Meet Madhabi Puri Buch, The First Woman Appointed As SEBI Chairperson

Madhabi Puri Buch has been named the chairperson of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) by the Finance Ministry. She will be the first woman to head the capital market regulator. Buch is going to replace Ajay Tyagi, whose tenure ends on February 28.

Buch is a former SEBI Whole Time Member and was previously nominated to head a new technology committee set up by SEBI. Recently, she has been appointed as the chairperson for the initial period of three years. Buch is replacing Tyagi, whose five-year tenure has come to an end. He is a 1984 batch IAS officer who was appointed as the chairman for SEBI on March 1, 2017, and then given a six-month extension. Again in August 2020, his tenure was extended by 18 months.

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According to ET Now, the contenders for the post included IFSCA Chairman Injeti Srinivas and former Finance Secretary Debashish Panda. The invitation of application for the post was given in October and the deadline for the submission was December 6.

Last week, the Finance Minister of India Nirmala Sitharaman said that the call for application has happened and the shortlisting was yet to take place. These shortlisted candidates were interviewed by a panel consisting of the Economic Affairs Secretary and three external members. Based on this, the name is recommended to the Appointments Committee of Cabinet, which is headed by the Prime Minister of India.

After this elaborate process, Madhabi Puri Buch was appointed as the chairperson for three years.

Who Is Madhabi Puri Buch?

Madhabi Puri Buch is not just the first woman as WTM of SEBI but also the first person at SEBI who joined from the private sector. She has previously worked with ICICI bank.

There she became the Managing Director (MD). From February 2009 to May 2011, she was the CEO at ICICI Securities. After that, she went to Singapore and joined Greater Pacific Capital LLP.

She also became the founder and director of Agora Advisory Private Limited and then went on to serve at the New Development Bank in Shanghai for three years.

Buch has completed her management degree from the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) in Ahmedabad. She completed her Bachelor's degree in 1986 from St. Stephen's College in Delhi and her high school education from the Convent of Jesus and Mary in Delhi.

(Feature Image Credit: Rajesh Mulka/Facebook)