most valuable one.

Puri will advise the Carlyle team on investment opportunities across Asia and provide guidance on the evolving market landscape and new investment opportunities, Carlyle said in a statement.

He will also be advising Carlyle's investment professionals and portfolio management teams on building differentiated high quality businesses, it said.

Carlyle's financial sector lead for Asia and managing director Sunil Kaul said he has known Puri since his Citibank days.

“To have someone of his stature join Carlyle as a senior advisor will add significant value to our capabilities across the region, not only in financial services, but across sectors given Puri's unparalleled experience in the business world,” Kaul said.

Carlyle's investments in India include SBI Cards. It had recently announced investments in Ajay Piramal's pharmaceutical business and also a stake in Bharti Airtel's datacentre arm.

“I am very impressed with Carlyle's track record in a number of key industry sectors, including its leadership position in financial services, not just in India but across Asia,” Puri was quoted as saying in the statement.

Carlyle Asia's Managing Director and Chairman X D Yang said the PE major will be leveraging Puri's “deep expertise and relationships” to source new investment opportunities and to help the its portfolio companies build better businesses.