Gunit Chadha resigns as Deutsche Bank Asia Pacific CEO

German lender Deutsche Bank today said Asia Pacific chief executive and former head of Indian operations Gunit Chadha has quit. John Cryan, Chief Executive of Deutsche Bank AG announced 54-year-old Chadha’s decision to leave the bank after spending 13 years in various capacities, including nearly a decade as the chief executive of India, in an e-mail to employees.

Based in Singapore for the past four years, Chadha will be leaving the bank on July 17.

“I am grateful to Gunit for his contributions to Deutsche Bank and especially for his role in developing our valuable presence across 16 countries in Asia Pacific,” the e-mail, reviewed by PTI, stated.

Chadha joined the German lender as the country CEO from the state-run IDBI Bank in 2003 and under his leadership, the German lender’s employees grew to 10,000 from 500.

The bank entered a slew of businesses in the country under Chadha, including investment banking and retail banking.

Chadha became the second top executive at Deutsche Bank, after former global co-CEO Anshu Jain left the bank last year. Chadha’s future plans were not immediately known.

After spending nearly a decade in India, Chadha was made the co-CEO for APAC region in 2012 and designated as the CEO in 2015 to head the business in 16 countries, including India, Asean, Greater China, Australia and Japan.

Five of the top 10 countries by operational profit for the bank in 2015 were from APAC, where it witnessed a 26 per cent compounded profit growth between 2012 and 2015 under Chadha’s leadership.

“I look back with deep pride in leading a world-class team and a solid client franchise, which delivered sustainable performance across the Asia Pacific region,” Chadha said.

Prior to joining IDBI Bank, Chadha, who is described as a “socialist at heart who is a capitalist at work” had worked for Citigroup in New York.

After graduating from St Stephens College, he studied management at IIM Ahmedabad and Wharton School USA.