A member of the premier Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Manipur- Tripura cadre, since 1971, Mr. M.Damodaran has held a number of important positions in both the Central and State Governments and in India’s Financial Sector, before demitting office as Chairman, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) in 2008.After a career spanning several regulatory and developmental assignments in the state of Tripura, he was appointed as its Chief Secretary in 1992, the youngest ever in the country to hold such a position in the State Government.
Thereafter, he worked as Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, Banking Division, for five years, dealing with Government’s ownership functions of Public Sector Banks and being its interface with Reserve Bank of India (RBI). In 2001, he was appointed the Chairman of Unit Trust of India (UTI) to rescue India’s largest and oldest investment institution which had collapsed. His restoring of UTI to health and strength is widely acknowledged as the most successful turnaround story in India’s Financial Sector. He was simultaneously given charge of Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI), another of India’s major financial institutions, which too was restructured by him in an innovative manner, pulling it back from the brink, transforming it to a bank, and merging it with another commercial bank. As Chairman SEBI, he brought improved practices to India’s securities market. During his tenure at SEBI, he was elected Chairman of 80 members Emerging Markets Committee of the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO).
Presently he is the Chairman of a committee appointed by the Government of India for Reforming Regulatory Environment for doing business in India. He is presently Advisor and Chief Representative in India for the ING Bank of Netherlands. He is an Independent Director on the Boards of Hero MotoCorp, Tech Mahindra, Larsen and Toubro, Bennett, Coleman & Co., Sobha Developers, L&T Infra Investment Partners, L&T Infrastructure Finance, Hindalco Industries and UltraTech Cement. He is the founder of Excellence Enablers, an initiative that addresses coaching and mentoring needs of corporate India and focuses on improvement of Board performance. He is the Chairman of Glocal Healthcare Systems, a recent pioneering pan-India effort to provide quality healthcare at affordable costs to Indians in the underserved rural areas. He is also the Chairman of TVS Automobile Solution. He is a Senior Director of Albright Stonebridge Group. He is a Member of the Advisory Boards of Experian Credit Information Company of India, Aureos Capital, Atos India and Macquarie Group India.
He has been appointed Chairman of Ministry of Corporate Affairs Committee for Reforming the Regulatory Environment for doing Business in India. He is also a part of the Development Evaluation Planning Committee of the Planning Commission of India, India’s apex planning body. He has been appointed by the Government of India as the first Chairman of the Society and Board of Governors of the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Tiruchirappalli. He is also a member of the Managing Committee of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan’s Delhi Kendra Committee and the Governing Body of Hans Raj College of Delhi University.
He is widely acknowledged as one of India’s foremost champion of Corporate Governance and has won several awards for Leadership, Governance, Transformation and Public Service. His areas of expertise include Financial Management, Securities Markets, Corporate Governance, Public Administration and Leadership. He is presently an independent consultant and corporate advisor, coach and mentor and sits on the Boards of several reputed companies.
LIST OF AWARDS
1. Life Time Achievement Award in Public Governance by Asian Centre for Corporate Governance and Sustainability (2013)
2. Corporate Excellence for Policy Change Agent of the Year (2006-07) by Economic Times
3. India Business Leaders Award (2006) for Outstanding Contribution to the Cause of Indian Business by CNBC
4. Public Service Excellence Award (2009) by All India Management Association
5. Finance Man of the Year (2004) by Bombay Management Association, Association of Leasing and Financial Service Companies of India, Association of Merchant Bankers of India, Association of Mutual Funds in India, Finance Industry Development Council, Indian Merchant’s Chambers and Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts of India.
6. Centenarian Professional Excellence Award (2005)
7. Rotary Award for Professional Excellence (2008) by Rotary International District 3050
8. Vocational Excellence Award (2003-04) by Rotary District 3140
9. National Award for Outstanding Contribution in the Field of Public Service (2004) by Priyadarshini Academy at their 20th Anniversary Global Awards Function
10. Golden Peacock Award for Leadership in Corporate Transformation (2003)
11. V.C. Padmanabhan Memorial Award for Excellence in Public Administration (2012)
12. Excellence Award (2005) by The Malayalee Club
