SEBI gets its first female chairperson with Madhabi Puri Buch

Former whole-time member, Madhabi Puri Buch, becomes the first female chairperson of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) today for an initial period of three years.

Besides being the first woman to head the capital market regulator, Madhabi is also the first person from the private sector. She started her career with ICICI bank, where she went on to become MD and CEO at ICICI Securities from February 2009 to May 2011. 

Ajay Tyagi, a 1984 batch IAS officer from Himachal Pradesh cadre, headed SEBI for five years before Madhabi’s appointment. He completes his term at the end of February.  

The finance ministry invited applications from eligible candidates for the post of SEBI chairperson in October 2021, and the deadline for the same was December 6, 2021.

After the applications rolled in, suitable candidates were shortlisted by the Financial Sector Regulatory Appointments Search Committee (FSRASC), headed by the Cabinet Secretary. The shortlisted candidates were interviewed by the panel, comprising Economic Affairs Secretary and three external members having domain knowledge.

In December 2021, Madhabi was named the Head of the ‘Advisory Committee for Leveraging Regulatory and Technology Solutions (ALeRTS)’ at SEBI. The seven-member expert committee aimed to guide SEBI on ways to “enhance technological capabilities and explore appropriate technology solutions for early detection of market anomalies.”

In his series of tweets congratulated Madhabi on her appointment, Sandeep Parekh, Founder and Managing Partner of Finsec Law Advisors — a Mumbai-based financial sector law firm — wrote that he can vouch that she is not just competent, but also very, very data driven.

Also, first person from Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIM-A) first woman chairperson, first leader from private sector, first person to be moved up from whole time member of the board - many other firsts. Tough job ahead, but no one better to lead the organisation," Sandeep noted.

Madhabi comes with over three decades of experience in the financial markets. She was SEBI WTM between April 5, 2017, and October 4, 2021, and handled portfolios, including surveillance, collective investment schemes, and investment management.

In 2019, at an event, Madhabi had shared she is a fan of the AA ecosystem because, on one hand, it would democratise data, and on the other, humanise transactions.

“Homeland Security in the US issued a list of 10 things you should do if you get taken a hostage. One of those top 10 things was to humanise yourself by sharing data about yourself with your captor. That, to me, is powerful because what that means is that even in a situation as adverse as being taken hostage, your personal data can make the difference between life and death,” she had said during the event.