K.V. Kamath, managing director and CEO, ICICI Bank, will hand over charge to joint managing director and chief financial officer Chanda Kochhar, in what is being seen as a smooth change of guard in the country's largest private sector bank.

The change will be with effect from April 30, 2009.

Kamath will take over as the non-executive chairman of the board from N.Vaghul, who is designated to retire on April 30, next year.

According to ICICI Bank, Chanda Kochhar will hold office from May 1, 2009 to March 31, 2014. Kochchar had joined previous ICICI Limited (ICICI) in 1984. In 2001, she was brought up to the Board of Directors of ICICI Bank.

Speaking on this, Kochhar said, “What keeps me ticking is a passion for excellence and how [much] better I can do from the last time or from the person who had done it before me. I am normally calm and composed and become even stronger with challenges.”

She had worked and held leadership positions across all key businesses, including corporate banking, project finance and retail banking.