Ramesh Padmanabhan
IBS Bangalore, (‘97)

Heads,
the Retails NRI Products Division
ICICI Bank,
Mumbai

Me and my family……

I am happily married to Lakshmy and have 2 children – Kaushik and Shreemayee. Lakshmy is a MA in Mathematical Economics and a rank holder from Madras University. She currently is with SBI as a Chief Manager in the Corporate Accounts Group. Kaushik’s interests lie in Science and Table Tennis. Shreemayee is a music baby. My interests lie in reading, music and teaching.

Personal and Career Graph

I joined SBI as a Probationary Officer and was posted to Andhra Pradesh. My project on HR in SBI was rated the best project for that year. Post completion of CFA/ PGDBA, I joined ICICI Bank to head the Credit Division at Chennai. After a year and a half there, the Bank commenced its focus on the Retail Sector and I moved to Bangalore to head a branch. I have handled assignments in Branch Banking, Six Sigma projects and Quality initiatives. Currently, I head the Retail NRI Products for the Bank.

Sojourn in IBS

It was during ‘95 that my wife and I were discussing of equipping ourselves with additional qualification, preferably a MBA. She found this advertisement of ICFAI coming out with a day college which would provide the students a dual degree of CFA and PGBDA on successful completion. My initial days at IBS were sort of tumultus, more because of the gap in my study-life. The last time I had done serious studies was almost 7 years back! However, this soon settled into a regular life. The best part of IBS was the kind of participants in the course at Bangalore. We had a small group who had work experience in various industries, a few who had just joined companies but decided to study further and the rest, fresher. One common trait among all was the urge to do well in their lives. Another common wish was that this course would change their course of life. There had been instances where students got slightly misled, worried since we were the first batch of a regular course of CFA-PGBDA. There were a few drop-outs too. The third sem was an eye-opener. A few of us got into companies to do projects and it was very clear that the previous experience did prove useful. However, with Mr.Venkatesh, the Dean pulling all stops on his contacts, the entire batch got into various corporate for the Project. This is critical to mention at this point, as this is a far cry from today, where IBS has a name for itself and the Indian markets have picked up phenomenally to provide enough and more projects and good placements. I would say that the first batch really laid a strong foundation in all areas – they did well on the academic front, in the first corporate they entered into and through sheer hard work proved to the world that IBS is a good institute and students from this Institute would add value to any organization.

Perfect Life

There is nothing called a perfect life. However, what would come close to it, is a life where one progresses well in all walks of life – Career, spouse, children, society, and country. Essentially, perfect life can be achieved through doing the job you like, good health, peace of mind and happiness.

Life after IBS ....

After I successfully completed CFA and PGDBA, I got an opportunity to join ICICI Bank and head the Credit Wing at Chennai. This was a good break as knowledge from CFA was fresh and credit analytical skills were on demand. ICICI Bank is a great organization to be with as it provides challenging assignments and continuous learning.

Ideal in life

A life of character and ethics is extremely important in any walk of life. Another important ideal which I follow is to give back to the society what you have got. This will ensure that the world becomes a better place to live.

High pressure situations

Today’s work place is definitely a pressure point. A cool head, good communication and a team which you have developed would help you get over any situation. Planning, delegating and follow-up are critical. Remember, tough situations do not last, only guys who plan well do.

Balancing work and family

I travel at least 6 days a month and a normal day would be 9 AM to 8 PM. I try my best to spend some quality time with my family. It is difficult but with proper planning it is possible. I work out of home on Saturdays but this work would be mostly be when the family is occupied with something else. It also helps having an understanding family!!

Biggest lesson in life

Focus on little details and the big ones would automatically take care of themselves.

Distressing

India is a great country and the economy is booming. However, the number of poor and illiterate has not gone down at all. I find slums mushrooming all around metros & large cities. There is a rush of people from the rural land to the cities chasing the proverbial rainbow. There must be an all-round growth to ensure that people have quality of living across the country.

Hobbies

I read a lot and travel is a good time to read. I listen to music – Classical (Unnikrishnan, Jesudas, Sudha Raghunathan), Hindi songs (my favourites are Mukesh, Kishore Kumar, Mohd Rafi and Lata of the older lot and Sonu Nigam, Udit Narayan and Sunidhi Chauhan (amongst the new ones).

Lessons life has taught

NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE. IF ANYONE ELSE CAN DO IT, YOU CAN.

Friends at IBS

All of us, IBS friends, are very well connected. Most of the friends/batch mates are in touch through group mail id.

Banking sector-Indian and global scenario and next five years

This is going to be one of the neo-sun-rise Industries with Indian Banking Industry in for a big change in 2009. As it stands, Indian Banking Industry has changed with the new set of Private Sector Banks designing changes and making it very comfortable for the customer. The next 5 years will focus on International Banking, Agriculture and Corporate Banking. More of the global banks would make bee-line to India and this could result in more M&A activities.

Advice to the young students interested in pursuing a career in banking

Career in banking is quite exciting for the simple reason that there is no field that it does not touch. Options such as Treasury / Corporate / International Banking etc are niche segments in Banking, Retails offer quite a vast opportunity in terms of areas of operation. Of late, Banking is becoming a little like FMCG with its own intricacies and personalized domains. A global Bank / MNC with various lines of activity would offer good cross movement.

Plans for the future

The International Banking holds a lot of promise for the future and with huge integration in store in Indian Banking. I am sure this would be exciting. Training is also my another passion of mine which I ardently pursue whenever I get an opportunity.