WHEN C.S. Venkatakrishnan unveiled Barclays' boldest restructuring plan in eight years in February 2024, it marked a defining moment for the Indian-born banker who had weathered both personal and professional storms since taking the helm of the 334-year-old British lender.
Known simply as Venkat, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology-trained executive was already proving his mettle. This February, Barclays reported a 24 per cent jump in its net profit for the 2024 financial year, boosted by the strength of its investment banking and core UK divisions.
Profit after tax rose to £5.3 billion compared with 2023, when its annual profits had fallen. Net profit for Barclay's UK jumped 26 per cent, with its fourth quarter boosted by the takeover of the banking arm of British supermarket giant Tesco.
At Barclays’ investment banking arm, long considered Barclays' crown jewel, net profit rose 23 per cent.
“In 2024 we met our financial targets, delivering for our customers and clients, with operational and financial performance improvement driven by disciplined execution of the three-year plan,” Venkatakrishnan said in the annual report.
This success was particularly poignant given his personal battle with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a blood cancer, diagnosed in November 2022. Rather than step back, he continued steering the bank through treatment, achieving remission in March 2023 – a testament to his resilience that would serve him well in transforming Barclays.
He later revealed how the feedback to his decision to remain in the top post while undergoing treatment – questions like whether he anticipated staff members to follow suit and work through their illnesses and whether he wanted to appear tough in front of the workforce – prompted him to change his approach as a CEO.
“I wanted to work because I enjoy it. I quickly clarified that the decision to work was mine alone, and neither Barclays nor I would ever expect others to do the same if they were unwilling, or unable,” he wrote. “My choices were neither a model nor requirement for others, and though they were the right ones for me, I wish I had been more sensitive at the outset to this perception.”
The path to the Barclays’ transformation began when Venkatakrishnan took over as the group chief executive in November 2021. He identified a crucial weakness: while the investment bank was thriving, other divisions were dampening the overall valuation of the bank, causing it to trail behind major European banking peers. His solution was ambitious: a three-year strategy that would fundamentally reshape the institution.
The cornerstone of his plan was dividing the business into five distinct operating divisions: Barclays UK, Barclays UK Corporate Bank, Barclays Private Bank and Wealth Management, Barclays Investment Bank, and Barclays US Consumer Bank. This restructuring aimed to provide greater transparency and accountability while promising £10bn in shareholder returns through dividends and share buybacks between 2024 and 2026.
Venkatakrishnan’s vision extended beyond mere structural changes. He committed to deploying around £30bn more to UK consumer, corporate lending, and private banking arms that generate higher returns. A strategic £600 million acquisition of Tesco's banking operations in February 2024 further strengthened Barclays’ UK presence, bringing with it 2,800 staff and a valuable 10-year distribution deal to sell financial products under the Tesco brand.
His leadership extends beyond financial engineering. He is the chair of Sustainable Markets Initiative’s Financial Services Taskforce, a group where banking chief executives focus on financing the move towards net-zero carbon emissions. He is also a member of the UN Environment Programme’s Finance Initiative Leadership Council.
At the same time, his response to climate activism shows his pragmatic approach. While announcing an end to direct funding for new oil and gas projects, he cautioned against abrupt fossil fuel abandonment.
“Banks cannot go cold turkey” on the oil and gas industry, he told a Bloomberg event in June 20204, acknowledging that “the reality is that for quite some time, fossil fuels will be with us.” He advocated for a measured transition, describing the “glide path” toward cleaner energy as a long-term journey.
This balanced judgment echoes his earlier prescience at JPMorgan Chase, where from 1994 to 2016, he rose to become chief investment officer for global fixed income. During his tenure, he had warned about the potential for massive losses from a derivatives trade – the infamous ‘London Whale’ scandal that later cost the bank $6.2bn. A US Senate investigation confirmed that heeding Venkatakrishnan’s warning could have averted some losses.
Born in Mysore, in the Indian state of Karanata in 1966, his journey to leading one of Britain's largest banks was no accident. His academic excellence earned him bachelor’s, master’s and PhD degrees in operations research from MIT, laying the foundation for his analytical approach to banking. After his two decades at JPMorgan, he joined Barclays in 2016 as chief risk officer, rising to head of global markets before being handpicked as CEO – a succession planned a year before his predecessor's abrupt departure.
Under his watch, Barclays is evolving from a bank heavily reliant on investment banking to a more balanced financial institution. Through strategic reorganisation and expansion of retail operations, Venkatakrishnan is crafting a legacy of transformation at the storied British lender, while maintaining its competitive edge in investment banking.
