HDFC Bank on Thursday said it has formed a six-member committee to find a successor to managing director Aditya Puri, who is set to retire in October next year.

The search committee will comprise its board members, including former RBI deputy governor Shyamala Gopinath, Sanjiv Sachar (former senior partner of Egon Zehnder), M.D. Ranganath (former CFO of Infosys), Sandeep Parekh (managing partner of Finsec Law Advisors), Srikanth Nadhamuni (former chief technology officer of UID Authority of India) and Keki Mistry (representative of HDFC, the parent of the bank).

Gopinath is now the bank’s chairperson.

“The board of directors of the bank at its meeting held on Thursday has constituted a search committee to identify a successor to Aditya Puri, the current managing director of the bank, whose tenure ends on October 26, 2020,” HDFC Bank said in a communication to the bourses after market hours.

Over the next few months, the search committee will evaluate internal and external candidates to ensure smooth transition and Puri will act as an adviser to the panel.

Puri, who holds a bachelor’s degree in commerce from Punjab University, has been the managing director of the bank since September 1994. Prior to joining the private sector bank, he was the chief executive officer of Citibank, Malaysia, from 1992 to 1994.

He has played a major role in turning HDFC Bank into one of the most valued lenders globally and it has consistently churned out solid performance despite odds such as rising bad loans in the sector. During 2018-19, his total remuneration increased 41 per cent to Rs 13.67 crore.

Under RBI norms, CEOs of banks have to retire after attaining 70 years of age.