They always say that it is easy to reach the top but difficult to maintain the position for a long time. Rajnikant Patel BSE has proved this statement wrong on many an occasion. Starting his career as a humble clerk in Bank of Maharashtra, his rise to the pole position in the Bombay Stock Exchange is the stuff of dreams. In spite of holding a degree in law, he had set his minds on a financial career. Maybe, his Gujarathi genes are the reason for the same. He belongs to the Patel community, an influential community from Gujarat. Business is in his blood. Risk taking is nothing new for people of this community. They have the capacity to withstand shocks as well. These exemplary qualities have always been on view in Rajnikant Patel’s career throughout his life.
You cannot expect people of this community to lead ordinary lives as clerks. Hence, he jumped at the opportunity when it presented itself. After a very short stint in the State Bank of Saurashtra as an officer, he joined the Reserve Bank of India. This proved to be the turning point of his career. He had a decent run in various positions in the apex bank of the country. Having a penchant for automation throughout his life, he was instrumental in the automation of various processes in the RBI. He held important positions in the bank such as ‘In charge of the repayment of the Special Bearer Bond 1991, the Prosecution officer for the RBI, etc. He had an extensive run in the clearing department of the bank. Having risen to the post of Assistant General Manager of the Bank he resigned in 1991 and joined the BNP Paribas as Deputy Head of the Inspection and Audit Systems. He had a small stint in this bank when you compare it with the RBI. Nevertheless, this was an important stint in many ways. This stint brought out the exemplary risk taking capabilities in Rajnikant Patel BSE. He was primarily responsible for the formulating of the Risk Management Policy of this bank.
Subsequent to his stint at the BNP Paribas, he joined the Bombay Stock Exchange as its Managing Director and CEO. His tenure at this institution lasted for eight fruitful years. These eight years proved to be the most productive years for the BSE. They won a host of awards including the Gold Medal for the best annual reports for two consecutive years. His stints at the various banks are the reason for this turnaround in the fortunes of the BSE. He has always been an advocate of maintaining regulatory compliance throughout his stint at the RBI.
His risk taking abilities came to the fore when he authored the divestment of the BSE thereby earning a huge amount of foreign exchange for the country. He is also responsible for the remodelling of the BSE Training Institute into a profit-making one. These initiatives put the BSE Training Institute on the international map. This fetched him the Golden Peacock Award for corporate governance.
Rajnikant Patel BSE 