SKS Microfinance, the first publicly-listed microfinance company in India, has terminated the appointment of Suresh Gurumani as managing director and chief executive officer of the company and has withdrawn all powers and authority granted to him with immediate effect. The company has, in turn, appointed M R Rao, deputy CEO, as managing director & CEO for a period of three years with immediate effect.
In a statement sent to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), the company announced that its board of directors, which met on Sunday, decided to terminate Gurumani?s appointment. However, the company did not cite any reasons for termination and none of the officials were available for any comment. According to SKS, Gurmani had a five-year contract from April 1, 2009 to expire on March 31, 2014. Further, Ashish Lakhanpal has resigned as a director to comply with the prescribed ratio for independent and non-independent directors, the filing added. A chartered accountant, Gurmani joined SKS as CEO in November 2008.
The shares of SKS reacted sharply to the news and fell nearly 6% to Rs 1,275.15 in the afternoon trade. It closed 5.66% lower at Rs 1,278.50 on the BSE. The shares of SKS had gained 30% during the last two months over its listing price of Rs 985 per share. In fact, the company raised about $358 million through its initial public offering in August.
The company, which was founded by former McKinsey consultant Vikram Akula currently has over 70 lakh clients and distributed over Rs 15,000 crore thus far.
He launched the company in 1998 as a not-for-profit organisation, and five years ago, he made it into a profit model. Billionaire George Soros, venture capitalist Vinod Khosla and Infosys founder NR Narayana Murthy have invested in SKS.