IDFC First bank MD and CEO V Vaidyanathan recently gifted his former math teacher one lakh equity shares worth around Rs 30 lakh held by him as a token of thanks for lending him money to travel for an interview in his student days.
A post on social media went viral. Vaidyanathan, who then resided in Chennai, had qualified for an engineering course at Birla Institute of Technology (Mesra) but did not have the money to travel there to give the interview and complete the counselling formalities. In those trying times, his then math teacher Gurdial Saini lent him Rs 500. Having qualified for the course and done well professionally, Vaidyanathan tried several times to get in touch with his former teacher but failed to do so until now. Earlier this month, the bank made a regulatory filing to the stock exchanges and as per the official notice addressed to Saini, Vaidyanathan had transferred his one lakh equity shares to his teacher.
“We wish to inform you that Vaidyanathan has transferred 1,00,000 fully paid-up equity shares of IDFC FIRST Bank Limited, held by him in his personal capacity, to his former schoolteacher, Gurdial Saroop Saini, as a gift…,” the bank said in the filing.
Netizens praised Vaidyanathan’s gesture towards his teacher.
One user said, “This is called real Guru Shishya relationship which is very very rare to see in these times.” Yet another added, “Not many students get such teachers at a time to help them. And not many students after achieving heights remain humble.”
Everything you need to know about V Vaidyanathan:
Vaidyanathan is the founder, Capital First, which merged into IDFC Bank in December 2018, creating IDFC First Bank. In 2018, while still with Capital First, Vaidyanathan gifted 4,30,000 shares to his family members, colleagues, and maids.
Born in Chennai, Vaidyanathan completed his schooling from Kendriya Vidyalaya across the country. The CEO began his career at Citibank, and worked there from 1990 to 2000 in consumer banking. In 1999–2000, when ICICI decided to foray into Retail lending from Project Lending, he joined them to spearhead the Retail businesses. He played a major role in setting up the businesses including all key functions related to strategical business, like team building, business relationships, Credit policy, Credit administration, and risk management.
In January 2019, the Reserve Bank approved the appointment of V Vaidyanathan as MD and CEO of IDFC First Bank for three years, according to a regulatory filing.
V Vaidyanathan sold 2.75 crore shares for about Rs 58 crore in March. His move came at a time when Indian and global equities faced massive sell-off stemming from the fear of the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on economic activity.
Apart from his professional achievements, Vaidyanathan is an active marathoner. He has till now run 8 full marathons and 22 half marathons. In his spare time, he also plays the guitar and occasionally plays golf.
Vaidyanathan is also associated with social causes. He performed songs by Stevie Wonder, Elvis Presley, Westlife, and George Baker for Genesis Foundation for raising funds for critically ill children suffering from Congenital Heart Disease.
In 2018, he was awarded ‘CEO of the Year 2018’ by the Business world. He was also nominated for “Retail Banker of the Year” by EFMA Europe for the year 2008.
