Former SBI chief OP Bhatt joins Hindustan Unilever as independent director

MUMBAI: India’s largest consumer goods maker Hindustan Unilever has appointed Om Prakash Bhatt, 60, former Chairman of the State Bank of India, as an independent director on the board of the company. Bhatt started his banking career as a probationary officer with SBI in 1972.

He has, during his long career of 36 years with the SBI, held several important assignments in India and abroad, including stints at the Bank’s London and Washington offices. Under the leadership of Bhatt, SBI steadily improved its global ranking in the list of Fortune 500 companies.

In fact, he played an instrumental role in convincingly re-established SBI’s leadership in every segment of banking in India. Earlier this year, HUL tied up with SBI to kick-off a pilot project on financial inclusion in Maharashtra and Karnataka.