Narayanan Vaghulabharanan is a sonorous name, although rather long even by our South Indian standards. N Vaghul suited him–pithy, crisp, and matter-of-fact. It captured the personality of the Indian banker and former chairperson of ICICI Bank: impressive looking, with eyes that were both piercing and kindly, and a spoken diction and mannerism that inspired confidence and respect.
He came from that old breed of Imperial Bank of India folks who had been touched by the great Raj Kumar Talwar himself–the former chairperson of the State Bank of India. Some of our readers may not know that this was the same Talwar who defied Sanjay Gandhi, was removed summarily, and was praised by the Shah Commission of 1977 even as his detractors were shamed. Till the end, Vaghul acknowledged that he was a proud standard-bearer of Talwar’s legacy.
The State Bank of India, with its meritocracy and high standards, continues to be a source of human capital in our country. It is to the credit of the powers that identified and appointed people like Vaghul to run nationalised banks at a young age. Vaghul did a fine job of restoring morale and improving efficiency. He then shifted to ICICI, and the rest, as they say, is history. As taxpayers, it is important for us to remember that ICICI is the only public/joint sector financial institution that has never gone to the government with a begging bowl for capital. It has managed to stand on its own. Vaghul and his colleagues deserve our eternal gratitude for this.
An astute leader
Like all great leaders, Vaghul created a superb band of brothers and sisters who were uniquely placed to carry forward his vision. He reached back into his State Bank of India roots by bringing Mayya and Prabhu—truly inspired choices. But his finest bet was persuading KV Kamath to come back from the far East. ICICI Bank’s founder and former Managing Director and CEO, Kamath, was the Augustus who followed Julius. He loved technology, worked at warp speed, and took the institution forward much to Vaghul’s satisfaction. This writer had the opportunity to do some consulting work with Kamath. He and the ICICI organisation were simply dream clients. They understood our recommendations, picked and chose the appropriate ones, and implemented tasks with single-minded focus. Even as a spectator, one could not help but be gladdened with the energy and chutzpah.
Everyone in the Indian business world knows how Vaghul was a pioneer in inducting, promoting, encouraging, and literally creating women leaders. He once remarked to me that it was not only justified on the basis of ethics and equity, but it also made sound business sense. He smiled and told me that the attrition rates among ICICI’s women executives was negligible.
Vaghul’s political astuteness should not be underestimated. He was always respectful but never servile with the mandarins of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Ministry of Finance. He once told me that IAS officers start off in small towns where the only businesspersons they interact with are small fry who are almost invariably dubious in their behaviour. They offer bottles of scotch and are effusively servile. This breeds both suspicion and contempt for businesspersons among IAS officers. When the officers get to New Delhi and meet someone of stature who is never impudent, but also never obsequious, they can be helpful and constructive. Successfully negotiating the labyrinthine alleys of the Indian bureaucracy is by no means a simple task. But Vaghul accomplished this with aplomb.
When the history of India’s liberalisation journey is written, the chroniclers of the future will record that former Prime Ministers PV Narasimha Rao, Manmohan Singh and Atal Bihari Vajpayee had talented individuals like Vaghul to rely on. Vaghul lived a full life and retained his endless enthusiasm for education and human capital development until the end. To have lived in the same period as such a person and to have known him must count as a special privilege.
Jaithirth Rao is an entrepreneur and a writer. Views are personal.
(Edited by Ratan Priya)