Shares of ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company rose 9% intraday to Rs 418.80 on Thursday after the appointment of Anup Bagchi as the company’s MD & CEO. Anup Bagchi is currently an executive director of ICICI Bank and a non-executive director of ICICI Prudential.

The stock was up 6% at Rs 407.60 at 11:19 am, while the S&P BSE Sensex rose 0.25%. It recovered 10% from a 52-week low of Rs 380.95 touched intraday today. The stock has underperformed the market over the past six months, with shares down 26% compared with a 2% drop in the benchmark index.

The appointment is effective for five consecutive years beginning June 19, 2023, or the date of regulatory approval, whichever is later, to ensure a seamless transition from Bagchi’s appointment as executive director and chief operating officer to the company’s executives, the company said, effective May 1, 2023, subject to regulatory approval.

Bagchi joined the ICICI Group in 1992 and has worked in retail banking, corporate banking and treasury.

N. S. Kannan, MD and CEO, will retire from the service of ICICI Prudential upon the expiration of his term on June 18, 2023.

“During his tenure at ICICI Prudential, Kannan successfully led the company through various challenges, including the most recent of the COVID-19 pandemic, building ICICI Prudential into a resilient and diverse franchise that can successfully capture and capitalise on an emerging opportunity, despite these challenges, and has led the company toward doubling FY19 value of the new business by FY23,” the company said.