Former HDFC Bank managing director Aditya Puri has joined global pharma major Strides Group as an adviser and will also serve as a director of its associate company Stelis Biopharma.

“Eminent corporate doyen Aditya Puri joins the Strides Group as an adviser and also will be a director of its associate company, Stelis Biopharma,” Strides Pharma Science Ltd said in a regulatory filing.

Strides Pharma said Puri's appointment to the Stelis board comes at an exciting juncture for the company as it transitions from its incubation phase to a consolidation and growth phase.

The company looks to partner global players with the aim of bringing world-class treatments at affordable costs to patients in both emerging and developed markets.

Puri, who led HDFC Bank since its inception over 25 years ago, retired in October 2020.

While it is not uncommon for well-known bankers to take up advisory roles in a different field, observers said Puri will bring his years of experience of funding various industries in HDFC Bank to the table. “It will certainly be a great addition for the Strides group and Puri can give his valuable inputs,” an analyst who did not wish to be identified said.

Arundhati Bhattacharya the former chairperson of SBI, is an independent director in Reliance Industries. In 2020, she was appointed as the India head of cloud-based software provider Salesforce.

On his appointment, Puri said the Stride Group’s established parentage, global success and headstart in terms of basic infrastructure gives him the opportunity to be involved in and guide Stelis and other group endeavours in their exciting growth story.

Arun Kumar, founder and chairman of Strides’ board, said: “I am delighted to welcome Aditya as our adviser and to the Stelis board. This a huge vote of confidence in the potential of Stelis. His deep experience will be extremely valuable for the Strides group and Stelis in particular.”