ICICI Life Insurance appoints Sidharatha Mishra as new MD & CEO | People

ICICI Life Insurance on Friday appointed Sidharatha Mishra as the Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer (MD & CEO) of the company for five years. He has been appointed as the Chief Operating Officer with effect from October 6, 2026.

The incumbent Anup Bagchi has tendered resignation after HDFC Bank announced his appointment on Thursday as MD & CEO of the bank, effective from October 13, 2026.

Bagchi resigned on October 1, with effect from the close of business hours on October 13, 2026.  

Mishra has been appointed as the Additional Director and Managing Director & CEO, with effect from October 14, 2026, or date of approval of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India, whichever is later for a period of five consecutive years, subject to requisite approvals.

Mishra holds a bachelor’s degree in science and a postgraduate diploma in management with a specialization in finance from Utkal University, Bhubaneswar. Mr. Mishra has over 26 years of experience in the banking sector. He presently heads the digital channels & partnerships, voice channel, customer service, NRI & IFIG groups of ICICI Bank Limited.

Mishra, and ICICI Group veteran, with over 26 years with the bank, currently heads the digital channels & partnerships, voice channel, customer service, NRI & IFIG groups at the bank. Mishra  holds a bachelor’s degree in science and a postgraduate diploma in management with a specialization in finance from Utkal University, Bhubaneswar.

With Mishra’s appointment as the new MD & CEO of ICICI Life Insurance, the tradition of an ICICI Bank veteran heading the insurer continues.

The life insurance arm of ICICI Bank has been led by several executives with deep roots in the group. Shikha Sharma helmed the company from 2000 to 2009, followed by V. Vaidyanathan, who led it for a year until May 2010. Sandeep Bakhshi took over in August 2010 and remained at the helm until June 2018. He also played a key role in the company’s listing. Bakhshi subsequently moved to ICICI Bank to take over as MD & CEO following Chanda Kochhar’s exit. He was succeeded at the insurer by N S Kannan, who led the company from 2018 until his retirement in 2023. Anup Bagchi then took over the reins and led the life insurance company for over three years before moving to HDFC Bank as its MD & CEO.