Erstwhile chief executive officer and vice chairman of HDFC (Housing Development Finance Corporation) Limited Keki Mistry has been appointed as strategic advisor to all the financial services ventures within the Cyrus Poonawalla Group that are spearheaded by Adar Poonawalla, read a press note on the website of the Group dated August 7, 2023. The senior finance executive told
Parsiana the next day that he is "delighted and looking forward” to serve as advisor to the Group. "They are so highly regarded worldwide and have the highest standards of integrity, ethics and corporate governance,” he stated.
Mistry served HDFC for 41 years in various capacities until its merger with subsidiary HDFC Bank received regulatory approval, effective July 1. Mistry joined the merged entity as an additional non-executive director (non-independent) on June 30. He had told Parsiana in October 2022 that he would continue to serve on the boards of HDFC’s subsidiaries that work in insurance and other financial services, as also on Flipkart, Torrent and Tata Consultancy Services (see "Assisting the ‘left-behind,’” Parsiana, October 21-November 6, 2022).
Chairman of Poonawalla Fincorp and chief executive officer (CEO) of Serum Institute of India (SII) within the Group, Adar said, "Keki’s unparalleled operating and boardroom experience in the Indian financial services sector will act as the perfect sounding board for all financial services business management teams to scale their profitability through prudent risk management while managing business volatility.” Mistry stated in the press note that he was "excited to guide the financial services businesses spearheaded by Adar in achieving their business plans whilst delivering responsible shareholder returns.”
The Group has interests in pharmaceuticals and biotechnology, finance, clean energy, hospitality and realty, as well as aviation. The SII, founded by Dr Cyrus Poonawalla in 1966, is now led by his son Adar.