Shri Ashishkumar Chauhan is the MD & CEO of the National Stock Exchange of India. A technocrat from IIT Bombay and IIM Calcutta, he is a founding member of the NSE and has been involved in the automation of stock markets in India since 1992.
He is credited with setting up screen-based trading, satellite telecom, the NIFTY Index, derivatives trading and many other modern developments in the Indian stock market. He is considered as the father of modern financial derivatives in India due to his pioneering work in the field. Ashish has been fulfilling NSE’s mandate that extends well beyond any comparable exchange or centrally traded order-matching system globally, it being a frontline regulator. NSE, which now has a Market Capitalisation of $4.8 Trillion, is the world’s largest derivatives exchange for the fifth time in a row and top traded equity exchange in terms of the number of trades - processing more than 1700 crore orders in a day. In terms of the number of trades per day, NSE is the largest exchange in the world accounting for more than 40% of all trades happening in all exchanges in the world on some of the days.
Ashish has been proactive in redefining NSE’s focus on core areas and strengthening its Corporate Governance while implementing best-in-class hi-tech capabilities and ensuring orderly markets. He was instrumental in bringing SGX NIFTY to GIFT City which is a landmark event for the Indian financial markets and in bringing the Indian markets onshore in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi Ji’s vision for Amrit Kaal.
Prior to joining back NSE in 2022, he was the CEO of the Bombay Stock Exchange for 10 years. He played an active role setting up systems, processes, and oversight at BSE to convert a 140+ years organisation into an IT driven, modern, professional organisation. He also worked at the Reliance group and the Mumbai Indians IPL cricket team. He is a Member of the University Grants Commission (UGC) and the Chancellor of University of Allahabad. He is also a board member at IIM Calcutta, Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics (GIPE) and other institutions of repute. He is a faculty at Nottingham University, UK & Toronto Metropolitan University, Canada. Ashish has been instrumental in bringing the prestigious Indian Institute of Management (IIM) to Mumbai as the Chairman of the committee that recommended the conversion of NITIE to IIM Mumbai.
He has co-authored a book, ‘BSE: The Temple of Wealth Creation’. A book titled ‘Sthithpragya: The Process of Maintaining an Equilibrium’ addresses his life’s journey. He has been awarded many awards in India and abroad including the Lifetime Achievement award from Global Custodian in 2023, Singapore, Chief Executive of the Year - FOW International Awards in 2021, London, Digital Icon of the Year by Indian Express Group in 2019, Distinguished Alumnus Award IIM Calcutta in 2016, Asian Banker of the Year in 2014, Top 50 CIOs in the world by Information Week in 2009, US, Lifetime Achievement award in the field of Information Technology by CTO Magazine in 2007, Istanbul, and many more.