C.S. Venkatakrishnan, Barclays CEO, is first Indian to run major U.K. finance company
C.S. Venkatakrishnan, CEO, Barclays
November 1, 2021
C.S. Venkatakrishnan (Venkat) was today named as the Chief Executive of Barclays, the London based financial services company. Barclays board “identified Venkat as its preferred candidate for this role over a year ago, as a result of which he moved from the position of Group Chief Risk Officer to Head of Global Markets,” according to a statement by the bank.
Based in London, Barclays is “a British bank that is dedicated to the United Kingdom.” It is the U.K.’s third largest financial company after HSBC and Prudential. It provides consumer services, including retail banking, credit cards, investment and wealth management, as well as corporate and investment banking and private equity funds.
In 2020, Barclays had a pre-tax profit of $4.3 billion on $30 billion in revenues. It has a market value of $47 billion. Barclays, operating in more than 40 countries, has more than 83,500 employees mostly in the U.K., India and Singapore.
In India, in addition to offering private and investment banking services, it operates centers which provide technology solutions and other services to Barclays across the globe. The bank has more than 19,000 employees in India, including 9,000 in Pune and over 5,000 in Chennai. Barclays also has significant centers in Mumbai and Noida.
Born in Mysoru, India, Venkat, 57-years-old, joined Barclays in 2016. His earlier roles included Group Chief Executive and Co-President of Barclays Bank. Prior to Barclays, from 1994, Venkat worked at JP Morgan Chase in New York, where he was Chief Investment Officer for approximately $200 billion in Global Fixed Income, as well as in Investment Banking, and in Risk. He holds S.B., S.M. and Ph.D. degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Barclays’ business can be traced back to two Quakers called John Freame and Thomas Gould, who established themselves as goldsmith bankers in Lombard Street in London in 1690. Their business flourished, in large part due to its Quaker connections. They financed Quaker traders in the new colonies in America and the Caribbean and they were actively involved in Quaker-dominated companies like the London Lead Company and the Welsh Copper Company. The latter produced silver as a by-product, which Freame and Gould sold to the Royal Mint. They were also the closest thing the Quakers had to an official banker, holding the Society Of Friends' central funds, known as the national stock. In 1695, this amounted to £1,100.
Venkat joins a handful of Indians running major U.K. companies. Among them is Laxman Narasimhan, 53-years-old, CEO of Reckitt, a global vendor of hygiene, health and nutrition products, with a market value of $59 billion.
Venkat, who will be based in Barclays London head office, will receive $3.69 million in annual pay. He is also eligible to receive an additional $10 million in bonus and long-term incentives.
Venkat was appointed CEO to replace James (Jes) Staley who “agreed that he will step down from his role as Group Chief Executive and as a director of Barclays,” the bank said. Staley’s resignation follows an investigation by U.K regulators into his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. Financier Epstein was arrested in 2019 on child sex trafficking charges but hanged himself while in jail in New York City.
Staley, who knew Venkat while they were both working for JP Morgan, brought Venkat over to Barclays. Venkat says in a statement that Staley was his manager, mentor and friend for many years. His mentor’s shock departure, Venkat noted in an internal memo to employees, means he is taking over the British lender “with deeply mixed emotions”. Staley “became chief executive of Barclays in one of our darkest hours, and devised and implemented a successful recovery strategy of outstanding vision.”
According to Reuters, Venkat told Barclays employees in an internal memo that he will follow Staley’s strategy since it “is the right one, and we will continue our existing plans to transform our organisation and build on our financial prowess."