BSE, India's Oldest Stock Exchange, Looks For New CEO As Ashish Chauhan's Term Ends In November

According to the advertisement, understanding of the financial markets, technology, and operations are the desired qualities in the candidate for the post of BSE CEO

Mumbai: The BSE, India's one of the oldest stock exchanges, has begun searching for its new chief executive officer (CEO) and managing director (MD), as incumbent Ashish Kumar Chauhan’s term ends in November.

According to a report in the PTI, the BSE came up with an advertisement on Tuesday, saying that the exchange is looking for a result-oriented leader having an experience of 20 years, with the “highest ethical standards”.

According to the advertisement, understanding of the financial markets, technology, and operations are the desired qualities in the candidate for the post of CEO.

A market-savvy leader with an entrepreneurial approach, capable of working in a closely regulated and supervised system, is being sought, the BSE, which was established in 1875, added.

The person must have prior experience in managing expectations of diverse stakeholders, including regulators, investors, customers and employees, and should meet Securities and Exchange Board of India’s (Sebi’s) eligibility criteria.

The candidate for the CEO post should hold a postgraduation or master's degree, and the compensation will be as per industry standards, the advertisement noted.

The appointment may be for a period of up to five years, while the last date for submission of applications is April 23.

Indian stock exchanges have frequently faced troubles over integrity, witnessed through the emergence of scandals.

According to the PTI, the move comes at a time when its other rival the National Stock Exchange (NSE), which controls a large part of trade volumes in the country, has also started a similar process for its chief.

Some reports are even suggesting that Chauhan is in the race to take over the corner office at NSE.

NSE, which is facing allegations of governance lapses, starts its hunt for a new CEO as the five-year term of the current chief Vikram Limaye is ending in July.

Limaye is eligible for another term. However, according to the Sebi’s rule, the incumbent needs to compete with other candidates to win the next term.

He was appointed as the NSE chief in July 2017, following the exit of the former MD and CEO Chitra Ramkrishna. Among various allegations, issues have been raised in various quarters that why application was not invited at the time when Ramkrishna was appointed as the MD and CEO in 2013.