MUMBAI: Rana Talwar, the first Indian and Asian to helm a global bank, died at the age of 76 on Saturday.
He was unwell for some time, said sources. He is survived by wife Renuka (daughter of DLF Group chairman emeritus K P Singh) and son Rahul (who is also involved with DLF). His last rites will be performed at Lodhi crematorium on Sunday, company sources said.
An alumnus of St Stephens college, Delhi, Talwar commenced his career with Citibank in India in 1969.He played a pivotal role in shaping Citi’s consumer banking business into a leading franchise in the nineties.
He swiftly ascended through the ranks, leading Citi’s retail businesses in Asia-Pacific, Middle East, and then in Europe and North America. He then joined Standard Chartered bank in the summer of 1997, where he assumed the CEO position after some months.
Talwar led Standard Chartered bank through transformative years after the Asian currency crisis. As chief executive he orchestrated major acquisitions for Standard Chartered, including integration of UBS‘s trade finance business, ANZ’s Grindlays Bank in India and the Middle East, and Chase Manhattan’s credit card business in Hong Kong.
A staunch believer in Asia’s economic resilience, Talwar navigated challenges posed by Asian currency crisis of 1997, fortifying Standard Chartered’s position in Asia. Post his tenure at Standard Chartered, he founded private equity fund Sabre Capital which was named after himself (Sabre being the English word for Talwar). One of Sabre Capital’s biggest deals in India was the acquisition of a strategic stake in Centurion Bank. Talwar was later instrumental in its merger with HDFC Bank.
He was also on the board of DLF, having joined the realty major in 2006. In a regulatory filing, DLF said: It regrets to inform about the sad demise of non-executive director Gurvirendra Singh Talwar (Rana Talwar) on Saturday, which was intimated to the company by the family members.
He was unwell for some time, said sources. He is survived by wife Renuka (daughter of DLF Group chairman emeritus K P Singh) and son Rahul (who is also involved with DLF). His last rites will be performed at Lodhi crematorium on Sunday, company sources said.
An alumnus of St Stephens college, Delhi, Talwar commenced his career with Citibank in India in 1969.He played a pivotal role in shaping Citi’s consumer banking business into a leading franchise in the nineties.
He swiftly ascended through the ranks, leading Citi’s retail businesses in Asia-Pacific, Middle East, and then in Europe and North America. He then joined Standard Chartered bank in the summer of 1997, where he assumed the CEO position after some months.
Talwar led Standard Chartered bank through transformative years after the Asian currency crisis. As chief executive he orchestrated major acquisitions for Standard Chartered, including integration of UBS‘s trade finance business, ANZ’s Grindlays Bank in India and the Middle East, and Chase Manhattan’s credit card business in Hong Kong.
A staunch believer in Asia’s economic resilience, Talwar navigated challenges posed by Asian currency crisis of 1997, fortifying Standard Chartered’s position in Asia. Post his tenure at Standard Chartered, he founded private equity fund Sabre Capital which was named after himself (Sabre being the English word for Talwar). One of Sabre Capital’s biggest deals in India was the acquisition of a strategic stake in Centurion Bank. Talwar was later instrumental in its merger with HDFC Bank.
He was also on the board of DLF, having joined the realty major in 2006. In a regulatory filing, DLF said: It regrets to inform about the sad demise of non-executive director Gurvirendra Singh Talwar (Rana Talwar) on Saturday, which was intimated to the company by the family members.