M. K. Sharma

Biography

Mr. Mahendra Kumar Sharma is the Chairman on the Board of ICICI Bank. Mr. Sharma,aged 70, retired in May’07 as the Vice-Chairman of Hindustan Unilever Limited. As Vice Chairman he had responsibility for H.R, Legal & Secretarial, Corporate Affairs, Corporate Communications, Corporate Real Estate functions and New Ventures, Plantations & Export businesses of the Company. Additionally he handled M&A activities relating to acquisition of companies in the food & beverages segment as well as disposal of business in the fields of animal & poultry feeds, dairy, tea plantation, etc. During 2004-2006, he chaired the four Member National Management Committee of the Company with two Managing Directors and the Finance Director being the other three members. He displays passion for ensuring highest standards of Corporate Governance and adherence to responsible and ethical conduct in all aspects of business operations. He holds Bachelors Degree in Arts and Bachelors of Law Degree from Canning College University of Lucknow. He completed Post Graduate Diploma in Personnel Management from Department of Business Management, University of Delhi and Diploma in Labour Laws from Indian Law Institute, Delhi. In 1999, he was nominated to attend Advance Management Programme at Harvard Business School. After a six-year stint in DCM Limited, he joined Hindustan Lever Limited in 1974 as Legal Manager and handled Legal & Secretarial work in diverse areas. He joined the Management Committee of HUL in April 1990 as Vice President, Legal & Secretarial and was inducted into the Board of Hindustan Unilever Limited in August 1995 as a Wholetime Director and served as the Vice Chairman from April 2000 till his retirement in May’07. He also served as a non-executive Chairman of Unilever Nepal Limited and was a director of ICICI Bank Limited between 2003 to 2011. Mr. Sharma is currently Non-Executive Chairman of ICICI Bank Limited and United Spirits Limited and an Independent Director of Wipro Limited and Asian Paints Limited. Mr. Sharma served on the seven members Committee constituted by the Government of India for redrafting the Companies Act and was also a member of the Naresh Chandra Committee which formulated norms for Corporate Governance. Mr. Sharma is also actively involved in various industry associations, particularly CII on Corporate Governance. He is a Member on the Board of Governors of Indian School of Business, Hyderabad and the Anglo Scottish Education Society which runs the Cathedral & John Cannon School in South Mumbai.

Research Interest

banking commerce