SBI chief Bhattacharya 26th in Fortune's 50 greatest leaders

Mumbai, March 24
State Bank of India (SBI) chief Arundhati Bhattacharya has been ranked 26th in the Fortune's top 50 greatest leaders. She is the only Indian corporate leader in the list.

"Arundhati Bhattacharya, Chairman, SBI, has been ranked 26th in the fourth edition of Fortune's World 50 Greatest Leaders list. By this, Arundhati Bhattacharya becomes the only Indian corporate leader to be featured in the list," the public lender said in a statement here on Friday.

Bhattacharya is the first-ever woman to chair the country's largest lender.

The leaders in this Fortune list excel at leading effectively in today's challenging business environment.

Bhattacharya has steered the SBI through an ongoing battle with bad loans, surprise demonetisation move and will be overseeing the upcoming six-bank merger, the statement said.

"She's been transformative to convert the 211-year-old institution into the digital era and overhauling human resource for her 200,000-plus employees. The complex six-bank merger she is orchestrating will catapult the SBI into the ranks of the world's 50 largest banks," Fortune said.

It noted that Bhattacharya's effectiveness, frank and outspoken style is well recognised and she has been granted a rare extension to her three-year term at the SBI in October 2016.

The 61-year-old professional banker had been appointed to the coveted post of SBI Chairperson in October 2013 and was ranked by Forbes as 25th most powerful woman in the world in 2016.