Mumbai: Clix Capital, co-founded by Pramod Bhasin and Anil Chawla and supported by AION Capital, has announced a new chairman, C.M. Vasudev. Vasudev was formerly the Secretary of the Department of Banking, Expenditure, and Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, with the Government of India. Vasudev was appointed as a GOI nominee on the boards of several public-sector financial institutions and the Central Board of RBI. Having chaired the NBFC sector reforms committee, he was also part of the World Bank as an Executive Director for over three years in the past. Vasudev is the former chairman and independent director of HDFC Bank. Vasudev takes over the chairmanship from Bhasin and is joined on the board by two additional independent directors, Anuradha Bajpai, and Ajay Candade.
Bajpai comes with over three decades of experience in audit and assurance. She worked with Deloitte, Haskins, and Sells for 17 years, where she led the team responsible for statutory audit and group reporting under IFRS and US GAAP for various NBFCs, including those forming part of the Merrill Lynch Group, the Morgan Stanley Group, and the Caspian Group. Her expertise extends beyond the financial services sector, as she has serviced media companies in India forming part of the WPP Group, companies in the telecom sector, the retail industry, other service industries, and manufacturing companies in the iron and steel sector.
Candade is currently the managing partner and co-founder of Fractal Growth Partners, a scale-up-focused investor in technology-enabled businesses. In his prior assignments, he worked as a management consultant at McKinsey & Company in New York and Mumbai, an investor with Warburg Pincus, and also with KKR’s private equity team. He has served on and/or been an observer on the boards of several companies, including Alliance Tire, Avendus Capital, Continental Warehousing Corporation Ltd., Euro Kids Group/Lighthouse Learning, Magma Fincorp, Magma Housing Finance, Max India, Max Healthcare, and TVS Supply Chain Solutions. Candade was also a member of the CII National Committee on Logistics.
"In line with SEBI regulations, Mr. Vasudev will be taking over from me as an independent chairman. The invaluable contribution and support of the new board members will play a crucial role in Clix Capital's mission to foster credit inclusion among Indian SMEs. We anticipate the unveiling of new growth prospects under their esteemed direction and guidance," expressed Bhasin.
“We are always grateful for the invaluable contributions of our esteemed board members. With the addition of new independent members, we are poised to harness an even greater depth of expertise that will propel Clix Capital towards unparalleled success in its next era of hypergrowth,” said Clix Capital CEO & MD Rakesh Kaul.
Apollo head of private equity, Utsav Bajilal also commented, "As the business of Clix Capital matures, we are thrilled to invite Mr. Vasudev to chair the Board. We believe onboarding Mrs. Bajpai and Mr. Candade will significantly strengthen the Board. Bringing in experienced professionals to guide the management team will provide the level of oversight needed for a lending franchise."
