I shouldn't have brought only people from banking into SKS: Akula

Hyderabad: Vikram Akula, the founder of SKS Microfinance Limited, has said he should have brought in people who understood the significance of balancing social impact and profitability than merely those with banking and insurance experience into the company, when he was holding the reins. Akula, once considered the poster boy of the microfinance industry, was given an unceremonious exit from SKS in November 2011.

“If I could do it over again, I would bring in more people like Vinod Khosla (a well-known investor)… such people understand the importance of balancing social impact and profitability. If I had more such people as shareholders and board members, perhaps things would have been different,” Akula told PTI.

“I brought in a senior management team from mainstream banking and insurance. At the time, I thought it was the right thing to do… But, in retrospect, I know that microfinance is radically different from mainstream banking and requires a different skill sets,” he added.

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More than two years after SKS Trusts, the largest shareholder in SKS Microfinance Ltd, was trying to nominate Akula as its representative in the board, the latter said he would take the company with a long-term view if given a berth. He said he will strive to ensure the company has a long-term outlook.

Akula said he thought tapping capital markets was the best way to infuse funds in the business but lost control over affairs after the IPO. The company’s former chairman further said that he should have brought more people with a deep understanding of the microfinance ethics in senior management, before he let go of the reins of SKS.

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According to records, former CEO Suresh Gurumani was director retail banking Barclays India prior to joining SKS. Similarly, MR Rao, who is currently the CEO and Managing Director of the company, had joined as a COO at SKS Microfinance.

Prior to that he was heading alternative channels at ING Vysya Life Insurance. Gurumani had quit the Vikram Akula-led board in May 2011 and was succeeded by MR Rao. The move evoked strong criticism among corporate circles and later Akula himself had to step down from the board.

PTI