SEBI Appoints Buch As New Chairperson

In a watershed moment for women professionals in the country, the government on Monday appointed former SEBI member Madhabi Puri Buch as chairperson of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).

This is the first time that a woman will be heading the capital market regulator. She has replaced Ajay Tyagi, whose five-year term has come to an end.

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved Buch’s appointment for an initial period of three years, sources said.

Madhabi Puri Buch is a former Whole Time Member (WTM) of SEBI. She was SEBI WTM between April 5, 2017 and October 4, 2021. She was not only the first woman as WTM of SEBI, but the first person from the private sector as well. She started her career with ICICI Bank.

Puri Buch has more than three decades of experience in the financial markets.

At SEBI, she handled various portfolios ranging from investment management, collective investment schemes and surveillance.

After Madhabi Puri Buch’s appointment as the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) chairperson, congratulatory messages have been pouring in for the first woman to head the market regulator.

Deepak Shenoy, founder of Capital Mind, tweeted: “I wish her the very best, and I hope great things happen at SEBI in the years ahead!”

Securities lawyer Sandeep Parekh called Buch a “superb choice for SEBI”.

“Congratulations to Ms. Buch – having interacted with her during my time as a committee member of mutual fund advisory committee, can vouch that she is not just competent, but also very very data driven. Superb choice for SEBI. Tough, intelligent and data driven,” he tweeted.